When parents begin early intervention there is considerable variability in the types of outcomes they want for their children. Yet, most of these outcomes can be listed under three general child development domains. These include cognition (e.g., I want my child to play/learn colors, numbers, days of the week/reason, solve problems); communication (e.g., I want my child to speak/learn words/tell us what he wants); and socio-emotional functioning (e.g., I want my child to behave/get along with his brothers and sisters/ stop screaming/ sleep at night/interact with me/be happy); or motivation (e.g., I want my child to be more assertive/ feel good about himself).

As a result, the intervention goals of Responsive Teaching are the three domains of child development that this curriculum is designed to address. Throughout the intervention process, the goals that are the focus of this program are the developmental domains that are directly related to the concerns expressed by parents regarding their children’s development. These include:

• Cognition: To enhance children’s ability to perceive, know, reason, and make choices and to use of these competencies in everyday routines.
• Language/Communication: To enhance children’s ability to engage in conversational exchanges in which they express their observations, feelings and needs and respond to the requests, feelings and observations of others.
• Social-Emotional Functioning: To enhance children’s social and emotional well being so that they feel secure and capable of adjusting to the demands of family life and routine interactions.

We recommend that children’s success at achieving these goals is determined by assessing their progress on standardized child development tests.