Excellence for All: A Community Viable Coaching Initiative throughout Georgia

As professionals in the area of child development, we strive to ensure that all children who are in need of early developmental support receive the highest quality evidence-based intervention in their natural environments, regardless of their location. This can be achieved through collaborative coaching partnerships between specialized coaches, early childhood professionals and caregivers, empowering each team member with expert knowledge and practical skills to successfully support all children in obtaining their fullest developmental potential. Though each team member brings a specific level of knowledge and experience to the collaborative partnership, there are important processes that must occur to ensure all such contributions are consolidated into the most appropriate supports for each child and family. These include a caregiver’s knowledge of their child, knowledge of typical development, knowledge of red flags for social communication delays, evidence-based developmental support strategies, and adult learning processes. Consolidation that translates into the best matched supports for each child is achieved through sharing of knowledge, communication, practice, and reflection via collaborative learning experiences. The Marcus Autism Center is currently implementing a nonprofit - public collaboration model, which uses coaching for access, efficiency and community viability. This model’s goal is to further develop the knowledge and skills of early childhood professionals around autism and evidence-based developmental supports through the integration of in-person coaching, live remote coaching, and collaborative web-based video review. This innovative and efficient delivery of coaching, allows Marcus community interventionists to support the development of early childhood professionals in public health districts throughout Georgia, who in turn empower Georgia’s parents and caregivers to best support their children’s development, thereby ensuring their best developmental trajectory. The technological support provided by the project ensures that early childhood providers and families can successfully participate regardless of location or access to technology, underlining the project’s true community viability