Ilene S. Schwartz, Ph.D. is Professor at the University of Washington, USA in the area of special education. Dr. Schwartz has an extensive background working with young children with special needs, specifically with young children with autism and other disabilities. Dr. Schwartz is the faculty advisor for the inclusive preschool and kindergarten programs at the Experimental Education Unit at the University of Washington, where she maintains an active line of research and personnel preparation activities. Dr. Schwartz is Principal Investigator of several projects, including a model demonstration project to develop school-based services for young children with autism, a research project to assess the differential effectiveness of preschool programs for young children with autism, and a personnel preparation program for early childhood education teachers who work with children with severe disabilities in inclusive settings. Dr. Schwartz has published numerous chapters and articles about early childhood education and social validity. She serves on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Early Intervention and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Dr. Sandall is an assistant professor at the University of Washington in special education with a specialization in early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE). She has directed personnel preparation projects, developed curriculum materials for all age groups, and published materials on instructional strategies to facilitate optimal outcomes for young children with disabilities. Dr. Sandall is a board member of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC), Council for Exceptional Children, and an investigator on DEC's research project to synthesize EI/ECSE research practices and translate them to recommended field practices. She is also co-editor of DEC's Young Exceptional Children monograph series and co-editor of DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (with Mary McLean and Barbara J. Smith, Sopris West, 2000).
-The Data Model, which is built upon the scientific principles of applied behavior analysis, provides a comprehensive early childhood curriculum that allows instruction to be tailored to the unique needs of the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is no doubt that this tool will be of great use to any early childhood practitioner, or family member, working with young children with ASD.- --Brian A. Boyd, Ph.D.