The Context of Early Childhood Special Education ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved

The Context of Early Childhood Special Education

©2011 Cengage Learning.All Rights Reserved.

Exhibit atypical development. Require customized educational program. Child with exceptional needs is a always

child first!!!

Disability – the inability of an individual to do something in a certain way

A disability may be thought of as an incapacity to perform as other children due to impairments in sensory, physical, cognitive, and other areas of functioning.


Handicap – refers to the problems that a young child with a disability encounters as he or she attempts to function and interact in his or her environment


People-first language/terminology:◦ Example: A child with autism instead of autistic

child. Focus on each child’s strengths and

abilities and not his/her disabilities Early childhood special educators should

pay closer attention to similarities between children with special needs and their typically developing peers, and not their differences.


“Children with special needs” applies to infants, toddlers, and preschool children with exceptional needs.

“People’s first terminology ”!!! Eg: Jimmy is a three year old child who has autism or Down Syndrome etc.. NOT Jimmy is autistic

Attention needs to be focused on abilities and not disabilities!!!

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement IDEA (2004) defines a student with a disability according to thirteen distinct categories (see Table 2-1).

Developmental Delay – no national definition◦ Individual states have the responsibility of

developing their own definitions.


P. 26: 13 categories according to IDEA 1997 Children under 3 years old tend to be

identified as developmentally delayed or at risk for developmental delays (at risk: due to genetic, biological or environmental factors. See table with examples p.29)

State and local educational agencies can use the term “Developmentally delayed” for children 3 years old to nine years old

Criteria for Developmental delay varies among States. See table p. 28

Table 2-2 shows the various criteria used by states when identifying a developmental delay.

At-Risk – Children who have not been formally identified as having a disability, but who may be developing conditions that will limit their success in school or lead to disabilities (Spodek & Saracho,1994b, p.16).


Established Risk – Children with a medical disorder or known etiology and predictable outcome.

Biological Risk – Children with a history of peri-, and postnatal conditions and

developmental events that predicts the potential for later abnormal development.


Environmental Risk – Environmentally at-risk children are typical, but factors in their environmental conditions and experiences negatively impact their development.

Examples of environmental risk factors are: ◦ Poverty, child abuse, homelessness, etc.


Early Intervention◦ Refers to the delivery of a coordinated and

comprehensive set of specialized supports and services to infants and toddlers (birth through age two) with developmental delays or at-risk conditions and their families (Gargiulo, p. 32)


Developmental Delay and At-Risk Adverse effects of early labeling? Preschoolers do not have to be identified with

one of thirteen federal labels. IDEA allows for generic category, i.e., “children

with disabilities.” Programs serving young children with special

needs use terms like developmentally delayed and at-risk.

Early intervention services: services to infants/ toddlers and their families.

See Table 2-4: Synopsis of Selected Court Cases Influencing Special Education (pp. 33-36)


A high quality ECE program should be good for children developing typically and for children who are not developing typically!!

A low quality ECE program is not good for children who develop typically or atypically.

Low child/staff ratio Small group size Staff-child interaction Salaries of staff

The right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE)

The principle of least restrictive environment (LRE)

An Individualized Education Program (IEP)


Procedural due process

Nondiscriminatory assessment

Parental participation


IEP – For students ages 3 to 21 years old◦ Focuses on the individual

IFSP – For children birth to 2.11 years old◦ Addresses the issue of the family’s resources,

priorities, and concerns


WHY Early Intervention before the age of 3 years old?

Minimize effects of the disability Prevent at risk conditions from developing

into more serious problems Prevent secondary disabilities Importance of brain development during

first three years of life: brain plasticity!!

A high quality ECE program should be good for children developing typically and for children who are not developing typically!!

A low quality ECE program is not good for children who develop typically or atypically.

Low child/staff ratio Small group size Staff-child interaction Salaries of staff

Licensing and program accreditation. The requirements for licensing generally ensure basic health and safety of a program but not necessarily high quality; state licensing requirements can be found online at http://nrckids.org/STATES/states.htm

DAP!!! Culturally /age/chronologically appropriate

Director and staff experience and training College degrees in early childhood education Ongoing in service training Parent’s first-hand observations of care Low turnover rate

Early intervention services are to be based upon peer-reviewed research

IFSPs are to include measurable outcomes for pre-literacy and language skills

IDEA 2004 permits states to provide early intervention services from age 3 until the child enters kindergarten.


IDEA 2004 maintains the use of the label developmental delay for children 3-9 years

of age (Gargiulo, 46)


Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is the first public law specifically aimed at protecting children and adults against discrimination due to a disability.


According to Section 504, an individual is eligible for services if they:◦ have a physical or mental impairment which

substantially limits one or more life activities◦ have a record of such impairment; or◦ are regarded as having such an impairment by

others.


“Major life activities” are broadly defined, and include activities such as:◦ Walking◦ Seeing◦ Hearing◦ Working◦ Learning


According to U.S. Department of Education (2009), 321,894 infants and toddlers birth through age two were receiving early intervention in the 2007-2008 school year.

This represents 2.5% of the entire US birth through age two population.



Enhanced scholastic achievement Less grade retention Higher IQ scores Decreased likelihood of receiving special

education services More positive attitudes toward school and

learning


Greater likelihood of graduating high school Less likelihood of accessing public

assistance Greater possibility of securing meaningful

employment


The number of children receiving early intervention and early childhood services in the US has grown dramatically in the past several years.

A strong rationale has been established that providing quality programs for children birth to five years would improve the lives of children and their families as they become an integral part of the society as a whole.


Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) developed the ecological systems theory to explain how everything in a child and the child's environment affects how a child grows and develops. He labeled different aspects or levels of the environment that influence children's development:

1) Microsystem: t is the small, immediate environment the child lives in. Furthermore, how a child acts or reacts to these people in the microsystem will affect how they treat her/him in return

2) Mesosystem: Microsystems will include any immediate relationships or organizations they interacts with, such as their immediate family or caregivers and their school or daycare . How these groups or organizations interact with the child will have an effect on how the child grows; the more encouraging and nurturing these relationships and places are, the better the child will be able to grow.

Mesosystem : For example, if a child's caregivers take an active role in a child's school, going to IEP, IPP’s , IFSP’s , parent-teacher conferences, this will help ensure the child's overall growth. In contrast, if the child's one or two two sets of caretakers disagree how to best raise the child and give the child conflicting lessons when they see him/her, this will hinder the child's growth in different channels.

3) Exosystem: The exosystem level includes the other people and places that the child herself may not interact with often herself but that still have a large affect on her, such as parents' workplaces, extended family members, the neighborhood, etc. For example, if a child's parent gets laid off from work, that may have negative affects on the child if her parents are unable to pay rent or to buy groceries; however, if her parent receives a promotion and a raise at work, this may have a positive affect on the child because her parents will be better able to give her her physical needs.

4)Macrosystem : It is the largest and most remote set of people and things to a child but which still has a great influence over the child. The macrosystem includes things such as the relative freedoms permitted by the national government, cultural values, the economy, wars, etc. These things can also affect a child either positively or negatively

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The Context of Early Childhood Special Education ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved