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Posters Advancing Comprehensive Early Childhood Intervention ECI INFRASTRUCTURE Topic - Serving Diverse Populations
Session 5
p5.34 Reflective Functioning as Intervention: A Qualitative Exploration of "Wondering and Imagining" Through an African
American/Black Maternal Lived Experience Presenting Author: Vivian L. Tamkin (USA) Affiliation: Santa Clara University Co-Authors: Zoha Farrukh, Lizette Hernandez, Ja'Toria Palmer, Shawna Tran, Laura Wallerstein
p5.35 Supporting Linguistically Diverse Families and Children With Disabilities in Early Childhood Special Education Presenting Author: Jennifer Peña (USA) Affiliation: University of Connecticut, Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center (ECiPC) Linguistically diverse young children with disabilities face intersecting risk factors that hinder their social integration in classrooms and communities. Many current practices fail to accommodate their linguistic needs, leading to marginalization, underrepresentation in inclusive settings, and limited access to high-quality services. This poster will present findings from a survey exploring the experiences of linguistically diverse families with young children with disabilities in early childhood intervention. The survey will assess the impact of broadly utilized practices in literature and family engagement on linguistically diverse children with disabilities. This work will identify professional development needs and highlight gaps in current practices. Findings will provide actionable recommendations for educators to enhance practices in early childhood intervention settings, emphasizing the importance of amplifying the voices of linguistically diverse families, advocating for systems that are genuinely responsive to their needs, and ensuring equitable access to services for all children. p5.36 Understanding Disabilities: Amplifying Punjabi Families’ Perceptions on Disabilities in Early Childhood: A Scoping Review Presenting Author: Melody Mann (USA) Affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park In this synthesis review, we examined the perspectives of South Asian, particularly Punjabi, families held towards disabilities and special education in early childhood. The Punjabi community is often collapsed and erased in literature within broader South Asian racial categorization. Thus, this study aimed to assess how research done with South Asian communities identifies, differentiates, and celebrates the cultural diversity within ethno-racial identities. The study specifically sought to highlight how immigration and assimilation factors influence Punjabi families' adjustment to host countries and their respective special education systems. Research characteristics were analyzed thematically to assess how current study design, methodologies, demographic characteristics, and data collection measures, were examined to represent families lived experiences. By amplifying the voices of Punjabi families and their perspectives on disabilities, this review aims to inform interventions, services, and social supports for culturally and linguistically diverse families, thereby addressing the erasure of ethno-racial groups in research literature. p5.37 Understanding the Relationship between Taiwanese Preschools and Their Communities: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies Presenting Author: Yi-Chun Weng (Taiwan) Affiliation: Department of Early Childhood Education, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan Co-Author: Ya-Jung Lin This systematic review explores how Taiwanese preschools, with a 90% enrollment rate, shape children's (ages 2–6) understanding of community. Studies published from 2012 to 2024 were reviewed using the Airiti Library database, focusing on Taiwanese academic research, following PRISMA guidelines. An analysis of 32 studies highlighted Taiwan's cultural emphasis: (1) preserving local languages (Hokkien, indigenous) and fostering community ties (7 articles); (2) Strengthening intergenerational bonds and addressing welfare needs amid low birth rates (2 articles); (3) enhancing family health literacy through culturally rooted parent-child activities, focusing on epidemic risks (5 articles); (4) promoting ecological awareness via community visits (9 articles); and (5) valuing interactive preschool-community relationships over network-focused models (5 articles). Taiwanese preschools integrate humanistic care, fostering cultural roots, intergenerational ties, and health literacy, shaping children’s deep connection to their communities beyond mere geographical understanding. Exploring reflective functioning as intervention through a Life Course Health Development (LCHD) lens is multilevel, supports a targeted focus during a critical or sensitive period of development, and brings molecular, biological, social, and cultural processes into alignment. Additionally, a cultural conceptualization of reflective functioning lends itself to whole systems support in “recognizing that different circumstances and contexts warrant different intensities of intervention” (Russ, et al. 2022a, p.S5). The aim of the study was to operationalize reflective functioning from an African American/Black maternal lived experience. An exploratory study of 20 semi-structured, 20-hour life-course-based qualitative interviews were conducted. Preliminary themes include: (1) intergenerational transmission of reflective capacity; (2) importance of tone and non-verbal communication; and (3) the critical core of Black family values. Findings indicate the importance of a culturally rooted outcome measures and systems training of providers to acknowledge the presence of this construct in an African American/Black maternal context.
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