Preparing Child Care Providers to Include Children with Disabilities: The Easter Seals Training Modules Project

1. Preparing Child Care Providers to Include Children with Disabilities: The Easter Seals Training Modules Project 2008 NACCRRA Professional Development Institute Pittsburgh, PA

2. Introductions • Leslie Jackson, TMIECE Project Director • Bob Siegel, National Director Easter Seals Early Care and Education • Participants

3. Purpose of Today’s Session • Preview the TMIECE training curriculum • Describe training activities • Sample learning activities and materials from the curriculum • Discuss benefits for Child Care Resource and Referral agencies.

4. Activity • Following Directions

5. The Training Modules for Inclusive Early Care and Education • What it is • How we got here • Components • Organization of the modules

6. What are the Training Modules for Inclusive Early Care and Education? • Training materials and resources designed to improve the capacity of early care and education providers to meet the needs of children with varying abilities • Training, consultation and technical assistance • Based on Easter Seals ICC Operating Standards

7. How Did We Get Here? • History of the Easter Seals Child Development Center (CDC) Network • Operating Standards • Response to requests from CDC staff

8. CDC Network • Easter Seals created a Child Development Center (CDC) Network in the late 1990s, as response to the national child care need • Approx. 90 accredited and licensed center-based full-day child care centers serving children 6 weeks to 5 years of age; 27% have disabilities • Daily activities are educational, the curriculum is driven by developmentally-appropriate practices to meet each child’s physical, educational, social, emotional and developmental needs.

9. Implementation Guide: Operating Standards for HighQuality Inclusive Child Care • In late 2002, Easter Seals received a 3-year grant from the Goizueta Foundation to develop program standards for high quality inclusive child care. • Goal: better define elements necessary to boost quality and quantity of inclusive childcare in the United States. • The four major areas are:

10. Operating Standards Operations – Requires that Centers • Provide services to all children • Use formal assessment tool to identify possible developmental problems • Collaborate with state and local intervention programs • Offer resource services to childcare providers interested in inclusive care.

11. Operating Standards Parent Communications: Requires • Formal, on-going, consistent communication with families about their child's daily experience and behavior • Communication with all parents concerning the benefits of inclusive child care • Encouragement for parents of all children to interact with one another.

12. Operating Standards Teacher/Therapist Integration: Requires • Therapies be delivered in the child's natural setting, during routine activities; • Interventions outside the natural setting are carefully planned so that they don’t disrupt the child’s participation in program activities; • Therapists and child care providers meet as equals on a regular basis to exchange information and plan individualized programs for each child, work to integrate classroom curricula with IFSP/IEP goals and therapy treatment plans.

13. Operating Standards Teacher/Therapist Integration: Requires • Therapists and child care staff work with parents to identify appropriate goals and activities for children who have IFSPs/IEPs, and assist families whose children may be eligible for IDEA services but are not yet enrolled.

14. Operating Standards Staff Training and Resources: Requires programs to • Create and provide orientation programs to all new staff, that highlight the unique aspects of inclusive childcare • Provide annual training in inclusive childcare to all caregiving staff • Use available CDC Network resources, as well as community, state and national resources to enhance the knowledge and skills of therapists and caregivers in providing inclusive care.

15. Response to CDC Staff Despite our experience serving children w/disabilities: • Growing number of children with behavioral issues stemming from other disabling conditions or family difficulties. • Centers are enrolling more children who have been expelled, sometimes multiple times, from other child care centers.

16. Professional Development Improves Quality of Child Care • Staff need training tools to help adapt existing programs to meet the needs of children with a variety of disabilities. • Teachers need materials to help them meet every child's individual developmental needs and provide appropriate educational activities. • Need to better integrate therapists & specialists into the classroom.

17. Activity: Hot Buttons Each of us have behavior “hot buttons” that get pushed when children act up • What do children do that “push your buttons”? • How do you feel when children behave this way?

18. Hot Buttons • Challenging behavior, then, is any behavior that pushes our button(s) and challenges our patience and understanding • Warning signal that something is not right • Problematic when they begin to affect how we think about a child and how we intervene/interact with that child.

19. Strategy Thought-Stopping Behavior: • Stop (upsetting thoughts) • Reframe (replace with a calming thought). Example: • He whines from the moment he gets here until the time he gets on the bus to go home – Possible response: He must really miss his family • She’s clingy not only with her mother but with other adults as well – Possible response: she might be slow to warm up in new settings or in the presence of other children and adults.

20. Components of the Curriculum… 5 topical modules: • Introduction to Inclusive Early Care and Education • Challenging Behavior • Communication Delays • Autism • Physical Disabilities

21. Components of the Curriculum… • Orientation video • Trainers Guide • Network of Trainers • The result is a set of evidence-based and user-friendly materials to help early care and education providers to promote children's growth and development in all areas.

22. Organization of Modules • Overview of Module • Background • Classroom Strategies • Resources

23. Module 1 – Introduction to Inclusive Early Care and Education • What is inclusion • Benefits of inclusion for children, families, staff • Partnering with parents and therapists • Classroom practices • Administrative tools, processes

24. Module 1 • Developmentally appropriate practices • Environmental, curricular considerations • Strategies for supporting children’s participation in activities and routines • Resources for more information about inclusion.

25. Video Activity: What Does Inclusion Look Like • What do you notice about the classrooms? • What do you notice about the activities the children are doing? • How are the children participating? • Who is the child with the disability? • Who is the teacher? • Who is the specialist?

26. Module 2 – Behavior • Definition of terms • Why behavior is important • What is challenging behavior • Forms and functions of behavior • Positive behavior supports (The Teaching Pyramid) • Classroom strategies

27. Sample Activity: Forms and Functions of Behavior • Behavior serves a particular purpose • Trying to get something • Trying to avoid something • Respond to sensory input • Any form of behavior can serve multiple purposes Ex. Crying: • To get attention • Avoid an activity • Indicate pain

28. Activity: Functional Behavioral Assessment • Watch the video clip • Jot down your observations on the card

29. Module 3 - Communication Delays • Definition of terms • What is a speech-language delay/difference/disorder • What you might see in children with communication challenges and how to address • Including parents, caregivers, peers.

30. Sample Activity: Case Vignette 2 y/o Sara says about 6-8 words that are understandable and refuses to repeat when you try to teach more words. Most of the time she plays by herself and doesn’t seem interested in playing with other children unless they’re sitting next to her. • What do you know about Sara’s communication skills? • How could you help to increase Sara’s response to contact with others? • What activities would you use to increase her attending skills?

31. Module 4 – Autism • Definition of terms • What is autism • Partnering with parents • Characteristics/“red flags” of autism • Common interventions • Classroom strategies using certain interventions • Suggestions for families/parents.

32. Sample Task Analysis Opening a door • Approach door • Grasp handle • Turn handle • Pull door • Go through door • Release handle

33. Eating snack Going down slide Show-and-tell Washing hands Wiping table Starting your car Activity - Task Analysis

34. Module 5 – Physical Disabilities • Definition of terms • General principles of inclusion • Working with/including families • Strategies for children with specific types of disabilities.

35. Adaptations and Accommodations • The difference between a child merely being present in your program and a child who is actively involved. • Different ways in which environments, activities, and routines can be adapted to make them more conducive for children's participation • 1st step: identify what activities or routines are not going well. Then decide what needs to be changed. • Also identify times during the day that are difficult generally or hard for the child.

36. Adaptations and Accommodations Changes can be made in one or more of the following areas: • Instructional groupings or arrangements • Lesson format • Teaching strategies • Curricular goals and learning outcomes • Method for responding • Environmental conditions • Instructional materials • Level of personal assistance.

37. Deciding Which Adaptation to Use • Use the following list to determine which accommodation might be needed • In most instances, adaptations will be successful before you get to the bottom of the list • When a child can participate in an activity as it is, no changes need to be made.

38. Adaptation Framework Start at the top of the list (least intrusive) and work your way down to the bottom (most instrusive): • Environmental accommodations • adapt room set-up • adapt/select classroom equipment • equipment/adaptations for positioning • Adapt schedule • Select or Adapt activity • Adapt materials

39. Adaptation Framework • Adapt requirements or instructions • Have an individual child do something different • Have another child help • peer assistance/tutoring • cooperative learning • Have an adult help a child do the activity • Have an individual child do something outside the room with an adult.

40. Sample Activity: Making Adaptations • Identify a situation where a routine or activity is not going well • Suggest changes to the routine/activity, using the previous list of strategies.

41. Using the Curriculum • How it can be used • Training we’ve already done • Use in state-supported training efforts

42. We Are Using the Curriculum to… • Provide professional development for early care and education organizations (child care, early intervention, Head Start/preschool) • Help supervisors/managers effectively support their staff • Enhance the capacity of therapists, specialists to provide inclusive services in natural environments.

43. Using the Curriculum • TMIECE materials are great complements to/supplements for other training efforts • Designed to be a stand-alone resource, but can also be supplemented by other training materials.

44. Training • Customized to meet each program’s specific needs, help staff improve quality of care for all children • Variety of topics to choose from: specific modules; mini-topics from each module; core module • Hands-on learning activities • Evaluative component to ensure we are meeting our objectives.

45. We Have Already Trained… • Easter Seals affiliates • Local Head Start programs, child care providers, YMCA programs • Presentations at National Conferences: Division for Early Childhood (DEC); NAEYC; NATTAP; American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); Autism Society of America

46. State Training Efforts Several affiliates have contracted with state agencies to use TMICC to train other early childhood providers in the state: • Delaware & Maryland Eastern Shore • Baltimore/Greater Washington • Topeka Kansas

47. Why This, Why Now Benefits to your providers • Increase staff knowledge and skills • Reduce turnover • Increase child success, outcomes • Retain/build enrollment • Improve reputation • Other benefits?

48. Why This, Why Now Benefits to training directors • Increase staff knowledge and skills • Be a hero • Fill your training rooms • Bring in cash/cachet/bodies • Impress your boss • Be seen as a problem solver

49. Why This, Why Now Benefits to CCR&Rs • Increase capacity of provider agencies to serve all children • Increase options for families • Community resource • Be seen as a problem solver.

50. Questions? • Thank You! • For More Information, contact: Leslie Jackson, ljackson@easterseals.com Bob Siegel, bsiegel@easterseals.com 800-221-6827