Transcript IDEA-Definition of Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)

Chapter 14
Early Childhood Special Education
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
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.
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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
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 children’s gains.
• Intensity and level of participation are crucial variables
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
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
Environmental Risk
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Parental Substance Abuse
Family instability
Poverty
Homelessness
Violence in the home
Teen pregnancy
Child abuse/neglect
School factors
ESL
Identification
• Failures to intervene due to:
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Developmental optimism
Stigma
Predict is to make it happen
Early screening and intervention are expensive
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:
1. Have a developmental delay in either cognitive,
communication, social or emotional, adaptive, or physical and
motor development including vision and hearing; or
2. Have established risk conditions of known etiology with a high
probability of resulting in delayed development; or
3. Are at high risk of having a substantial developmental disability
due to a combination of risk factors.
http://www.dds.ca.gov/earlystart/
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
Diagnosis
• Tests measure performance in 5 major areas:
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Motor development
Cognitive development
Communication and language development
Social and emotional development
Adaptive development
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
Curriculum and Instruction in
Early Childhood Special Education
• Curriculum and program goals
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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
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:
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Functionality
Generality
Instructional context
Measurability
Relation between long-range goals and short-term objectives
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:
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Hospital-based programs
Home-based programs (pros/cons) 583
Center-based programs (pros/cons)
Combined home-center programs
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
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They can act as advocates
Participate in educational planning
Observe their children’s behavior
Help set realistic goals
Work in the classroom
Teach their children at home