Early Childhood SPED History and Laws PRESENTATION

An overview on Early Childhood Special Education's history and federal laws

1. EDSE 350
Chapter 1: Providing for Special
Needs in Early Education:
The Challenge

2. Early Intervention: The historical themes
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1.Society’s concern about care and welfare of
young children
•
Laws prohibiting child labor and requiring public
education
•
Recognizing that early years are critical to the child’s
development
•
A greater need for out-of-home care for young children
(working mothers etc.)

3. Early Intervention: The historical themes
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2.Society’s concern for the rights and needs of
individual citizens and minority groups
•
Historical evidence of discrimination against minority
groups, women, and persons with disabilities
•
The passage of PL 94-142 in 1975
•
Recognition of the need to provide programs or services
to help compensate for disability or minority status
3.An increased focus on support for both
individuals and families as the primary goal of
human service programs
•
Accountability of health and human services across
state, federal, and private agencies

4. What do we know about the effectiveness of
early intervention?
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Study by Skeels and Dye (1939)
•Provided evidence that environmental conditions
had a powerful influence on children’s development
•They compared the development of 12 children in
an orphanage with 13 children placed in the care of
older women with mental retardation in an
institution
•Results showed that 18 months to 3 years later the
children in the care of the adults had gained 27 IQ
points while those who remained in the orphanage
had lost an average of 26 IQ points

5. What do we know about the effectiveness of
early intervention?
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Research on children from low-income families
(Head Start Programs)
•1969 study showed that one year of preschool
would not produce long-term effects
•
Children require more time in preschool
•This resulted in the Home Start program (under
Head Start) for younger children living in poverty
•Project Follow Through was initiated to assist in
transition to public school

6. What do we know about the effectiveness of
early intervention?
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Research on Children at Risk Due to Low Birth
Weight or Prematurity
•
A study that evaluated 995 infants of low birth weight
or prematurity
•
The children received educational or pediatric follow-
up only (control group)
•
Intervention consisted of weekly home visits for the
first year and center-based program until 36 months
•Those who weighed more 2000 gms at birth gained
13.2 IQ points higher than the control
•Those who weighed less than 2000 gms at birth
gained 6.6 IQ points higher than the control

7. What do we know about the effectiveness of
early intervention?
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How has history affected current procedures?
•Research on Children with Disabilities
•With PL 99-457 early intervention was
mandatory for children with disabilities
•Early intervention programs need to be
accountable
•COLLECT DATA!
•MAKE DATA-BASED DECISIONS!

8. Pioneers
of Early Childhood Education
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Jean-Marc Itard (1775-1838)
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

9. Jean-Marc Itard (1775-1838)
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In 1800, undertook one of the first documented efforts to
provide intervention services to a child with special needs
The Wild Boy of Aveyron (1962)
Change the environment stimuli to teach a boy believed to be
raised by wolves and characterized as “an incurable idiot”
Hypothesis not achieved but was the first to show need to work
with children with disabilities
Known as the Interventionist Theory
What shapes human behavior?
•Nature (heredity, genetic make-up)?
•Nurture (the environment, how we learn)?

10. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
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First female physician in Italy
Clinical observations led to analyze how children learn
Founded Casa dei Bambini (nursery school)
Montessori method of education was developed based
on her scientific observations of children’s ability to
absorb knowledge from their surroundings
Observe a child’s natural behavior & then arrange the
environment to encourage the behavior/development
& curiosity
For children with disabilities, individualized instruction,
manipulatives, concrete examples, task analysis

11. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
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The child is an active learner stimulated by
inborn curiosity
A capacity to learn by experience
Focus on a child’s strengths, rather than needs
Perry pre-school project
Integration Model

12. Major Landmarks in Early Intervention
Services
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•Project Head Start
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 provided educational and
social opportunities for children from low-income families
In 1972, Head Start was required to include children with
disabilities (at least 10% of their enrollment)
•Handicapped Children’s Early Education
Program (HCEEP) (1968)
Required to include parents in activities
Run in-service training
Evaluate progress of the children and program
Coordinate activities with public schools
Disseminate information

13. Major Landmarks in Early Intervention
Services
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1975- PL 94-142 Education for All Handicapped
Children Act
FAPE
Procedural Safeguards
LRE
1986 - PL 99-457 The Education of the Handicapped
Act Amendments
Made federal support available for the development of early
intervention programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities,
ages birth - 2 years
Extended FAPE to 3- to 5-year-olds
Institutes Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs)

14. Major Landmarks in Early Intervention
Services
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1990 - PL 101-476: The Education of the Handicapped Act
Amendments

Changed title from EHA to IDEA

Recognized that children with special needs are children first

All phrases using the word “handicapped” were deleted

Person-first language

Mandated transition services

1990 PL 101-476 reauthorized the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act (PL 94-142) and renamed it the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
1991-102-119: The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act Amendments

Extended FAPE to ages 3 – 5

Emphasis on smooth transitions

Extended comprehensive services to birth – 3 and families

Reauthorized and extended Part H (the infant component) of PL
99-457 and made several amendments regarding how services are
to be provided.

15. Major Landmarks in Early Intervention
Services
1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)
Ensures full civil rights of individuals with
disabilities
Previous laws focused primarily on education -
ADA is broad-reaching and ensures equal
opportunity in employment, public
accommodation (child-care centers included),
transportation, state and local government
services, and telecommunications
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16. Major Landmarks in Early Intervention
Services
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1997 - PL 105-17 IDEA Amendments
Revised early intervention program to serve at-risk infants
and toddlers
Requires IFSPs to contain statements about the natural
environments
Appropriately trained personnel for early intervention services
Allows the term developmental delay for children aged 3-9
2004 – PL 108-446: The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act
Use “scientifically based research” to develop EC services
Provides flexibility based on development for Kindergarten
readiness

17. Why Intervene Early?
Brainstorm Ideas……
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18. Why Intervene Early?
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Rate of human learning is most rapid in
the preschool years
Early intervention services have a
significant impact on parents and siblings
Society reaps the maximum benefits

19. Goals of Early Intervention
Brainstorm Ideas……
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20. Goals of Early Intervention
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1.To support families in achieving their own goals
2.To promote child engagement, independence and
mastery
3.To promote development in the key domains
4.To build and support children’s social competence
5.To promote the generalized use of skills
6.To provide and prepare for normalized life
experiences
7.To prevent the emergence of future problems or
disabilities

21. For the following topics, work with a partner
and define what the topics mean to you.
Evolving Topics
Family Centered Services
Community-based Inclusive Settings
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Cultural Competence
Coordinated, Comprehensive Services
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22. Evolving Trends
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Family Centered Services
Community-based Inclusive Settings
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Cultural Competence
Coordinated, Comprehensive Services

23. Evolving Trends
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Family Centered Services
PL 99-457 (Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986)
recognized the family as a constant in the child’s life
Therefore focused on a family-centered approach (working with
family stresses, functioning etc.)
Professionals are encouraged to work with the family on assessment,
prioritizing goals, designing and implementing intervention plans
Community-Based Inclusive Settings
Basic premise of IDEA is to include young children in the least
restrictive environment
Part C states that services should be provided in the child’s natural
environments (home, community settings)
This is a challenge!

24. Evolving Trends
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Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Part C mandates service coordination
The focus is on interagency and interdisciplinary
collaboration
It allows the family to benefit from the expertise of
several disciplines simultaneously
Cultural Competence
Differing family units (immediate, extended, friends,
etc.) - very diverse
This impacts service delivery mechanisms as they have
to respond to constantly changing family characteristics

25. Best Practices
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The two professional groups that focus on early
intervention services have issued statements
on “best practices”:
1.National Association for the Education of Young
Children (NAEYC)
2.Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

26. Best Practices (NAEYC)
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Curriculum
Incorporate educational goals into all daily activities
Intervention is based on specific observation of each child in
the natural environment
Learning activities must be relevant and individualized - they
must be assessed and gradually increased in difficulty
Adult-Child Interaction
Adults must respond to children’s needs and
attempts to communicate - must be provided with
several opportunities to communicate
Behavior management - must enhance self-control
Increase child’s independence
Adults must be responsible for all children at all times
and address health and safety issues

27. Best Practices (NAEYC)
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Family Involvement
Families should be encouraged to participate -
they have the right and the responsibility in
decision making
Professionals must make frequent contact
Professionals must share information
Evaluation
Should not rely on a single instrument
Must lead to meaningful early intervention
Must be culturally appropriate

28. Special Considerations for
Infant/Toddler Group Care
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Group Size - 1:3 adult to child ratio
Can be more focused on individualized instruction
Reduces chaos in the environment!
Physical Environment
Furniture for adults (rocking chairs etc.) that
encourages holding and reading to infants
Reduce off-limit items to minimize discipline problems
and negative adult-child interactions
Small well-defined areas for certain types of play

29. Special Considerations for
Infant/Toddler Group Care
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Assignment of primary caregiver
Facilitates development of true intimacy - familiarity
Increases the likelihood that at least one staff person knows the child
well
Therefore, increases responsive and appropriate interactions with the infant
Continuity of care - critical to establishment of trust and
communication patterns
Cultural and Familial Continuity
Ideally programs should employ staff whose cultural backgrounds
match the families they serve
Individuals working with children should examine the roots of their
own biases and values
They must be knowledgeable of the values and attitudes of the
cultural groups in their local community

30. Services for Preschoolers
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Part B of IDEA requires that children be placed
in the least restrictive environment
3-5-year-olds may be placed in a segregated
preschool class for children with disabilities
usually provided by the public school system

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32. Diversity in Philosophical Perspectives
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The Developmental Perspective
•Attributes growth primarily to the
maturational factors
•Children are born with an intrinsic motivation
to explore and master the environment
•Development is first a product of maturation
and then of the environment
•Competence is gained through self-initiated
play, exploration, and practice

33. Diversity in Philosophical Perspectives
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The Behavioral Perspective
•Children are born with a capacity to learn and
their skills emerge as a result of experiences
with environment
•Antecedents and consequences serve to
shape behavior
•Children learn behaviors through repeated
reinforcing interactions with the environment

34. Diversity in Philosophical Perspectives
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The Ecological Perspective
Encompasses several different views
•
The transactional model - Children and
caregivers influence each other,
interdependently over time
•
Systems theory - views children as a part of a
broader family system which incorporate basic
value assumptions about what is desirable for
children and families
•
Goodness-of-fit - the outcome of an intervention
is best predicted by studying the fit between the
child, family, and the ecology that they live in

35. Change in Attitudes Toward Children with
Disabilities
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Early 1900s - Institutionalize
Mid 1900s - Label and educate separately
1970s - Mainstream - how can we include?
2000 - Inclusion - what services can be
used to educate the child in the natural
environment?