Special Education and Inclusion in Early Care and Education

This provides links to brief, but detailed fact sheets on specific disabilities. Each fact sheet defines the disability, describes its characteristics, offers tips for parents and teachers, and connects readers with related information and organizations with special expertise in that disability.

DEC Recommended Practices are a DEC initiative that bridges the gap between research and practice, offering guidance to parents and professionals who work with young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities. This website provides information and resources.

These guides provide an overview of specific developmental disabilities, along with tips for early childhood educators as they set out to support children with disabilities.

This position statement defines inclusion for young children, delves into the three defining features of inclusion: access, participation, and supports; and gives recommendations for using this statement to improve early childhood services.

Early childhood special education services for children, three through five years of age and their families in Illinois, are provided through local school districts and special education cooperatives. This website provides general special education resources, child find resources, and family resources.

View videos and supplemental materials on the following:

• Introduction to Early Intervention
• Early Intervention and Child Care…Natural Partners in Natural Environments

This article offers concrete suggestions and ways of thinking about children with disabilities in early childhood classrooms.

This free online course introduces the basics of inclusion and the rights and supports for children and teachers in early childhood education by defining inclusion and describing recent research findings related to inclusion, understanding the legislation related to inclusion, and identifying three actions teachers can take.

This 12-minute video introduces and illustrates many ways that adaptations can be used to promote the active participation of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in everyday literacy activities. Examples of adaptations in home and classroom environments, activities, materials, and/or instructions are provided.

This article, geared towards early childhood program leaders, answers 13 frequently asked questions about preschool inclusion from the benefits of inclusion to the potential roadblocks a program may encounter.

Early care and education providers play a critical role in the health and wellbeing of children and are well positioned to help identify children who might need extra help in their development. This free online training course provides tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in their care and talking about it with their parents.

These four sets of indicators were designed by a group of national partners to support state leaders, local administrators, and front-line personnel in the early care and education system providing programs and services to children ages birth through five and their families.

Listen to this episode to hear from Talin Tokat, Inclusion Specialist with Early CHOICES, about how the DAP core consideration of individuality supports her work on inclusion in Illinois.

StarNet offers a variety of open-access on-demand professional development for early childhood professionals on this page including Apples videos, podcasts, and on-demand lessons with credit available upon completion. The topics range from sensory processing to preschool inclusion to meaningful math activities.

This provides resources and videos for parents regarding talking with school staff, information regarding special education (multi-lingual), attending an IEP meeting, preparing for evaluation and receiving results, organizing records and assistive technology.

This short article includes concrete suggestions for fostering positive relationships between children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers.

This page provides information, resources, and a policy statement on the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood settings.

This article explains to families what inclusive preschool programs look like for young children with and without disabilities. The article lists several benefits of inclusion and children’s rights to education.

This page provides information on the Pyramid Model which builds upon a tiered public health approach to providing universal supports to all children to promote wellness, targeted services to those who need more support, and intensive services to those who need them.

All school districts and cooperative agreements in Illinois have been required to provide official written notice to parents of suspected and eligible special education students regarding a broad range of topics since the advent of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) in 1975. Use of these forms, court decisions, and amendments to federal and state statutes has resulted in the need to revise the notice requirements and forms over time. The information enclosed contains instructions concerning the purpose of each form and its use, and additional information. These documents, available in multiple languages, include procedural safeguards for parents and guardians, initial request for an evaluation, and more.

The Preschool Inclusion Series of the SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library focuses on several aspects of including preschool-age children who have disabilities in programs and settings with their typically developing peers. This series contains four videos. The first provides an overview of the benefits and rationale for inclusion, as well as what makes inclusion work. Two additional videos each feature a story about the successful inclusion of a child. The fourth video provides practical and concrete strategies for making the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process collaborative and focused on inclusion.

Illinois STAR NET provides a variety of opportunities for personal and professional growth for those who touch the lives of young children, ages birth through eight, with an emphasis on children with special needs. STAR NET supports family-centered, researched and effective practices in early childhood education and care.

This webinar, developed for Head Start, includes suggestions early childhood professionals in other settings can adapt to their work with children who may have disabilities but are not eligible for IDEA-related services.

The Understanding Inclusion series contains six online modules that explore key ideas about inclusion in early childhood. The series covers a range of topics including defining inclusion, to understanding the benefits of inclusion, and advocating for inclusion. Developed for families with family input, it is also meaningful and useful for practitioners working with families who have children from birth to 5.

This article explains how child care can be an ideal setting for children with and without disabilities and delays. The article focuses on the benefits of inclusive child care, the role of the teacher, and strategies for planning for successful inclusion. It also provides links to additional resources.