Inclusion in Early Childhood Education Settings in Philadelphia

1 Inclusion is an important concept. People want to be included and to belong in families, in communities, and in community institutions such as schools. Yet, all people are not always welcomed and, often, people with differences are the ones who are excluded. Children with differences based on factors such as ability, language and heritage, or life experiences are often viewed as having special needs and needing specialized services or other accommodations to help address differences. Inclusion was originally focused on educational settings, originating more than 40 years ago when the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) first required children, to the maximum extent possible, to receive their education in the least restrictive environment (LRE). It was not until 1986 that the law was revised to include a program for infants and toddlers, and also included children age three to kindergarten in the requirement for free and appropriate public education (FAPE), thereby establishing a policy to serve ALL children under kindergarten age and to do so in least restrictive environments. Inclusion is often thought to refer only to children with delayed development or disabilities who attend educational settings. However, inclusion also refers to children with a variety of special needs such as language or behavior differences, children who may be homeless, or those who have experienced trauma (Odom, Buysse, & Soukakou, 2011). When children with special needs are eligible for Early Intervention (EI), infants and toddlers receive an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) and children aged three and older have an Individual Education Plan (IEP). In the last two decades, federal, state and professional organizations have issued strong guidelines in support of inclusion. In 2009, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) adopted a joint position statement describing and defining early childhood inclusion (DEC/NAEYC, 2015). In 2015, federal agencies jointly released a policy statement encouraging states to develop policies and practices in order to increase inclusion of young children with disabilities in early childhood programs (U.S. Departments of Education & Health & Human Services, 2015). This was followed in 2017 with Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) Announcement about Inclusion of All Children in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania (PA OCDEL, 2017). Inclusion also refers to children with a variety of special needs such as language or behavior differences, children who may be homeless, or those who have experienced trauma. Inclusion in Early Childhood Education Settings in Philadelphia By Philippa H. Campbell, PhD, OTR/L 2 Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society. The desired results of inclusive experiences for children with and without disabilities and their families include a sense of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and friendships, and development and learning to reach their full potential. The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high quality early childhood programs and services are access, participation, and supports (DEC/NAEYC, 2009). ACCESS refers to the situations that allow families to obtain the types of child care that they wish to have for their child with special needs. This means that policies, environmental design, and adaptations provide families with a choice of types of child care programs such as family child care, center-based care or programs such as PreK Counts, Head Start, or Philadelphia’s PHLpreK. Children should have access to high quality learning environments and activities as well as the adaptations, universal design for learning (UDL), or technology that make it possible for successful full participation and learning. FULL PARTICIPATION results when early childhood teachers and related professionals collaborate to promote children’s learning and use individualized strategies embedded within the child care program activities and routines. These strategies address children’s specific learning needs and promote a sense of belonging and membership by building positive relationships and welcoming each child and family with warmth and respect. SYSTEM LEVEL SUPPORTS provide the infrastructure on which quality inclusive practices are built. Supports include professional development for directors, teachers, families, and related services personnel, policy and procedures that establish and sustain interagency and inter-professional collaboration, and quality frameworks such as DEC Recommended Practices (DEC,