Banner photo

Project IRIS: Special Educational Needs in the Early Years

This review will be updated regularly to include the latest publications and developments


  1. Allen, K. and Cowdery, G. (2005) The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in early childhood education. 5e. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson.
  2. Allison, C., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Charman, T., Richler, J., Pasco, G. and Brayne, C. (2008) The Q-CHAT (Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers): A Normally Distributed Quantitative Measure of Autistic Traits at 18-24 Months of Age: Preliminary Report. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38 (8) 1414–1425
  3. Angelides, P., Charalambous, C, & Vrasidas, C. (2004) Reflections on policy and practice of inclusive education in pre-primary schools in Cyprus. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 19 (2) 211 - 223
  4. Ashdown, R. (2003) Policies to support inclusion in the early years. In C, Tilstone and R, Rose (Eds.) Strategies to Promote Inclusive Practice. London: Routledge
  5. Ashton, J. and Bailey, J. (2004) Slipping through the Policy Cracks: children with chronic illness in early childhood settings, Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 29 (1), 50-58.
  6. Aunio, P., Hautamäki, J., Sajaniemi, N. and Van Luit, J.E.H. (2009) Early numeracy in low-performing young children. British Educational Research Journal, 35 (1), 25-46
  7. Brandau, H, & Pretis, M. (2004) Early identification and systematic educational intervention for young children wuith Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) European Journal of Special Needs Education. 19 (1) 17 – 31
  8. Bruder, M. (1993)The Provision of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Within Community Early Childhood Programs: Characteristics of Effective Service Delivery. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 13 (1) 19-37
  9. Chiang, L, & Hadadian, A. (2010) Raising children with disabilities in china: the need for early interventions. International Journal of Special Education 25 (2) 113 - 118
  10. Clough, P, & Nutbrown, C. (2002) The Index for Inclusion: personal perspectives from early years educators. Early Education 36 Spring 1 - 4
  11. Clough, P, & Nutbrown, C. (2004) Special educational needs and inclusion: multiple perspectives of pre-school educators in the UK Journal of Early Childhood Research 2 (2) 191 – 211
  12. Cooper, P, & Lovey, J. (2003) Early intervention in emotional and behavioural difficulties: the role of nurture groups. In M, Nind., K, Sheehy, & K, Simmons. (Eds.) Inclusive Education: Learners and Learning Contexts. London: David Fulton
  13. Cumine V, Dunlop J. & Stevenson G. (2010) Autism in the Early Years, 2e.London: Routledge
  14. Diken, I., Cavkaytar, A., Sema Batu, E., Bozkurt, F, & Kurtyilmaz, Y. (2010) First steps to success – a school/home intervention program for preventing problem behaviours in young children: examining the effectiveness and social validity in Turkey. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 15 (3) 207 – 221
  15. Drifte, C. (2001) Special Needs in Early Years Settings: A guide for practitioners. London: David Fulton Publishers.
  16. Drifte, C. (2008) Encouraging Positive Behaviour in the Early Years. London: Sage
  17. Dukes, C. & Smith, M. (2006) A Practical Guide to Pre-School Inclusion. London: PCP
  18. Fitzgerald, D. (2007) Coordinating Special Educational Needs: A guide for the early years. London: Continuum.
  19. Flewitt, R. & Nind, M. (2007) Parents Choosing to Combine Special and Inclusive Early Years Settings: The best of both worlds? European Journal of Special Educational Needs Education, 22 (4) 435-441
  20. Fowler, S., Ostrosky, M, & Yates, T. (2007) Teaching and learning in the early years. In L. Florian (Ed.) The Sage Handbook of Special Education. London: Sage
  21. Garfinkle, A. N. & Schwartz, I. S. (2002) Peer Imitation: Increasing social interactions in children with autism and other developmental disabilities in inclusive preschool classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 22 (1), 26–38.
  22. Gargiulo, R, & Kilgo, J. (2005) Young Children with Special Needs. New York: Thomson
  23. Garner, M. (1999) Special educational needs in the early years. Educational Review 51 (3) 303 – 304
  24. Gerhardt, S. (2004) Why Love Matters. London: Routledge.
  25. Guarino, C., Buddin, R., Pham, C, & Cho, M. (2010) Demographic factors associated with the early identification of children with special needs. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 30 (3)
  26. Guldberg, K. (2010) Educating Children on the Autism Spectrum: Preconditions for inclusion and notions of ‘best autism practice’ in the early years. British Journal of Special Education, 37 (4) 168-175 _4. British Journal 82 168..174
  27. Hay, I. & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (2006) Enhancing the Early Literacy Development of Children at Risk for Reading Difficulties, Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 11 (3), 117-124
  28. Hickman, C, & Jones, K. (2009) Inclusive practice for children with special educational needs. In T, Waller (Ed.) An Introduction to Early Childhood. London: Sage.
  29. Hewson, J, & Sisson, S. (1996) Parents prefer inclusion: The views of parents of children with special educational needs in one mainstream nursery school. Early Years 17 (1) 26 – 31
  30. Howard, V., Williams, B. and Lepper, C. (2005) Very Young Children with Special Needs,. 3e. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
  31. Jennings, J. (2005) Inclusion Matters, in Abbott, L. and Langston, A. Birth to Three Matters. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Pp. 89-104.
  32. Jones, C. (2004) Supporting Inclusion in the Early Years. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
  33. Kilgallon, P. and Maloney, C. (2003) Early Childhood Teachers’ Knowledge of Teaching Children with Disabilities, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 28 (4), 9-13.
  34. Kok, A. J., Kong, T. Y. &  Bernard-Opitz, V. (2002) A comparison of the effects of structured play and facilitated play approaches on preschoolers with autism: a case study, Autism, 6 (2), 181–196.
  35. Lazo, M (1999) Special Education in the Early Years. Psychology of Education Review 23 (1) 41
  36. Leung, C., Lindsay, G., & Lo, S. (2007) Early identification of primary school students with learning difficulties in Hong Kong: the development of a checklist. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 22 (3) 327 – 339
  37. Lindsay, G, & Desforges, M. (2007) Integrated nurseries for children with special educational needs. British Journal of Special Education. 13 (3) 63 – 66
  38. Macintyre, C. (2000) Dyspraxia in the Early Years. London: David Fulton.
  39. Macintyre, C. (2010) Play for Children with Special Needs: Supporting children with learning differences, 3-9. 2e. London: David Fulton.
  40. Mahoney, G, & Wheeden, C. (1999) The effects of teacher style on interactive engagement of pre-school aged children with special learning needs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 14 (1) 51 - 68
  41. Mathieson, K. (2007) Identifying Special Needs in the Early Years. London: Paul Chapman
  42. McConnell, S. (2000) Assessment in early intervention and early childhood special education: Building on the past to project into our future. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 20 (1) 43 – 48
  43. Mortimer, H. (2001) Special Needs and Early Years Provision.  London: Continuum
  44. Mortimer, H. (2006) Developing an Inclusion Policy in your Early Years Setting. Stafford: QEd Publications
  45. Mudford, O., Martin, M., Eikeseth, S, & Bibby, P. (2001) Parent managed behavioural treatment for pre-school children with autism: some characteristics of UK programs. Research in Developmental Disabilities 22 (3) 173 - 182
  46. Mullan, Y, & Travers, J. (2010) Early intervention in mathematics. REACH, Journal of Special Needs Education in Ireland. 23 (2) 95 - 105
  47. NASEN (2000) Early Years Development and Special Educational Needs. Tamworth: NASEN
  48. North, J. and Carruthers, A. (2008) Inclusion in Early Childhood, in P. Foreman (Ed.) Inclusion in Action. 2e. South Melbourne: Thomson.  64-94.
  49. Nurse, A. (2001) A question of inclusion. In L, Abbott, & C, Nutbrown. (Eds) Experiencing Reggio Emilia: Implications for Pre-school Education. Buckingham: Open University Press
  50. Nutbrown, C, & Clough, P. (2004) Inclusion and exclusion in the early years: conversations with European educators. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 19 (3) 301 – 315
  51. Odom, S, & Diamond, K. (1998) Inclusion of children with special educational needs in early childhood education. The research base. Early Childhood Research Quarterly
    Volume 13 (1) Pages 3-25
  52. Papatheodorou, T. (2005) Behaviour Problems in the Early Years: A guide for understanding and support.  London: Routledge.
  53. Petriwskyj, A. (2010) Who Has Rights to What? Inclusion in Australian Early Childhood Programs. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11 (4) 342-352.
  54. Phillips, S. (2001) Special needs or special rights? In L, Abbott, & C, Nutbrown. (Eds) Experiencing Reggio Emilia: Implications for Pre-school Education. Buckingham: Open University PressBlackwell Publishing Lt
  55. Pickstone, C., Goldbart, J., Marshall, J., Rees, K. and Roulstone, S. (2009) A systematic review of environmental interventions to improve child language outcomes for children with or at risk of primary language impairment. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 9 (2) 66-79.
  56. Porter, L. (2008) Young Children’s Behaviour: Practical approaches for caregivers and teachers. 3e. Sydney: Elsevier / Baltimore, MD: Brookes
  57. Robinson, M. (2010) Meeting Special Needs in the Early Years: an Inclusive Approach, in B. Duffy and G. Pugh (Eds.) Contemporary Issues in the Early Years. 5e. London: Sage. Pp. 165-178.
  58. Roffey, S. (2001) Special Needs in the Early Years: Collaboration, communication and co-ordination. London: David Fulton
  59. Russell, F. (2005) Starting chool: the importance of parents’ expectations. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. 5 (3) 118 - 126
  60. Sammons, P., Taggart, B., Smees, R. Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj Blatchford, I, & Elliot, K. (2003) The Early Years, Transition and Special Educational Needs (EYTSEN Project). Department for Education and Skills Research Report RR431. Norwich: HMSO. Available at www.teachers.gov.uk/_doc/11251/rr.early%20years%20transitions.pdf (accessed 7/1/11)
  61. Samms-Vaughan, M & Franklyn-Banton, L. (2008) The role of early childhood professionals in the early identification of autistic disorder. Journal of Early Years Education. 16 (1) 75 – 84
  62. Shonkoff, J. and Miesels, S. (Eds) (2000) Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention. New York: Cambridge University Press
  63. Secer, Z. (2010) An analysis of the effects of in-service teacher training on Turkish pre-school teachers’ attitudes towards  inclusion. International Journal of Early Years Education 18 (1) 43 – 53
  64. Smith, C. and Reid, J. (2009) Special Needs and Inclusion: Policy and practice, in Johnston, J. and Nahmad-Williams, L. (Eds.) Early Childhood Studies. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. Pp. 303-332.
  65. Soriano, V. (Ed.) (1998) Early Intervention in Europe: Trends in 17 European Countries. Middelfart: European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education.
  66. Vakil, S., Freeman, R, & Swim, T. (2003) The Reggio Emilia approach and inclusive early childhood programmes. Early Childhood Education Journal. 30 (3) 187 – 192
  67. Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J, & Denton, C. (2007) Teaching elementary students who have difficulties in learning. In L. Florian (Ed.) The Sage Handbook of Special Education. London: Sage
  68. Wall, K. (2004) Autism and Early Years Practice: A Guide for Early Years Professionals, Teachers and Parents. London: Sage.
  69. Wall, K. (2006) Special Needs and Early Years. London: Sage
  70. Ward, M. (1999) Special Educational need in the early years. Disability and Society 14 (2) 276 – 278
  71. Whitaker, P. (2002) Supporting families of pre-school children with autism. What parents want, and what helps. Autism 6 (4) 411 – 426
  72. Wilson, R. (1998) Special Education in the Early Years. London: Routledge
  73. Wolfendale, S. (2003) Special Needs in the Early Years: Snapshots of Practice. London: Routledge Falmer

Back to top of page


Project partner logos NCSE logo Northampton University logo Trinity College Dublin logo ICEP Consultancy logo