Childhood Special Education

The Basic2 Benchmark assessment was administered to eleven elementary students with moderate to severe disabilities who are providing educational services in the same classroom. The special education classroom is identified as an upper elementary special day class, indicating that students who are enrolled in this classroom are in grades third through sixth. It is imperative to note that while these students are enrolled in the same program their disabilities and cognitive functioning levels are diverse in nature. The classical data analysis indicated that there was a reliability coefficient of 0.98; although this finding is high, it is imperative to note that the participant number is low, as only eleven students participated in the assessment.

A child will be assessed by an educational psychologist if there are concerns about their intellectual, communication and behavioural development. Assessments can be arranged by the SENCO or independently. The aim of the assessments is to find out why the child is not progressing and what support is needed in order for them to progress. Specific learning difficulties are often identified in this way such as Dyslexia, AHAD, Dyspraxia. Support and targets for the child are then set to help them achieve. The outcome of the assessments may involve the child referred to other professionals e.g. occupational therapist, optometrist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist. The psychologist will advise the school on how to promote development for example, keeping verbal instructions simple. Keep stories and group activities short to match attention span.

As compared with formal examinations, the ASQs have been shown to be both cost-effective and easily administered (Gollenberg, Lynch, Jackson, McGuinness, & Msall, 2010). There are five areas of development that are assessed on the ASQ, which are communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social. The questionnaire can be filled out by the parent or caregiver in10-20 minutes and scored in 1-5 minutes, so it is very time efficient assessment tool to use in the outpatient setting. The ASQ has been validated in many counties, in different languages and settings, and performs well with children with biological risk factors as well as those with environmental risk factors (Schonhaut, Armijo, Schonstedt, Alvarez, & Cordero, 2013). For scoring, the child's scores in each of the areas are compared to the cutoff points listed on the scoring sheet. The scores from the tool are compared with established norms to determine if a child is delayed in one or more areas. Scores beneath the cutoff points indicates a need for further assessment, scores near the cutoff points call for discussion and monitoring, and scores above the cutoff suggest the child is on track

Subsequently, if developmental delays are identified in the assessment process it may suggest that the child is experiencing

As an Early childhood, Educator. I am required to administer a developmental screening to all students within 45 calendar of enrollment. When I was doing my observation for the course ECE 221. I could see in the pre-school class, how the teacher was assessing, a three-year-old child using” The Early Screening Inventory-Revised”. To start with this assessment,

Early childhood assessment is constantly developing appropriate practices in many ways. Teachers have to identify the child’s developmental

Also when I took Abnormal Psychology I learned about the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System 2nd edition (ABAS) it measures the behavior frequency of the child. Parents score the child on individual questions between 0-3. 0 is not able, 1 is never when needed, 2 is sometimes when needed, 3 always when needed. The sections include communication, home living, academics, community use, health and safety, leisure, self-care, self-direction, social, and work. When the ABAS is scored it gives a score on developmental skills, emotional behavior, and relationship with others. It determines if the children is above or below average, it shows which sections they are strong and weak in, and if help should be given to that child. I was able to score a couple of Adaptive Behavior Assessments by putting it into the computer that generates an report that would then be used in the weekly meetings to determine if the child should be placed in special education.

I completed my field experience at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Since I serve the role of building principal, I am exposed to many different special education situations on a daily basis. Through this leadership field experience, I have learned a few additional things. It has taught me to stop and listen to what is occurring in our special education classrooms. By completing classroom observations, I was able to focus on the students, instead of rushing through a classroom observation on a teacher.

In England, it is a legal requirement under the EYFS for all early years settings to work with parents and other professionals to support children’s care, learning and development. Certain policies and procedures must be in place to protect children and for guidance.

In order for a student to be diagnosed for any disability, there is a process that involves many people that are important in the child’s life. The school must conduct tests that measure the child’s academic success in the classroom, as well as tests that measure IQ (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), work samples, developmental history (usually get this information from the parents), physical exams (vision, hearing etc.), psychological tests, adaptive skills (BASC) and other areas as needed. Testing is usually done by professionals from various disciplines. In order to qualify for special education services under IDEA, the disability must impact the child’s ability to be academically successful (IDEA, 2004).

Ms. Price stated,” we utilize a program which is a computer-based program called Teaching Strategies GOLD, which provides a guideline for assessing children’s development across a variety of domains, based on accepted developmental guidelines or frameworks.” “Documentation (anecdotal notes) is recorded upon observation over a period of time in order to achieve and aid in determining a child’s level of functioning and skill performance in various areas.” “This is a standardized type of Pre-K assessment. Assessment using this method are conducted throughout the school year at points called checkpoints, that determined by our Pre-K

An itinerant early childhood special education teacher provides direct services to a child and focuses on a child specific needs. There are four tasks the itinerant ECSE perform in an inclusive setting. Itinerant ECSC teachers consult with Early childhood educators to address IEP goals and objectives. While providing guidance, encouragement, and resources. A challenging task would be assisting with goals and objectives, especially when deciding on the activity. The activity has to be developmentally appropriate and also meet the needs of the child. Observing the child strengths and weakness can help overcome the hassle of implementing the goals and objectives.

It also helps to identify concerns that may need to be handled by a specialist or even just intervention for the individual children. And lastly, it is to help the program improve educational and developmental interventions. Conducting assessments has six steps to it; screening (identification of developmental problems or the potential for such problems), determining eligibility (to determine whether a child has an identifiable disability and qualifies for special education services), determining the service (services required are identified and the appropriate personnel are convened to write the IEP or IFSP), planning the program (Identify an appropriate program for a child and begin to plan what services will be delivered and how), monitoring progress (determine how the child is progressing in the program), and evaluating the program (purpose is to make decisions about the effectiveness of the intervention program for individual children). Screenings are conducted by professionals and there are many types of screenings and instruments used. Screening is very important for early

In what type of school do you teach? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description; if “other” applies, provide a brief description.)

Play is usually a natural activity in early childhood and has significant importance in early childhood special education. Play assists in enhancing the children social competence, creativity, language development, and their thinking skills. Play is usually the key vehicle for the developing of language, social skulls in young children (Rogers ET all. 2009). Moreover, it serves as a functional behavior which contributes to the life quality of the children. .