The manual, entitled Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers, contains a guide on planning for inclusion and 9 training modules that provide critical information for understanding, building, supporting, and sustaining inclusive placement opportunities for young children with disabilities in community- based early childhood programs.
The State Performance Plan for Special Education delineates performance indicators that all school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia strive to meet. Of these indicators, Indicator 6 measures progress in inclusion at the preschool level and looks at the percent of preschool children with IEP’s who receive special education and related services in settings with typically developing peers. Described below are two resources that will assist with developing high quality inclusive practices in preschool classrooms.
First, a manual to support school divisions in their efforts to educate preschoolers with disabilities in the same settings as typically developing peers has been developed by the VDOE Early Transition and Preschool Effective Practices Priority Project. To access the manual, visit T/TAC Online http://www.ttaconline.org/ staff/s_resources/s_resource_detail.asp?aid=306. The manual, entitled Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers, contains a guide on planning for inclusion and 9 training modules that provide critical information for understanding, building, supporting, and sustaining inclusive placement opportunities for young children with disabilities in community- based early childhood programs. The training modules include topics such as planning for inclusion, collaborative teams, setting up the environment, using the Routine-Based Interview and Assessment, using the Foundation Blocks, promoting friendships, and promoting social emotional competence.
A second resource, Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs (Sandall & Schwartz, 2008), delineates an approach that builds on the assumption that a high quality early childhood environment supports ALL children. Once a quality environment is in place, curriculum modifications are made for children as needed and within the context of the classroom routines and activities. When progress- monitoring data shows that children are not making progress with modifications, then specific learning opportunities are purposely and intentionally embedded into routines and activities. It may be that some children need an even more intensive intervention that is child-focused. A team approach is recommended to ascertain the child’s strengths and needs. The team also determines what types of support the child needs in order to participate in a meaningful way.
For additional resources, go to the (broken link) and search by using the keywords preschool inclusion.
Reference
Sandall, S.R., & Schwartz, I.S. (2008). Building blocks for teaching preschoolers with special needs. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
