Inclusion of Children with Special Needs
Inclusion is a basic principle in early care and education. This principle guides policies and practices that are embedded throughout early childhood programs and classrooms, ensuring that young children with special needs are cared for and educated alongside their peers who do not have special needs. Federal law not only protects the rights of children and adults with disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]; Rehabilitation Act [Section 504]), but specifically requires that infants and toddlers be served and educated in natural environments (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], Part C), with preschoolers to be served and educated in the least restrictive environment (IDEA, Part B) (Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge, 2012). In early care and education, the principle of inclusion, and the policies and practices that flow from it, increasingly also have come to be applied to all children whose special needs are recognized and accommodated within early childhood programs and classrooms, including those with individual plans in the areas of health, mental health or behavior. In this document, the term "special needs" encompasses all of these children, whereas the term "disabilities" refers specifically to those children with special needs who have in place an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), Individual Education Plan (IEP), or 504 Plan (rehabilitation plan guaranteeing access to services for individuals with disabilities). (See Appendix A for additional definitions.)
A Joint Position Statement (2009) of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) highlights three key practice principles for early childhood inclusion, to be utilized collectively in high quality early childhood programs and services. Each is defined within the Joint Position Statement:
- Access…Every child has access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities, settings and natural environments, through the removal of structural, social, and learning barriers and multiple, varied formats for instruction and learning.
- Participation…Some children receive additional, individualized accommodations and supports to participate fully in play and learning opportunities with peers and adults, and to benefit from those opportunities.
- Supports…An infrastructure of systems-level supports for coordinated services and personnel development is in place to undergird the efforts of individuals and organizations providing inclusive services to children and families.
Collaboration is fundamental to achieving the full benefits of inclusion. When children receive services from different professionals, in more than one setting, they are developing and learning. Children also benefit when information on assessments and intervention practices are shared among parents and those professionals, across those settings. However, sharing information must be done with full respect for the family's wishes, and only with compliance to all applicable federal, state, and local privacy and confidentiality laws. The practices recommended in this document are based on the assumption that they are accomplished with full, signed consent of the family.
The Award of Excellence for Inclusion of Children with Special Needs, part of ExceleRate Illinois, reflects these principles.
Although the Award of Excellence for Inclusion has ended, Illinois will continue to acknowledge and celebrate programs who demonstrate high quality practices in inclusion. Visit: Outstanding Practices in Inclusion Recognition
Inclusion Brochure is available in English & Spanish.
What Makes Inclusion Work
Early Choices has a great page called “What Makes Inclusion Work?” There is a variety of information, resources, and clickable links that can inform you about Inclusion.
The Federal Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs Module
This module developed by Early CHOICES reviews the Federal Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs. This module has 3 sections and a summary with lots of great information.
Guildlines:
The Illinois Inclusion Guidelines
(739 KB)
The Illinois Inclusion Guidelines Checklist
Standards:
Inclusion of Children with Special Needs Standards
(298 KB)
Inclusion of Children with Special Needs Standards and Requirements
(190 KB)
Applications & Supplements:
School-Based Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Licensed Child Care Center Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Questions:
Frequently Asked Questions
(318 KB)
For questions about Awards of Excellence email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Preschool Teaching and Learning
The fundamental elements of quality preschool teaching and learning practice include well-organized and managed learning environments, responsive social and emotional supports, and use of curricula materials and meaningful instructional interactions to facilitate children’s thinking and skill development. Implementation of curricula, lesson planning, and interactions and instruction are informed by on-going assessment of children’s progress towards early learning and development standards and kindergarten readiness goals. Professional development and continuous improvement of instructional practice occurs through embedded routines of peer-to-peer technical assistance that incorporates discussion of data (children’s progress, learning environments, and teacher-child interactions), examination of practice, and collaboration to improve teaching and learning.
Organized environments that support children’s engagement with materials and peers are the foundation for all learning in early childhood classrooms. Effective preschool teachers support children’s exploration in the learning environments through relationship building; awareness, sensitivity and responsiveness to children’s emotional and learning needs; and by regarding and expanding children’s perspectives. There is an absence of negativity, sarcasm, hostility, and aggression in teachers’ interactions with children.
Research-based curriculum provides learning goals and activities in the major domains of children's development and the key knowledge and skill areas to support kindergarten readiness. Curricula provide guidance on what to teach (content) and how to teach (learning experiences and strategies for teaching). Curricula content is drawn from current child development science, early childhood teaching and learning science, interests and ideas of the children, and the values of the community.
Effective preschool instruction for all children requires the design of learning opportunities and interactions that facilitate children’s inquiry, thinking, and construction of understanding and knowledge about concepts. Young children vary widely in their development, skills and abilities, and background knowledge. Effective teachers are sensitive and skilled in interactions; they use ongoing formative assessment of each child's skills to plan learning opportunities; and they use curricula materials and activities to engage and individualize instruction for all children, regardless of their abilities and disabilities.
Ongoing assessment is integral to curriculum and instruction. The objective is to help children achieve kindergarten readiness through individual learning goals. Assessment information helps monitor progress — both for individual children and for the program as a whole. Assessment information needs to be valid, reliable, useful, and timely so the results can inform curricula development and instruction. Systematic, ongoing assessment provides valuable information on children's learning and helps inform curriculum planning and teaching across all domains of development and learning.
Professional development is designed to support teachers’ continuous learning, effective implementation, and improvement of practice. Teachers engage in weekly/monthly sessions of peer-to-peer technical assistance involving discussion of child and teaching data, observing and examination of practice, and planning improvements to teaching and learning opportunities.
The Award of Excellence for Preschool Teaching and Learning, part of ExceleRate Illinois, reflects these principles.
Please visit the following links for more information on the Award of Excellence for Preschool Teaching and Learning.
Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards (298 KB)
Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards and Requirements (150 KB)
Frequently Asked Questions (301 KB)
School-Based Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Licensed Child Care Center Prerequisite Application and Supplement
For questions about Awards of Excellence email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Has your program already achieved the Gold Circle of Quality? If so additional technical assistance can be received to work toward this Award of Excellence at www.theounce.org/lead.
Family and Community Engagement
Family and community engagement in early care and education (ECE) is defined by strong relationships and partnerships between ECE programs and families in order to enhance children’s learning and development. A family and community engagement approach recognizes that children develop within the context of families and communities and that families, communities, and early childhood programs all play a role in children’s development (Bromer et al., 2011; Epstein, 1995; Halgunseth, Peterson, Stark, & Moodie, 2009; Weiss, Caspe, & Lopez, 2006; Weiss, Lopez, & Rosenberg, 2010)
The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement articulates strong family and community engagement as:
“Building relationships with families that support family well-being, strong parent-child relationships, and ongoing learning and development of parents and children alike… Family engagement happens in the home, early childhood program, school and community and is a shared responsibility with all those who support children’s learning.” (Office of Head Start, The National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement, n.d., p. 1)
Research indicates that families have the greatest impact on their children’s development. ECE programs that are responsive to families and engage families in their children’s learning will have the best chance of shaping positive outcomes for children in their programs. ECE programs that build responsive and strength-based relationships with families may increase the likelihood of families becoming engaged in their children’s learning experiences as well as involved in the ECE program itself.
Family engagement activities are grounded in positive, ongoing interactions and relationships with families and communities. ECE program practices that promote family and community engagement include: respectful attitudes toward families, knowledge about families, goal-oriented and relationship-based partnerships with families, cultural and linguistic responsiveness toward families, welcoming environments, and family-friendly policies (Forry et al., 2012). Many of these elements are addressed in the Head Start Performance Standards as well as in the National Association for the Education of Young Children quality standards that emphasize the importance of strong family-provider partnerships (2005).
The standards articulated in this Award of Excellence point to ECE program staff practices, attitudes, and knowledge related to working with families that research indicates are likely to positively impact family engagement and child development. When family and community partnerships are comprehensive, systemic and integrated across ECE program foundations and practices, family and community engagement impacts are achieved resulting in children who are healthy and ready for school.
Please visit the following links for more information on the Award of Excellence for Family and Community Engagement.
Family and Community Engagement Standards (273 KB)
Family and Community Engagement Standards and Requirements (159 KB)
Frequently Asked Questions (282 KB)
School-Based Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Licensed Child Care Center Prerequisite Application and Supplement
For questions about Awards of Excellence email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Is your program in Cook county? Has your program already achieved the Gold Circle of Quality? If so additional technical assistance can be received to work toward this Award of Excellence. Contact Leatha Asbury at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Infant and Toddler Services
The period from birth to three years of age is marked by extraordinary growth across all developmental domains. Child development during this period is rapid, dynamic and sensitive to social, physical, biological and environmental inputs. A child’s experiences from birth to three influence how they develop, learn and interact with the world and set the foundation for future learning and development. There are several core principles related to the growth of infants, toddlers and two year olds which are critical to delivering the highest quality services. These principles offer a foundation for the knowledge of birth to three development that is laid out in the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Birth to Three.
- Early relationships are most important and central to young children’s development.
- Development occurs across multiple and interdependent domains, in a simultaneous manner.
- Children develop and learn at their own unique pace and in the context of their family, culture and community.
- Play is the most meaningful way children from birth to three learn and master new skills.
The core principles embodied by the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines are reinforced by research gathered in a Zero To Three policy brief on the impact of quality child care on children from birth to three (2009).
- The quality of the relationship between the child care provider and the child influences every aspect of young children's development. A secure relationship between the infant and the caregiver can complement the relationship between parents and young children and facilitate early learning and social development.
- Quality child care promotes cognitive, language and social and emotional development. Intensive, high quality, center-based child care interventions that provide learning experiences directly to the young child have a positive effect on early learning, cognitive and language development, and school achievement. For virtually every developmental outcome that has been assessed, quality of care also shows positive associations with early social and emotional development.
- Higher quality child care is particularly important to low income children. Low-income children often start behind their peers when they enter school. When child care is of very high quality, as is the case with model early childhood programs, the positive effects can endure into the early adult years, particularly for children from the poorest home environments.
The Award of Excellence for Infant and Toddler Services, part of ExceleRate Illinois, reflects these principles.
Please visit the following links for more information on the Award of Excellence for Infant and Toddler Services.
Infant and Toddler Services Standards (299 KB)
Infant and Toddler Services Standards and Requirements (146 KB)
Frequently Asked Questions (301 KB)
School-Based Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Licensed Child Care Center Prerequisite Application and Supplement
For questions about Awards of Excellence email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Has your program already achieved the Gold Circle of Quality? If so additional technical assistance can be received to work toward this Award of Excellence at www.theounce.org/lead.
Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Practice
Through their family, a child engages in their earliest and closest relationships and it is within these relationships that children experience the cultural belief system of their parents and family. These cultural belief systems are translated into parenting practices and guidance for child development. The home culture, including language/s, creates the background for all interactions and early learning within the family. In addition, the family culture provides the child with a sense of identity and a framework for interpreting the world. Every family has its own cultural and linguistic background and brings its unique experience, values, and beliefs to being a family and raising young children. The family’s cultural influence on health, growth and development, child-rearing, family relationships, and learning expectations shapes the child’s (and family’s) development, school readiness and school success.
The Illinois Early Learning Council recently adopted guiding principles related to cultural and linguistic responsiveness in early childhood programming; within these principles is a collective vision that each and every child will have early childhood experiences that promote healthy development that respects, promotes, and builds on their cultural, racial, ethnic, and other family backgrounds and experiences. The Guiding Principles include a commitment to ensuring the following characteristics exist to support services to young children:
• Early childhood professionals who understand that developing a child’s first language supports the acquisition of a second language.
• Early childhood classrooms that embrace and include a rich range of diversity, allowing all to learn from it and enhancing all children’s learning and development.
• Teacher preparation programs that incorporate the individual and unique needs of each child and family and the experiences they bring to the classroom.
• Programming that incorporates all types of diversity, including but not limited to: gender, culture, language, ethnicity, ability, race and economic status.
• Policy implementation that reinforces families and communities as children’s first teachers.
• Diverse state and local organizations and agencies that are meaningfully responsive to each and every child and family they serve.
The Award of Excellence for Linguistic and Culturally Appropriate Practice, part of ExceleRate Illinois, reflects and advances these principles, including the acknowledgment of the fact that supporting dual language learners rests in the very best of all teaching practices and instructional quality. The teaching practices must include a responsiveness to the children and regard for their perspective, a sensitivity to their needs, and an ability to utilize a variety of instructional formats to reach and engage the children.
Please visit the following links for more information on the Award of Excellence for Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Practice.
Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Practice Standards (299 KB)
Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Practice Standards and Requirements (151 KB)
Frequently Asked Questions (315 KB)
School-Based Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Licensed Child Care Center Prerequisite Application and Supplement
Resources 