This webinar will cover the findings of the report, "The State(s) of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Looking at Equity." This insightful report is the first of its kind, providing a state-by-state analysis of federally funded programs for young children with disabilities, with a specific focus on equity. We will explore the four critical dimensions of variation in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) services: impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, race and ethnicity, gender, and the state in which a child lives.

"Learn the Signs. Act Early." (LTSAE) is a CDC program that promotes collaboration among early childhood programs in states and territories so children with autism or other developmental delays and disabilities can be identified early and referred to appropriate services and supports. This webinar will provide an overview of the purpose and scope of interventions towards improving the lifestyle of autistic individuals and their families and include high-level overview of findings.

"Learn the Signs. Act Early." (LTSAE) is a CDC program that promotes collaboration among early childhood programs in states and territories so children with autism or other developmental delays and disabilities can be identified early and referred to appropriate services and supports. For the past two years, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded 43 states and territories to focus on early childhood state systems to support recovery and strengthen resilience skills, behaviors, and resources of children, families, and communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This webinar will provide an overview of the purpose and scope of the Act Early Response to COVID-19 and include a high-level overview of findings.

Family assessment is required in IDEA Part C but is important throughout childhood and youth. A unique way to determine family needs is a Routines-Based Intervention, especially if it involves asking about time for yourself, what you worry about, and what you'd like to change in your life. This intervention leads to outcomes/goals meaningful to families and functional for children.

This webinar will highlight the work of the Project SCOPE (Supporting Children of the Opioid Epidemic) National Training Initiative to integrate "Learn the Signs. Act Early." resources and tools into the curriculum used in 14 states. Project SCOPE uses the ECHO model to increase the knowledge and skills of interdisciplinary audiences (e.g., early childhood educators, early interventionists, therapists, public health professionals) who work with children with prenatal opioid exposure and other related trauma exposures and their caregivers.

The fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) SIG invites you to join them for a review of current research that you might use in your work building or expanding your program of services and supports for individuals with FASD. Dr. Christie L. M. Petrenko, Ph.D. (Research Associate at the University of Rochester) and Dr. Edward Riley, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology, College of Sciences, San Diego State University) will join the FASD SIG to discuss current research focused on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.

This webinar will help to prepare interdisciplinary professionals to become important team members and crucial partners to parents and teachers in the early childhood intervention field (e.g., teachers, speech/language pathologists; occupational therapists, physical therapists; early behavior specialists; and social workers).

UCEDDs are a critical partner to state teams developing an Early Childhood Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD).Please come and hear about how you can help build your state workforce for infants and young children with disabilities and their families. Representatives from UCEDDs and LENDs who have been working with states that are developing CSPDs will share their experiences and advice.

This quarter's Act Early Network Webinar will highlight the work of pediatricians to integrate "Learn the Signs. Act Early." resources and tools into their surveillance and screening practices within Federally Qualified Health Center settings. Federally Qualified Health Centers are community-based health providers that receive funds from the Human Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas.

In this webinar, presenters will discuss lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to modify a professional development program designed to support early childhood educators in using assistive technology with young children with disabilities. Following a brief overview of the core features of our coaching model, presenters will discuss responsiveness to the needs of both parents and educators as they pivoted to using AT for remote learning. The presentation will highlight unique challenges, unexpected benefits, key takeaways, and implications for the future of AT training in a virtual world.

"Learn the Signs. Act Early." (LTSAE) is a CDC program that promotes collaboration among early childhood programs in states and territories so children with autism or other developmental delays and disabilities can be identified early and referred to appropriate services and supports. This past year the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded 43 states and territories to focus on early childhood state systems to support recovery and strengthen resilience skills, behaviors, and resources of children, families, and communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This webinar will provide an overview of LTSAE, the purpose and scope of the Act Early Response to COVID-19 and include a high-level overview of findings from the Act Early/COVID-19 Response Team needs assessment process.

Motor dysfunction are prevalent and pervasive in autistic individuals. However, due to the heterogeneity of motor dysfunction and the categorization in DSM-5 as an associated deficit, this condition often goes undetected and undertreated. Improving our understanding of motor dysfunction in autism is important so that we can adequately screen for these difficulties and ultimately provide the best interventions.

This webinar presents results and lessons learned from nearly a decade of autism research aimed at informing policy to improve the lives of youth and adults on the autism spectrum. We will discuss how the work of the Life Course Outcomes Research Program and the Policy and Analytics Center at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute have informed policy at the local, state, national and international levels. We will also outline the process and considerations necessary for creating effective information dissemination environments and partnerships, provide examples of useful tools for designing for dissemination, and guide a discussion of continued challenges.

This quarter's Act Early Network Webinar will feature the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ) alongside four states representing the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (ECCS CoIIN). ECCS CoIIN is a multiyear initiative to improve early childhood systems in twelve states to increase age-appropriate developmental skills among 3-year-old children and reduce developmental disparities.

Immunizations are crucial to protect all people from vaccine-preventable illnesses. Some studies suggest that autistic individuals have lower rates of immunizations, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Multiple organizations have called for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be prioritized in COVID-19 vaccination distribution. Vaccine hesitancy and needle phobia are two likely contributors towards lower vaccination rates. One of the initial intervention projects from the AIR-P focuses on reducing needle anxiety and improving immunization rates among autistic individuals. This intervention was developed as a pilot to address needle anxiety in conjunction with Pfizer and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for use in an Improving Pediatric Immunization Care collaborative but has not been widely implemented. The AIR-P network provides an opportunity to implement this needle anxiety intervention in multiple sites. Measures of success for this intervention would include vaccination rates among autistic individuals and satisfaction with the vaccine administration process.