Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings

This practical, hands-on guide is required reading for anyone who works with children with special needs - from ECE professionals to parents. It includes information on the most common disabilities, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, visual impairment, and behavior disorders, as well as strategies and activities to facilitate participation in all components of the daily routine. It also shows how to adapt common early childhood activities for children of varying abilities to maximize their achievements. This important book can be used in various settings, including Head Start, home and community child care centers, and preschools. This is an invaluable resource to promote success in school for all children.

Dr. M. Diane Klein is a speech and language pathologist, as well as a professor of early childhood special education. She is a member of various professional organizations including the Council on Exceptional Children, the American Speech Language Hearing Association, and the Division for Childhood Communication Disorders. She is a frequent lecturer at conventions and seminars and is the keynote speaker for the Southwest Los Angeles County Special Education Preschool Staff Development conference in April 2000.

Ruth E. Cook, Ph. D., is a Professor Emeritus of Special Education at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. She is also a licensed Educational Psychologist and School Psychologist. Dr. Cook was formerly the director of two inclusive campus preschool programs; one at Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles and the other at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Currently, she is an instructor in the EPIC (Education Preparation for Inclusive Classrooms) program at the Santa Clara County Office of Education in California, which offers credentials in Early Childhood Special Education and Moderate Severe Disabilities.

Anne Marie Richardson- Gibbs, M.A., is an inclusion specialist working with preschoolers, transitional kindergarteners, and kindergarteners with special needs enrolled in typical early childhood programs and elementary schools in El Monte, California. She was a program specialist for the California Department of Education SEEDS Project, providing technical assistance to early intervention and preschool programs throughout the state. She was also the program director of Centro de Ninos y Padres, an early intervention program at California State University, Los Angeles, for eight years. During this time, she pioneered a consultant position providing inclusion support for young children with disabilities in inclusive settings.