Program Overview

The Early Childhood Special Education Program provides special education services for children ages three through five.

We Believe:

• Early education works!
• Early education services build on family concerns, priorities, and resources.
• Early education services respect family diversity in structure, coping styles, values, culture, race, and religion.
• Early education respects family choice about level of involvement in services.
• Early education services should be provided whenever appropriate in natural environments.
• Early education requires a community collaborative effort from referral through service provision.
• Early education uses transdisciplinary teams.
• Early education provides teaching through developmentally appropriate activities that are meaningful and useful to the child and family.
• All families should have the opportunity for parent-to-parent support.
• Children's health incluences learning.
• The parent and family are the child's primary teachers.
• Ongoing training for staff and families strengthens services.
• Ongoing program evaluation maintains high standards.
• Legal, political, and financial awareness and advocacy strengthens community access to and services for children with special needs and their families.

Services

ECSE services include:

• Preschool classes up to four days per week
• Home visits
• Inclusion with typically developing peers as appropriate
• Consultation/services by specialists such as the speech/language pathologist, nurse, psychologist, and occupational therapist, as appropriate
• Transportation to and from preschool class
• Extended Year options

Eligibility

Determination of a child's eligibility for services is made by an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.

• Children exhibit significant disabling condition(s) such as delays of 50% or greater in development of cognitive and/or adaptive skills;
  OR
• Children have an established medical disability (disabling medical condition or congenital syndrome that the IEP team determines has a high probability of requiring special education services)
  AND
• Children need specially designed services and have needs that cannot be met in the modification of the natural environment.

Referral

Any parent, friend, relative, or professional may make a referral by calling the listed phone number.