Category: Children with Disabilities and Developmental Delays
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The More We Work Together: Partnerships for Preschoolers with Disabilities in Childcare
Inclusion in preschool and childcare occurs when children with and without disabilities learn and play together.
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Collaborative Care: Teaming to Support Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities
Like most families, families of children with disabilities use a variety of early care and education programs such as center- or home-based childcare to meet their needs and provide valuable and inclusive learning experiences for their children.
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Supporting Siblings of Children with Disabilities
Parents and caregivers of a child with a disability may be concerned about the well-being of their other children. Parents often struggle with having time and attention to give to all their children when one child requires a lot of time and attention.
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Which to Choose? Universal Design for Learning or Accommodations
No matter who the child is or how he or she is developing, each child deserves access to the fun and engaging activities and learning experiences in your classroom. There are two main ways access can be provided: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and accommodations.
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Curriculum Modifications: Materials Adaptation
When you have a child with disabilities or developmental delays in your class, you will be considering how to make your day-to-day classroom life more accessible to them. One way of doing this is through materials adaptation. Materials adaptation is when you change an activity, manipulative, or toy slightly to meet the needs of a…
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Curriculum Modifications: Environmental Adaptations
Environmental adaptations are a change to the context in which a child is working.
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Curriculum Modifications: Introduction to a Blog Series
Today’s preschool classrooms and childcare centers have children with a variety of needs.
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Rolling with the Times: Updating Our Language
For many years, one of our blogs as has been titled Children with Special Needs. We are changing the name of that blog to Children with Disabilities and Developmental Delays and want to share our reasoning with you.
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Helping Young Children With Disabilities During a Trying Time: Adding Structure and Routine
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, you may be a parent or caregiver of a young child with special needs who was previously attending a child care center, preschool program, or receiving other services. You may now be caring for your child at home with few outside supports—and this can feel overwhelming. We know young children thrive…
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Pass the Ball Versus Pass the Remote: Supporting Preschoolers’ Physical Activity
Nationally we have witnessed increased rates of childhood obesity and the use of technology by young children, which has resulted in less time engaged in physical activity.
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Advocacy, Communication Important at Each Step of the Journey
Everyone tries to prepare soon-to-be parents for the day they bring life into the world, but no one can truly explain the array of emotions felt when it actually happens.
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Careful Planning, Collaboration Can Aid Smooth Transition to Kindergarten
Preparing young children with disabilities and their families for the transition to kindergarten begins many months before the start of the new school year.
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Tech Time! Video Games and Young Children with Special Needs
Don’t start too young. Time spent on video games may be lost active play time and lost opportunities for interactions with parents, siblings, and other people important in your child’s life.
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Healthy Teeth! Early Brushing and Early Visits to the Dentist
Do you remember your child’s first tooth and how it changed her smile? That first tooth is also a reminder to start good dental habits.
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Learning to Get Along with Friends
As children grow into their preschool years, they often want to play with a friend, whether through a play date at home or with a friend at child care/preschool.
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Birthdays, Holidays, and Family Gatherings
How can you make these holidays and birthday celebrations meaningful and stress-free for your child, especially when he becomes the center of attention at gatherings?
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Scribbling as Early Steps to Reading and Writing
Young children tend to love colors and making marks with pens, pencils, crayons, and markers. An easy home activity is setting up a “coloring or writing” space with markers, paper, tablets, and even old magazines.
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IEL Tip Sheets: Family Fun!
The IEL website hosts more than 180 Tip Sheets written for parents, teachers, and caregivers of young children. They present helpful suggestions and information on children’s social and emotional development as well as physical development and health.
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Reading Stories Can Feed the Imagination and Spur Brain Development
Reading stories introduces children to new words that go beyond their daily conversations.
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Use Care, Imagination When Introducing New Snacks
Snacks are an important part of children’s daily nutrition. Children may eat a little one day and more the next day. Their eating may relate to appetite, familiarity with a snack, or sensory aspects of the food, known as “snack appeal.”
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Developmental Milestones, Infant Toddler Guidelines, and Early Learning Standards: Metrics for Young Children
Teachers and parents of young children are likely to encounter different checklists or guidelines to assess the development, knowledge, or skills of the young children in their care.
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Creating a Sense of Belonging in Preschool
Families and teachers want their children to feel welcome at preschool, to be accepted by their friends, and to feel secure in their daily routines.
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Visual Schedules and Checklists
Grown-ups often use a daily calendar or checklists to remind them of their meetings and tasks. Children also benefit from simple schedules or checklists.
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Answering Questions About Your Child’s Special Needs
During the summer, families tend to spend more time out in their communities and traveling to interesting places with their children.
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Chores and Children: A Time to Learn
Preschoolers need step-by-step instructions for new tasks and time to practice. Keep the tasks simple. Demonstrate as needed. Most children will learn quickly from observation. Other children benefit from friendly reminders and visual supports.
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Changing Seasons and New Concepts: Same and Different and Before and After
Fall is a great time to talk with young children about concepts that are important for them to learn.
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Learning and Fun on Family Trips
How you plan for the trip and the travel time can make for a pleasant break from routine or a difficult day!
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Starting Kindergarten? Help Make It a Good Experience! Adaptations for Children with Special Needs and Their Families
A new season brings green grass, flowers, and for children who are 5 or turning 5, the end of preschool and beginning plans for kindergarten. How can parents prepare for this new milestone?