Bringing a child into your family is an emotional experience. New parents are excited to begin a new chapter with their new little ones but also apprehensive about what the future may bring. The hopes, joys, and anxieties of parenthood are unparalleled. When a child has any kind of special need, those emotions can be more pronounced and all-encompassing as parents and caregivers struggle to adjust to the unknown. This chapter will outline common milestones of young children, challenges experienced by parents and caregivers of young children with exceptionalities, and strategies and resources designed to support families on their journeys. The information is designed to be presented in a way to help set families and their little ones up for success. The content provided in this chapter is built on the premise that knowledge is power, that all children can learn, and that parent-professional partnerships are central to the growth of all learners.

This article describes a partnership between teacher education candidates in a small, rural, private university and students in a large, public, urban junior/ senior high school. This partnership utilized technology and used a Literature as a Bridge (LAAB) program to foster discussions designed to be vehicles of learning for all participants. The objectives of this program were to 1) have urban youth see higher education as an option for their future by giving them experience with college students, college expectations, and a college campus, 2) increase cultural competence by providing opportunities for teacher candidates to work with culturally and ethnically diverse students with experiences different from their own, and 3) allow literature to be a vehicle to bridge diverse groups. The dynamic relationship between teacher candidate and high school students set the stage for transformational learning for both the teacher candidates and the junior/senior high school students.