DOCUMENT RESUME EC 303 766 ED 379 892 Special Children, Special Care: Early Childhood TITLE Education for Children with Disabilities. INSTITUTION Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield. PUB DATE 94 48p.; This book is an updated and revised edition of NOTE "Early Childhood Education for the Handicapped: Recommended Procedures and Practices Manual" (1979). Illustrations may not copy well. NonClassroom Use (055) PUB TYPE Guides MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Disabilities; *Early Childhood Education; Early DESCRIPTORS Intervention; Educational History; Educational Legislation; *Educational Practices; *Educational Principles; Federal Legislation; Individualized Education Programs; Parent School Relationship; Program Development: *Special Education; Standards; State Legislation; Student Evaluation; Student Placement; Theory Practice Relationship IDENTIFIERS *Illinois ABSTRACT This manual is a guide to recommended practices and procedures for meeting the special educational needs of young children with disabilities, especially those ages 3 through 5 in Illinois. Chapter 1 provides a brief history of national and Illinois state mandates in early childhood special education, notes the critical role of the family, and points out the importance of flexibility and teamwork. The second chapter looks at program development and offers guidelines for selecting objectives, effective management, formative evaluation, student evaluation, and program evaluation. The next chapter follows one hypothetical child from identification through interdisciplinary evaluation, referral, the case study process, decision making, development of an individualized educational program, periodic reevaluation, and transition into a primary school program. Chapter 4 describes actual educational practices as they are carried out in the early childhood classroom. Principles such as the importance of play, curriculum outcomes, family involvement, teamwork, a loving climate, and student diversity are explained. The final chapter briefly addresses personnel training and professional standards. An appendix briefly describes major judicial rulings and state and federal laws. (Contains 42 references.) (DB) ***************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** Special Children, Special Care Early Childhood Education for Children with Disabilities U.S. DEPARTMENT OP EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvsmsnt EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 9s document has been reproduced as received from the person Or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions slated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Illinois State Board of Education 1994 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 2 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" Special Children, Special Care Early Childhood Education for Children with Disabilities Illinois State Board of Education 1994 Joseph A. Spagnolo Michael Skarr State Superintendent of Education Chairperson 3 Special Children, Special Care Early Childhood Education for Children with Disabilities For 'word Oversized ladybugs decorate the windows. One area of the Paper wind socks hang from the ceiling. room has a shelf full of toys and a play kitchen. On another wall is a bulletin board with a weather chart, a days of the week calendar, a large caterpillar whose arms hold the names of children who are the week's "helping hands," and several picturesa birthday party, a field trip to the post office, and the "teddy bear parade." On the floor beneath the bulletin board lies a large, bright, colorful rug. It is a comfy, cheery, welcoming spot for any child, and a group of youngsters gather in a semicircle around their teacher, whom we'll call Ms. Cramer. There are Alexis and Angela, Kevin and Jonathan and Mike, Chaundra and Jennifer. They are a collection of typical four- and five-year-olds dressed in Chicago Bulls T-shirts and Little Mermaid socks. Some sit quietly; others fidget. Some are giggly; others are all business. But these are also very special four- and five-years-olds. A couple of them walk with difficulty, one with the aid of a walker; another cannot walk at all but must be wheeled in a stroller or carried by the teacher's aide. Others have trouble talking; one has to be coaxed to say the word "shirt." Each of them, to one degree or another, struggles with what are ordinary tasks for other kids: stacking blocks, cutting with scissors, naming the day of the week. These arc special children in a special class in a special schoolan early childhood special education class for children with disabilities. Two of these children have cerebral palsy, one has spina bifida, another has characteristics of autism, one has significant behavior problems, one has a cognitive disability, and several have a combination of speech and language difficulties. "We have a whole variety it every class, mixed together," says Ms. Cramer. They are special children who need special care. is a how-to manual of sorts, a guide to recommended practices and Special Children, Special Care procedures for educating those toousands of youngsters--children like Kevin and Chaundra, Mike and Jennifer--who bring a variety of special needs, challenges, and opportunities all mixed together to classrooms serving children with disabilities throughout Illinois. This manual, sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education, is designed to guide teachers, principals, other professionals, and especially parents to the methods and measures that help meet the diverse and special needs of children with disabilities. This hook, an updated and revised edition of Early Childhood Education for the Handicapped: Recommended Procedures and Practices Manual first published by the Illinois State Board of Education in 1979, is aimed at programs for children ages three through five years although the information here will prove useful to all programs for youngsters with disabilities from birth to eight years old. 4 This manual was developed under a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education to the South Metropolitan Association. It is the product of many expert individuals gathering information from current research literature and their own experiences to recommend best practices in the State of Illinois. Among those who contributed to this project were university faculty in special education and early childhood schooling, a Head Start representative, a bilingual education expert, a staff development trainer, an early childhood teacher, two professionals who work with children birth through two years ord, early childhood education supervisors, administrators, a parent, a psychologist, and a public health nurse. From their diverse backgrounds and knowledge came a common goal: to show how to provide the special care needed for special children. Joseph A. Spagnolo State Superintendent of Education 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page The Foundation Chapter 1 1 The Blueprint Chapter 2 5 9 One Special Little Person Chapter 3 The Very Fun Classroom Chapter 4 18 30 Special People Who Care Chapter 5 33 Resources Appendix A 36 Judicial Rulings and Major State and Federal Laws Appendix B 38 Acknowledgments Appendix C 2. I; 1144,.VeN. /X, 4 WIRT 6 Chapter 1 The Foundation naming the garment she wants to place on the A Child's Springtime but finally under Ms. Cramer's gentle doll, cajoling says, "Shirt," and adds her contribution Early childhood is like the springtime in the life to the doll's apparel. It is a crucial and fragile time. With of a plant. . the proper mixture of sunshine, rain, nutrients, "Thank you for the good talk;ng," says Ms. and nurturing, the plant blossoms, flourishes, But too much rain or too Cramer. and grows hearty. little, too many nutrients or too few, a late frost They are children who have any of a variety or early heat wave can doom the plant, stuitttig ofor a combination ofmental, physical, or its growth, or worse. normal disabilities impede that emotional disability The springtime of twelve with children. There development. are too, So, categories that make preschool children eligible childhood, about that span from a child's birth for special education services: until the eighth birthday, is a time of rapid and youngster's important social, in change a mental retardation, intellectual, communicative, emotional, and physically impaired, physical growth. And the development of each restphysical specific learning disabilities, growth the to connected is growth which visually impaired, intellectual affects influences hearing impaired, emotion:a development which relates to social deaf, development, and round and round. Because the deaf-blind, changes of early childhood are so many, happen so quickly, and relate so inevitably one to speech and language impaired, behavior/emotional disordered, another, this is a time with significant potential other health impaired, for both positive and negative influences on a child's growth. What a child learns in the first autism, and traumatic brain injury. eight years of life is critical to later development for later all foundation the serves and as Any particular diagnosis can range from mild to a time that requires It accomplishments. is Still, no two moderate to severe/profound. special care for all children and especially so for with Even youngsters alike. children are youngsters with special needs. identical diagnoses and similar levels of severity Who are these children and what are may need vastly different programs and services their to meet their needs. needs? The Law Steps In They are Kevin, who has cerebral palsy. Kevin Yet, it was not all that long ago that the needs of arrives at school each day in a wheelchair, but is children with disabilities were virtually ignored becoming so mobile with a walker that he by public schools. Before 1968 very few public virtually races through the hallways at school. schools in the United States offered programs is Kevin's turn to help dress Even so, when it The serving young children with disabilities. the doll in clothing suitable for a warm spring majority of services that did exist related to a morning, Ms. Cramer must reach over to help generally disability particular were and him walk the few steps to where she sits. supported by private initiatives responding to the concerns of citizens, parents, and advocacy They are Jennifer, labeled TMH, or "trainable However, during the last twenty-five mentally handicapped," in the parlance of the groups. years, the federal court system, the United States federal law. Jennifer temporarily balks at 7 Congress, and state legislatures have established In 1968, Congress took up the issue head on and and defined the rights of all children in need of enacted the first federal law specifically aimed special services to an appropriate and equal at the education of children with disabilities. education. The Handicapped Children's Early Education Act established model programs to test effective The cornerstone in the foundation of education procedures for working with young children disabilities and their for children with disabilities was laid in 1954 by These families. with the United States Supreme Court. Though the demonstration projects, in turn, influenced the content of the landmark Education for All Board of court's landmark ruling in Brown v. Education outlawed discrimination in schooling Handicapped Children Act, passed 1975, in which defined the rights and obligations for based on race, the decision also has served as a fundamental milestone guaranteeing schooling children with disabilities. Commonly the in rights of people with disabilities to an equal known as Public Law 94-142, this law required Other important judicial states ensure a free, appropriate public education. rulings that education for followed; courts ordered that tests used to place disabilities. children with all children in special education classes be free of Public procedural mandates Law 94-142 ethnic or cultural bias, gave parents the right to of assessment of safeguards the areas in participate in decisions affecting their children's disabilities, education individualized plans, parental involvement, due process rights for education, and obliged public schools to provide parents to challenge decisions affecting their appropriate education for all children, no matter how severe a child's disabilities nor how costly child's education, and schooling for youngsters to serve them. [See Appendix B] disabilities restrictive with least the in environment, that is, the most normal classroom Following the lead of the judiciary, legislators in setting possible. state capitals and in Washington enacted laws that translated the rights guaranteed to children advances continued Meanwhile, Illinois. in with disabilities into measures ensuring they Amendments to state law resulted, by 1974, in would receive a proper education, equal to that the availability of services to all children with available to other children. disabilities from age three to twenty-one. In 1972, the state superintendent elected to use Illinois has been a leader in adopting legislation discretionary federal funds to develop regional which has resulted in progressive approaches to programs for children with disabilities under age educating young children with disabilities. And as part of its implementation of three. In Public Law 94-142, for example, made services permitted law Illinois 1943, Illinois of cl .dren enrollment "physical permissive to children from birth to age three. with handicaps" in school at three years of age. The law defined handicapping conditions as visual, 1986, Congress acted strengthen to the In orthopedic, and health disabilities. In 1956, the provisions of Public Law 94-142. The new law law was amended from "permitting" enrollment for eligible mandated services preschoolers, to "requiring" enrollment. broadened the definition of eligibility, expanded services available to children and their the families, provided means for the successful The principle that preschool was vital a transition of children from one program to educational experience for youngsters in poverty up collaboration established was Economic between another, federal set and the in Opportunities Act of 1964, which created Head agencies and disciplines that offer services to Start programs based on the belief that early 'See Appendix B youngsters with disabilities. stimulation for children of prevent would complete or listing related for to laws a ameliorate mental retardation. A decade later, education of children with disabilities.] Head Start programs were required to include ten percent of children with disabilities. 8 2 Parent and Child All children, of course, like to be helpers and all in their own ways need to be helped, including those with special needs. The law, of course, can only do so much. It can Early intervention protect and enforce rights and create and finance programs should strive to help youngsters gain But those rights will prove empty; programs. function greater independence; learn to in those programs will be useless unless certain different build social environments; principles guide the schooling of children with cognitive, competence; mature motor, in special needs. language, play, and self-care skills; and acquire the ability to transfer those skills from one of those Foremost principles that situation to another. each is program, every individuals service, and all dedicated to the schooling of youngsters with And they need faith in themselves. Ms. Cramer looks over at Angela showing Mike how to tie disabilities must be motivated by the conviction that at the center of all that they do is a special "C'mon, Mike," Angela encourages, his shoe. "you can do it." And when he does he looks at child and a unique family. Ms. Cramer, grins, and gives her a thumbs-up. The young child cannot be separated from the "We try to build self-esteem and success in either psychologically or physically. family, This fact has inescapable implications for the school," says Ms. Cramer. way that services are organized and provided. Early intervention services must support and Building a Person respond to the abilities and environments of both young children and their families. Other building blocks are important to a child's They should encourage and help achieve successful development. Indeed, each day in the life of a relationships among children, family members, child is like a new brick in building a person, so, and others. Families are key and must have the too, are the different phases in the educational opportunity to take an active role in planning life of children with disabilities. Services and programs, carrying them out, and judging their programs for infants and toddlers must build a Planning for individual services effectiveness. sturdy foundation for classes designed for three- must be guided by informed parental decision Those classes, in turn, must to-five-year-olds. provide a smooth transition into kindergarten making; family preference; and family strengths, concerns, and priorities. Each youngster needs and primary classroom programs. an individual plan tailored specifically to the child and family and their unique combination There are two keys to cultivate success at each of capabilities, level of learning and to foster the move from priorities, desires, resources, The first is flexibility, which beliefs, and cultural and linguistic environment. one to the next. implies that services should he available and accessible for youngsters within and between Second, a successful early childhood program This means different agencies and programs. will set goals to help children grow in ways that will help them accommodate their disability. that there will be an array of options in the way services are delivered and where, in how often Ms. Cramer, for example, works with Jonathon services are provided and for how long, and in to help him get along better with his classmates. When Chaundra, during outdoor play time, the menu of related services that are available. wants a shovel to play in the sand by the swing Moreover, a plan for smooth transitions between into a program, placements should be built set, Ms. Cramer asks Jonathon if he will get one providing a continuum of care that transcends from the classroom. Jonathon fetches the shovel and proudly hands it to Chaundra. "Thank you, individual services and age periods. Programs for children with disabilities should operate in Jonathon," says Ms. Cramer, "for being such a environment; that good helper." restrictive the is, least a 3 children should be served, to the extent possible, Ms. Cramer knows the value of teamwork. in the same setting as if they were not disabled. Alexis is a very bright girl with a severe hearing Her sign language vocabulary and skill critically important. Second, teamwork loss. is have been progressing nicely at school, and her Collaboration among professionals and families parents expressed the desire sign is essential for accomplishing the goals of early learn to language both to help her at home and to foster A successful early intervention intervention. communication in the family. With the help of a program integrates the skills and knowledge social worker, Alexis' parents and brother were from a variety of professional disciplines and able to take sign language classes and now carry service agencies. Children with disabilities and their families have multiple needs that require on conversations with Alexis. the resources of social, health, medical, and "I tell my Alexis looks up, smiles, and signs: developmental/educational agencies and experts and a team approach for meeting individual brother all about school. And he listens." goals, objectives, and activities. , N'ck ); \ , ;x1 A Is -0:- . 4 4 10