| "Because they are children and for no other reason, they have dignity and respect, simply because they are." Barbara Coloroso
Project EXCEPTIONAL MN (PEMn) was begun in 1996 through collaboration between Sonoma State University, Sonoma, California and the Minnesota Departments of Education and Human Services. At that time, there was an identified need for a training system to support early childhood practitioners in inclusive programming. Sonoma State University received a federal grant to offer training of trainers on the curriculum Project EXCEPTIONAL: A Guide for Training and Recruiting Child Care Providers to Serve Young Children with Disabilities to other states, including Minnesota. Community training teams were recruited from child care, early childhood special education, and parents of children with disabilities to become interdisciplinary, regionally-based Project EXCEPTIONAL MN training teams.
Since 1996, PEMn has grown into a statewide network for promoting and supporting inclusive early childhood and school-age programs and practitioners in Minnesota. This network provides leadership, administrative support, training and consultation to early care and education providers, school-age care providers, parents and the professionals who support providers and parents of children with special needs.
As part of the PEMn system of support, Children and Challenging Behaviors: Making Inclusion Work was designed to meet the increasing needs of early childhood and school-age practitioners providing care for children with behavior challenges.
The Goal of Project EXCEPTIONAL Minnesota
The goal of Project EXCEPTIONAL Minnesota is to increase the number and quality of inclusive early care and education and school-age care programs for young children with special needs in Minnesota.
Core Philosophies of PEMn
A core belief of PEMn is that all children are children, first. Children need to be seen in the context of the whole child, not just the special need. When challenging behaviors arise, it is sometimes difficult to separate the behavior from the child. It is important that practitioners understand what the function of the behavior is for the child so they can accommodate that special need in an individual way. The function of behavior is a concept explained in Chapter Four of Volume 1.
A second core belief is that all children have a right to belong in all community settings. Project EXCEPTIONAL MN is committed to providing support to early childhood and school-age practitioners so they can successfully include children with special needs in their programs. To that end, PEMn has developed Children and Challenging Behaviors: Making Inclusion Work, Volumes 1 and 2, in order that quality training can be provided for practitioners around issues of children's behavior. Volume 1 contains a series of monographs that describe the basis for children's behaviors and strategies for including children whose behaviors are challenging. Volume 2 is a series of training activities that reflect the content of each chapter of Volume 1.
Another philosophy that guides Project EXCEPTIONAL MN is that inclusion of children with and without special needs benefits all children. Research supports inclusion as sound developmentally appropriate practice (Allen, Schwartz, 2001). All children learn in a social context that is enriched when their peers are typically and atypically developing.
PEMn is also committed to inclusive, supportive language. In addition to adhering to child first language, PEMn believes that the language describing a special need is important. Issues around behavior need to be articulated in language that is nonjudgmental and objective. For example, in the text, "guiding" behavior replaces "managing" behavior. Children are not seen as "challenging" or difficult, rather their behaviors may challenge practitioners. Changing the way language is used can change attitudes about some of the behaviors that may be presented by children, with or without a special need.
In addition, intervention is used in the text to describe both a formal and an informal activity. The distinction between formal and informal intervention is in the way it is conducted and its purpose. An informal assessment is done by an early childhood or school-age practitioner through observation and recording of daily activities of children in their program. The informal assessment is used to adapt programming to meet individual learning needs and may be helpful in relating to a parent about a child's development. An informal assessment by an early childhood or school-age practitioner might lead a parent to local resources for a screening or formal assessment. Professionals in special education, mental health, or the medical profession might conduct the formal assessment. There are a variety of methods used in formal assessment, including testing, interviews, observation, and medical examination. The relationship between formal and informal assessment is important because it may be the informal assessment by the practitioner that leads a parent to seek a formal assessment in order to receive services for their child's special need.
Finally, PEMn believes in building on the individual strengths of early childhood and school-age practitioners by offering support and resources, including training opportunities. Inclusive child care is not optional; it is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Therefore, PEMn is committed to developing and coordinating services for practitioners that will encourage their success in caring for children with special needs.
Explanation of Layout of Materials
Project EXCEPTIONAL MN Children and Challenging Behaviors: Making Inclusion Work was developed to provide support to early childhood and school-age practitioners through training and educational opportunities around the behavioral needs of children. It is a holistic approach that helps practitioners examine their role in behavior, as well as the role of environment, temperament, and disability.
Children and Challenging Behaviors: Making Inclusion Work is designed in two volumes. Volume 1 is a collection of monographs written by authors from across the United States and from a variety of backgrounds. Those backgrounds include parent of a child with a disability, center child care, higher education, early childhood special education, and public education. Each author offers a unique perspective when looking at the behaviors that often challenge the people who work with children. Each chapter supports the core philosophies of PEMn and follows a similar layout using an introduction, research-based information, and a set of key points. The training activities that follow each chapter in Volume 2 are derived from the key points in Volume 1.
Volume 1 is designed to provide a thorough understanding of the topic area so that trainers and educators can implement the training activities in Volume 2 with a degree of knowledge and expertise. Volume 1 sets the framework for workshops and classes taught from the Volume 2 activities.
In Volume 1, efforts were made to be gender fair by alternating the use of he/she in different chapters. The word "practitioner" was used to describe the diverse group of people who work with young people in many different settings. "She" was used when referring to practitioners since the majority are women. Any names that are used in Volumes 1 and 2 are fictional and examples are a composite of experiences of the authors.
In Volume 2, Project EXCEPTIONAL MN uses research-based adult learning methods in the presentation of training. Activity-based, experiential learning is a key component to training offered through PEMn. The presentation of workshops is strength-based and build on what the practitioner already knows and has experienced. This supports the core belief of PEMn that practitioners already have many skills to provide care for children with special needs; they often need to build on those skills in order to be more effective.
Each chapter in Volume 2 contains several training activities that may be combined into a workshop. Each activity has a purpose and outcome statement and concludes with key points. Activities are designed to teach the core concepts through a variety of adult learning methods, such as small group to large group feedback, role play, video presentation, case studies, and strategy building. Workshops may be designed to meet an audience's training needs. In addition, workshops can be adapted by the trainer or educator in their length, scope, and age grouping of children being served.
Systems Change
Project EXCEPTIONAL MN is committed to changing attitudes about the inclusion of children with special needs into community settings by giving practitioners the tools to be successful. Many parents have told stories of their child being refused early childhood or school-age services or disenrolled from child care because of the child's special need. One parent relayed the following event: The mother called her local Child Care Resource and Referral agency to find child care for her 3-year old child, whom she said had been asked to leave thirteen early education programs because of behavior issues. When she told her son that she was going to find a new child care provider who would love him very much because he was so special, he looked at her with tears and said, "I know, mom, I'm special needs". At 3, a young child had already been faced with so much failure as part of a system that was not equipped to meet his unique learning and behavior needs. PEMn believes that with resources and professional development opportunities, early childhood and school-age practitioners can successfully include children with behavior challenges into their settings.
Allen, K., Schwartz, Ilene. (2001). The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education. Delmar: Albany, NY.
Coloroso, Barbara. (1989). Winning at Parenting. Kids are Worth It.
Project EXCEPTIONAL: A Guide to Training and Recruiting Child Care Providers to Serve Young Children with Disabilities. (1996). California Department of Education: Sacramento, CA.
End of excerpt
|
