Early Years Matter
A conversation series for parents and professionals. Every fourth Wednesday at 6 pm Pacific Time, beginning January 27, 2027.
The early years give us an invaluable opportunity: not simply to teach more skills sooner, but to begin understanding the child sooner.
We can observe how a child communicates, what captures their attention, how they respond to sensory and social experiences, what they enjoy, what they avoid, and which pathways into learning are already emerging.
These observations can help us recognize abilities that might otherwise be overlooked, understand the conditions that support engagement, and discover meaningful starting points for communication, relationships, and learning.
Before deciding what we want a child to learn, we begin by understanding the child who is already here.
The Early Years Matter series brings parents and professionals together to explore this way of thinking, one conversation at a time.
The Conversations
A step-by-step conversation series
The initial series consists of nine connected conversations, beginning in January 2027.
Each conversation builds on the one before it, gradually moving from understanding what we already know about the child toward identifying meaningful priorities and individual starting points.
Together, the conversations explore:
- Understand
- Observe
- Center
- Connect
- Sense
- Communicate
- Play
- Prioritize
- Begin
Each session will include practical examples, opportunities for reflection and discussion, and, where helpful, worksheets to guide observations of your own child or the child you support.
You can join the live conversations or explore recordings and materials at your own pace.
1Conversation 1 · Wednesday, January 27, 2027 · 6 pm PTWhat do we already know about this child?
We begin with the knowledge that parents, caregivers, and supporting professionals already hold about the child's interests, communication, routines, sensory experiences, relationships, strengths, and everyday participation.
Parents and professionals may each see different aspects of the same child.
How can we bring these observations together to develop a fuller picture of the individual child?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
2Conversation 2 · Wednesday, February 24, 2027 · 6 pm PTHow can we observe differently?
What might we discover when we look beyond what the child is doing and consider what their actions may tell us about how they experience, understand, and respond to the world?
Sometimes abilities are present but not immediately visible through conventional expectations.
What is the child already showing us that they can do?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
3Conversation 3 · Wednesday, March 24, 2027 · 6 pm PTWhat does child-centered mean here?
Child-centered practice begins with the child who is in front of us.
How can the child's interests, sensory experiences, communication, attention, strengths, and emerging abilities influence where and how we begin?
What might change when we start from the child's experience rather than from a predetermined expectation?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
4Conversation 4 · Wednesday, April 28, 2027 · 6 pm PTWhat does relationship-centered look like?
How can we become more understandable and predictable to the child, join their interests, and create meaningful opportunities for shared engagement?
What might we change in our own communication, expectations, or approach?
How can our relationship with the child become a pathway into communication and learning?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
5Conversation 5 · Wednesday, May 26, 2027 · 6 pm PTUnderstanding the child's sensory experiences
Every child experiences the world in their own way.
What attracts the child? What overwhelms them? What helps them feel comfortable and available for interaction and learning?
How might sensory experiences influence what we observe, how a child participates, and how we understand their responses?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
6Conversation 6 · Wednesday, June 23, 2027 · 6 pm PTRecognizing communication before words
Communication begins long before spoken language.
How is the child already communicating through actions, movement, behaviour, pictures, sounds, gestures, facial expressions, or attention?
How can we learn to recognize and respond to these attempts at communication?
When we understand communication as more than spoken words, we may begin to notice messages that were already there.
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
7Conversation 7 · Wednesday, July 28, 2027 · 6 pm PTJoining the child's interests and play
How can we enter an activity that already has meaning for the child before expecting them to participate in an activity we have chosen?
What happens when we follow the child's interests and use them as pathways toward shared enjoyment, interaction, communication, and learning?
What opportunities might emerge when we join before we lead?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
8Conversation 8 · Wednesday, August 25, 2027 · 6 pm PTWhat matters most to the child and family right now?
Not every priority needs to be addressed at once.
What would make a meaningful difference in the child's and family's everyday life?
How can family priorities and professional observations come together to identify meaningful areas for support?
What matters most right now?
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
9Conversation 9 · Wednesday, September 22, 2027 · 6 pm PTWhere might we begin?
By this point, we have gathered observations, perspectives, and a deeper understanding of the child.
How can we bring together what we have learned to identify individual starting points and select a manageable number of meaningful objectives?
We do not choose the starting point from the framework alone.
The child helps us find it.
Recording and worksheets will be added here after the live conversation.
The conversations provide an opportunity to explore the thinking behind a child-centered, relationship-based approach.
AAPT provides the tools to help translate that understanding into individualized planning and meaningful learning.
The Forum Discussions
The conversation continues
The Community Forum is an ongoing space for parents and professionals to ask questions, share observations, raise concerns, and continue learning together.
The Forum is connected to the monthly conversations, so the discussion does not begin or end with the live session. It follows a simple cycle throughout each month.
Before the conversation
Questions · Concerns · Observations
During the weeks leading up to the next conversation, parents and professionals can share questions, concerns, experiences, and observations related to the upcoming topic.
Perhaps something is happening with your child that you do not fully understand. Perhaps you have noticed a strength or ability but are unsure how to build on it. Perhaps you are wondering whether others are experiencing something similar.
Bring those questions and concerns to the Forum, starting Jan. 1st, 2027. The questions and concerns shared by the community can help identify the issues that matter most and help shape the upcoming conversation.
The 4th Wednesday
The live conversation
On the fourth Wednesday of each month, we come together at 6 pm Pacific Time for the live conversation. We explore the month's topic through practical examples, reflection, discussion, and shared perspectives.
Parents and professionals bring different experiences and different ways of seeing the child. Together, we can begin to see more.
The following week
Reflection · Questions · Follow-up
The conversation continues after the live session. For the following week, the Forum remains focused on the same topic. Participants can:
- reflect on what they heard;
- share what they noticed in their own child or practice;
- ask follow-up questions;
- discuss areas that remain unclear;
- share experiences with others; and
- consider how the ideas might apply in everyday situations.
The goal is not simply to listen to a conversation, but to have an opportunity to reflect on it.
The next 2 to 3 weeks
Looking toward the next conversation
As the month continues, the discussion gradually shifts toward the next topic. Questions, concerns, observations, and experiences gathered through the Forum can help identify what families and professionals would like to explore next.
The community begins to prepare for the upcoming conversation. Then, on the fourth Wednesday, we come together again. And the conversation continues.
Our monthly community rhythm
- GatherQuestions, concerns, observations
- Explore4th Wednesday: live conversationLearn · Reflect · Discuss
- ContinueFollow-up questions, reflections, shared experiences
- PrepareQuestions and concerns for the next conversation
- Gather again4th Wednesday: a new conversation begins
A community that helps shape the conversation
The questions we bring to the conversation are just as important as the answers we explore.
Parents and professionals may be noticing something they do not understand, wondering what a child's behaviour may be communicating, struggling to find a starting point, or simply wanting to understand a different perspective.
Bring those questions with you. Your question may be something another family has been wondering about too.
As the community grows, the questions, experiences, and perspectives shared through the Forum can help shape future conversations.
This is not simply a series of presentations. It is an ongoing conversation shaped by the people who participate in it.
Participate in the conversations
Each conversation will be recorded, with the recording and related worksheets added beneath its topic on this page. You can:
- explore previous conversations;
- watch recordings at your own pace;
- reflect on practical examples;
- complete the accompanying worksheets;
- share your observations and questions in the Forum; and
- bring new questions into future conversations.
Whether you are a parent, caregiver, educator, clinician, or other professional supporting a child, you are welcome to join the conversation.
Join the conversation
The Early Years Matter Community Conversation Series begins in January 2027, with a new live conversation on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
Live conversations are held at 6 pm Pacific Time on the fourth Wednesday of each month, from January 27 to September 22, 2027.
Bring your questions. Bring your observations. Bring your experience.
The Discussion Forum, with member log in, opens on January 1, 2027. Send us your email and we will add you to the list for the next conversation and let you know when the Forum opens.