rCHILDHOOD

IN EARLY SETTINGA
EDUCATION
.INCLUSIVE
is
-90

.,
UNIT OF EARLY
ROLE
IN INCLUSIVE
INTERVENTION
i
EDUCATION

to:
teachers are expected
Within this Unit, the pre-service
of the
their understanding
statelarticulate

1 rationale for
early intervention;

2 with atypical
development;
compare typical
LEARNING
of the major issuesand
OUTCOMES some

3
discuss
related to atypical development;
concerns
and
in the
explain the roles of professionals

4 intervention team
Works with them.
and how the teacher

OVERVIEW

Early intervention is a loosely-defined term that refers to taking action as

soon as possible, to tackle problems before they become more difficult to reverse.

We consider early intervention in relation to childhood adversity and trauma-to

tackle the potentiallong-term problemsthat children who had such experiences
appear be more likely to encounter Such intervention can take a variety of
to

forms and covers an array of different sectors incuding education,health, social

care and justice. These interventions include parenting programmes, behavioral
classes for children or programmes supporting early years child development.

The purpose of giving early intervention is to assist the state in developing

and implementing a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated
multidisiciplinary,
interagencysystem that makes early intervention services available to al1 children
with disabilities.

In this Unit, we
explore one of the
will
most challenging aspects of
Inclusive Education which is the role of erly intervention.
 IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION SETTINGS
INCLUSIVE
92

INPUT
early support
effective.
and providing
means identifying
Early intervention
giving poor outcomes. Effective
of
to children and young peope who are àt risk from occurring or.to tackie
early intervention works to prevent problems What is
get worse. early
them head-on when they do occur, before problems effective early
and providing
intervention? Early means identifying
intervention
poor outcomes. It also
risk of
supportto children and young people who are at a child for
whole strengths and skills that prépare
helps to foster a set of personal
adult life.

home VIsiting programmes

can take different forms,from
Early intervention to improve
to school-based programmes

.
to supporting vulnerable parents, for young people
to mentoring schemes
Children's social and emotional skills.
in crime., While some have.
argued that early
Who are vulnerable to involvement feW years
intervention may have its strongest
impact when offered during the first
effective interventions can improve
children's
of life, the best evidence shows that
life chances at any point during childhood
and adolescence.

approaches often focus on supporting four key aspects

Early intervention
cognitive, behavioral, and social and
of child development their physical,
the to make
emotional development where early intervention has the potential
biggest difference and provide benefits throughouta person's
life.

maturation and
Physical development involves children's physical health,
the presence or absence of a physical disability. Physical development
provides

the basis for positive development in all other areas. Physical outcomes targeted
by early intervention activities include improving birth outcomes, reducing the

incidenceof infectious diseases and decreasing childhood obesity.

Cognitive development includes children's acquisition of speech and

language skills, their ability to read and write, their numeracy capabilities and

their understanding of logical problem-solving.Positive cognitive development is

strongly associated with a child's success inschool and entry into the workforce.
Cognitive outcomes typically targeted by early intervention include performance
on standardized tests, school achievement, and higher education and employment
opportunities once they leave school.
Behavioral devélopment involves children's ability to monitor and regulate
their own behavior, attention and impulses. Children's self-regulatory skills are
highly associated with their ability to form positive relationships with others,

as well as their success in school. Behavioral self-regulation difficulties uring

childhood are highly predictive of children's involvement in criminal activity

during the teenage years

and adulthood. Behavioral outcome frequently targeted
Lyeoryintervention includereducing antisocial behavior and crine, violençe ano
aggressionat school, and affiliation with antisocial peers

and enotional development involves.children's

Social
awareness of their
the emotional needs of
own' emotional needs and others.Social and emotional
.uIrA ROLEOF EARLY
LESSON 1. Who Is
INTERVENTION
Served?
IN INCLUSIVE EDUGATION 93

development also encompasses. the develonment of children's self-esteem and

their abity to manage negative felings. Socialand emotional development
is strongly associated with a child's ability to
form positive relationships w
others and a
reduced risk of depression and other mental health outcomes.
Early intervention outcomes associated with children's social and emottonal
development include increasing pro-social behavior, improving self-esteem and
reducing the incidence of clinically diagnOsed mental
health problems.

Typical Learners

Children gather information from. people, things, and events in their

environment. They' organize this informationin their minds, and code it in ways
that keep it usable and easily understood. They match the information with
what they've learned before, noticing similarities and differences, and store the
informationfor futureuse. Once this process is complete, children behave in ways
that suggest that learninghas taken place.

Children's development usually follows a known and predictable course.

The acquisition of certain skills and abilities is often used to gauge children's

and are known as developmental milestones.

development. These skills abilities

Such things as crawling, walking, saying single words, words together into putting
of these predictable
phrases and sentences, and following directions are examples
each milestone at the same time,
achievements. Although not all children reach
an expected time-frame for reaching these developmental markers.
there is
nature and course
The following points are important to understanding the
is mapped using
of children's development. The course of children's developrment

a chart of developmntal milestones.

time, forming.the building
These milestones are behaviors that emerge over
within which
learning. Some of the categories
blocks for growth and continued
these behaviors.arë seen include:
problem-solving,understanding)
Cognition (thinking,reasoning,
and receptive abilities)
Language (expressive
throwing/
(gross/fine motor, jumping, hopping,
Motor coordination
stacking)
catching; drawing,
(initiating peer contact, group play)
Social interaction
eating,washing)
Adaptive (dressing,
in their use of oral language while
Some children may be very advanced may
discovering the power
of spoken words. Some children

others may first be to use play equipment or

others are reluctant while
motor skills
be adyanced'in
or crafts projects.
activities
engage in building
 CHILDHOOD
IN EARLY SETTINGS
EDUCATION
INCLUSIVE
94

can alsO Vary

Patterns children
growth
may show slower
of within different

of development
area
Children who show strength in one a child
who has a wonderful
development of skills in another area. For example, verbal expression.
with
struggle
ability in understanding spoken language may

behave
Culture and environment contribute to the ways children
by, cultural and
be greatly influenced
The course of development can
in one environment may

are acceptable
environmental factors. Behaviors that
important to remember
that
It is
be inappropriate, even strange, in another.
differences in development.
differences in behavior do not always reflect

way children learn and interact

can influence the
Dposure to aforeign language
knowledge of the primary language
Children who do not have a working
participate
to express their needs or fully
used in their classroom may not be able
in classroom activities. Teachers can
provide these children with opportunities for
a new language. They
successful communication and participation while learning
can:
materials;
explain concepts using models or multi-sensory
pictures accompanied by verbal
facilitate vocabulary growth using
cues;
provide opportunities for children to demonstrate
understanding

through non-verbalplay; and

find alternate ways tohelp children communicate and participate until

language fpundationsare secure.

Atypical development
Some children exhibit behaviors that fall outside the normal or expected

range of development. These behaviorš emerge in a way or at a pace that is

different from their peers.

Some importantthoughtsabout atypical development are listed below:

Some children show patterns of behaviors that are unusual or are markedly
different from their peers. Great care should be given to determining whether
patternsof behavior are reflections of children's personality or whether they
exemplify areas of weakness and concerm.Teachers and parents should note the:
time. at which skills emerge;

sequence within which skills emerge: and

uality of skill level and how it contributes to children's functioning.

 of UNIT

4.

LESSON
parents
ROLE
isolated

however,
1.Who OF
atypical Is
be
EARLY

should Atypical
type events
dates

Served?:
settings of duration
early

note.
and that,
behavior

and

INTERVENTION
interactions
and the IN
behaviors

times
can have
activity:
with warning

of be
INCLUSIVE
little

activities; should
peers signs
frequency

or
following:
and of useful of be
EDUCATION
language,
and
in no
fine later
occurrence;
noted
other

and
behavior; impact
and
motor;

on
more
confirming
influences.
later
carefully

areas

of
significant
recorded.
need.
development.
problems. They

They
Teachers

may

and Patterns may, be 95