Sharing Resources

Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC-CEC)

www.dec-sped.org

Exploring the DEC-CEC website I was reminded of the newly released position statement that is relevant to my current position as an early childhood special education specialist.  In September 2018, the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) published the DEC Position Statement on Low Birth Weight, Prematurity & Early Intervention.  "The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) endorses the development of national guidelines for the identification and eligibility for Part C Early Intervention (EI) services of children born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm in the United States" (DEC, 2018).

In Texas, the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) serves children birth to age 3 who have been diagnosed with developmental delays, auditory or visual impairments, and/or disabilities or certain medical diagnoses that impact the child's development.  The addition of low birth weight and prematurity will increase the number of children possibly identified for ECI services.  Currently, ECI programs are experiencing financial challenges which is leading to a lower number of children (birth to age 3) being served by agencies.  With fewer numbers of children being identified and served, the number of children and the severity of special needs of children enrolling in early childhood programs, such as Head Start, prekindergarten, early childhood special education, and child care, is increasing.

Based on research studies shared in the DEC position statement, cognitive and behavior impairments may discovered in later ages of children that were born premature but did not exhibit any major disabilities in the first three years of life.  According to one study referenced, "parents have reported that their child did not qualify for EI, or "graduated" out of EI, but later manifested learning difficulties at school-age" (DEC, 2018).  The DEC strongly recommends that state early childhood intervention (ECI) programs include low-birth weight and prematurity in their eligibility criteria.  The statement shared that delays in cognitive development, difficulties in language acquisition and competency, vulnerability to social-emotional delays and/or behavioral challenges, and/or deficits and delays in motor are well documented in children born with low-birth weight and/or preterm (DEC,2018). 

With more and more of these children entering early childhood programs without receiving ECI services, the need for high-quality early childhood programs and qualified educators and staff is even greater.  Serving these children in early childhood programs that nurture healthy cognitive, social, emotional, motor, and linguistic development in children birth to age 5 should become a priority of our society, politicians, and economists.  I say this because this is one way to be proactive in meeting the needs of these children before they become school-age.  These programs can improve the school-readiness outcomes and possibly reduce the long-term costs of remedial programs during the school-age years and post-school years.

The DEC policy is relevant not only for special education but for general education, too.  I am currently receiving an increased number of requests from primary and elementary administrators to visit classroom with the sole purpose of observing and providing intervention strategies for students in early childhood classrooms (PK-2nd) that are behavioral challenges and/or "out of control" but do not qualify for special education services.  As I learn more about these children from the teacher, counselor, and school staff, some of these children were born prematurely but not all.  Most, however, attended an early childhood program prior to becoming school age.  There is a chance that if these programs were highly-qualified and staffed by highly trained staff, the child(ren) might have learned self-regulation skills, social skills, and improved communication skills that could assist in their success in the classroom.  The might experience less stress and frustration academically, too.  This is just one more reason why high-quality early childhood education should be a priority.

References: 

Division of Early Childhood (DEC). (n.d.)  Retrieved November 24, 2018 from http://www.dec-sped.org/

Division of Early Childhood (DEC). (2018). Position Statement - Low Birth Weight, Prematurity, Early Intervention. Retrieved November 24, 2018 from https://www.decdocs.org/position-statement-low-birth-weight 

The Hunger Project

www.thp.org 

The Hunger Project was founded in 1977 after the first Rome World Food Conference.  From 1979-1986, the Hunger Project played an instrumental role is recruiting international support to prevent famines in Cambodia, Somalia, and the African continent.  In 1990, they partnered with the Planning Commission of India to establish the Strategic Planning in Action (SPIA), which is a holistic, people-centered approach.  According to their website, approximately 21,000 villages in Africa, Asia and Latin America have applied the SPIA approach to empower people to develop improvements in health, education, nutrition and family income (THP, n.d.).   Over the years, the Hunger Project has advocated and called attention to the issues of hunger and poverty.  “The Hunger Project’s designed a strategic direction to expand their scope via three key priorities: partnerships, advocacy, and impact” (THP, n.d.).

The Hunger Project stated that their “programs in 16,075 communities throughout Africa, South Asia and Latin America are based on an innovative, holistic approach, which empowers women and men living in rural villages to become the agents of their own development and make sustainable progress in overcoming hunger and poverty” (THP, n.d.).  The inspire people to move from “I can’t” to “I can” or “We can” by focusing on these three elements: “1. Empowering women as key change agents; 2. Mobilizing communities for self-reliant actions; and 3. Fostering effective partnerships with local government” (THP, m.d.)

As a explored the Hunger Project’s website, I discovered that approximately 896 million people in developing countries live a $1.90 a day or less.   It is well-known that poverty, food prices and hunger are linked.  Many are hungry and malnourished because they cannot afford to buy enough food, cannot afford healthy, nutritious foods, or afford the farming supplies and materials to grow their own food.  I, also, discovered that sadly over 30 percent of rural girls and 15 percent of urban girls living in poverty are kept out of school to save money.  The Hunger Project believes that a lack of general education leads to higher adolescent birth rates, which “over-burdens an already economically strained community” (n.d.).  All these factors lead to a continuing cycle of gender inequality, poverty, and hunger.

It is essential to build capacity of men and women to surpass poverty through education and training programs.  The Hunger Project offers such programs with the goal of “teaching the skills, methods, knowledge, and leadership needed to take self-reliant actions so they can meet their own basic needs, improve their communities and build better futures for themselves and their children” (n.d.). Educational programs for individuals living in poverty do not just provide access to knowledge and resources, they provide an opportunity for change and the ability for individuals and communities to be self-reliant and self-sufficient as they overcome poverty and hunger.

Reference:

The Hunger Project (THP). (n.d.) Retrieved November 17, 2018 from www.thp.org.

Sharing Web Resources

Just recently, I received my copy of NAEYC’s journal Teaching Young Children for October-November.  It featured article about family conferences and The Kindness Movement.  I always enjoy perusing the varying articles on teaching strategies, ideas, and random tips.  Even though this issue focused primarily on family-teacher conferences, it was the articles on classroom practices and strategies that interested me.  One article that truly caught my attention was titled “Look, Listen, Learn: The Kindness Movement” which in many ways connects to our current course.

It begins sharing a story about conflict between two students in an early childhood classroom.  The conflict was over a roll of tape at the art table.  The two young children were having a tug-a-war over the roll of tape and arguing over who had it first.  The teacher stepped in to calm the situation and possibly solve the conflict for the children.  Instead of offering a simple solution, the teacher allowed the classmates to help the two students resolve the conflict. The students brainstormed solutions, and one student presented an idea about making signs to promote kindness.  He shared, “I have an idea! Let’s make signs that say ‘Be Kind,’ and we can give them to people to put int heir windows!  This world needs more kindness!” (Jaboneta & Curtis, 2018).  The class worked together to make signs about kindness and distributed them around the school’s neighborhood.

This story is a great example of teaching conflict resolution in an early childhood classroom.  Conflict resolution is a life time skill.  Teaching conflict resolution skills and problem solving to young children is a way to foster a foundation for social and emotional development.  As the authors shared in the article, “when given an opportunity to solve their own problems, young children show us how capable they are during social conflicts” (Jaboneta & Curtis, 2018).

I learned about the Peace Place, which teaches children about thinking and talking together to solve problems or conflicts.  The Peace Place encourages children to use a five-step process for working out problems.  The steps are 1. Get together; 2. Take turns talking and listening; 3. Think and talk about what will help; 4. Choose a plan; and 5. Do it (Jaboneta & Curtis, 2018).

This article reminds me how impactful teaching life skills lessons in the early childhood classroom is. Through the teacher’s facilitation, the children were able to find a resolution to a conflict and inspire others by sharing their motto about kindness.  This is a skill that essential for children of all ages and adults.

References:

Jaboneta, N. & Curtis, D. (2018).  Look, Listen, Learn: The Kindness Movement. TYC Teaching Young Children, 12(1).  Retrieved November 10, 2018 from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/oct2018/kindness-movement.

National Association for Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2018 from https://www.naeyc.org/.

Getting Ready—Expanding Horizons and

Expanding Resources

In 1919, Save the Children was founded by Eglantyne Jebb in London during the wake of World War 1.  It is said to be first global movement for children.  Save the Children encompasses a variety of worldwide initiatives that focus on topics directly impacting young children, which includes early childhood education, health/medical care, nutrition, disaster relief, hunger/famine relief, and public policy. They are funded by contribution, gifts, and government grants.  Approximately 90% of the donations are allocated towards the mission of helping children.  The other percentage is used to support the program and fundraising.  They have programs in the United States, Africa, Asia, the Greater Middle East and Eurasia regions, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  To learn more about the programs in these countries visit https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/where-we-work.  One program that caught my attention was the KinderBoost program offered in the United States.  It is a “two-week, 10-day school readiness program provides children and families the opportunity to get to know their new school, meet teachers and staff, make new friends and engage in early learning activities” (Save the Children, n.d.).

According to their website, “NIEER conducts academic research to inform policy supporting high-quality, early education for all young children promoting the physical, cognitive and social development needed for children to succeed in school and later life. NIEER provides independent, research-based analysis and technical assistance to policymakers, journalists, researchers, and educators” (NIEER, n.d.).  The information and resources provided on the NIEER website are extremely beneficial to me as an early childhood special education specialist.  In my position, I support special education and general education prekindergarten programs in public independent school districts and charter schools, so it is imperative that I remain knowledgeable of current research and policies to support high-quality early childhood education.

I have been a member of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children for several years.  Their website is rich with resources, such as DEC recommended practices, professional development Learning Decks, journals, and position statements.  I currently receive their two journals, Journal of Early Intervention and Young Exceptional Children, in the mail.  The knowledge and information that I gain from these journals are regularly embedded in my trainings and technical assistance with teachers and administrators that work with children receiving special education services.  It is recommended for educators to be members of at least one professional education organization, the DEC is one that I encourage young special education teachers to join.

The National Association for Education of Young Children, NAEYC, has one primary vision statement that describes the overall purpose.  It is for “all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential” (NAEYC, n.d.).  The NAEYC website is packed full of resources that benefit educators, administrators, and families.  They offer their members access to professional development opportunities, exploration of early childhood topics (new and classic), updated position statements, varying publications (books, articles, and journals), and a blog.  Their two journals, Teaching Young Children and Young Children) are chock-full of articles that relate to classroom teachers and parents.  Young Children’s article “Mr. Joe Becomes a Dad: A Former Preschool Teacher Reflects on His First Child Starting School” is one that I like to share.  It is a wonderful example of developing empathy for parents on the first day of school, developing a plan of action to help smooth the transition to school for the children and parents, and building connections with not just the moms, but the dads, too.

References:

Division of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2018 from http://www.dec-sped.org/

Save the Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2018 from https://www.savethechildren.org/

National Association for Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2018 from http://naeyc.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2018 from http://nieer.org

Valente, Joseph M.. (2018).. Mr. Joe Becomes a Dad: A Former Preschool Teacher Reflects on His First Child Starting School YC Young Children, 73(4).  Retrieved November 3, 2018 from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/sep2018/mr-joe-becomes-a-dad.