Early Childhood Special Education in the Context of School Psychology

Abstract

School psychologists promote the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment of students through collaboration with educators and other professionals, families, and community stakeholders. Although school psychologists work to enhance important educational outcomes for students, their scope of practice is often limited to K-12 settings. Within the last decade, however, the role of school psychologists has been expanding to include early childhood contexts, including early childhood special education. This chapter outlines the key roles and functions of school psychologists within early childhood special education context. In particular, a tiered systems framework to the service delivery of school psychological services is described as well as a description of assessment, consultation, intervention, family support, and kindergarten transition activities school psychologists may play a central role within early childhood education contexts. School psychologists are uniquely suited to enhance student outcomes in early childhood special education contexts because of their ability to work across settings (home, early childhood, and elementary school settings) and across key stakeholders (educational professionals, related service providers, community members, and family members).