Supporting Children with Disabilities in ECE Programs

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), has issued a reminder on how to best support children’s special health care needs in child care programs. In the most recent ECE Recap, OCDEL shared important information about the role of Early Intervention (EI) professionals and how their work can benefit the children they serve.

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Young children learn best through every day experiences and interactions with nurturing people in familiar contexts. Child care providers and other early childhood education (ECE) programs create settings in which children have many natural opportunities to practice and learn through every day activities and routines. These opportunities take place with a number of people, including family members, caregivers and child care and other ECE professionals. To better foster these skillsets, EI professionals offer coaching and meaningful support through embedding meaningful and functional outcomes within familiar learning opportunities that exist in the child’s typical routines, both in home and ECE programs.

In addition to family support, EI professionals can help child care and other ECE programs in making accommodations and modifications, as well as individualized planning, and services to support children with disabilities or other special health care needs.

Remaining Accessible for DSPs

As detailed in the CDC COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs (cdc.gov), when implementing COVID-19 safety protocols, child care providers and ECE programs should remain accessible to children with disabilities by helping provide access to direct service providers (DSPs) which includes: Early Intervention professionals, paraprofessionals, therapists, mental health and healthcare consultants, and others.

This requirement is also found in child care regulations § 3270.17, which states:

  • (a) The operator shall make reasonable accommodation to include a child with special needs in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws.

  • (b) The operator shall permit an adult individual who provides specialized services to a child with special needs to provide those services on the facility premises as specified in the child’s IEP, IFSP or written behavioral plan.

EI professionals who experience access issues to ECE programs while providing coaching and support to children with disabilities or special needs as per their IFSP/IEP should contact their Regional Child Development Offices.