models of inclusion support.pdf

Making Preschool Inclusion Work

Strategies for Supporting

by

Anne Marie Richardson-Gibbs, M.A.
El Monte City School District
El Monte, California

and

M. Diane Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Early Childhood Special Education
Baltimore·London·Sydney

About the Authors

Anne Marie Richardson-Gibbs, M.A., is an early childhood special educator and has provided inclusion services for the past 20 years in both community-based preschool and public school settings. Ms. Richardson-Gibbs works for the El Monte City School District, where she provides inclusion support to preschool and early elementary age children with disabilities. She has been the director of an early intervention program that provides services to infants, toddlers, and their families from East Los Angeles and worked as a statewide early intervention program specialist for the California Department of Education. She was the training coordinator for Project Support, a federally funded personnel training grant.

M. Diane Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a professor of early childhood special education at California State University, Los Angeles, where she has directed the programs in early childhood special education for 30 years. Dr. Klein received her M.A. in speech-language pathology and audiology from Western Michigan University and her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Michigan State University. She has directed numerous federally funded projects involving caregiver–child interaction, working with infants with low incidence and multiple disabilities, training of early childhood special educators, and training inclusion-support personnel.

Models of Inclusion Support

This chapter defines various components and types of inclusion support and provides examples of common inclusion support service delivery models. Early in the discussion of inclusive education, Winzer and Mazurek (1998) offered this description: “Inclusive schools begin with a philosophy and vision that all children belong and learn in the mainstream of school and community life. The classroom is seen as a community where diversity is valued and celebrated and all children work, talk, cooperate and share.” If one accepts this premise, that children with disabilities belong in the mainstream of school and community life, then the inescapable responsibility of educators and policy makers is to identify and plan effective individualized supports.

Trying to identify and describe the various models of inclusion support for very young children with special needs is a challenging task. Public schools do not typically house educational programs for preschool children who do not have disabilities. As a result, a variety of creative administrative models and district–community partnerships has emerged. Examples include community-based Head Start programs, family day care, private preschools, and state and local early education and care programs.

Key Features of Service Delivery Models

1. Number of key players
2. Number of adults in the room
3. Interaction with the target child
4. Type of service delivery model (pull-out vs. push-in)
5. Interaction with non-target children
6. Interaction with classroom teacher
7. Communication among service providers

Grisham-Brown, Hemmeter, and Pretti-Frontczak (2005) found that the most common inclusive configurations in the United States for preschool children with disabilities are blended inclusive programs, where children’s individual learning needs are met within a preschool curriculum.

Direct and Indirect Support

Direct Support Activities

• Use of a one-to-one paraeducator assigned to the target child
• Direct teaching by the classroom ECE teacher
• A pull-out speech therapy session provided by the SLP
• Implementation of sensory integration techniques

Indirect Support Activities

• Consultation with the classroom teacher
• Observing, assessing child skills and behaviors
• Training paraeducators
• Modifying curriculum

Co-teaching

A common model of direct support for children in inclusive settings is co-teaching, where two or more teachers plan and instruct the same group of students. Different structures include:

1. One Teaching, One Supporting
2. Station Teaching
3. Alternative Teaching
4. Complementary Teaching
5. Supportive Learning Activities
6. Parallel Teaching
7. Team Teaching

The Importance of Collaboration

Collaboration is essential for effective inclusive programs; it necessitates an interactive relationship that allows for shared resources and responsibility. Effective models of inclusion support are multidimensional and should be tailored to meet the diverse needs of all students.