Inclusion Education at Bronx Early Childhood

InstituteNaomi Shah, General Education Teacher

Catherine Chiang, Special Education Teacher

Ruth Barral, Speech Therapist

Clare Pidot, Occupational Therapist

Welcome Parents to Class 01’s October Parents’

Night!!

Inclusive Education“Inclusive Education is, first and foremost, an attitude, a value and a belief system. It has been defined as a shared value that promotes a single system of education dedicated to ensuring that all students are empowered to become competent and contributing citizens in an integrated, changing and diverse society.”

-Steve Kukic, Former Director of At Risk and Special Services, Utah State Department

of Education

“Special Education is a service, not a place”

Working As a Team•Collaboration is key for your child’s success

•The diversity within our classroom requires a team of specialized teachers and therapists

•Weekly Meetings, daily conversations

Potential Concerns1. Children follow inappropriate behavior

2. Learning distractions

3. Physical danger

4. “Bad” habits

Legal GuidelinesIndividuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act:

● All children with disabilities must be educated in his/her “least restricted environment”

● Children are also entitled to disability services through local government, school, or agency

● Student to be educated with their non-disabled peers to the “maximum extent possible”

Our Classroom through Gen Ed• All children are seen as individuals -- their goals and

learning is targeted to their needso the make gains appropriate to their development

• Technology can be used to modify lessons• Opportunities for role modeling and confidence building• Strengths-based environment• New York State Common Core Learning Standards for

Pre-K

General Education (con’t)★ Correlating/unifying

with Special Education★ Preparing them for

further education, employment, and independent living

Through the Lens of Special Education➢ Part B: Individuals

with Disabilities Education Act of 1997:

“To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled.”

➢ enhance your child’s learning potential and increase opportunities for them to function effectively

Teaching Model➢ Parallel

Teaching➢ Two student

groups- divided equally ○ rotations

Ms. Shah Ms. Chiang

Through the Lens of Special Education➢ Challenging expectations

for all students○ all educational needs

will be met○ IEPs

➢ Focusing on your child’s preferred mode of learning

➢ Children develop a positive understanding of peers○ respecting diversity○ empathy

Through the Lens of Special Education➢ Class 01 Parent Committee

○ meets bi-monthly

○ what’s going on in the classroom, new strategies, different vocabulary

➢ Weekly Teacher Meetings

○ areas of focus➢ Individualized/Small group

instruction

○ targeting specific needs

Speech and Language Therapist

Speech Therapists usedifferent strategies and techniques to help students master communication skillsessential for their development.

speechbop.com

How can Speech Therapy help your child?

Children who can benefit from speech therapy may be struggling with:

• Apraxia, an oral-motor speech disorder

• Stuttering, an unnatural repetition of sounds in speech

• Selective Mutism, an inability to speak in certain situations

• Cluttering, a language disorder in which speech is incoherent

theautismdoctor.com

How can Speech Therapy help your child?

Speech therapists work either with small groups of children or 1:1 with an individual child, so as they are gaining confidence in their speaking abilities,

they are also developing social-emotional awareness and bonding with adults and peers

www.jcfs.org

Effective Speech Strategies

Using a mirror can help a student become more aware of the movements of small muscles in and near their mouth

kids.brittanica.com

Effective Speech Strategies

“Easy Speech”The speech therapist assists the child in developing awareness of their speech mechanism, so that they can speak without hesitation or disfluency and gain confidence

talkinc.org

How Speech Therapists Work With Teachers

Speech therapists work with teachers to write IEPs and identify ambitious yet attainable goals.

Speech therapists and teachers meet monthly to discuss individual students’ progress and plan for continued development.

How Speech Therapists Work With Parents

Knowledge is Power!

Parents and speech therapists can work with each other by

frequently communicating about the child’s progress.

Occupational Therapy (OT)Occupational Therapists focus on fine motor functioning and activities of daily living that help children achieve independence in all areas of their lives.

OT: My RoleWork in the classroom (“push-in”) with individual students

Instruct teachers on how to use equipment

Work with the other teachers and therapists, work with parents to continue therapy at home

OT: Goals For All Children

• Putting on own clothing• Holding writing utensils• Stringing beads• Cutting across a paper with

scissors• Draws a complete circle• Builds a tower/building with

multiple blocks

Effective OT StrategiesFine motor activities

Access to equipment

Thank you for your time and we are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

Questions or Comments?

Parent Feedback

❏ Teachers covered all my areas of concern.❏ I felt comfortable asking questions where needed.❏ I feel reassured about having my child in this

inclusion classroom.❏ I am looking forward to having my child in this

inclusion classroom.❏ Additional questions or comments:

Please check the boxes that you think apply to you after this meeting. Feel free to leave questions and comments for us at the bottom.

Resources• http://www.slideshare.net/Jannageorge/inclusion

-pros-cons-3173333• Adapting Early Childhood Curricula for Children

with Special Needs, by Ruth Cok, M. Klei, Annette, Tessier

• http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/inclusive-education/the-benefits-of-inclusive-education/

How would this be used in teaching?

 This Power point would be utilized in an afterschool meeting with parents to inform

parents about what kind of classroom their children are taking part in. The slideshows

demonstrate the importance of inclusive education (special education and general

education) to parents. The slideshows are worded so that parents are able to

understand the language, along with diagrams and descriptive images.