Inclusion: Access, Participation, and Supports
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Inclusion: Access, Participation and Supports
by Joe DeBonis
The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) have joined forces to develop a draft definition of inclusion. They recognized that within the field of early childhood there was a need for a common understanding of what we mean when we use the term inclusion. As part of this process, DEC and NAEYC also solicited input regarding this draft definition so that others could contribute their ideas. The draft definition reads:
Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society. The desired results of inclusive experiences for children with disabilities and their families include a sense of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and friendships, and development and learning to reach their full potential. The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high quality early childhood programs and services include (1) access, (2) participation, and (3) supports.
(For complete definition go to DEC website at: http://www.dec-sped.org/)
This article will explore how the “defining features” (access, participation, and supports) of this definition are addressed at Christina Kent Early Childhood Center and utilized by Project Jericho, an inclusion support program provided by Alta Mira Specialized Family Services.
The DEC-NAEYC draft describes Access in this way: “Providing access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities, settings, and environments is the defining feature of high quality early childhood inclusion”. Carrie Schwartz, Executive Director at Christina Kent, believes the first step in providing access at her center involves staff having open minds and being flexible to having any child in their program, whatever their needs. Having access also includes an upfront meeting with parents and staff to discuss each child’s strengths, needs, any accommodations that are needed to fully include a child, as well as staffing needs.
In the DEC-NAEYC draft definition of inclusion, participation is characterized as follows: “Adults promote belonging, participation, and engagement of children with disabilities and their typically developing peers in inclusive settings in a variety of intentional ways”. At Christina Kent, relationship building between a teacher and a child is a key component to making participation a reality. Through this, staff comes to understand the whole child and can adapt activities and build on strengths to promote participation. From there, staff make intentional efforts to promote participation in the classroom.
The DEC-NAEYC definition also describes supports: “An infrastructure of inclusion supports must be in place to undergird the efforts of individuals and organizations providing inclusive services to children and families”. Carrie described how, at Christina Kent, early childhood educators work closely with staff from early intervention programs such as Alta Mira and RCI, as well as staff from the Albuquerque Public Schools special preschool program. These programs send staff to Christina Kent to provide services and coordinate with early childhood teachers, sharing suggestions about how the staff can support each child throughout the day. Carrie believes that a crucial element in this support involves consistent and effective communication between her staff and the early intervention and public school staff who come to the center. With parent permission, Christina Kent early childhood educators also attend IEP meetings and visit APS sites of children who also attend the APS preschool.
Project Jericho is an outreach program that has been supporting inclusion within the Albuquerque Metro Area for many years. Their services have promoted all three aspects of the DEC-NAEYC inclusion definition. Access has been provided through agreements with collaborating early childhood centers that assure openings at their centers for children in early intervention. Participation has been supported by Project Jericho staff within these settings. And support is addressed through Project Jericho training for early childhood educators.
Jesica Radaelli-Nida, Project Jericho Coordinator, explains how she is exploring taking the program into a new direction. Last year Project Jericho began a mentoring program for early childhood educators which involved 16 hours of training and 8 hours of on-site, hands-on mentoring in the classroom. Looking at the DEC-NAEYC draft definition, this new program focuses on the participation and support aspects of inclusion.
Using a relationship-based approach, participants work in classrooms with their mentors to promote relationship development between teacher and child, as well as among children. In addition, the approach incorporates all children having “access to materials, experiences and opportunities for learning that are child-driven and reflective of (the) understanding that each child is different and may have different learning needs”. This strategy clearly addresses participation as well as support.
Support for inclusion also occurs in the training component of the mentoring program which includes training on relationships (including information on bonding and attachment), self-regulation, and environment.
Having a definition of inclusion that we can all agree upon will help early childhood programs understand and develop inclusive experiences that reflect best practice. In addition, as we have seen with Christina Kent Early Childhood Center and Project Jericho, it will also help us identify the defining features of inclusion that high quality programs are presently using within communities across the country.