Early Childhood Special Education Programs and Practices is a special education textbook that prepares pre- and in-service teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to deliver evidence-based instruction to promote positive academic and behavioral outcomes for young children with development delays and/or disabilities.

Karin M. Fisher, PhD, CDE started her career in education when she earned her master’s of art in teaching special education from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. She taught students with moderate intellectual disabilities and autism as a self-contained, resource, and inclusion teacher for 8 years. She was also the co–department chair for her school’s large special education department. In 2013, she was accepted into a grant program at the University of Central Florida to start her career in academia, earning her PhD in 2016. Her dissertation compared standardized science scores with participation in extracurricular science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities.

Currently, Dr. Fisher teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at Georgia Southern University in the Department of Elementary and Special Education in Statesboro, Georgia. Her courses include special education procedures, methods, leadership, curriculum and instruction, language development, and collaboration. She also has extensive experience supervising special education internships.

Dr. Fisher was nominated for and accepted the position of vice president, president elect, and eventually will be president of the Georgia Council for Exceptional Children. She co-chairs the Early Career Faculty Special Interest Group of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children and is a member of the Division for Early Childhood. She also was selected to co-chair the Georgia State Special Education Advisory Panel where she represents parents of students with disabilities in her district as well as institutes in higher education across the state. As the parent of a son with an autism spectrum disorder, she is in a unique position to view special education from the educator and parent lens.

Dr. Fisher’s work reflects her expertise in early childhood special education. She has extensive experience using and teaching evidence-based strategies and high-leverage practices in special education. Her education and experience working with her son, academic peers, students, their families, school personnel, and administrators contribute to her qualifications to edit and contribute to this text.

Kate E. Zimmer, PhD received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Saint Leo University, St. Leo, Florida, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Zimmer taught at the elementary level for 7 years in a multi-age classroom serving students with a variety of special needs. She was also involved in pediatric research on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, childhood anxiety, and childhood depression. In 2013, she graduated with her PhD in special education from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, where she examined the effects of a storybook reading intervention on the initiation of joint attention in young children with autism.

Dr. Zimmer is currently Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity’s Director of the BIRCH Professional Learning Center in Austin, Texas. In this role, Dr. Zimmer collaborates with the BIRCH professional learning and development team to create goals and design trainings for in-person and virtual programs, resources, and learning communities. In addition, Dr. Zimmer leads Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity’s mixed-reality simulation laboratory where she provides leadership by coordinating and directing activities to ensure the successful operation of the laboratory. These activities include technical direction, simulation design, strategic planning, fundraising, outreach, partnerships, and working closely with simulation specialists to ensure quality control. In recent years, her research focus has been on teacher preparation, high-leverage practices, and mixed-reality simulation. Dr. Zimmer works with numerous faculty members and external partners to purposefully embed mixed-reality simulation within courses and professional development so that pre- and in-service teachers are able to engage in a powerful, interactive learning experience that prepares them for the real world and hones in on specific teaching strategies that impact student outcomes.

Dr. Zimmer has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses that focused on autism, behavior, curriculum and instruction, and instructional practices. She developed an online graduate endorsement in autism spectrum disorders and works closely with the Early Childhood Faculty Special Interest Group in the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. Her numerous peer-reviewed presentations, articles, and grants along with her passion for teacher education make her an excellent co-author and editor for this textbook.