HEAD START®

Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community

Table of Contents | Preface | Introduction | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
Continuing Professional Development | Resources

introduction

Overview

Four-year-old Jenny watches as Danny, a classmate, carefully traces his hand with a neon green marker. Jenny's arms end at her elbows. "Wanna borrow my hand?" Danny asks her. "That's okay, " Jenny says, "I'll use my own. " Then they both trace their hands together.

Purpose

Increasingly, this is becoming a typical scenario as Head Start programs are reaching more children with significant disabilities. Jenny and Danny are not just in the same classroom–they are also playmates. While the teacher observes the exchange, she does not interfere. She does not need to because she, along with other Head Start staff and families, have laid the groundwork for this kind of interaction. Together they have created a climate that fosters appreciation and understanding of individual differences.

Audience

That is the purpose of this foundation guide, written for all Head Start staff, parents, and consultants–to support Head Start's efforts to include children with disabilities in the various worlds around them.

Performance Standards

This guide applies Head Start core values as well as the Head Start Performance Standards for disabilities services. Since 1972, Head Start programs have reserved at least 10 percent of their enrollment for children with disabilities. The Performance Standards assert that all eligible children, including children with disabilities, are to receive Head Start services and be included in the full range of activities normally provided to all Head Start children. These regulations affirm Head Start's long-standing commitment to include children with disabilities and represent today's best practices and philosophy of inclusion.

Organization of the Guide

This guide includes the following sections:

Module 1: There's Room for All of Us helps participants identify ways in which their own perceptions and experiences influence how they interact with children with disabilities and their families; and how basic principles and practices necessary for meaningfully including children with disabilities apply to their own Head Start programs.

Module 2: Communication Counts helps participants identify and practice ways of communicating about disabilities that foster a sense of belonging in children with disabilities and their families.

Module 3: Making It Work! helps participants identify how the principles underlying the laws and regulations that protect the rights of individuals with disabilities apply to everyday practice; and identify what role staff play in providing additional supports necessary to fully integrate children with disabilities into their program.

Continuing Professional Development offers strategies that supervisors can use to help staff apply new skills and extend their learning.

Resources lists print and audiovisual materials and resources that staff can use to learn more about the key issues presented in the guide.

Organization of the Modules

In order to accommodate the needs of different grantees, each module offers two different delivery strategies: workshop and coaching. Workshops are suitable for groups of 10 or more participants. Workshops can build strong site-based teams as well as help staff from multiple sites develop a programwide identity. Coaching permits one, two, or three staff members to work together under the guidance of a coach, who could be a Head Start director, coordinator, or head teacher, or an outside consultant. Coaching provides individual flexibility and allows participants to work on actual issues and challenges in their own program. While activities vary according to the type of delivery strategy, the content and objectives are the same for each approach.

Each module is organized so that workshop leaders and coaches can easily implement the activities. All modules contain the following sections:

• Learning Outcomes summarizes the skills participants will learn in the module.
  
  
• Key Concepts describes the critical issues addressed.
  
  
• Background Information provides a rationale for the module.
  
  
• Activities provides step-by-step instructions for workshop or coaching sessions.
  
  
• Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice includes strategies to help participants practice the skills learned in the module.

Some activities include a Discussion Guide or Lecture Guide to help workshop leaders and coaches think through the session's key ideas and anticipate participants' responses. Handouts and transparencies appear at the end of each module.

Ideally, participants should complete all the workshops or all the coaching activities in each module sequentially. Similarly, the modules should be used sequentially since activities in each delivery strategy build on one another. If possible, allow participants to complete the modules over an extended period of time, perhaps a four- to six-month period. With Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice and Continuing Professional Development, training could extend into a year-long process.

Definition of Icons

(C) Coaching

A training strategy that fosters the development of skills through tailored instruction, demonstrations, practice, and feedback. The activities are written for a coach to work closely with one to three participants.

(W) Workshop

A facilitated group-training strategy that fosters the development of skills through activities that build on learning through group interaction. These activities are written for up to 25 participants working in small or large groups with one or two trainers.

Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

Activities assigned by the trainer immediately following the completion of the module to help participants review key information, practice skills, and examine their progress toward expected outcomes of the module.

Continuing Professional Development

Follow-up activities for the program to support continued staff development in the regular use of the skills addressed in a particular training guide. It includes:

1. Opportunities tailored to the participant — to continue building on the skills learned in the training;
   
   
2. Ways to identify new skills and knowledge needed to expand or complement those skills through opportunities in such areas as higher education, credentialing, and community educational programs.

At a Glance

Modules

(W) = Workshop Activity
(C) = Coaching Activity


Module 1: There's Room for All of Us

Activity 1: My Point of View (W)
Participants explore how their personal experiences affect their ability to include children with disabilities.
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Handout 1-Directions
Handout 2-My Point of View
Handout 3-Definition of Inclusion
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 2: Learning from Others (C)
A coaching adaptation of Activity 1: My Point of View.
Time: 60-90 mins.
Materials: Handout 2-My Point of View
Handout 4-The Interview
Journal for each participant

Activity 3: Taking Another Perspective (W)
Participants examine a variety of viewpoints to improve the ability to welcome and involve children with disabilities and their families.
Time: 90 minutes
Materials: Handout 5-Geri's Story
Handout 6-Viewpoints
Handout 7-Hints for Small-Group Leaders
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape
Prepared newsprint of ground rules

Activity 4: What Is Inclusion? (C)
A coaching adaptation of Activity 3: Taking Another Perspective.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 3-Definition of Inclusion
Handout 8-What Works
Figure 1-Inclusive/Restrictive Practices

Activity 5: A Vision for Our Program (W)
Staff and parents create a common vision for inclusion.
Time: 120 minutes
Materials: Handout 9-MAPS Discussion Questions
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 6: Looking Ahead (C)
A coaching adaptation of Activity 5: A Vision for Our Program.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 10-A Personal MAP, Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

Module 2: Communication Counts

Activity 1: Learning from an Expert (W)
Participants analyze vignettes to identify aspects of communication that promote or hinder a sense of belonging.
Time: 90 minutes
Materials: Handout 1-Maggie and Joey
Handout 2-Vignettes
Handout 3-Vignette Worksheet
Handout 4-Constructive Communication
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 2: One Parent's View (C)
A coaching adaptation.of Activity 1: Learning from an Expert.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 1-Maggie and Joey
Handout 2-Vignettes,
Handout 4-Constructive Communication
Handout 5-Reflection

Activity 3: What Should I Say? (W)
Participants practice answering questions about children with disabilities.
Time: 90 minutes
Handout 6-Responding to Questions
Handout 7-Choosing Words with Dignity
Overhead projector, markers for transparencies, blank transparencies (or pencil and paper), a few completed transparencies
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 4: One-to-One (C)
Participants engage in a discussion with a parent of a child with a disability (or with an adult with a disability) to learn more about communication that is constructive and welcoming. Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 4-Constructive Communication
Handout 7-Choosing Words with Dignity
Handout 8-Directions for Participants
Handout 9-Prompts
Handout 10-Responses

Activity 5: What Does It Mean for Me? (W)
Participants develop individual goals for improving their everyday communication skills.
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Handout I 1-Goals
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 6: Making a Plan (C)
A coaching adaptation of Activity 5: What Does It Mean for Me? Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 6-Responding to Questions
Handout 11-Goals
Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

Module 3: Making It Work!

Activity 1: It's the Law (W)
Participants analyze typical Head Start scenarios to learn how the principles underlying the laws apply to everyday practice.
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Handout 1-Principles Underlying the Laws and Regulations
Handout 2-All Things Considered
Handout 3-Laws and Regulations
Handout 4-Rights and Protections under the Law
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 2: Principles Underlying the Laws (C)
A coaching adaptation of Activity 1: It's the Law.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 1-Principles Underlying the Laws and Regulations
Handout 2-All Things Considered
Handout 5-Finding Some Answers

Activity 3: On Target (C)
Staff take a mini-tour of their site to assess program accessibility using guidelines consistent with federal laws.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 3-Laws and Regulations
Handout 4-Rights and Protections under the Law
Handout 6-Barriers Checklist
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape Tape measures

Activity 4: Nuts and Bolts (W)
Participants discuss the many factors to consider when planning for children with disabilities.
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Handout 7-Directions for Group Leaders
Handout 8-Planning Worksheet
Handout 9-Carla's Story, Part I
Handout 10-Carla's Story, Part II About Inclusion
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Activity 5: Moving Forward (C)
Participants establish goals for themselves and make recommendations for program improvements.
Time: 60-90 minutes
Materials: Handout 11-Observation Checklist About Inclusion
A Letter from a Head Start Parent
Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice
Easel, newsprint, markers, and tape

Trainer and Coach Preparation

While there are no magic recipes for a successful staff development experience, here are some key steps to follow:

• Learn about the program. If you are not a Head Start staff member, it is important to identify background information about the particular program ana the steps staff have taken to foster inclusion. The more relevant the session is to staff's immediate needs, the more effective the experience will be. Determine what adaptations may be necessary For example, if you discover that several staff and parents are learning English as a new language, you might consider having materials translated into their native language. Or if participants are hearing impaired, you may need to locate an interpreter.
  
  
  
• Develop links with supervisors. Supervisors can help you assess the interests and needs of staff; they can also give you a picture of the day-to-day issues that arise. Lay the groundwork for a positive partnership by meeting with supervisors before you begin. Ask: Have staff, parents, and consultants discussed their ideas and feelings about including children with disabilities in the program? What are their greatest concerns and fears? What are the greatest barriers?
  
  
• Get familiar with the content. While workshop leaders and coaches do not need to know everything about inclusion, they do need to be knowledgeable about the subject. What follows will provide you with information about inclusion and its meaning for Head Start. You may also consult other sources. See the reference list on p. 13 and the Resources section at the end of this guide for a list of available print and audiovisual materials.

Remember, inclusion can feel like an abstract concept. In order for participants to understand what it means to fully include children with disabilities, they need concrete images of what inclusion looks like on the playground, in a classroom, or in the community. As you get ready, choose examples from your own experience that you can use to bring the concepts alive.

About Inclusion

While Head Start has long been a mainstreaming placement for children with disabilities, today the focus is on inclusion. This means not only allowing children with disabilities to be in close proximity to their typically developing peers, but also maximizing their full participation in the program. Just being in the same classroom does not automatically make a child with a disability a valued member of the group. Programs such as Head Start must create environments that are responsive to the diverse needs of all children.

Inclusion is a philosophy driven by the belief that individuals with disabilities can and should be integrated into all aspects of community life. The Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children defines inclusion as:

a value that supports the right of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities. A natural setting is one in which the child would spend time had he or she not had a disability. Such settings include but are not limited to home and family, play groups, child care, nursery schools, Head Start programs, kindergartens, and neighborhood school classrooms (1993).

What Does Inclusion Look Like?

Research and practice tell us that when a classroom is truly developmentally appropriate, it can meet the needs of children with varying abilities. However, because children with disabilities have unique needs, they will often require additional services and support if they are to be fully included.

Some necessary supports may be costly, while others may be relatively inexpensive or even free (e.g., asking community groups such as the Kiwanis Club or churches to make donations or lend equipment). Others may require some creativity on the part of staff (e.g., gluing corks on puzzle pieces to serve as handles, rearranging the physical space or the schedule).

But what does it mean to be fully included? Figure 1 illustrates some examples that highlight the differences between inclusive and restrictive settings.

How Does Inclusion Benefit Children and Families?

Inclusion can benefit children with disabilities by helping them to:

• Build friendships with typically developing peers from their own communities and neighborhoods. The ability to build friendships in the early years is a key to establishing relationships in later life.
  
  
• Receive services and supports in the context of their regular classroom without being isolated.
  
  
• Learn in the company of their peers.
  
  
• Develop the social competence they need to become active learners-the overall goal of the Head Start program.

Including children with disabilities also benefits their families by helping them to:

• Build connections with other families in the community.
  
  
• Realize that their children who have disabilities can succeed in regular classrooms and that they will continue to receive the necessary support services.
  
  
• Appreciate that their children can benefit when they play alongside peers.
  
  
• Learn about diversity and about the strengths that different people have.

Including children with disabilities also benefits children with more typical development and their families by providing opportunities to:

• Interact with children and families in their community whom they might otherwise not meet.
  
  

• Develop a greater understanding and respect for persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Build a stronger sense of social responsibility.

Inclusion also benefits Head Start staff by providing opportunities to:

• Interact with children who have a range of abilities.
  
  
• Learn from specialists who can provide information, skill building, and support for tapping the strengths of individual children.
  
  
• Build a collaborative partnership with specialists, parents, and other staff and service providers to plan and implement children's educational programs.

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INCLUSIVE/RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES

Area: Delivering special services
Inclusive Practices: Specialist provides services in the context of the child's regular classroom. Working with a small group. of children (including those who need special services), the therapist provides intervention through a fun activity such as playing a game.
Restrictive Practices: Specialist pulls the child with a disability out of the classroom to provide services in a resource room or therapist's office.

Area: Mealtime
Inclusive Practices: Staff use mealtimes as opportunities for social integration for all children. For example, one teacher provided adaptive equipment-a plate with a suction cup that sticks to the table, and a bent spoon-to make eating an easier task for a child with cerebral palsy.
Restrictive Practices: Children who use adaptive equipment eat at a "special table" with a staff person.

Area: Toys, posters, and other materials
Inclusive Practices: Classroom materials include images of individuals with disabilities. These images focus on the individuals and their activities and capabilities; their disabilities are incidental.
Restrictive Practices: There are few images of individuals with disabilities. When there are
images, the focus is solely on the disability.

Area: Classroom setup
Inclusive Practices: The physical setup of the.classroom promotes exploration and social interaction. Classroom materials are arranged so that they are accessible for all children, including children with disabilities. Furniture is arranged so that children who use special equipment can move around the room easily.
Restrictive Practices: Most of the classroom materials are accessible only for adults and typically developing children. They are out of reach of children who cannot stand or walk independently.

Area: Classroom activities
Inclusive Practices: Activities are carefully planned and chosen to tap the interests and strengths of all children, and allow them to play leadership roles.
Restrictive Practices: Teachers do not plan opportunities that encourage all children to interact, play, and take leadership roles.

Area: Parent-staff relationships
Inclusive Practices: Staff actively seek all parents' input in planning programwide activities, problemsolving, and decision-making.
Restrictive Practices: Staff speak to parents only when problems arise or when a special education decision must be made.

Area: Working with adults with disabilities
Inclusive Practices: The program has an open hiring process, recruiting people with disabilities; the program also works actively to involve parents with disabilities. Extra supports are provided as needed (e.g., locating someone who can interpret for a parent who is deaf).
Restrictive Practices: No adults with disabilities work in the program; no attempts are made to
include parents with disabilities in the program.

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Leading the Way

Head Start has been a pioneer in including children with disabilities–reaching and serving children with disabilities before any federal educational mandates existed. Fortunately, laws and regulations related to the rights and protections of children and adults with disabilities have been enacted over the years. The landmark 1975 legislation the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) entitled all children with disabilities from school age to age 21 to:

• a free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment
  
  
• rights to due process
  
  
• individualized educational programming
  
  
• parents' participation in all decisions related to the education of their children

Its 1986 amendment, P.L. 99-457, mandated services to the preschool population (ages 3 to 5) over a five-year period. These laws have renewed professionals' commitment to form partnerships with parents as equal members of a team.

This legislation was reauthorized in 1990 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It continues to strengthen the importance of Local Education Agency (LEA) partnerships with community agencies such as Head Start. It also continues to ensure children with disabilities the right to an education in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed on July 26, 1990, marked another achievement in the struggle for equal rights and equal access for individuals with disabilities. This legislation protects basic civil rights for all individuals with disabilities in private sector employment, all public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.

Taken together, these laws are a mandate to end discrimination against individuals with disabilities. They also provide individuals with opportunities to fully participate in community life. Head Start programs must acquire special knowledge and skills to take full advantage of the opportunities created by these laws and regulations.

Managers, in particular, must be prepared to lead the way in advocating for the delivery of quality services to children with disabilities and their families. Managers also need to build and nurture alliances among Head Start and other service systems, especially as they reach out to children with more significant disabilities. By forming such partnerships, programs can:

• build networks to recruit children with disabilities
  
  
• access services to support children with disabilities and their families
  
  
• identify local experts to assist with staff development
  
  
• plan service delivery systems that are more integrated
  
  
• gain broad-based community support for policy changes and innovations

Changes in attitudes, physical environments, and access to opportunity are challenges faced by Head Start programs and society as a whole. But by including everyone, we will all benefit.

References

Read the following articles for more information about inclusion.

McLean, M., and M.1F. Hanline. 1990. Providing early intervention services in integrated environments: Challenges and opportunities for the future. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 10(2): 62-67.

Rose, D. F., and B. J. Smith. 1992. Attitude barriers and strategies for preschool mainstreaming. Pittsburgh, Penn.: Allegheny-Singer Research Institute.

Salisbury, C. L. 1990. The least restrictive environment: Understanding the options. Pittsburgh, Penn.: Allegheny-Singer Research Institute.

Wolery, M., P. Strain, and D. B. Bailey, Jr. 1992. Reaching potentials of children with special needs. In Appropriate curriculum and assessment for young children, vol. 1, edited by S. Bredekamp and T. Rosegrant. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.