This document outlines strategies and guidance on collaborative funding strategies and mechanisms, including braided funding, to create and sustain high-quality inclusive regular early childhood settings that are inclusive of preschool children with disabilities. The use of federal funds is outlined specific to supporting young children with…

This guidance is written to assist State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools in understanding and implementing preschool programs supported with funds under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). Although each SEA may consider this guidance in the…

A child's third birthday is an important day. Aside from being a time to celebrate, it also marks the transition from Help Me Grow Infant and Toddler Intervention services to a preschool option. This transition changes the services available to a parent and how they are provided, as the focus moves from a child with a disability or developmental…

As any parent of a child with autism knows, your life changes and you take on new roles after your child receives a diagnosis of autism. Ready or not, you are now expected to be an expert on interventions, support professionals, and special education. Suddenly, your concerns and worries are different from the parents around you. While they may be…

Maryland's 24 school systems have made great strides in improving public education from pre-kindergarten through high school to ensure children are getting a high-quality education. This guide provides information and online links, including: (1) Maryland's state testing and reporting processes; (2) Programs available to support student…

Developmental stages in causal reasoning and causative expression are outlined to provide comparison with preschool handicapped children. Three stages within the preschool range are defined in terms of changes in causal schemes, field of centration, and experimental attitude and skills. Suggestions for assessment and special education are made.…

In an attempt to provide technically adequate screening with criteria for referring children for further evaluation, the Diagnostic Index (DI) was developed. The DI expresses the relationship between a child's chronological and developmental ages, identifies as a percentage of normal development the discrepancy between age appropriate behaviors…

The article describes three preschool units for children with special educational needs and considers the problems in integrating them into the mainstream. They note that true integration must include involvement of parents and collaboration with teachers. (CL)

Findings indicated that the importance of effective transition was recognized and that transition procedures were written into many programs, but were not followed in practice. Journal availability: see EC 133 846. (Author)

This article presents ideas for using play activities to support the development of emergent literacy skills in young children, including those with disabilities. Four principles of promoting early literacy skills are explained and applied to activities in block and microsymbolic play, macrosymbolic play, and fluid construction play. The…

The document is intended to establish criteria for preschool services so that a handicapped child qualifying for services in one area of the state (Iowa) will qualify for those same services in another geographic area. An initial section examines the state's philosophical commitment to handicapped children. A subsequent section addresses the…

Intended for administrators of preschool special education programs, the manual provides guidelines concerning the administrative processes accompanying transition to the elementary program. These include: (1) procedures for establishing communication and information exchange between the preschool program and the local education agency; (2)…

The monograph is intended to help administrators clarify issues regarding mainstreaming in preschool education. Four chapters are presented as outgrowths of a workshop on preschool mainstreaming. The first, "Fundamental Issues in Preschool Mainstreaming," by M. Guralnick, focuses on four issues: (1) understanding the purposes of…

Written as a guide as administrators in Washington state considering a home based preschool for handicapped children, the manual provides information on program planning and development. An initial section reviews the prototype model that served handicapped children 3 to 8 years old in a rural area. Also addressed in separate chapters are the…

A functional model of social competence for handicapped infants and preschoolers involves stimulus situations, behaviors, and outcomes. Socially competent behaviors are assumed to be affected by functional capacity, social awareness, temperament, and learning history. Four outcomes are requirements for socially competent behaviors: behavioral,…