Chapter 14 Early Childhood Special Education

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Chapter 14Early Childhood Special Education
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Early Intervention

• Compensatory or preventative services for
  children who are assumed to be at risk
• Remedial services for problems already
  encountered
• Research has documented that early intervention
  can provide both intermediate and long-term
  benefits for young children with disabilities and
  those at risk for developmental delay

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The Importance of Early Intervention

• Skeels and Dye
• Purpose Does early intervention work?
• Results intensive stimulation, one-to-one
  attention with 1-2 year old children considered
  MR, resulted in IQ gains.
• Milwaukee Project
• Purpose Reduce the incidence of MR through a
  program of parent education (children at risk
  because of mothers IQ)
• Results Increased IQ early infant stimulation
  can reduce incidence of MR caused by Psychosocial
  disadvantage
• The Abecedarian Project
• Purpose Test whether environmental MR could be
  prevented by intensive early education preschool
  programs (5 days/week)
• Results Increased IQ scores as compared to
  control group

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The Importance of Early Intervention

• Project CARE
• Purpose Compare the effectiveness of home-based
  early intervention with center-based
• Results Improvement was observed in center-based
  only
• The Infant Health and Development Program
• Purpose EI for children born prematurely and at
  low birth weight
• Results Positive correlation between how much
  children and their families participated in early
  intervention and childrens gains.
• Intensity and level of participation are crucial
  variables

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The Importance of Early Intervention

• IDEA and Early Childhood Special Education
• Mandatory preschool for children with
  disabilities ages 3-5 and voluntary early
  intervention services for infants and toddlers
• States that receive IDEA funds for early
  intervention must serve all infants and toddlers
  with developmental delays or established risk
  conditions
• States may also serve infants and toddlers who
  are identified as at-risk

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Factors that place children at risk

• Risk factors are not causes but can contribute to
  the probability of developmental delays if no
  intervention is provided
• Established risk risk for developmental delay
  based on a diagnosed physical or mental condition
  (e.g., chromosomal abnormality, sensory
  impairments)
• Biological/Medical Risk low birth weigh,
  failure to thrive, etc
• Environmental Risk caregiving circumstances
  place them at risk

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Environmental Risk

• Parental Substance Abuse
• Family instability
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Violence in the home
• Teen pregnancy
• Child abuse/neglect
• School factors
• ESL

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Identification

• Failures to intervene due to
• Developmental optimism
• Stigma
• Predict is to make it happen
• Early screening and intervention are expensive

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Early Start

• Infants and toddlers from birth to 36 months of
  age may be eligible for early intervention
  services if, through documented evaluation and
  assessment, they meet one of the criteria listed
  below
• Have a developmental delay in either cognitive,
  communication, social or emotional, adaptive, or
  physical and motor development including vision
  and hearing or
• Have established risk conditions of known
  etiology with a high probability of resulting in
  delayed development or
• Are at high risk of having a substantial
  developmental disability due to a combination of
  risk factors.
• http//www.dds.ca.gov/earlystart/

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Screening, Identification, and Assessment

• Assessment in early childhood special education
  is conducted for at least four different
  purposes
• Screening
• APGAR scale (heart rate, respiratory effort,
  response to stimulation, muscle tone and skin
  color see p. 570)
• Newborn blood test for congenital conditions or
  diseases
• Developmental screening tests(gross motor, fine
  motor, language and social)
• Diagnosis
• Tests may vary depending on the suspected
  disability but usually include measurement of 5
  areas)
• Program planning
• Evaluation

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Diagnosis

• Tests measure performance in 5 major areas
• Motor development
• Cognitive development
• Communication and language development
• Social and emotional development
• Adaptive development

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Individualized Family Services Plan

• An IFSP is a plan that addresses the needs of the
  child and family and is developed by a
  multidisciplinary team
• An IFSP defines the family as being the recipient
  of early intervention services
• The IFSP must be evaluated once a year and
  reviewed at six-month intervals

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Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood
Special Education

• Curriculum and program goals
• Support families in achieving their own goals
• Promote child engagement, independence, and
  mastery
• Promote development in all important domains
• Build and support social competence
• Facilitate the generalization use of skills
• Prepare and assist children for normalized life
  experiences with their families
• Help children and their families make smooth
  transitions
• Prevent or minimize the development of future
  problems or disabilities

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Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood
Special Education

• Selecting IFSP/IEP Goals and Objectives
• Goals and objectives should be evaluated
  according to the following five quality
  indicators
• Functionality
• Generality
• Instructional context
• Measurability
• Relation between long-range goals and short-term
  objectives

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Service Delivery Alternatives for Early
Intervention

• IDEA requires that early intervention services be
  provided in natural environments to the greatest
  extent possible
• Service delivery options for early childhood
  special education include
• Hospital-based programs
• Home-based programs (pros/cons) 583
• Center-based programs (pros/cons)
• Combined home-center programs

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Current Issues and Future Trends

• Early childhood special education will benefit
  from
• Research investigating which programs are most
  effective for exceptional and at-risk young
  children
• Studies analyzing the cost-benefit of early
  intervention
• Parents are the most important people in an early
  intervention program
• They can act as advocates
• Participate in educational planning
• Observe their childrens behavior
• Help set realistic goals
• Work in the classroom
• Teach their children at home