In this study the investigators examine the effects of two contrasting treatment methods for improving the speech of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Through a collaboration from Computer Science, Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Special Education, the investigators seek to develop computer software that provides real-time visual feedback in response to speech production, thereby allowing children with (ASD) to see meaningful differences in their speech and the speech being modeled for them. Software is currently under development with support from the National Science Foundation.

Preparing Leaders in Secondary Curriculum, Outcomes, and REsearch (SCORE) prepares 8 visionary leaders for the professoriate in special education with unique knowledge and expertise in secondary curriculum for students with severe disabilities. This program addresses six critical areas: (1) access to the general curriculum in secondary schools and strategies to enhance student outcomes; (2) evidence-based research practices; (3) disability policy and advocacy; (4) cultural and linguistic diversity; (5) collaboration in inclusive school and community settings; and, (6) service learning.

Accessing Curriculum in Educational Settings for all Students (Project ACCESS) develops highly skilled, innovative, special education teachers who: (1) assist students with low incidence disabilities to access and progress in the general curriculum; (2) create inclusive educational environments; (3) work effectively with culturally diverse populations; (4) incorporate research-based practices into teaching practices and curricula; (5) ensure positive educational and transition outcomes for students with low incidence disabilities; and, (6) build strong ties through collaboration with families, teachers, and other professionals. Participants include on-campus undergraduate and graduate students and two off-campus cohorts from the Chicago Public Schools.

This project funds a portion of a larger collaborative project with the Illinois State Board of Education, along with a number of other funders, including the Joyce Foundation and the Grand Victoria Foundation. The larger project is developing the Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map (IECAM) to provide decision-critical data on early childhood care and resources for state officials, business community, advocates and legislators. This portion of the project funds the provision of GIS programming and interface, and of web page programming needed to enable a web-served data feed from the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS).

The Illinois Early Learning Project produces and increases access to information and resources useful for increasing school readiness. Its resources are available to parents, the friend-and-neighbor and kith-and-kin child care communities, the regulated child care community, and to early childhood professionals in all settings. The project continues to be successful in reaching diverse audiences around the state with information developed for its Web site and distributed in print (English, Spanish and Polish) The IEL Project provides research-based information on early education and care that has been “repackaged” for easy reading.

This funding supports the technical and logistical development of the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS) for use in the State of Illinois, which is part of the larger Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map, funded in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services. ECIS is intended as a comprehensive system that can bring together all available information on early childhood care and education in Illinois. It responds to the increasing priorities placed on early childhood education needs by reducing gaps among currently disparate systems.

This funding supports state of the art technology of the Early Intervention Clearinghouse (EIC) on Elementary and Early Childhood Education on child development, parenting, and early care. The Web site provides high-technology features such as RSS feeds and Podcasts, as well as a frequently updated calendar of events for parents and practitioners, stories about the “faces” of early intervention in Illinois, Listservs, and a newsletter distributed electronically. The network also provides low-technology products, including print newsletters written in different languages including English, Spanish, and Polish.

Project Blend will prepare 10 doctoral students to develop blended teacher preparation programs in early childhood education/early childhood special education/early intervention. Over 80% of the Project Blend budget supports doctoral trainees. The project is located in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois, and includes faculty from Curriculum and Instruction, Human and Community Development and Special Education. As a result of the project, graduates will earn a Ph.D. and be qualified to develop and sustain teacher preparation programs that prepare new teachers to meet the needs of children with diverse backgrounds and abilities in inclusive programs.

The Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (CEEP) at the University of Illinois will partner with Chapin Hall (University of Chicago) to consolidate data relevant to young children (birth to 8) and their families in Illinois. The primary goal of this Needs Assessment is to consolidate the most current statewide data available in a format that can be utilized by the Office of Early Childhood in the Governor’s Office to accurately ascertain a level of need experienced by families across the state.

The goal of the Hard to Reach grant is to target families who are traditionally underserved with innovative approaches to increase their participating in high quality early learning programs. Applicants are asked to present bold, creative, and cost-effective ideas to pilot strategies to enroll and retain the hardest to reach children in high quality care. These ideas may include testing policy changes. The University of Illinois is charged with the evaluation of their efforts and will report the outcomes to the Illinois Early Childhood Council.

The goal of this subcontract to UIUC from Hope School provides funds from The Autism Program (TAP) to support a project to coordinate and enhance the services currently available in Champaign-Urbana for children with autism and their families. The university staff will function as facilitators and information sources to the community to support their grass-root efforts and to assess current services and identify high priority services that are needed in the community. Finally, Project staff will collaborate with the community stakeholders to develop priority services and ensure their sustainability within East Central Illinois.

The PREP Project prepares early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) personnel who have expertise in the social emotional development of young children as a foundation for providing responsive, evidence-based services to diverse young children with delays/disabilities and their families. The project provides students with a knowledge base built on core theory and content; opportunities to observe and interact with a variety of young children with delays/disabilities and their families; supervision that is individualized and facilitates self-reflection; family participation across a variety of training roles, and collegial collaboration that is modeled by faculty.

This is a collaborative project between faculty from the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative at the University of Illinois and four early childhood centers in Danville, Illinois. Five faculty associated with ECAP serve as Component Facilitators, providing ongoing training and technical assistance to teachers, Literacy Coaches, Mentor Pals (tutors), and the Family Liaison, assisted by a Project Coordinator . Twelve classrooms have implemented the TROPHIES Pre-K Curriculum to develop skills in oral language, phonological awareness, concepts about print, alphabetic knowledge, and pre-writing skills, organized and sequenced within 5 units (25 themes) that teach important core content.

This grant supports research collaboration between the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities and the Champaign School District.

This grant supports research collaboration between the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities and the Urbana School District.

Project LEAD is a program of doctoral study in Special Education emphasizing innovations in access to the general curriculum, while improving outcomes for students with disabilities and struggling learners. Through LEAD’s collaborations in high-need schools future leaders are given opportunities to have a positive, significant and long-lasting impact on children and youth with disabilities, their families, and their classroom teachers. LEAD participants engage in coursework and experiences that offer a strong foundation in disability policy, methods for conducting rigorous research, data-based decision making, collaborative leadership, and universal design, and therefore are uniquely poised to help students accessing quality curriculum.

The University of Illinois collaborates in consortium with other institutions to operate the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. Illinois develops and producing synthesis papers, coordinates and produces outcome briefs, develops training modules and trainer web pages, coordinates teleconferences and presentation of findings, coordinates the in-state recruitment process and implements training and technical Assistance events.

This research project examines the efficacy of the Special Friends program as an effective class-wide kindergarten program that improves the social acceptance of children with disabilities. The project’s goals include the following: (a) establish program efficacy as a class-wide approach for promoting social acceptance and friendships among kindergarteners with and without disabilities in multiple sites across two states; (b) examine long-term intervention effects on the social acceptance of children with disabilities; (c) examine temporal effects on the intervention; and (d) examine moderating influences on the program, such as class, school, child, and teacher variables.

This project represents a synergistic collaboration between the University of Washington, University of Illinois, and several other universities, organizations, and early learning experts across the country. NCQTL seeks to identify and gather research based practices (assessments, early childhood curricula, parenting curricula, instructional practices, and training materials) in all areas of young children’s development. Furthermore, NCQTL promotes and supports an overall core departmental and college mission by focusing on educational practices with demonstrated effectiveness in promoting highly effective teaching that produces the best possible outcomes for young children with and without disabilities.

This project seeks to test a web-based Individualized Education Program (IEP) Tutorial and decision making support system linked to the state’s IEP creation software (iePoint). The Tutorial is designed to aid teachers in making data-supported decisions when writing IEP goals linked to state standards. More specifically, access to a secure website where content and links relevant to the quality enhancement of IEPs, literacy, and other access skills are posted. The IEP Tutorial Website has been recognized by the University Webmaster’s Group as meeting the standard of “Exemplary Level of Accessibility” with a 100% accessibility rating according to the University's Functional Accessibility Evaluators.

This award provides support to finalize a web-based Individualized Education Program (IEP) Quality Tutorial website-- South Dakota version (IEPQ-SD). The IEPQ site assists educators in the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that move beyond the procedural (compliance documentation) requirements of IDEA 2004. By providing direct support to IEP teams for improving the substantive (quality) components of IEPs, the Tutorial offers a means of prioritizing academic content standards and making best use of the instructional time and services available to students with disabilities.