The early recognition and response model is different than our current trajectory in special education and different that our current thinking about children who have exceptionalities. Early recognition is not dependent on formal identification; it is a process of matching the child with the services. It is hopefully done through a recognition process that is a full portrait of what that child's strengths and needs are, and through that full portrait, we then develop the response based on that information. And the intention is that that information tracks and follows a child as they move through the systems, as they move across time.

When we assess kids that are very little, we have to understand their context. Trying to get inside their head is difficult, so we look at reactions. We look at what a child gives us, and we try to interpret that within the context of what we know about the child. When we think about the idea of transition-and not just thinking about the transition from preschool to kindergarten, but thinking more broadly about transition as a conceptual framework-what does it actually mean?

"Transition is a passage from one stage to another." When we think about young children developmentally, one stage to another is not about a year. It's not even about a week. Sometimes it's a situation-a situation from the morning to a situation in the afternoon. So transition is complex and the kind of challenges that we face with transition, particularly for young children, are of a dynamic nature.

What does that mean for us in terms of how we do our screenings; how we do our assessments; how we communicate about what we've learned about children, and the comprehensive nature of what we do during a transition process to make sure that we have what we will call a full portrait? Not just the child but the whole context of the child?

Transition implies change. Change implies movement. Movement implies risk. Whenever there is movement, there is a greater risk of difficulty. In transition, the difficulty with being dynamic is that children are never a fixed target. When we think about children in transition, our responses, our assessments and our tools to look at them have to capture movement. They must capture change. As we go forward and capture the movement and capture the dynamic nature of what's going on in that child's life, we also have to look at a seamless exchange of information.

A seamless exchange of information is the heart of the transition process, but its purpose is a seamless set of services. As a child moves from one system into another system; as a child moves from one care provider to another care provider; as a child moves from one stage to another stage, information follows or tracks with that child, so we don't have gaps or omissions in our knowledge about what that child needs.

When we think about seamless exchange of information, we have to honor the multiple voices, the many stake holders to be listened to, because the way we perceive a child and the way we understand their needs is going to shift depending on the voice, the perspective and what's going on within that.

This transition also takes place across multiple systems. When we look at systems, however, we have to look at the school, the program, the receiving school, the receiving program. We have to look at the state. We have to look at the federal policies. Ideally, these systems are all woven together in a way that facilitates the transition of the child, so the child is not on a bumpy road. If we have to straighten out the wrinkles, it's all of the adults around this and all of the systems that do the straightening out of those wrinkles.

In the same way, when we think about multiple types of information, it's like pixels on a screen. The more high definition you want in terms of looking at a child, the more points of information and the more types of information you've got to have to get a high resolution picture of that child and where they are.

We need to think of transition as the comprehensive planning for success. So we have to keep in mind a portrait of the families' resources and needs. Are there cultural differences that we have to be attuned to? Are there expectations that we don't understand? Are there a set of challenges that a family is facing that we have not factored in when we think about the transition for their child and for them? The whole family is going through a transition as we move forward.

Then we need to think about service provider's needs and resources. We know that children who attend low resource schools are on a trajectory that exacerbates existing risk factors that may exist in the child and the family.

And then we need to think about policy maker's needs and resources. Children who attend preschool in a state that doesn't have policies that help us reach quality may be at greater risk than children who attend preschool in a state where policies are very clearly developed. Quality preschool is a priority.

As we think about the assessment process to facilitate the transition process, we talk about data-driven decisions in a variety of settings. The decisions that we make about a child's life experiences, or their school experiences or the services that they will receive at whatever level need to be data-based. They need to be based on the knowledge of a full portrait of the child, looking at that child's strengths, looking at that child's needs, looking at all areas.

When we think about early literacy skills, we have to make sure that we have a rich understanding of that child's strengths and needs from the context of how that child's language is developing. What are the precursors that would either facilitate success in school with reading or that might make things challenging for that child when he or she enters the school arena?

It's a dynamic process. When we recognize and respond, we now recognize again something else. And when we respond appropriately, it gives us another venue for recognizing something else about the child. So the recognition and response model implies an ongoing, imbedded assessment or review of the child in terms of where they are and where they are headed and what's going on.