The Facts About Special Needs Inclusion in Early Childhood Programs

Visit any childcare center, and you are likely to see some special needs children enrolled. These may be children with a physical, mental or emotional disability. There are also many more children who, while not diagnosed, are high-maintenance and do, in fact, have special needs. What are the real facts about inclusion of such children in regular childcare programs?

Inclusion is a sound principal based on knowledge of child development. The theory of inclusion is completely sound. Take kids whose developmental delays or disabilities are mild to moderate and place them with typically developing peers to provide role models and enhance self-esteem. The theory is valid and holds up in application in the right circumstances. There are times however, when implementation is shaky at best.

Inclusion is the law in the United States. An important next step is for state regulations to recognize that inclusion requires that there be special sets of regulations for inclusion classrooms. Ideally, those special regulations will be backed up with funding to aid private facilities in adhering to them. A state paid special needs teacher or aide in a developmentally integrated preschool classroom for just a few of the 12 or more hours open in a typical childcare setting will make a world of difference. The special needs children will be more effectively taught and the typically developing children will get their fair share of the teacher’s time. Additionally, by having a “specialist” in the room, some of those undiagnosed kids mentioned earlier will have exposure to the kind of help they need and their parents will have better access to information.

Inclusion has a monetary price. Currently most preschool age special needs kids are served in separate special needs classrooms. Most privately owned centers cannot afford to hire someone with the necessary training and education without running at a loss. The cost to subsidize trained faculty and staff in private childcare centers is comparable to that needed to equip and maintain a separate classroom to provide appropriate educational services to children as is their right.

Inclusion is acknowledged by early childhood experts as the best way to serve the needs of children with mild to moderate disabilities. With correct management, it becomes possible to serve these kids in the “least restrictive environment” of their regular full time child care setting. Some school districts have begun to implement itinerant teacher programs for children with mild special needs. This is far more beneficial to the children than the traditional programs now in place. Currently, children are commonly bussed to their special education sites in the morning or early afternoon. Some children as young as three are spending up to an hour a day on the school bus. If they attend afternoon shift, they miss all or most of naptime. The child’s best interest is better served when children can receive the help and education they need in their everyday setting.

Inclusion is good for typically developing children, too. Itinerant teachers or aides will also benefit the disabled child’s peer group. A child in an inclusion classroom with daily behaviors which negatively impact the group as a whole, is not in a true peer setting. A full time behavior specialist in the classroom significantly reduces the negative impact of behavior issues allowing the typically developing peers to model appropriate behaviors. All of the children benefit by additional one on one time with caregivers, and the availability of someone to specifically address problem behaviors as they are occurring.

Special needs inclusion is a concept whose time has come. We are implementing it now. As we as a society learn more about inclusion, changes in regulations, funding, and training will improve the process. Parents of all children, typically developing or those with special needs are the advocates who will make it happen faster.