Pamela Brillante - The Essentials: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

Pamela Brillante

National Association for the Education of Young Children
Washington, DC

National Association for the Education of Young Children

NAEYC.org

NAEYC Books

Senior Director, Content Strategy and Development
Susan Friedman

Editor-in-Chief
Kathy Charner

Senior Creative Design Manager
Audra Meckstroth

Senior Editor
Holly Bohart

Publishing Manager
Francine Markowitz

Creative Design Specialist
Malini Dominey

Associate Editor
Rossella Procopio

Through its publications program, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides a forum for discussion of major issues and ideas in the early childhood field, with the hope of provoking thought and promoting professional growth. The views expressed or implied in this book are not necessarily those of the Association.

NAEYC would like to thank the staff and children of National Childrens Center in Washington, DC, and of The Campus School at Boston College. Photos from these centers appear throughout this book.

Photo credits

The photos in this e-book come from a variety of sources, including NAEYC, The Campus School at Boston College, and iStock. All are used with permission.

The Essentials: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom. Copyright 2017 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933147

ISBN: 978-1-938113-85-7

Item e1131

Chances are, at some point in your early childhood career, you will work with children who have, or might have, a developmental delay or disability, along with their families. This book offers essential information about disabilities and how they impact young childrens learning and development. More than that, it encourages you to go beyond a childs disability label to see her strengths, needs, interests, and preferences and to figure out how best to support those in the classroom, just as you do for any other child. Regardless of medical diagnoses or individual challenges, children with disabilities are first and foremost children.

This book is a resource for early childhood educators and preservice teachers who work or will work with children birth through age 8 who have developmental delays or disabilities. Young children with delays or disabilities are educated in many different settings, including public and private preschools, child care centers, family child care programs, the childs home, general education classrooms in elementary schools, and programs specifically designed to educate students with disabilities. With a foundation of developmentally appropriate practices and supports for children, their families, and educators as well, all of these settings can be effective learning environments.

Program directors and administrators as well as providers of physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy will also find the information in this book useful as they work with teachers and families to help children become active participants in their environments and master a variety of skills.

Words help us express our understanding of and feelings about people, things, ideas, and experiences. They are a powerful tool that can influence and change perspectives and opinions. This book will help you understand more about disabilities and their implications for children and families, and this knowledge, along with your understanding of children in general, will help you recognize and rebut inaccurate or harmful stereotypes and attitudes about individuals with disabilities.

In an effort to view young children with disabilities first as young children, this book uses people-first language, a way of referring to an individual with a disability that focuses on the person rather than the disability. For example, this book refers to children with autism spectrum disorder rather than autistic children. Shifting the focus from a single part of someone that others may view as different or deficient to the whole person with feelings, dignity, and rights is a reminder that everyone, no matter their ability or disability, is capable and deserving of respect.

While it is generally appropriate and respectful to use people-first language, keep in mind that some individuals or groups of individuals with disabilities prefer to use what is known as identity-first language to refer to themselves. For example, many people in the American Deaf community see their deafness as inseparable from who they are, and they prefer to be called Deaf rather than a person who is deaf. Respect each persons choice for what she wishes to be called or wishes her child to be called.

Challenged? Differently Abled? Special Needs?
You are likely to encounter different terms used to refer to an individual with a disability, such as challenged, differently abled, and special needs. While these terms appear to be inoffensive or to emphasize an individuals positive qualities, they have become euphemisms and are not frequently used in the disability advocacy community (Syracuse University Disability Cultural Center 2012). This book uses with a disability instead of the terms challenged, differently abled, and special needs.

, Disabilities and Young Children, helps you relate what you already know about young children to those who have or may have a delay or disability; understand how laws relating to children with disabilities affect your day-to-day interactions with children and their families; navigate the process of identifying, assessing, and qualifying a child for services; understand the roles of individuals who provide services to a child; provide the general kind of environment, experiences, and teaching practices that children with disabilities need and deserve; and address challenging behaviors.

, Specific Disabilities, discusses more in depth some particular disabilities young children may have and specific issues teachers often face when working with a child. It also offers practical strategies for providing support and intervention for children.

This book provides a brief overview of research-based information and strategies for working with children who have disabilities. To deepen your professional knowledge and help families who are looking for more information on how to support their child, see the list provided.

Alyssa is excited about her first teaching position in a Head Start classroom with fourteen 4-year-olds. While Alyssa is planning for her new class over the summer, Mrs. Helman, the center director, tells her that one of the children, Chloe, has spina bifida and uses crutches to walk. Alyssa remembers learning some things about special education in college, but she isnt confident that she knows enough to teach a child with a disability.