Alternative Approaches to Assessing Young Children

Dr. Bricker is the former director of the Early Intervention Program at the University of Oregon and a key developer of the ASQ and AEPSR systems. She has focused her professional career on the development and study of assessment systems and intervention approaches for young children with disabilities and those at risk for developing disabilities.

Dr. Bricker has been instrumental in the development of graduate-level personnel preparation programs that have produced professionals who are delivering quality services to thousands of young children and their families. She has published extensively in the field of early intervention.

Angela Losardo, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Her educational background includes degrees in communication disorders and early childhood special education from the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Oregon in Eugene. Dr. Losardo's interdisciplinary training in communication disorders and early childhood special education allows her to synthesize current research in these fields and to communicate effectively with professionals from different disciplines. Dr. Losardo has considerable experience coordinating and working as a practitioner in inclusive programs for young children in a variety of environments (e.g., home-based programs, center-based preschools, public schools, residential facilities, hospitals, private agencies). Her work has focused primarily on the development of early language and literacy skills in young children. She has coordinated and conducted research projects and has directed interdisciplinary personnel preparation programs at higher education institutions. She has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, and instructional materials for practitioners. Dr. Losardo's current research interests are alternative and cross-cultural assessment/evaluation procedures, curricular approaches to early language and literacy interventions, and preparing personnel to work in inclusive environments.

Angela Notari Syverson, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher at the Washington Research Institute in Seattle. Her work focuses on early literacy and language assessment and intervention. She has authored books and journal publications in these areas and is co-author of Ladders to Literacy: A Preschool Activity Book (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998), an early literacy curriculum developed for use in inclusive education environments. Dr. Notari Syverson's educational background includes degrees in psychology and communication disorders from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a doctorate in early childhood special education from the University of Oregon in Eugene. Her professional experience involves working with children who have a variety of communication disorders and developmental delays and their families both in the United States of America and in Switzerland. She has directed federal research, demonstration, and training projects in the area of early language and literacy at the Washington Research Institute and the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Notari-Syverson's current research interests are adult–child interactions, assessment, and intervention in multicultural and multilinguistic contexts. She has lived and worked in different countries and is fluent in three languages.