Below you will find a variety of resources related to child development including birth to three developmental milestones and brain development.
List of resources available on this page in alphabetical order:
ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in the lives of infants and toddlers. Below you will find a few of the resources Zero to Three provides and we encourage you to visit their site for more information.
The IEL Guidelines provide early childhood professionals and policy makers a framework for understanding child development by presenting information on what children know and should do and what development looks like in everyday life. The main goal of the Guidelines is to offer early childhood professionals a cohesive analysis of children's development with common expectations and common language. These Guidelines also provide suggestions and ideas on how to create early experiences that benefit all children's learning and development.
Related resource: Illinois Early Learning Moments
Illinois DHS Publications
Illinois Early Intervention - Do You Have Questions about Your Child's Development? - DHS 4395
Available in English and Spanish. This brochure provides a quick overview for families with questions about their child's development and want to learn more about Early Intervention Services in Illinois.
Illinois Early Intervention - Developmental Milestones (English and Spanish) - DHS 4389
Available in English and Spanish. This chart will guide families through growth and development of a child from birth to age 3.
All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Thus, NAEYC developed an Advancing Equity Position Statement which provided these principles that synthesize current early childhood education research through the lenses of equity and NAEYC’s core values and is endorsed by hundreds of individuals and organizations.
Understanding Young Children's Development-Online Modules
A series of online modules that include information on early childhood development as it relates to the different child outcome statements that are the focus of the Office of Special Education Programs' (OSEP) accountability reporting requirements for state Part C Early Intervention and Part B/619 Early Childhood Special Education programs serving young children with disabilities. Content developed by the University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service and adapted by EITP. To view these modules for EI credit, please register for the training titled "Understanding Young Children's Development" on our online events calendar.
- A Focus on Positive Social-Emotional Skills - This online module will review general principles of child development pertaining specifically to the acquisition of social-emotional skills, further examine several traditional approaches to organizing child development information, and allow participants the opportunity to hone observational skills related to young children's development.
- A Focus on Children's Acquisition and Use of Knowledge and Skills - This resource continues the narrative on early childhood development begun in the first module and focuses on children's acquisition and use of knowledge and skills.
- A Focus on Children's Ability to Take Appropriate Action to Meet Needs - This resource is the final module in the Understanding Young Children's Development series and continues the narrative on early childhood development that began in the first two modules. This resource focuses on children's ability to take appropriate action to meet their needs.
Hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) these resources include information on child development including resources pertaining to developmental screening and positive parenting tips.
- Learn the Signs. Act Early - resources around milestones from birth to age 5.
- Amazing Me- Its Busy Being 3! (Soy Maravilloso) - a downloadable book for children ages 2-4 will show you what to look for as your child grows and develops. Whether you read this story to your child online or have a hard copy of the book, ask your child to find the koala bears. Each page with a koala bear also has a star and milestone at the bottom just for you. See if your 3-year-old is able to do some of the same things as Joey.
- The following resources are also available:
Baby Talk: Resources to support the people who work with infants and toddlers
Baby Talk is a free, one-way listserv that is distributed monthly. Each issue features one or more resources, the majority of which are available to download at no cost. To join the listserv, send an email with no message to subscribe-babytalk@listserv.unc.edu. To see an example of the type of information shared through this listserv click here: Sample Baby Talk Resource (pdf).
This SDG Academy massive open online course (MOOC) draws from research in neuroscience, psychology, economics, anthropology, and program implementation and evaluation in order to discuss early childhood development (ECD) and explore its role in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Completing the course will lead to understanding:
- The ways in which children grow during this most rapid phase of development (physical, social, cognitive, emotional)
- How the environment interacts with the body to build brain architecture and influence children’s growth and development
- Milestones of child development: what is it that children know and can do at birth, by the second year, by preschool age?
- How child development and its contexts vary across cultures and societies
- How can programs and policies support children’s development?
- How can they best be implemented to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related to children and youth?
- How can innovation push forward the field of ECD program development and how can you participate?
This article by Laura Fish, MS, LMFT, provides guidelines for how to navigate a crisis or uncertain times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic when information changes daily, how to explain to children what is happening and how to deal with it.
This American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement was developed by the Council on Children With Disabilities, Section on Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Bright Futures Steering Committee and Medical Home Initiatives for Children With Special Needs Project Advisory Committee. This statement provides an algorithm as a strategy to support health care professionals in developing a pattern and practice for addressing developmental concerns in children from birth through 3 years of age.
This resource provides a number of links to online sources of information including the following: Resources on Neuroscience and the Brain, Parenting and Child Development Resources, Mental Health Resources, Education Resources, and Cultural Sensitivity Resources.
A guide produced by the Michigan Department of Community Health that provides information on signs of social-emotional well-being, red flags that indicate concern, and some simple strategies to support social-emotional well being.
This Landing Pad from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina provides information and resources that can be used to enhance early childhood courses focusing on child development and learning (conception through age 8), to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and children who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
These resources developed by the non-profit organization, "Understood for learning and attention issues", includes resources for children of all ages, but the following are most relevant to EI in Illinois:
These resources related to expulsion and suspension legislation may be helpful to you as a PD specialist, to providers, and service coordinators.
This site provides free tools to maximize all children's motor, sensory, and communication development with the goal to empower parents to understand and encourage their baby’s development to keep them on track or catch potential delays early.
GOECD leads the state's initiatives to create an integrated system of quality, early learning and development programs to help give all Illinois children a strong educational foundation before they begin kindergarten. Resources for Providers and Families are available.
