Date of Award

8-8-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling and Psychological Services

First Advisor

Andrew Roach

Second Advisor

Kathleen Baggett

Third Advisor

Catherine Perkins

Fourth Advisor

Claire Donehower

Fifth Advisor

Brian Barger

Abstract

The Professional Standards of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2020) indicate school psychologists should provide services to children and their families in early childhood settings. However, these services have historically been limited to assessment for eligibility of special education services (Albritton et al., 2019). School psychologists are uniquely positioned to expand their role within early childhood settings to services such as consultation and interventions within the context of a multi-tiered system of support. Chapter One of this dissertation outlines how school psychologists may implement inclusive evidence-based consultation frameworks to promote school readiness for infants and toddlers with and at-risk for developmental disabilities. To illustrate how school psychologists can engage in indirect service delivery in early childhood settings, conceptual overlaps between an evidence-based K-12 consultation framework and a consultation model for infants and toddlers will be detailed within the contexts of multi-tiered systems of support. Chapter Two also focuses on the provision of services to children in their earliest years of development through the implementation of the Mom and Baby Net (MBN) Program. This study utilized a single-case multiple-baseline design to examine the effects of the MBN Program on parent practices and child expressive language and engagement behaviors for infants who have a sibling diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Infant siblings of children with autism are at increased risk for social communication challenges (Goldberg et al., 2006; Mitchell et al., 2006), and parents who have children with autism often are at heightened risk for experiencing a range of negative symptoms (Ludlow et al., 2014; Nik Adib, 2019). Therefore, the implemented intervention addressed both child and parent challenges. Three infant-parent dyads were recruited for this study. Visual and statistical analysis of data collected with Indicator of Parent Child Interaction (IPCI; Baggett et al., 2010) and the Early Communication Indicator (ECI; Greenwood et al., 2005) was conducted. Results indicate that all three mothers showed substantial growth in their positive parenting practices and infants showed increases in their social engagement behaviors. Findings from this study provide support for the MBN program's efficacy in addressing challenges experienced by both infant siblings and mothers.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/35896644

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