Early intervention providers encounter many challenges with how to embed intervention to address child and family outcomes in the context of their everyday routines and activities. The philosophy of natural environments intervention envisions the caregiver and the child interacting and learning while they participate in the activities of the family. Although this approach sounds logically appealing, empirical support for its efficacy is still emerging. The major aim of our ongoing research is to develop and validate an approach that meets the legislative mandates and the recommended practices of the field as well as the empirical data to support its social validity with the families and professionals involved in the intervention and implementation components.
The goals of the FGRBI research are to:
- evaluate the effectiveness of a family-guided routines based intervention approach in a variety of diverse natural environments with young children with disabilities and their families,
- develop and refine evidence-based early intervention procedures for working with family members and caregivers to promote developmental outcomes for young children at risk or with identified disabilities in their home and community settings,
- develop and refine practices that promote systematic coaching for caregivers that build their capacity to embed learning opportunities in their daily routines and activities to promote children’s learning, and
- disseminate information gathered from the research to service providers, state level policy makers, and other researchers.
Recent Publications
Salisbury, C., Woods, J., Snyder, P., Moddelmog, K., Mawdsley, H., Romano, M., & Windsor, K. (2018). Caregiver and provider experiences with coaching and embedded intervention. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38(1), 17-29
Romano, M., & Woods, J. (2018). Collaborative coaching with Early Head Start teachers using responsive communication strategies. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38(1), 30-41.
Brown, J. A., & Woods, J. J. (2016). Parent-implemented communication intervention: Sequential analysis of triadic relationships. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 36(2), 115-124.
Brown, J. A., & Woods, J. J. (2015). Effects of a triadic parent-implemented home-based communication intervention for toddlers. Journal of Early Intervention, 37(1), 44-68.
Friedman, M., & Woods, J. (2015). Coaching teachers to support child communication across daily routines in early head start classrooms. Infants & Young Children, 28(4), 308-322.
Kashinath, S., Coston, J., & Woods, J. (2015). Reflecting on the early interventionist’s ROLE using a logic model approach. Young Exceptional Children, 18(2), 3-18.
Wetherby, A. M., Guthrie, W., Woods, J., Schatschneider, C., Holland, R. D., Morgan, L., & Lord, C. (2014). Parent-implemented social intervention for toddlers with autism: an RCT. Pediatrics, 134(6), 1084-1093.
Butler, C., Brown, J. A., & Woods, J. J. (2014). Teaching at-risk toddlers new vocabulary using interactive digital storybooks. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 41(Fall), 155-168.
Brown, J. A., & Woods, J. J. (2012). Evaluation of a multicomponent online communication professional development program for early interventionists. Journal of Early Intervention, 34(4), 222-242.
Friedman, M., Woods, J., & Salisbury, C. (2012). Caregiver coaching strategies for early intervention providers: Moving toward operational definitions. Infants & Young Children, 25(1), 62-82.
Jennings, D., Hanline, M., & Woods, J. (2012). Using routines-based interventions in early childhood special education. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 40(2), 15-25.
Marturana, E. R., & Woods, J. J. (2012). Technology-supported performance-based feedback for early intervention home visiting. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 32(1), 14-23.