ECSE 602— Instructional Programming for Infants and Young Children with Disabilities

1. ECSE 602—Instructional Programming for Infants and Young Children with Disabilities ECSE 602 Dr. Xu This session will address IDEA 97 and 2004 Curriculum Capacity Adaptations and Accommodations DAP and ECSE

2. IDEA 1997 and 2004 • Important changes in IDEA 1997 (P.L. 105 - 17) • Students’ greater access to the general education curriculum • Parents’ roles and opportunities • “Whenever appropriate,” general education classrooms are the place for children with special needs • Incentives to help children before they become labeled • General education teacher’s central role in the IEP process • Eligibility category “developmental delay” up to age 9 ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

3. IDEA 1997 and 2004 • Major changes of IDEA 2004 (P.L. 108-446) applying to infants and young children with disabilities • Part C service coordinator participating in IEP meetings for transition from Part C to Part B services • Parents’ option of continuing Part C EI services until kindergarten • IFSP materials to be considered for IEP development • Minor changes in the child’s IEP could be made upon the agreement between parents and the teacher without reconvening the IEP team • Requiring quarterly reports to parent on the child’s progress and how that progress is being measured ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

4. IDEA 1997 and 2004 What are the implications of these changes? ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

5. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum • BACKGROUND • From a developmental perspective the content (curriculum) should be derived from carefully defined lists of skills acquired by typically developing children. Test to find where the performance of the atypically developing child breaks down and begin instruction there. ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

6. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum • From a functional skills perspective the emphasis is placed upon teaching skills that are CA appropriate and which, if not performed independently by the child, will have to be performed by someone else who is more competent. These skills are termed “critical” and the assessment procedure is referred to as an ecological or environmental inventory. ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

7. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum • THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT [P.L. 108-446, Sec 612, (a) (5)] (5) To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled and ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

8. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum • special classes, separate schooling or otherremovalof children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplemental aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. • (emphasis added) ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

9. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum Natural environment • “A setting that is natural or typical for the child’s age peers who have no disabilities” (34 C.F.R. 3030.18) • Inclusive environment for children birth to 3 (Noonan & McCormick, 2006) ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

10. Capacity of General Early Childhood Curriculum Discrepancy • General early childhood curriculum • Developmentally appropriate practice • Early childhood special education • Individual needs of young children with disabilities or severe disabilities ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

11. Curriculum Adaptations • What to teach--Three levels of curriculum content adaptations: • The same content • A slightly modified content • A different or significantly modified content ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

12. Curriculum Adaptations Examples of curriculum adaptations • Teaching a smaller number of objectives from the general education curriculum at the CA level • Teaching critical aspects of CA matched curriculum below the level • Teaching functional life skills not typically included in the general education curriculum ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

13. Instructional Accommodations How to teach • Change of instructional methods/strategies • Change of materials ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

14. Instructional Accommodations Examples of accommodations • 1. Different materials • 2. Special equipment • 3. Special seating arrangements • 4. Peer tutors / Special friends • 5. One on one v. group ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

15. Strategies for Adaptations and Accommodations • Embedding IEP/IFSP goals and objectives • Support • Interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary team ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

16. DAP & ECSE DAP • Used to design an age-appropriate, stimulating environment supportive of all children’s needs • Served as a foundation to provide opportunities for all children to learn ECSE • Used to complement the basic program for children with exceptional developmental needs • To emphasize individualized strategies to maximize children’s learning opportunities ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

17. DAP & ECSE DAP (NAEYC guidelines) • Young children are intrinsically to learn by their desire to understand their environment • The program is set up to allow children to self-select activities from a variety of interest centers ECSE (Special education strategies) • Directly prompting practice on individually targeted skills, based on functional behavioral outcomes • Reinforcing children’s responses • Collecting data to monitor children’s progress and make intervention changes ECSE 602 Dr. Xu

18. DAP & ECSE • Merging DAP and ECSE • All children participate in the same well-organized, systematically planned environment (inclusion) • Direct instruction is provided to children who need this types of intervention • View intervention strategies as individually appropriate for some children • Direct instruction is blended into naturally occurring opportunities throughout the ongoing daily routines • Combining DAP and ECSE provides a strong foundation for the provision of consultation services from professionals across disciplines ECSE 602 Dr. Xu