Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Field of Early Childhood Special Education
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:
- Describe who children with exceptional needs are;
- Understand the various programs under Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Intervention, and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) in which children with disabilities and their families are served;
- Describe the role of various professionals in the field of ECSE;
- Understand and analyze the historical developments that shaped the field of ECSE;
- Understand and analyze the legal foundation of special education and the laws which shaped ECSE;
- Evaluate the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as it relates to Early Intervention and Special Education for young children;
- Define inclusion and understand arguments for and against inclusion in early childhood education;
- Understand and analyze the important research which has shaped ECSE;
- List recommendations for ECSE and Inclusive Programs.
- Who are children with special needs?
- What is special education?
- In your opinion, what should an early childhood educator know before working with a child with special needs?
- In your opinion, what kind of support and services should be available to teachers who work with children with disabilities?
- What is your position about inclusion of children with disabilities? Why?
- National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) http://www.nectac.org
- No Child Left Behind Act http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=pb
- Wrights law: A law firm providing information in special education laws and advocacy http://www.wrightslaw.com/
- IDEA and its provisions http://idea.ed.gov/
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History: EveryBody, an Artifact History of Disability in America http://everybody.si.edu/
- Disability History Museum http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/
- Books and articles on Inclusion http://www.inclusion.com/
- DEC and NAEYC joint position statement on Inclusion http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_EC_updatedKS.pdf
- The Carolina Abecedarian Project http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
- National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) http://www.sri.com/neils/
- Pre-elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS) http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects/peels/