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I currently am a director at two large daycares in San Angelo, Texas. Prior to doing this job I taught Prekindergarten for a school district and Head Start for a different district. More importantly I am a mother of three young daughters and their positive educational experience is exceedingly important to me.

This Padlet may be used by early childhood educators and administrators to aide their teachers in becoming more knowledgeable in teaching children with special needs. This topic was chosen because after having a child with a genetic disorder it became apparent that teaching students with special needs was not something that early childhood teachers were receiving enough training on.

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Slide 2- Professional Interview- Karen Crouch- Special Education Coordinator for San Angelo Independent School District

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Slide 2- Professional Interview- Karen Crouch- Special Education Coordinator for San Angelo Independent School District

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On June 18, 2021, I interviewed Karen Crouch.  Mrs. Crouch is a special education coordinator for San Angelo Independent School District. https://www.saisd.org/departments/special-programs/contact

Special education is important at any age but especially during early childhood. There is such a limited amount of time that deficiencies can reach appropriate age development before school begins. By using the resources that the district provides children from ages three and up can receive services. At ages three and four children can be placed in early childhood special education for a half day

at five year old they can go full time to early childhood special education.
(K. Crouch, personal communication, June 18, 2021).

Best practices:
*The main thing that any educator needs to remember, whether they are working in a special or regular education class is that kids are kids. There are positives and negatives of every person in this world no matter how their age, race, sex or if they have a disability. Find the joy in the children that you are working with!
*Differentiation needs to be cleared up for all educators. It is how information is  learned. Use a child's strength versus penalizing them. Penalizing them addresses weaknesses.
*It is important when working with children who have special needs to understand what the disability is the child has and how to work with it.
(K. Crouch, personal communication, June 18, 2021).

Current Issues: Currently there is a push to educate special education students in regular education classes as much as possible. Teachers are receiving training on how to work with these students and using scaffolding techniques to meet every students needs. Special Education teachers are also helping in regular education classes, they help not only the students that qualify for their services but all children. Another current issue that will deeply affect teachers is that the State of Texas decided that parents may choose that their child does not have to advance to the next grade level, regardless of how well they did in the class. The Texas Education Agency is currently working create rules that address how to do this. (K. Crouch, personal communication, June 18, 2021).

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Slide 3- Professional Association- National Association of Special Education Teachers

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Slide 3- Professional Association- National Association of Special Education Teachers

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The National Association of Special Education Teachers (www.naset.org) specializes in keeping special education teachers in all levels of education up to date on the newest policies, teaching practices and provide a national forum for special educators ideas. This article discusses the inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom. By using this article, any regular education early childhood teacher could prepare their classroom to be a highly effective learning environment for all children including special education children.

Donegan-Ritter, M., & Kohler, F. W. (2017). Preparing Early Childhood Educators for Blending Practices in Inclusive Classrooms. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 104, 117.

Microsoft Word - JAASEP_SPRING-SUMMER_2017-Workhttps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1164847.pdfing Copy (ed.gov)

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Slide 4- Current News Articles/ Periodicals

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Slide 4- Current News Articles/ Periodicals

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Warner-Richter, M., & Lloyd, C. M. (2020). Considerations for building post-COVID early care and education systems that serve children with disabilities. Bethesda, MD: Child Trends.

https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ECEDisabilitiesCovid19_ChildTrends_August2020.pdf

*Access to early intervention and early childhood special education is critical to child development and learning for children with disabilities.
*Babies and toddlers are given this special instruction in a natural environment.
*Preschoolers are encouraged to be worked with in their free appropriate public education.
* Early childhood interventionists rely on child care programs, Head Start, and schools to be open and accessible to receive services that support their development and learning.
*Covid caused many problems including a loss of in-person therapy services, limited access to special education accommodations and adapted materials, difficulty of taking on new roles for therapy and learning within families, compounded social isolation for families of young children with disabilities, gaps in health insurance coverage for children with unemployed parents.
*Listed action steps for state policy makers.

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Slide 5- Current News Articles/ Periodicals

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Slide 5- Current News Articles/ Periodicals

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OLUKOTUN, J. (2021). EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION INTERVENTION IN AN INCLUSIVE SETTING: THE SIGNIFICANCE FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEED.

file:///C:/Users/jilla/Downloads/EARLYCHILDHOODSPECIALEDUCATIONINTERVENTIONINANINCLUSIVESETTINGTHESIGNIFICANCEFORCHILDRENWITHSPECIALNEED.pdf

*The use of early childhood special education intervention for special needs children in an inclusive classroom setting would eliminate some problems associated with special needs children.
*Early childhood Special Education intervention is the application of educational  and or therapy services to children with special needs. This includes children who  have been identified with a disability that occurred from birth and before the age of school.
*Explains which children qualify for these services.
*Lists benefits of inclusion of children with special needs.

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Slide 6- Original Law- Constitutional Law

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Slide 6- Original Law- Constitutional Law

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U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1
https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#amdt_14_(1868)

* No one can deny the equal protection of the laws to any natural born or naturalized person of the United States.
*In our case it is important to note that this includes people with disabilities or that would need to use special education services.

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Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1400

*Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that children with disabilities receive what is necessary for their educational needs.
*This also allows for free appropriate public education for all children.
*This protects the rights of the children with disabilities and their parents.

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Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE–1, 580 U.S. (2017)

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf

*This court case clarifies what free appropriate public education actually is.
*This case also explains that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be uniquely tailored to each child.

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Slide 9- Original Law- Administrative Law

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Slide 9- Original Law- Administrative Law

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94–142)
142.pdf (hhttps://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/94/142.pdfouse.gov)

*This act requires all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education for children with physical and mental disabilities.
*Public schools must evaluate children and confer with parents to create an educational experience that is as close as possible to what it would be if the children were not disabled.

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Slide 10- Local Administrative Law/ Policy/ Rule- ECI through Region 15

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Slide 10- Local Administrative Law/ Policy/ Rule- ECI through Region 15

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26 Tex. Admin. Code § 350.101- Early Childhood Intervention Services Purposes
Early Childhood Intervenhttps://www.esc15.net/domain/17tion / HOME (esc15.net)

Region 15 Service Center uses Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) to work with children and families ages birth to age three with disabilities and developmental delays to receive extra help to reach their developmental milestones. There are many types of ECI professionals used including Early Intervention Specialists, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech/language Pathologists, Hearing and Vision Specialists, and Professional Counselors.

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Young children grow and learn so much during their first three years. The changes babies and toddlers go through are made up of different skills, like walking and talking. These skills, or developmental milestones, usually happen by certain ages. Although each child is special and develops at his or her own pace, watching to see when your child reaches these milestones can help you know how your child is developing.

All children need support as they grow and learn, but some children with disabilities or development delays face unique challenges and need extra help. This extra help is called Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). ECI helps babies and toddlers from birth to three with development delays or significant medical problems. ECI partners with families to help children grow, learn and stay healthy. Parents and professionals work together as a team. The team develops a plan for services and assess the child's progress. Services are provided to children and families in familiar and convenient surroundings where children live, learn and play. This may include the family's home or child care center. Children learn new skills through everyday activities. Team members from a variety of backgrounds work together to find learning opportunities within the family's normal routines such as bath time, meal time or play time. ECI works with doctors, child care providers, WIC, social services and schools to help improve the lives of children and families.

Families of all income levels receive ECI services. There is no income limit. No family is turned away because of an inability to pay.

ECI professionals include: Early Intervention Specialists, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech/language Pathologists, Hearing and Vision Specialists, and Professional Counselors.

Counties served are Coke, Concho, Crockett, Edwards, Irion, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Tom Green and Val Verde.

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Young children grow and learn so much during their first three years. The changes babies and toddlers go through are made up of different skills, like walking and talking. These skills, or developmental milestones, usually happen by certain ages.

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19 Tex. Educ. Code 274 § 3.4d

https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

"The educator shall not exclude a student from participation in a program, deny benefits to a student, or grant an advantage to a student on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, national origin, religion, family status, or sexual orientation" (19 Tex. Educ. Code 274 § 3.4d).

This ethical principle connects to this topic because no child should be excluded or not receive the best instruction possible due to lack of knowledge. This is why all early childhood educations should receive additional training on working with children who have special needs so that they can also be included in their public school classrooms.

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Slide 12- Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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Slide 12- Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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I have a child with a genetic disorder and even as an early childhood certified teacher, I did not have enough tools to teach her to the same ability as the the other children that are her age. I have attended many trainings that have prepared me to be the best teacher possible but when I have the choice at large conferences there are not hardly any trainings on working with children who have special needs. There is such a push to have all children in the same classroom currently in education. We need to be doing all that we can to create the best learning environment for all of our students including those with special needs.

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Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance:
*Familiarize yourself with the laws protecting children who have disabilities and what is required in your classroom.
*Find experts in early childhood education who specialize in special education. Look at the Region Center for Early Childhood Interventionist, the Special Education department of your school district or talk to someone at the National Association of Special Education teachers.
*Attend all the trainings available to you on working with children who have special needs in early childhood.
*Use some of your classroom money to help make accommodations in your classroom. (Examples would include a sensory station, books in your reading center about children who are different than other children, something to help with auditory/visual instruction, a horseshoe table for small groups, etc.)
*Consider using scaffolding techniques to work with children at their own level.
*Start a weekly newsletter or blog for your class so parents know what is going on. This helps parents of children with special needs give suggestions on modifications to activities if needed.