Creating Inclusive Child Care Settings

Programs that are committed to quality and diversity often see belonging and inclusion as the starting point for all children. The Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act make it illegal for a child care provider to refuse to serve a child solely on the basis of a disability. There is, however, a significant difference between providers who enroll children with disabilities or other special  needs because it is the law and providers who reach out and welcome all children into their care.

Factors for Success

A great deal of research has been conducted on what makes inclusion of all children work. The Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion (ECRII), a national research project funded by the U.S.  Department of Education, identified the following six factors as the key to initiating and implementing inclusive practices:

1. Providers or staff members are passionate about making inclusion work. This factor was the strongest and could include providers, teachers, program administrators, and even a district’s director of
   special education.
2. A vision of inclusive practice developed over time by respecting and considering the views of everyone involved in implementation is shared by all.
3. State and national policies “prompt” programs to become inclusive. One example is the 1972 policy that required that 10 percent of a Head Start program’s enrollment be made up of children with disabilities. Some effective programs are also found in states that have state-level policies about inclusion, as well.
4. Additional money, training by qualified consultants, or other type of support is provided for inclusive child care programs.
5. At the program or district level, support is given to enhance collaboration and communication among people involved in providing inclusive programs.
6. A passionate community of individuals, such as parents or other community advocates, works to spark interest in implementing inclusive programs.

Daily Success

As each child is unique, so is each child care program. There is no magic formula for making inclusion work beyond the creativity, energy, and interest that most child care providers already bring to their work. Their uniqueness notwithstanding, every program is able to successfully include children with disabilities. And each makes it work child by child, day by day. A “can-do” attitude among the providers helps to provide the necessary energy for coming up with solutions to the inevitable challenges. It also helps to have an enthusiastic attitude on how to make inclusion work rather than to simply fulfill a legal obligation.

Some children need small changes to the curriculum or minor supports in order to get the most out of certain activities. These sorts of things may consist of fairly simple accommodations, such as providing a special place or quiet activity for a child who is unable to participate in large group activities or making available a special snack for a child who needs to eat more frequently than the typical meal or snack schedule.

Other children may require more specific adaptations that might not be readily apparent. A variety of  community resources can be helpful in determining what those might be. The family, for example, is always the first and most important guide for what a child might need; after that, an area specialist or a local workshop might be. Beyond the immediate community, a world of literature in books, periodicals, and Web sites devoted to disabilities and inclusion can inform a child care provider about appropriate adaptations for a child with a particular condition or need.

Programs that begin with a high-quality, developmentally appropriate foundation; a positive attitude on the part of the care provider; appropriate adult–child ratios; supportive administrators; and adequate training for the provider will be in a good position to creatively solve problems for a child with disabilities or other special needs, exactly as it does for children who are typically developing. If a child already has an established diagnosis, trained intervention personnel may be available to assist in this process. One of the biggest roles for a care provider is to facilitate a sense of belonging and inclusion. Several helpful strategies are as follows:

• Start with the assumption that all children are competent.
• Adapt the environment so that it is developmentally appropriate, challenging, and fits the needs and interests of each child.
• While there may be a need to support a child’s mastery of a specific skill, keep the whole child in mind, particularly the child’s social-emotional experience.

Consider the following questions when adapting an activity for a child with special needs:

• Does the child have an opportunity to be in control of the learning experience?
• Is there a balance between adult-initiated learning and child initiated learning?
• Can the child make choices while learning the skill?
• Is the child able to initiate his/her own efforts to practice the skill, with support given by the child care provider?
• Is the child gaining self-confidence and showing the joy of
  accomplishment while learning?
• Is there room in the activity for the child to make discoveries?

References:

Inclusion Works!  Creating Childcare Programs that Promote Belonging for Children with Special Needs. Chapter 3. Pages 12-14. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/inclusionworks.pdf (Links to an external site.) on 10/6/2018. Open Internet source. © 2009 by the California Department of Education