This article utilizes four knowledge sources to characterize a current gap in policy and practice related to serving families in early intervention (birth to 5) programs. It argues that the field of early intervention has focused primarily on implementing family-centered practices by focusing on how families and professionals should interact. The field has not sufficiently addressed what supports and services should be offered to families to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes for families themselves and for their children with disabilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing policy, research, and professional development related to family services and supports.

Interest is growing in the contributions of qualitative research to the field of early childhood special education. One qualitative method, focus groups, is examined. This article discusses what types of early childhood special education questions might be addressed in focus groups and suggests guidelines by which to consider the quality of design of focus group use in early childhood special education research. Four key questions are explored that aid in designing and judging focus group research. These include: (a) Who should participate in the focus groups? (b) What checks on credibility should we include? (c) How shall we maintain research stability while allowing for an emergent design? and (d) How will the Information gained in the focus groups inform us about the general phenomenon?

Qualitative metasynthesis is an intentional and coherent approach to analyzing data across qualitative studies. It is a process that enables researchers to identify a specific research question and then search for, select, appraise, summarize, and combine qualitative evidence to address the research question. This process uses rigorous qualitative methods to synthesize existing qualitative studies to construct greater meaning through an interpretative process. The purpose of this article is to describe qualitative metasynthesis as an innovative research approach for the field of early childhood intervention. Although this is not a new research approach in other fields, the authors suggest that it can offer a promising practice in the field of early childhood intervention. In this article, the authors explore how qualitative metasynthesis can be a practical and effective approach of inquiry as they continue to broaden their understanding about young children with disabilities and their families.

Qualitative research methods were used to study families who had made or were in the process ofmaking the decision to use a feeding tube to meet the nutrition needs of their child with a disability. Data were gathered over a 2-year period through interviews with eight families. Family decision making in the context of quality of life was examined using a theoretical family systems model. Descriptive themes and issues emerged from the data that led to a greater understanding of what families face in making this decision for their child. The data can help families and professionals work in partnership before a child becomes severely malnourished or medically compromised as a result of inadequate nutrition. The themes and issues are discussed and implications for future interventions and research are presented.

This article is about emergent self-determination for young children with disabilities in their home environments. The purpose of this study was to better understand family and home characteristics and how they influence the ways in which families can support the development of self-determination for their children with disabilities. Thirty families of young children with disabilities were interviewed, and their homes were systematically observed. Using a grounded theory design, an emergent model was developed that examined family and home context and the influence of context on the strategies that families used to support self-determination. Future research and practice implications of this research for supporting families are discussed.