Response to intervention: Implications for early childhood professionals

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of building strong early childhood communities of interdisciplinary practice in the application of a comprehensive curriculum framework. A curriculum framework is proposed as a means of applying and extending the principles of response to intervention (RtI) to early childhood education providers working with young children, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The article presents information regarding the elements of a curriculum framework and suggestions for practice. Method: Literature related to RtI was reviewed to identify common principles of practice. The resulting principles were then aligned to early childhood education recommended practices in order to illustrate the overlapping beliefs. Rationale and support for a curriculum framework as an early childhood education RtI model was then gathered to identify appropriate practices for working with young children who are served in a variety of early childhood settings. Conclusion: SLPs are important members of early educational teams, particularly when applying the principles of RtI using a curriculum framework. SLPs bring the expertise needed to ensure that children achieve critical outcomes. Implementation of the curriculum framework is made possible when everyone involved in supporting young children understands how to apply the elements of a curriculum framework.