An Activity-Based Approach to Early Intervention

The third edition of An Activity-Based Approach to Early Intervention is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to understanding and implementing a naturalistic, coordinated, well-grounded approach to intervention with children from birth to age five. Activity-based intervention (ABI) is designed to help children reach their individual learning and developmental goals and objectives through daily routines and play activities. It links the assessment, goal development, intervention, and evaluation processes and offers a proven, systematic method that enables professionals to effectively use children's own motivations and initiations to individualize instruction and identify meaningful instructional activities. The book offers the conceptual foundation as well as the practical information needed to implement ABI.

Dr. Pretti-Frontczak is Professor in the School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences at Kent State University, Ohio. She received her doctorate in early intervention from the University of Oregon and has extensive experience in preparing preservice and in-service personnel in recommended practices for working with young children and their families.

She directs the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist Program at Kent State University, where she is responsible for preparing preservice teachers to work with children with disabilities from birth to age 8. Her lines of research center on using authentic assessment practices for accountability and programming, specifically on the utility of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children, 2nd Edition (AEPS®), effective approaches to working with young children in inclusive settings (specifically regarding the efficacy of an activity-based approach and the application of universal design for learning principles), and the link between assessment, individualized goals, and quality curriculum.

Dr. Bricker is the former director of the Early Intervention Program at the University of Oregon and a key developer of the ASQ and AEPS® systems. She has focused her professional career on the development and study of assessment systems and intervention approaches for young children with disabilities and those at risk for developing disabilities.

Dr. Bricker has been instrumental in the development of graduate-level personnel preparation programs that have produced professionals who are delivering quality services to thousands of young children and their families. She has published extensively in the field of early intervention.