Describes how special education services are provided.

Service Models

• Push-in: Special educator or therapist provide services through integrated therapy services within the daily schedule.

A range of activities and environments that eliminate the physical, social and instructional barriers to learning (DEC, NAEYC 2009).

Universal Design for Learning

• Flexible instructional approaches that guide developing instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessment for all learners provide multiple ways to engage children, present information and determine learning (CAST 2011).

Assistive Technology

• Any piece of equipment, or product system, acquired commercially, modified, or customized, used to maintain, increase, or improve functional capabilities of persons with disabilities, except medical devices surgically implanted. (IDEA 2004).

Adaptations

• Planned interventions/modifications to ongoing classroom activity or materials to maximize children's participation.

Intentional multi-tiered instructional strategies that increase a child's engagement, participation and learning (DEC, NAEYC 2009).

*Embedded Instruction

• Strategies that address individual learning goals within the context of ongoing routines, activities and transitions.
  • To support the 12 general education classrooms, the special educators consults with general educators to review IEP goals and discuss how to embed practice within the daily schedule through the use of visuals, adaptations, and small group intervention.

*Scaffolding

• Used with children who require more intensive supports by providing targeted approaches to move children progressively toward skill development, e.g. modeling, response prompting, corrective feedback, peer supports.
  • This corporation has found success in prioritizing step by step instruction of concepts/tasks, for example it is introduced and demonstrated in whole group then it follows to small group (each adult at a different small group) where more modeling occurs before the students follow, hand over hand if needed.

Tiered Levels of Instruction

• An approach to provide adult instructional supports that requires screening and ongoing assessment to determine impact of teaching/learning and adjustment of instruction.

Membership

• The intentional social supports/teaching that creates a classroom community of belonging for each child and facilitates positive relationships of respect, acceptance and friendship.

Strategies in place that including professional development, opportunities for collaboration and communication among families and practitioners to support high quality inclusion (DEC, NAYEC 2009).

Professional Development

• Teaching and learning activities that support inclusion and facilitate acquisition and application of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions (NPDCI, 2011).

Models of Collaboration

• Approaches to support ongoing communication and collaboration include technical assistance, consultation, coaching, mentoring, collaborative problem-solving, and communities of practice/professional learning communities (NPDCI, 2011).

Family-Staff Partnership

• Opportunities for relationship building between families and practitioners support the achievement of mutually agreed upon goals (NPDCI, 2011).