scholarly journals Early Childhood Special Education: Insights from Educators and Families

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Tejero Hughes ◽  
Diana Martinez Valle-Riestra
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Early Childhood Special Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Programs and services designed to meet the needs of young children with disabilities have increased substantially in recent years, often times without evaluating how effective the programs and services are at meeting the needs of children and families. This study sought to investigate how principals, teachers, and parents perceived how Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs across 31 schools in a large, urban city in the United States (US) meet the needs of young children and their families. Thirty principals, 45 teachers, and 301 families participated in the investigation. Overall, all stakeholders identified the programs’ structure, personnel, and home to school connections as strengths. They also believed that ECSE programs were an appropriate place for young children with disabilities. Families and teachers indicated satisfaction with the frequency of communication; however, both families and principals still wanted to see an increase in communication between home and school. Areas needing improvement included critical elements needed in ECSE programs related to human resources, increased funding, and appropriate adult-child ratios. Implications for practice are discussed.

Remote Delivery of Services for Young Children With Disabilities During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 105381512110376
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Steed ◽  
Ngoc Phan ◽  
Nancy Leech ◽  
Renee Charlifue-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
Remote Services ◽  
Method Approach

This study used a nationally distributed survey to explore how classroom-based early childhood personnel delivered remote services to young children with disabilities and their families during the early months of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A concurrent equal status fully mixed-method approach was used to analyze 221 participants’ responses to closed- and open-ended survey questions. Findings indicated that children with disabilities received modified special education services during school closures; most comments noted that early childhood personnel shifted to provide remote coaching to families. Other comments mentioned one-on-one services and accommodations for remote learning. Personnel described some benefits of remote services such as improved partnerships with families. Top reported challenges included children not receiving the same quality of services and high levels of educator stress. These and other study findings are discussed regarding the implications of COVID-19 for providing services to young children with disabilities and their families.

Impact of Challenging Behavior on Marginalized and Minoritized Caregivers of Children With Disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 027112142110520
Author(s):  
Nicole B. Adams ◽  
Stacy N. McGuire ◽  
Hedda Meadan ◽  
Melanie R Martin ◽  
Adriana K. Terol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Challenging Behavior ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Common Occurrence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Interpretation ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
The Impact

Challenging behavior (CB) is a common occurrence in early childhood and frequently occurs in young children with disabilities. CB is also culturally perceived and includes differences in how caregivers understand and define the topography of CB. Despite the cultural interpretation, CB is known to impact the child and their family but there has been little exploration of what marginalized caregivers perceive as the impact of the CB that their young children with disabilities exhibit. We used semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions of 24 caregivers, who identified as Black, Mexican American, and White, about the impact of their child’s CB. Caregivers shared how the CB impacted themselves, their families, their child, and others. Although much of the impact was similar among caregivers, we discuss nuanced differences across ethnic groups.

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