	Early Childhood Education

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

ECE 8: Caring for Children with Special Needs

The organization considers additional communication, activity, and staffing needs to promote optimal inclusion and development of children with special needs.

Interpretation: Special needs include medical, developmental, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Research Note: Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA expects ECE programs to eliminate discriminatory admissions policies and practices; individually assess whether a child can be served by the organization with reasonable accommodations; and make reasonable accommodations so a child with disabilities can participate in the program. Reasonable accommodations are those that can be implemented without causing undue hardship to the organization. Examples of reasonable accommodations that can be implemented by an ECE setting include: changing policies and procedures; providing auxiliary services or aids to assist in effective communication with individuals who have speech, hearing, and visual impairments; and removing physical barriers under certain circumstances.

ECE 8.01

Parents of children with special needs receive assistance obtaining and coordinating specialized supports necessary to enroll and keep their child in care.

Interpretation: Parents may need assistance obtaining suitable transportation, managing logistics, and coordinating services with other providers such as specialized screenings, assessments, and treatments. The amount and type of assistance provided will vary based on the resources available at the organization.

Research Note: Literature suggests that barriers to the enrollment of children with special needs include a lack of appropriate transportation, cost, challenges in coordinating services, and a lack of teachers that possess the competencies to care for children with special needs.

ECE 8.02

A team approach is used in service planning, care provision, and transition planning.

Interpretation: The team should include parents, service providers, and teaching staff.

ECE 8.03

Teaching staff and administrators promote the child’s inclusion in activities with other children.

Interpretation: Whenever the child is attending the program, intervention services and special medical services provided on-site should be integrated, to the greatest extent possible, into the ongoing activities of the group to promote inclusion.

ECE 8.04

Teaching staff who are responsible for working with children with special needs are qualified and trained to meet the specific needs of children in their care, and consultants and other professionals are brought in when necessary.

Interpretation: The organization must seek out specialized training and support from parents, medical providers, and other specialists as needed. Some medical services should only be provided by qualified medical practitioners. Teaching staff and their supervisors must work with parents and consultants to clarify what activities they are not qualified to take on and seek additional support as needed.

Interpretation: Appropriate qualifications and training will vary given the needs of the children in care. It can include a combination of education, training, and experience.

Research Note: Studies show that the greatest barrier to providing inclusive child care is staff that lack specialized training in caring for children with special needs. As a result, organizations that employ teaching staff and supervisors with relevant education, training, and experience tend to provide a more inclusive child care group setting.

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	PURPOSE: Early Childhood Education facilitates appropriate child development and ensures the health and safety of children in care.

RELATED FILES


	SPECIAL NEEDS A designation used in reference to conditions or characteristics of a person that reflect a need for special care, services, or treatment. When the term is used in the context of adoption services, special needs refers to conditions that make a child harder to place for adoption. This includes children who are members of sibling groups, older children, children with disabilities, children of certain racial /ethnic backgrounds, etc. When the term is used in the context of foster care it refers to the need for a higher degree of specialized case services and attention due to mental and physical disabilities. When the term is used in the context of out-of-school time services, a child or youth may have special physical, behavioral, medical, emotional, or cognitive needs that should be addressed or accommodated. The term is also used in other contexts. See also DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	IMPAIRMENT A loss or abnormality in physiological, psychological, or mental structure or functioning, such as paralysis of a limb, mental retardation, or blindness.