Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)

Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)

The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) works to increase the nation’s capacity to effectively resolve special education disputes, reducing the use of expensive adversarial processes. CADRE works with state and local education and early intervention systems, parent centers, families and educators to improve programs and results for children with disabilities. CADRE is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs at the US Department of Education to serve as the National Center on Dispute Resolution in Special Education.

• Resources For Family Members
  • Working Together: Building Improved Communication
• Sitio en Español (Site in Spanish)
• Video Resources
• CADRE Webinar – Practical Strategies for Helping Parents in Conflict: Assisting Divorced or Estranged Parents Through the IEP Process
• Cadre Webinars Archive

Family Engagement (MAP)

The MAP… Making Access Possible Project team has identified the following websites and resources that support family engagement and promote partnerships with families.

Zero to Three

Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to advancing the healthy development of babies and young children. Zero to Three disseminates key developmental information, trains providers, promotes model approaches and standards of practice, and works to increase public awareness about the significance of the first three years of life.

• Additional Resources from Zero to Three
  Early Identification

  • Little Kids, Big Questions Parenting Podcast Series
    This series addresses some of the most common (and challenging) issues facing parents of babies and toddlers, such as: helping a baby learn to sleep through the night; dealing with a picky eater; and learning to set limits on children’s behavior.
  • Building Strong Relationships with Parents

  Family Engagement

  • Podcast Series – Sharing the Care: How Partnering with Your Child’s Caregiver Supports Healthy Development
    In addition to links to the podcast series, you’ll find, “Caregiver Tips for Building Effective Relationships with Parents” on the same page under additional resources.

  Inclusive Practice

  • Beyond the Word Gap: Multimedia Resources and Tools
    The “Word Gap” has come to symbolize the gulf that can separate very young children who have rich opportunities for positive early learning experiences from those who do not. Science reveals that early language and literacy skills are important predictors of later success in school—and that as a group, children in families of lower socioeconomic means have fewer skills and know far fewer words than their more privileged peers. This new web portal holds apps, videos, curriculum, research and other resources to enrich early learning experiences for all children.
  • ZERO TO THREE has developed and released a new, free app called Let’s Play!, which provides parents and grandparents with fun ideas for keeping babies and toddlers entertained and learning, especially during daily routines. Parents can search activities by age, share activities via social media, and tag their favorites.
    • Download the Let’s Play! app on the iTunes Store
    • Download the Let’s Play! app on the Google Play Store
  • Resources for Families: The “Missing” First Year

  Policy/Trends

  • Public Policy Center
    A research based, nonpartisan program that brings the voices of babies and toddlers to public policy. They offer the opportunity to join the Public Policy Network and the e-newsletter, The Baby Monitor.

  Social-Emotional & Behavior

  • Challenging Behavior Resources
  • Early Childhood Mental Health
    Babies and young children thrive when they are cared for by adults that are “crazy about them!” (Bronfenbrenner, 1976 1). Responsive relationships with consistent primary caregivers help build positive attachments that support healthy social-emotional development. These relationships form the foundation of mental health for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. This site directs you to resources supporting healthy social emotional development of very young children.
  • Baby Brain Map
    The Brain Map was adapted in 2006 by ZERO TO THREE from BrainWonders, a collaborative project (1998-2001) between Boston University School of Medicine, Erikson Institute and ZERO TO THREE.
  • Cope After Exposure to a Traumatic Event

Will They Grow Out of It? Should I Be Concerned?

One of the challenges of parenting is knowing when it is time to get help for a child’s development, behavior and learning. When a child seems behind or something just doesn’t seem quite right, it can be difficult to know what to do.

Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Parents: Child Development Tracker

Provides information and tips for ages 1 through age 8 on developmental stages and educational areas. Also provides supporting activities and books for each age.

First Signs

First Signs is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating parents and professionals about the early warning signs of autism and related disorders.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Video Glossary
  An innovative web-based tool designed to help parents and professionals learn more about the early red flags and diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Registration with First Signs is required to view the videos
• First Signs Recommended Screening Tools

Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive Initiative of the US Department of Health and Human Services

This initiative draws heavily on previous developmental and behavioral screening efforts by consolidating materials from a wide array of federal agencies and their non-federal partners. As part of this initiative, they have published a compendium of research-based developmental screening tools appropriate for use across a wide range of settings and tailored guides/resources for use with the screening tools geared toward nine different audiences including early care and education providers, early intervention providers, home visitors and families. The guides addresses the importance of developmental and behavioral screening, how to talk to parents, where to go for help, and how to select the most appropriate screening tool for the population served as well as the provider implementing the screening.

• Resources for Early Care and Education Providers in Spanish
  • Providors Cuidado y Educaciòn Infantil (Early Care and Education Providers Guide) (PDF)
  • Del nacimiento a los 5! Informacion y Destacados (Birth to 5! Information and Highlights) (PDF)

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Milestone Tracker Mobil App Added: July 2018
• Milestones in Action in Spanish Added: July 2018
• Milestones in Action- A Free library of photos and videos of developmental milestones
• Learn the Signs Act Early
• Learn the Signs Act Early Free Materials
• Information for Early Childhood Educators
• Information for Parents
• Information for Healthcare Providers
• Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns – Training Modules for Early Care and Education Providers
  As an early care and education provider, you play a critical role in the health and wellbeing of children. You are also very well positioned to help identify children who might need extra help in their development. This FREE, online training course, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns, helps you fulfill this role by providing tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with their parents. Continuing Education (CE) credit is available.
• Positive Parenting Tips and Disability Specific Information

Teaching Pyramid: Training and Technical Assistance Model

The Teaching Pyramid approach provides a systematic framework that promotes social and emotional development, provides support for children’s appropriate behavior, prevents challenging behavior, and addresses problematic behavior. The WestEd Center for Child and Family Studies offers comprehensive professional development packages for infant/toddler, preschool, and early elementary educators. WestEd’s Teaching Pyramid is based on evidence-based practice originally developed by the Center on the Social Emotional Foundations in Early Learning (CSEFEL), authorized by California Department of Education (CDE), and aligned with California’s Early Learning and Development System.