Assessment Task 2- Essay on Critical Issues

In an early childhood setting, it can be very likely to come across many

children with either mild or severe disabilities. Disability is an increasing
contemporary issue which is likely to occur in early childhood settings.
Unfortunately the rate of which children faced with a disability enrolled in
child care services is slowly increasing. The way in which disability is dealt
with can significantly impact the outcome of any childs development.
Therefore, it is important to not discriminate against any child with a
disability and ensure that they are not excluded from regular early
childhood practices.
In Kerry Purdues article Barriers to and Facilitators of Inclusion
for children with Disabilities in Early Childhhood Education
(2010), she thoroughly discusses the problems faced with the
discrimination and exclusion of children with disabilities. Purdue
conducted a study which was based around the ways in which child care
centres conduct themselves in response to children with disabilities in
early childhood settings (Purdue, 2004). Purdues research mainly
indicated that teachers perceive children with disabilities to be so
significantly different that they require having their educational needs met
elsewhere. They often believe that dealing with their needs would be too
problematic, consequently resulting in exclusion and discrimination
(Corbett, 2001). Purdue also talks about how children should have equal
opportunities when it comes to experiences and activities in early
childhood settings. Much like the beliefs of Purdue, Corbett and Slee

(2000) state that inclusion should not be conditional or selective, however

inclusion can often be uncommon for children with disabilities. Purdues
article also thoroughly discusses how teachers as well as early childhood
settings need to be prepared to teach and include all children. Children
and families should not have to fit into existing exclusionary structures
and practices or have to wait until teachers and centres are ready for
inclusion (Odom & Scwartz, 2002). It would be unfair to neglect the
educational needs of particular children because of their disability.
Through my own personal experiences through work placement, it is
evident that the staff members do treat all children equally and fairly.
However, there have been issues where parents are hesitant to accept
these children. When one of the children was bitten by an autistic child,
the mother of the child who was bitten expressed numerous concerns
regarding the situation. She believed that the child with autism shouldnt
have the right to be in the day care centre as she did not feel comfortable
with him interacting with her daughter. However, the staff members
informed the mother that they cant discriminate children and refuse their
enrolment regardless of their disability and supported the childs rights to
be a part of the day care.
John Filler and Yaoying Xus article Including Children With
Disabilities in Early Childhood Education Programs ( 2006 ) mainly
discusses the ways in which childcare centres can ensure the inclusion of
children with disabilities, as well as the importance of doing so. One of the
main points of the article is that a lot of problems can occur when

educators assume that all children reach developmental milestones at the

same rate. Filler and Xu discuss the importance of valuing each child as
an individual so as to understand their specific needs, whether or not they
may have a disability. The inclusion of children with severe disabilities in
regular education settings implies more than just physical presence; it
includes access to the curriculum that is the taught in the regular
education system (TASH, 2000). Children with disabilities should be
included in all learning experiences, and any difficulties they have
throughout learning experiences should be addressed. It is important to
set and design specific activities that allow the inclusion of all children.
Filler and Xu outline a series of steps that ensure educators are able to
incorporate actives such as this into their early childhood setting. Children
with disability benefit the most from inclusion in early childhood settings.
It is evident that in my own experiences through work placement, that
children are included in daily activities. They are given the opportunities
to participate in the same activities and perform the same tasks. This
allows other children to form a relationship with the child and accept
them. One of the children in the older aged-group room suffers from a
disability. One day when I was in the family grouping room he grabbed my
hand and took me to the CD player. I was unsure what he wanted me to
do and another child had told me he wants me to put his favourite song
on, he also told me which CD and what number. This not only showed he
accepted the child with the disability, but he knew how to accommodate
to his needs and wanted to help him.

Carolyn Clawson and Gayle Luzes article, Individual Experiences

of Children With and Without Disabilities in Early Childhood
(2008) examines the issues of quality of care in early childhood settings.
Children with disabilities are entering child care rates similar to those of
children without disabilities(Wall, Kisker, Peterson, Carta & Jeon, 2006).
Due to the significantly large number of children living with disability,
Clawson and Gayle strongly feel that the issue of quality care is even
more so a vital aspect of early childhood education. The research
conducted in this article shows that children with disabilities are more
likely to have poor experience and less participation in activities than their
peers without disability. This exclusion is capable of having a very
negative affect on their development as a child. Throughout their research
it was noted that 10% of the children were rated as having good quality
individual experiences and that 83% were rated as having poor-quality
experience and 7% were rated as having poor quality individual
experiences(Clawson & Luze, 2008). The research indicated that the
quality of experiences had an impact on the reported problem behaviours
of the children. These statistics reiterated their belief of the importance of
quality of care in early childhood settings, and its impact on children with
and without disability.
As a preservice teacher, the research and opinions undertaken in each of
these articles will most definitely have a significant impact on my teaching
styles in the future. This furthers my knowledge of children with disability.
I now understand the importance and implications that treating all
children equally have on children with special needs in particular. I will

ensure that I allow the learning activities and experiences that I

incorporate into my class room to include all children, with our without
disability. Not only will I do my best to cater the needs of the children with
disability, but I will ensure that all activities will match the capabilities of
each child, so as to assure they benefit the most from their educational
experience.

References
Association For Persons With Severe Handicaps, The (2000). TASH
Resolution on Quslity Inclusive Education. Baltimore: Author.
Clawson, C. and Luze, G. (2008). Individual experiences of children with
and without disabilities in early childhood settings. Topics in Early
Childhood Special Education, 28 (3), pp. 132--147.
Corbett, J. (2001). Supporting inclusive education. London:
RoutledgeFalmer.
Corbett, J. and Slee, R. (2000). An International Converation On Inclusive
Education. London: David Fulton.

Filler, J. and Xu, Y. (2006). Including children with disabilities in early

childhood education programs: Individualizing developmentally
appropriate practices. Childhood Education, 83 (2), pp. 92--98.
Kerry, P. (2009). Barriers to and Facilitators of Inclusion for Children with
Disabilities in Early Childhood Education. Contemporary Issues in
Early Childhood, 10.
Odom, S. and Schwartz, I. (2002). So What Do We Know from All This?
Synthesis Points on Research on Preschool Inclusion. New York:
Teacher College Press.
Purdue, K. (2004). Inclusion and exclusion in early childhood education.
Wall, S., Kisker, E., Peterson, C., Carta, J. and Leon, H. (2006). Child care
for low-income children with disabilities: Access, quality, and parental
satisfaction. Journal of Early Intervention, 28 pp. 283-298.