Early Intervention for Young Children with Disabilities Advancing Services and Programs Throughout Asia and the Pacific

This book focuses on the provision of early intervention for children with disabilities (0-6 years) and their families throughout the Asia-Pacific. The motivation for the book stems from a policy brief by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) issued in 2021. This brief urgently called for young children with disabilities to be identified and to receive intervention and support in lower-income countries throughout Asia and the Pacific. The ESCAP has estimated that at least 33% of young children with disabilities across the region currently lack any service or support to optimise their development before entering school.
 
This book seeks to inform policy and provision within lower-income countries by providing policymakers in government and non-government organisations with practical guidelines. In particular, it presents real-world frameworks and promising programs to assist in establishing and delivering early intervention services that cater to local needs and demands. It also introduces personnel in the field to recommended intervention practices and strategies that support children with diverse disabilities across the age range birth 6 years. It also includes suggestions and strategies for supporting and collaborating with the children’s families. Importantly, when blended with early child development material, these practices and strategies constitute essential topics for ongoing professional development and training activities. The concluding chapter also presents a critical analysis and synthesis of policies, service models, and programs across the Asia-Pacific region. From this analysis, recommendations are presented with likely translatability to countries at different stages of development in delivering quality early intervention to this vulnerable group of children.

Part 1. Introduction.- Chapter 1. Early Childhood Intervention: Concepts, Principles and Considerations through a Cultural Lens.- Chapter 2. Family Empowerment through NGOs: Cross-Cultural Perspectives.- Chapter 3. Review of Screening and Assessment Tools for Early Detection of Childhood Disabilities in Low and Middle-Income Countries Across the Asia-Pacific Region.- Part 2. Case Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts.- Chapter 4. Fostering Inclusion: The Evolving Early Childhood Intervention and Inclusion Landscape in Singapore.- Chapter 5. Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities in China: Concepts, Experiences, and Reflections.- Chapter 6. Early Interventions for Young Children with Special Education Needs in a Chinese Context: A Hong Kong Perspective.- Chapter 7. Implementation and Challenges for Early Childhood Intervention in Japan.- Chapter 8. Ko te ahurei o te tamaiti arahia o tatou mahi: The Uniqueness of the Child Guiding Early Intervention Service Provision in AotearoaNew Zealand.- Chapter 9. Early Childhood Intervention in Australia for Children with Disabilities and Their Families: Overcoming the Challenges through Partnerships.- Part 3. CONCLUSION.- Chapter 10. Policies, Services, and Programs for Early Childhood Intervention: A Synthesis of Reports from Six Jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Dr. Wendi Beamish holds an adjunct position at the School of Education and Profession Studies, Griffith University, Australia. Her rich background in early childhood intervention (ECI) comes from practising in this field for several years, completing her Ph.D. on program quality in a government state-wide intervention service, and convening the Master of Special Education (ECI) strand at Griffith University for over a decade. Dr. Beamish’s academic and research interests cluster around special needs education, inclusive education and policy, early intervention, educational transitions, and behavioural support. Her publications include over 110 papers, book chapters, and research reports as well as being editor and co-editor of several books. Currently, she is a co-editor of the CAISE Book Series: Advancing Inclusive and Special Education in the Asia-Pacific.
 
Dr. Mantak Yuen is an associate professor and director of the Laboratory and Program in Creativity and Talent Development, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Dr. Yuen graduated from the University of Hong Kong (Bachelor of Social Science and Certificate in Education) and received his Master of Science degree from the University College London, his Master of Arts (Education) and Ph.D. degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His academic and professional interests focus on guidance and counselling, life career and talent development, gifted education, positive psychology, and special needs education. At the University of Hong Kong, he has taught in the Bachelor of Education (BEd), Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), Master of Education (MEd), and Ph.D./Doctor of Education programs (EdD). In recent years, twenty-nine doctoral students have completed their dissertations under his supervision.