ABSTRACT
Early adverse experiences often lead to cascading effects resulting in subsequent vulnerabilities, including developmental delays and disabilities. Further, young children’s disability status may serve as a risk factor for the increased likelihood of experiencing maltreatment, further complicating our understanding of individual differences in development and learning. The goal of this chapter, therefore, is to provide a framework with which to understand how development and learning proceed for children who have experienced maltreatment. We begin this chapter by defining the concept of maltreatment and further discuss it as a risk factor for later academic challenges. Next, we outline our conceptual framework to explicate dynamic mechanisms that potentially underlie the often-studied direct relationship between early adversity and later academic problems. Specifically, we offer our framework that is guided by the principles of self-regulation and self-regulated learning, which is followed by a section on the impact of early maltreatment and disability on self-regulation and self-regulated learning processes. Next, we discuss implications for practice in relation to early intervention, educational access, and inclusive classrooms. Finally, we offer directions for future research and practice specifically guided by our conceptual model, highlighting pathways that need further empirical support.
