Understanding Early Childhood

Integrating infant mental health services into early education programs leads to better child outcomes and stronger parent–child relationships—the big question is how to do it appropriately and effectively. Clear answers are in this accessible textbook, created to prepare early childhood professionals and programs to weave best practices in mental health into their everyday work.

Ideal for preservice university courses, in-service professional development, and program administrators, this introductory text combines the authoritative guidance of more than a dozen respected mental health and early childhood experts. Professionals will get a primer on infant mental health, strengthening their knowledge of key issues such as screening and assessment, attachment, emotional dysregulation and aggression, risk and resilience, maternal depression, and children's exposure to trauma. Then they'll get practical, research-based guidance they can use to

• recognize indicators of mental health problems in very young children, including emotional dysregulation and behavioral and developmental changes
• promote parents' and caregivers' mental health through direct and indirect supports, including regular mental health screening, community partnerships with mental health providers, and parent education
• build on child and family strengths and mitigate risk factors such as poverty and violence
• strengthen parent–child relationships and interactions through play and effective caregiving routines
• maintain their own mental health, building positive relationships with co-workers and reducing the effects of compassion fatigue and secondary stress
• participate in reflective supervision to sharpen their ability to think critically and solve problems
• conduct sound program evaluation that includes the input of families, staff, and the surrounding culture and community
work effectively with outside mental health consultants when child and family needs extend beyond the program's scope

With this highly readable introduction to key mental health principles, the next generation of early childhood professionals will fully understand the latest research and best practice—so they can support optimal caregiver-child relationships, enhance professional collaboration, and strengthen child development.

Susan Janko Summers, Ph.D., is an educational ethnographer who has studied and written about child maltreatment, infant mental health, children with disabilities, and children and families at risk in the contexts of culture, community, and educational settings. She earned interdisciplinary master’s and doctoral degrees with an emphasis on early childhood special education at the University of Oregon. She is keenly interested in the effects of mindfulness and meditation on emotional health and social relationships.

Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at George Mason University in Virginia. Previously, she was a senior research analyst and Coordinator of Infant and Toddler Research in the Office of Planning Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She trained in developmental and clinical psychology at Yale University, where she earned a doctoral degree, and at Tufts University, where she earned a master’s degree. She is particularly interested in the biological, relational, and environmental factors influencing the development of at-risk children and, most especially, on the creation, evaluation, and refinement of intervention programs for families with infants and toddlers.

Dr. Squires is Professor of Special Education, focusing on the field of early intervention/early childhood special education. She oversees research and outreach projects in the areas of developmental screening, implementation of screening systems, early identification of developmental delays, and the involvement of parents in monitoring their young children’s development.

She is lead author of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3; with D. Bricker; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2009), Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2; with D. Bricker and E. Twombly; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2015), and the Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™), Research Edition (with D. Bricker, M. Waddell, K. Funk, J. Clifford, & R. Hoselton; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2014).

She has authored or coauthored more than 90 books, chapters, assessments, videotapes, and articles on developmental screening and early childhood disabilities. In 2013, she coauthored the book Developmental Screening in Your Community: An Integrated Approach for Connecting Children with Services (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2013). Dr. Squires currently teaches doctoral-level courses in early intervention/special education and conducts research on comprehensive early identification and referral systems for preschool children.