Adapting Early Childhood Curricula for Children in Inclusive Settings

9780131124882

0131124889

This book is written with you, the student of either early childhood or special education, in mind. Whether you are studying to become a teacher of young children with special needs or are an early interventionist with a related background who wishes to develop greater versatility in your chosen field, we have designed this to be an easy-to-read, interesting, and comprehensive resource for you. It provides extensive use of examples, dialogues, practical illustrations, checksheets, and a focus on the best practices in the field. When this text was originally published, intervention with young children with special needs was in its formative years. Since that time the field has expanded, and this book has successfully grown with it. Young children with special needs are now enrolled in a variety of settings and are served by professionals and paraprofessionals with diverse backgrounds. Our objective now, as it was in the first five editions, is to present a text that will play a major role in the development of all of these professionals. The focus is on the skills necessary to assist infants, young children, and their families to meet their special challenges and develop to their fullest potential. Distinguishing Features This book has four main strengths that make it a compelling self-teaching resource: 1. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the natures of all young children and how they learn. Adapting curricula and intervention approaches for chlldren with special needs works effectively only when professionals build on a strong foundation of understanding what is common to all young children. On the basis of this necessary foundation, students can consider strategies for meeting the developmental and educational needs of infants and young children who have disabilities or who experience circumstances and conditions that potentially interfere with optimal growth and adjustment. 2. The approach taken in this text also stresses the absolute necessity of understanding young children within the context of the family. Every family is unique and complex, reflecting the many influences of history, culture or ethnicity, economics, and family dynamics. Early interventionists must focus not on the detailed analysis of these many factors, but on ways of supporting families that will maximize their day-to-day fulfillment as caregivers of their young. As explained in the text, your job, in part, is to help parents develop a sense of competence in their own abilities to nurture their children regardless of family circumstances. Appreciation of families' roles in the development of children and respect for families' concerns and priorities are critical to effective curriculum design and program development. 3. A significant portion of the text is organized according to traditional developmental domains: social-emotional, motor, communication, and cognitive skills. As an early childhood special education professional, you will seek to develop these growth areas in the children entrusted to you. Thus, you must develop a thorough understanding of each of these complex domains. 4. Finally, you must ultimately understand that all of the growth areas and individual and family background factors must be synthesized into a view of the whole child. As in any other form of synergy, the whole child is much greater than the sum of his or her parts. This holistic view relates directly to the book's emphasis on activity-based and play-based approaches to intervention. You will learn how to integrate goals and objectives for all domains into developmentally appropriate and motivating activities in inclusive, community-based settings. Throughout, best practices are explained for home, center, or classroom application. What is new about this sixth edition? The four points just mentioned suggest the framework and approach that have consistently made this book appealing to readers of five earlier