Special Education for Early Childhood

Special Education for Early Childhood

John Q . Student

________ University

Scenario A - Kristy , who is a child with Down syndrome , may face the following issues while attending preschool

Whether her peers at the preschool will accept her . If Kristy 's relationships with her peers at the school are not positive , it may lead to behavioral and emotional problems in Kristy (Deater-Deckard , pp 565-579 Hay , Payne Chadwick , pp 84-108

The teacher 's attitudes and expectations will play a major role in the behavioral and educational outcomes of Kristy . Historically , teachers

have been unfavorably inclined to the policy of including children with special needs in regular schools (Center Ward , pp 41-56 Forlin et al pp 119-133 . Teachers who have negative attitudes towards inclusion report less frequent use of instructional strategies directed especially at children with learning disabilities (Bender , et al . pp 87-94 , 120

The role of the support teacher will play an important role in the emotional and intellectual development of Kristy . While most children with Down syndrome are able to take part in some activities with little additional support , they are able to derive maximum benefit only if they have access to a classroom assistant or support teacher

If children with Down syndrome are constantly compared unfavorably with non-disabled students , this may lead to a diminution of the self-concept of the students with Down syndrome

The relationship between the teacher and the parents of Kristy will also play a vital role in her schooling . The presence of good collaboration between the family and school is vital to the academic and social development of Kristy

The extent of participation of Kristy 's parents in her education in the school settings also plays an important role in her education

Teachers should use strategies specifically targeted at disabled children to encourage interactive engagement (Brown , Odom Conroy , pp 162-175 . Teachers need to modify and adapt activities to ensure that they are relevant for children with Down syndrome . Some ways that teachers can do this is by designing activities , which require group effort and interaction among children , using more intrusive strategies like seating a child with Down syndrome near non-disabled peers to encourage interaction between them , prompting interaction among the disabled and non-disabled children , modelling correct interactive behavior , and interpreting for the typical children the meaning of social behavior for children with Down syndrome (Hamilton , David ,

br 133

Often children with Down syndrome are not adequately aware of the dangers that they need to be aware of (like hot stove , heights strangers , parking lots , etc

Kristy 's preschool teacher should ensure that Kristy has a smooth transition to preschool next year by ensuring that she forms healthy and positive relationships with her disabled and non-disabled peers (Laws Glynis Kelly , Elaine ,

80 . The teacher can help in this by making Kristy sit close to her non-disabled peers or making the children do group activities in which a child with Down syndrome would be asked to form a team with a non-disabled peer . The teacher should also...