DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 068 185 PS 005 949

AUTHOR Granato, Sam; Krone, ElizabethTITLE Child Development: Day Care. 8. Serving Children with

Special Needs.INSTITUTION Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (DHEW/OE),

Washington, D.C.; Department of Health, Education,and Welfare, Washington, D.C. Secretary's Committeeon Mental Retardation.; Office of Child Development(DHEW), Washington, D.C.; President's Committee onMental Retardation, Washington, D.C.

REPORT NO DHEW-OCD-72-42PUB DATE 72NOTE 74p.AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock Number1791-0176, $0.75)

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29DESCRIPTORS Behavioral Objectives; *Child Care Workers; *Child

Development; Community Resources; *Day Care Programs;Deaf Children; Emotionally Disturbed; FinancialSupport; Guides; *Handicapped Children; MentallyHandicapped; Parent Participation; PhysicallyHandicapped; Program Planning; *Special Services;Visually Handicapped

ABSTRACTThis handbook defines children with special needs and

develops guidelines for providing services to them. It answersquestions commonly raised by staff and describes staff needs,training, and resources. It discusses problems related tocommunicating with parents, questions parents ask, parents of specialchildren, and communication between parents. It provides guidelinesfor program development including basic needs for all children,orientation activities, promoting good feelings among children,designing behavior, daily activities, dealing with difficult times inthe day care day, evaluation, and follow-through. It gives techniquesfor dealing with special needs for visually-impaired,hearing-impaired, other physically disabled, and mentally retardedchildren as well as children with learning disabilities and otheremotional problems. Appendices list community resources available tohelp provide services for children with special needs and adescription of what services each gives; a description of local,state and federal funding resources, and a bibliography sectionedaccording to special problems dealt with in the handbook. (DG)

t. -..j. ..,".'150. ,,:'-:;',:-:,;..,... S. DEPARTMENT dr HEALTH. EMU( a gm,

iOFFICE OF EDUCATION

i'!..:*;.:':::-Ih41C-'11;,:;.i:'

HIS POPiLmENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FR 111.ERSPX P.' 12!117:71010. 0 "'"'N^T.ING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONSTATE9 P ", NErESVRIIY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION

.,..10SITION OR POLICY.

etr'

ILDDEI/ELOPMENTt>.. .

tr,1

serving

children

with special

needs

';' -

serving

menwith speclai

NMS

Sam GranatoProject Manager

Mrs. Elizabeth KroneAssistant Project Manager

11:1

DHEW Publication No. (OCD)17 2-412

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfficeWashington, D.C. 20402 - Price 75 cents

Stock Number 1791-0176

2

FOREWORD

The Office of Child Development is preparing and publishing aseries of handbooks on day care practices appropriate for infants,preschool and school age children. Such a series would not be com-plete without guides for serving children with special needs in acommunity day care center or family day care home.

Special children have special needs. Caregivers need partic-ular skills and understanding. But we believe that many childrenwill benefit from being in a program which does not isolate them intheir "special-ness."

An integrated day care program offers the special child anopportunity to gain confidence in his abilities and strengths, andto be accepted by other children and adults. At the same time, theother children and their families have an opportunity to understandand accept differences between children and help with the problemsof children with special needs.

The development of this handbook is a cooperative effort ofOCD, the Office of Education's Bureau of Education for the Handi-capped, the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, and theSecretary's Committee on Mental Retardation. We hope it will behelpful to all those with responsibility for the care of children.

Edward Zig lerDirectorOffice of Child Development

3

ragrololle

PREFACE

This day care handbook on "Serving Children with Special Needs"is a product of a cooperative effort of four agencies within the De-partment of Health, Education, and Welfare. Although the Office ofChild Development had responsibility for managing the develop-ment of the handbook, the Project Manager was ably assisted by aninteragency group which .made all major decisions regarding thefocus, content and style of the document. The interagency groupwas composed of:

Elizabeth Krone, OCDJane DeWeerd, BEHGerald Boyd, BEHRichard Lippke, SCMRMary K. Walsh, PCMR

Many experts, parents of children with special needs, andoperators of programs serving children with special needs assistedin drafting and critiquing the document. Their involvement hasmade the handbook a useful and realistic guide.

Sam GranatoProject Manager

4

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The efforts of many individuals and the advice from the staff ofmany day care programs contributed to the development of thishandbook. We would like to thank the following specialists in thefields of day care, early childhood education and special educationfor their invaluable assistance in helping to shape and review thecontents of this manual:

Nicholas Anastasiow, Indiana University, Department ofEarly Childhood Education; Gunnar and Rosemary Dybwad,Florence Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Wel-fare, Brandeis University; Cynthia Gilles, New England In-structional Materials Center, Boston University; HelenGordon, Metropolitan 4-C Council, Portland, Oregon; JaneGreenspan, Judge Baker Child Guidance Clinic, Boston,Massachusetts; Lars arid Ginny Guldager, New England Re-gional Center for Deaf-Blind Children, Watertown, Massa-chusetts; Violet Sieder, Florence Heller School for AdvancedStudies in Social Welfare, Brandeis University; HowardSpicker, Indiana University, Department of Special Educa-tion; Kate Summey, Associated Day Care Services, Boston,Massachusetts; Jo-Anne Williams, Grace Church NurserySchool, Newton, Massachusetts.

Special appreciation is extended to the following programswhich we visited. The staff at these centers were most cooperativein sharing with us their ideas and experiences in helping childrenwith special needs. Special thanks go to their directors and staff:

John Ora, Regional Intervention Project, Peabody College,Nashville, Tennessee; Margaret Brewster, The Dimock Pre-0) School, Boston, Massachusetts; Diane Bricker, ToddlerProject, Peabody College, Nashville, Tennessee; BarbaraButtrick, Merrimack Valley Day Care Center, Concord, New

0.)Hampshire; Sally Curtis, Springfield Day Nursery, Spring-field, Massachusetts; Maggie Joy, Lowell Day Nursery,

11-0Lowell, Massachusetts; K. King, Center for Developmentaland Learning Disorders, Birmingham, Alabama; EdwardCs)LaCrosse, Meyer Children's Rehabilitation Institute, Omaha,Nebraska; Richard Whelan, Children's Rehabilitation Center,

CZKansas City, Kansas; Jo-Anne Williams, Grace ChurchNursery School, Newton, Massachusetts.

pp

C)F'

Nancy FeringRuth Freedman

C. 7516

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: WHO ARE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS? 8

CHAPTER ONE: STAFF IN YOUR PROGRAMQuestions From Staff 11Staff Needs 13Staff Training 14Staff Resources 15

CHAPTER TWO: PARENTS IN YOUR PROGRAMCommunicating With Parents 17Questions Parents Ask 17Parents of Special Children 20Communication Between Parents 21

CHAPTER THREE: GUIDELINES FOR YOUR PROGRAMA Good Program For All Children 24Getting to Know You 26Promoting Good Feelings Among Children 27Guiding Behavior 28Structure or Not? 29Activities of the Day Care Day 30Difficult Times of the Day Care Day 32How Good a Job Are You Doing? 34When a Child Leaves: The Follow-Through 37

CHAPTER FOUR: WAYS TO HELP CHILDRENWITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Helping Visually-Impaired and Blind Children 39Helping Hearing-Impaired and Deaf Children 43Helping Children with Other Physical Disabilities 45Helping Mentally Retarded Children 49Helping Children with Learning Disabilities 53Helping Children with Emotional Problems 55

APPENDIX A: COMMUNITY RESOURCES 58

APPENDIX B: FUNDING ".5:ZFRIRCES 65

APPENDIX C: BIBLIOGRAPHY 66

8 7

INTRODUCTION

"Why can't he talk? Does he have a cold?"Joan age 4, was asking her teacher about Joey.Although Joey was 5, he did not talk. He was alsoslower than other kids his age in learning towalk, dress himself, play with toys. A doctor haddiagnosed Joey as mentally retarded. When theteacher explained that Joey had not yet learned tosay words, Joan's comment, after a brief pause,was, "I'll help him." "How?" her teacher asked."I'll talk to him lots."

Joan couldn't have prescribed bettermedicine for Joey had she been a specialist or ateacher of mentally retarded children. Talkingto Joey lots was exactly what he needed. In fact,after a year in this day care center in Portland,Oregon, Joey had a whole repertoire of words.He'd picked up his vocabulary from Joan and otherkids who were willing to talk to him while playing,running, eating, singing, building, fighting, climb-ing and dancing together.

Joan and Joey are enrolled in an inte-grated day care programa program which bringschildren with special needs together with norm-ally developing kids. This manual talks abouthow to include these special children in yourday care center or family day care home.

Most people agree that the integrationidea is a good thing, but they're afraid it's toocomplicated to get involved with themselves. Oneday care teacher told us, "We thought abouttaking in some special children but then gave upon the idea. Don't you need special buildings andequipment for them?" Well, no. Special environ-ments and equipment are nice, but they're rarelynecessary. This teacher overlooked the most im-portant ingredient in integrated day care, andthat's the attitude that special children are firstof all children.

As the mother of a special child says, "Ba-sically, this child is like my other childrenonlymore so!" Good integrated day care p; .;grams arebasically like good regular day care programs,only more so. The "more so" is what this manualis all about. And while this book can't answerall the questions or solve all the problems youmay run into with integrated care, it does try toraise many of the issues involved. Hopefully, itwill start people thinking about them.

8

This manual is intended as a guidebookfor directors and staff of day care programs whoare or might consider including some childrenwith special needs in their program. We hopeyou'll use it in conjunction with other resourcesand training programs. Although it provides gen-eral guidelines for integrated day care, you'll haveto apply and adapt this information to the spe-cifics of your own situationto your program,staff, and the particular needs of the childrenand parents you serve.

Finally, we hope you'll use not only thematerials and guidelines suggested in the bodyof the manual, but also the Appendices aboutCommunity and Funding Resources and theBibliography to further investigate the idea ofintegration.

WHO ARE CHILDREN WITHSPECIAL NEEDS?

There's no strict dividing line betweenchildren whose needs are special and those whoseneeds are "normal." All children have needs, butsome children's needs are more extensive thanothers. The special child usually has more needsthan other kids; they occur more often, and theytend to interfere with his everyday life andperformance.

As they grow and develop, all kids haveups and downs, needs and problems. Take walk-ing, for example. It's normal for children to haveproblems when they're first learning to walk, try-ing to take those very unsteady first steps. ButRalph has special needs in learning to walk. Bornwith cerebral palsy, he has limited muscle con-trol in one leg and a poor sense of balance. He'lllearn to walk just as other children do, but he'llneed more time to practice. Because of his poorsense of balance, he'll fall more often and thiswill frighten him at first. He'll need constantencouragement, support and praise from thosearound him.

Children with special needs are those whoare often called handicapped. Some of these chil-dren have visual problems or hearing problems.Others have crippling conditions and can't get

around like other children. Some are slow learn-ers and may be considered mentally retardedwhen they get into formal school programs. Oth-ers may have emotional or special problems.Some may have received injuries at birth or fol-lowing high fevers or other illnesses which makeit difficult for them to control their motor be-havior.

These children often need special help inadjusting to a day care or preschool program. Be-cause of this, they are considered to be childrenwith special needs. Some children's problems donot handicap them. Steven, for example, has anobvious special problemhe has only one arm.But Steven's disability is not a handicap to himbecause he's been able to accept his problemand work aroune ilecause of his self-esteemand confidence, :..kiven :s able to feel comfortableand play with othr.: el-:::dren. Harold, on the otherhand, is greatly handicapped by his special prob-lem, which is comparatively minor. When he wasvery young, he lost a finger in an accident, andhe's never been able to adjust to his loss.Ashamed to use his hand, he avoids playing withother kids. Harold's disability is a tremendoushandicap to him.

REFERRALS TO YOUR PROGRAMChildren with special needs are often re-

ferred to day care programs by mental healthcenters, local associations or individual parents.Centers and family day care homes are oftenhesitant to accept these children because staffmembers feel they don't have adequate trainingor there are too few staff to meet a special child'sneeds. Chapter Two contains a list of questionsstaff should ask themselves when decidingwhether or not to enroll children with specialneeds.

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ALREADY INYOUR PROGRAM

Often it is not really a matter of decidingto take in children with special needs. Most daycare programs discover that such children arealready enrolled. These children have minor andsometimes major emotional needs, learning dif-ficulties, speech problems or physical disabili-ties: many have special needs which will remainwith them throughout their lives (visual andhearing impairments, the loss of a limb), whileother kids have needs which are temporary, inresponse to a certain event or crisis (a child maydevelop extreme emotional needs when his par-

ents are divorced, or if there is a death in thefamily).

Special needs often go unrecognized inday care programs. A child may be mistaken aslazy or slow when he really has poor vision or aslight hearing impairment. The disobedient childwho never seems to follow your directions mayhave a learning disability which prevents himfrom understanding your instructions or he maybe a gifted child whose mental abilities are soadvanced that he is bored by the activities in theprogram.

You may be the first to recognize that achild has special needs. These often becomeevident only after he's entered the program, inhis first experience in a structured setting withother kids his age. You may notice that he seemsto be slower than other children in some or allareas of development, and you might suspect thathe has special needs which must be met if heis to develop to his potential. Recognizing that achild has special needs at this early age is crucial.

It's often easier to recognize extreme orsevere needs than marginal needs which arenot so obvious. The child with marginal needsis usually in a program already, but most likelyhis needs have not yet been noticed or met. Thisis the child with whom the staff most often getsangry or frustrated, because no one can under-stand why he behaves the way he does. His be-havior is not so extreme that staff and parentswould suspect he has special problems or needs.Children with severe needs are more likely tohave been identified before they enter yourprogram.

HOW TO IDENTIFY SPECIAL NEEDS INCHILDREN

How do you know if a child has specialneeds? This is a judgment made by parents,teachers and professionals who observe thechild's behavior over time. Many forms of be-havior serve as signals of special needs. It's im-possible to spell out all these behaviors becausethey differ from child to child, situation to situa-tion. But here are a few behaviors which mightindicate special need. The child

doesn't learn or catch on as well as other kidshis age;

seems confused much of the time;doesn't talk or communicate as well as othershis age;is always on the fringe of activities, never reallyinvolved;

109

6

finds it difficult to play and get along withothers;cries much more than other children;has frequent temper tantrums;seems uncoordinated and clumsier than otherchildren.

Obviously, all kids act these ways nowand again. But a child with special needs acts inone or more of these ways most of the time.Determining whether a child has special needsor not is a very difficult process. You may notice,for instance, that Ricky always seems to be onthe fringe of activities, but you may not knowwhy. Does he have a hearing problem whichprevents him from participating? Is he a slowlearner? Maybe he's so shy he's afraid to join in.Maybe your day care program is his first experi-ence with other kids and adults, and he's over-whelmed by the group.

There can be many causes and explana-tions for a given behavior, and it takes a trainedspecialist to determine why Ricky acts the wayhe does. Appendix A is a list of specialists and

'clinics who can help you evaluate a child's specialneeds. Don't try to make your own diagnosislabels such as "mentally retarded" or "emotion-ally disturbed" can be very harmful when appliedby people who don't really know what these termsmean.

10

A specialist will try to explain to you andthe parents what the child's diagnosis meanswhat his special needs are, how severe they are,how they might have occurred. But the specialistshould not describe only what the child can'tdo because of his special needs. Find out alsowhat he can do and how you can help him do it.While it's important to be aware of a child'slimitations, don't let them immobilize either thechild or you. By helping him develop hisstrengths, you'll make it easier for him to over-come or compensate for his areas of weakness.A specialist can suggest techniques for you andhis parents to use in helping the child do this.Remember, too, that as a child develops, hisspecial needs and abilities may change; he shouldbe constantly re-evaluated by the specialist, hisparents and your program.

Often the specialist you visit will not giveyou a specific diagnosis. He may not even knowwhy the child behaves the way he does. If thechild is very young, the specialist may want towait and observe him over time. He may feelthat the child's needs are likely to diminish orchange, and that it would be unfair to categorizehim at such an early age. However, the specialistcan suggest general techniques for helping thechild in the meantime and methods for observinghis needs in the future.

tiSTAFF IN YOUR PROGRAM

QUESTIONS FROM STAFF

Integrating children with special needsinto a regular day care program calls for carefulplanning. If you already have children with specialneeds in your program, you're probably aware ofsome of the problems that can arise and the de-mands that can be made on staff. Working in anyday care program is challenging and rewarding,but it takes a lot of your time and effort to meeteach child's needs. This is more so in programswhere some children have special needs.

If you're considering integration, the fol-lowing questions and guidelines might help youmake your decision.

WHY ENROLL CHILDREN WITH SPECIALNEEDS?

Children with special needs are oftenunnecessarily segregated from other kids, to thedisadvantage of both. In an integrated day careprogram, a child with special needs becomes partof the "real world" of children and adults withdifferent needs and abilities. Here, a special childhas a chance to:

learn to deal with and accept his limitations;gain confidence in his abilities and strengths;be accepted by other kids and adults.

Your other children will have a chance to:

deal with and accept differences betweenpeople;understand the problems of children withspecial needs.

Teachers can also benefit from knowingand helping children with special needs. By be-coming sensitive to these needs, they can becomemore attuned to the needs of all the kids theywork with and to their own needs.

HOW MUCH STAFF DO WE NEED?Does an integrated program need more

staff than a regular one? The answer dependson the particular program, on the attitudes and

experience of the staff, and on the needs of thechildren involved. Many programs suggest oneteacher for every five preschool children. Thishigh staff/child ratio allows teachers to give one-to-one attention to children when they need it.

The amount of time and attention givento a child really depends on his needs. Somechildren with special needs make no more de-mands on staff than other kids in the program,but most special children will require more timeand care. If extra staff isn't added, then demandson your existing staff may be too great for themto handle. Generally, extra staff is needed if thereare children with the following kinds of needs:

children who physically can't get around thefacilities by themselves;children who aren't toilet-trained;children who are very withdrawn;children who are very angry, aggressive ordisruptive;children who are overactive and can't controltheir impulses.

The number of staff needed also dependsto a large extent on the experience of your staff.This doesn't mean all staff must be professionalexperts with degrees in special education. Cer-tainly experience in working with special childrenis helpful, but staff can gain experience if theydon't have it. One good way is to talk to peoplewho are involved with special childrenparents,teachers in special schools, specialists in thecommunity. You'll find it very helpful to meetregularly with one of these people to discuss waysof working with children with special needs.

Staff members who themselves havespecial problems may serve as a source of under-standing and strength for other teachers. Oftentheir firsthand experience with special needsmake them effective in establishing rapport withand helping children.

Many day care programs have found ituseful to start integration on a part-time basis.

11

One center invited children from a nearby schoolfor the deaf to come three times a week for someplay activities. The staff was able to get a feelfor integration by starting out this way. By ob-serving children and talking to their teachersabout their needs, they could assess whetherthey would be able to work with them on a morepermanent basis, and whether more staff wasnecessary.

Another important factor is the stabilityof your staff. If the same staff members have beenworking at the center or family home for a yearor more, they already know the children and howbest to work with them. The children also knowtheir teachers and feel secure in being with themday after day. All kids like to know they can de-pend on Mrs. M. or Mr. T. to be there when they'reneeded, and fewer staff will be necessary underthese circumstances than if staff members don'tremain with your program long.

WHAT ABOUT COMMUNITY RESOURCES?The need for community resources will

vary from program to program. Where staff hasexperience with special children, you'll probablyneed less help from the community than pro-grams with little expertise to draw on. But allprograms need some outside help. You can't ex-pect to meet all the needs of a child and hisfamily by yourselves. At the very least, you shouldbe familiar with services in your community towhich you can refer children and their families.Hopefully, you'll be able to use specialists in thearea to train and consult with staff about in-dividual children.

Resources vary from community to com-munity. Some programs may be lucky enoughto have clinics, specialists, universities and hos-pitals nearby to consult with. Other programs,particularly in rural areas, may not have accessto all of these resources. Appendix A is a listof community resources to investigate if you don'tknow where to turn for help.

Community resources can help you in lotsof ways by:

identifying, diagnosing and evaluating theneeds of children;helping you set goals for individual childrenand evaluating their progress;providing individual tutoring or therapy or re-habilitation for children;training teachers to use specific techniques forchildren with special needs;providing financial, social or psychological as-

sistance to families;providing funding for programs;providing vo;unteers or part-time staff.

Although some community resources canbe expensive, many programs have been able touse specialists from State-funded agencies forlittle or no cost. For example, a program mightrequest help from a consultant in a State-fundedmental health center, or from the State's depart-ment of education. Another way of getting aroundthe cost problem is to share community resourceswith other programs. Some programs have linkedup with Head Start projects or public schoolclasses to share consultants, training, equipmentand other resources.

HOW MANY CHILDREN CAN WE INTEGRATE?There are no magic numbers when it

comes to integrating. How many children withspecial needs you enroll depends on how manyyou already have in your program, and how willingand able your staff is to help them. It may takeenough of your time and energy to meet the needsof the children you already work with, or you mayfeel you can handle more children.

Your decision should also depend on thepersonalities of the children. For example, it'svery difficult to manage a large number of aggres-sive, "acting-out" childrenmany programs feelthey can take only one or two hyperactive childrenper twenty. Other kids, whose emotional needsare not so extreme, can be integrated in largernumbers.

Most integrated programs suggest thatyou begin by enrolling one or two children withspecial needs. Bringing in large numbers of chil-dren all at once may be more than your staff orthe kids can handle. As you become more ex-perienced, you'll be able to sense how many chil-dren you can and want to integrate.

IS OUR SETTING SUITABLE FOR SPECIALCHILDREN?

Is family home care more suitable forspecial children than center care? Not necessarilyso. Both family home care and center care offergood opportunities for integrated programs, andthis manual is addressed to both. By family homecare we mean a program for a small group ofchildren in someone's home during the day. Bycenter care we mean care for a large group ofkids, usually with a larger staff, in a day carecenter.

Both settings have advantages. In family12 13

home care, children are in small groupsusually3 to 5 childrenwith one day care "mother" or"father." Kids can feel secure in a setting verymuch like home. With fewer children, plans andschedules can be easily changed for more pro-gram flexibility. It's also easier to give one-to-oneattention when there are only a few children. Andfinally, family home programs often provide carefor several children from a single family, thusgiving a child the security of being with brothersor sisters.

Day care centers offer many benefits too.Because they serve larger groups of children,centers generally have more staff, more equip-ment and larger facilities than family day carehomes. Special children get the chance to adjustto group settingsan adjustment which will behelpful to them when they later enter school.They'll meet many different kids in their own agerange and relate to a variety of staff members,parents, volunteers and students. An added bene-fit of center care is that parents of children withspecial needs have a chance to meet with otherparents in the program. Active parents' groupsinvite involvement. Centers may offer counselingand other services to parents or may refer them toother resources in the community.

Another type of day care setting is thehome care/center care system in which a groupof family day homes is linked up with a day carecenter or centers. Services in the systemstafftraining, equipment, social and health services,counseling, parent education groupsare sharedwith both home care teachers and center staff.This system is very useful for family day careparents who are interested in working with specialchildren but are afraid to do so without propersupport, advice and materials. The system canhire a coordinator who visits each family homeand center to give staff hints on working withspecial children and to refer the children toservices in the area. Another benefit of the homecare/center care system is, again, flexibility. Achild who has problems relating to large groupsof children can enter a small family home firstand later move into the more complex environ-ment of a day care center. Or he can spend partof his time in the home and part in the center.

Family home care, center care and homecare/center care systems all offer excellent op-portunities for children with special needs. Par-ents should know about and weigh the benefits ofthe different settings when they choose an inte-grated program for their child.

STAFF NEEDS

We'll be stressing children's needsthroughout this manual. But what about yourneeds? You have your own feelings and needsto deal with too.

YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SPECIAL CHILDRENMost staff members, like most parents,

grow up isolated from people with severe specialproblems. Teachers who first come into contactwith special children in a day care program maysuddenly find themselves dealing with new anddifficult feelingsthe negative feelings parentsmay have about their special children, a teacher'sown feelings of insecurity about being able tohelp the children, feelings of rejection or hostilitytoward a child who looks or acts differently fromthe other children, feelings of resentment abouthaving to make a special effort to help a childwhen there are so many other things to do, andfeelings of guilt for having all those negativethoughts.

It's natural to have these feelings. Teach-ers need to talk about these feelings with oneanother. As you get used to being around a childwith special needs, and as you get to know himbetter for himself, you'll probably discover thingsyou like about him (and dislike about him) theway you do with anyone. You'll often discoverthat those initial negative feelings have disap-peared. All teachers have kids they're more par-tial to; don't be surprised if the special childturns out to be one of them. If not, it doesn'tmatter, as long as you can respond to him withpatience and understanding, and can give him theextra help and guidance he'll need.

You'll also have to learn to deal with verynatural feelings of frustration. You can't expectto perform miracles, although you'll probablywant to. There are natural limits to what any onehuman being can do. If a child is deaf, you can'tchange thatyou've got to accept this fact andhelp the child work around it. It's a very slowprocess. Similarly, changes in attitudes and be-haviors don't happen overnight. At times, yourefforts will seem to make no difference at all, orthey may be fiercely resisted by the child. Frustra-tion is perfectly natural.

You must be able to understand and copewith your own feelings, though, before you caneffectively work with children. It takes a greatdeal of time and skill to deal with feelings andattitudes. These issues should be dealt with at

14 13

staff meetings and in-service training sessions.Remember too that staff feelings aren't just atopicsomething to be handled and solved inone meeting. Feelings and needs evolve overtime, as the program and the children in itchange. Keep in touch with yourselves and eachother.

THE NEED FOR TIMEOne of your greatest needs will be for

timetime not only to discuss your feelings,but time for:

advance planning of activities specifically de-signed to help children develop;conferences about the needs of individualchildren;in-service training sessions;meetings with parents;meeting with specialists.

Finding time for meetings is always aproblem. Depending on your schedule, some staffcan meet before the children arrive in themorning, or after they've left. Other programs holdmeetings during nap time, or they stagger staffschedules so certain teachers can meet duringthe day. If none of these is practical, your meet-ings may have to be held at night in order to geteveryone together at once.

Meet regularly, not just when a crisisarises. At the very least, you should all get to-gether once a weekmore often if you have chil-dren whose needs are severe.

NEW STAFF ROLESIntegrated programs have recently been

adding these staff roles to meet their specialneeds:

Coordinator of ServicesThis staff member staysin touch with all local services for special chil-dren. Duties might include compiling a masterlist of specialists, local associations and serviceorganizations in the community. The Coordinatorof Services helps schedule a child's outside ap-pointments. He or she talks with specialists andkeeps a child's records up to date. This personalso keeps in touch with the child's parents andcan give individualized special help to childrenin your center. The Coordinator arranges for staffin-service training concerning children withspecial needs.

Liaison Counselor--This staff member locatesschools for children ready to leave the center andprovides these schools with information about14

a special child. The Liaison Counselor also keepstrack of the child's adjustment and progress inthe new school.

STAFF TRAINING

A good day care programwith or withoutchildren with special needsshould provide itsstaff with pre- and in-service training. Studentteachers, volunteers and part-time staff shouldparticipate in these sessions as well as full-timeteachers. In pre-service training, your new staffshould discuss and deal with their feelings aboutworking with special children and learn the tech-niques they'll need to help them. An in-servicetraining program should include in its curriculum:

helping staff understand their feelings aboutthe child with special needs; helping changenegative or hostile feelings;normal child growth and development withemphasis on areas relevant to children'sspecial needs;ways to identify special needs;suggestions for curriculum, equipment andmaterials for children with special needs;ways to work with special children; setting ex-pectations, guiding behavior, etc.;how to work with parents in terms of education,counseling, involvement in your program;introduction to community resources availablefor special children and how these resourcescan be used.

Staff training can be done in a variety ofways, both formally and informally and is particu-larly necessary when children with problems areto be enrolled. Here are some methods frequentlyused:

visiting other integrated programs or specialeducation classes (especially helpful as partof pre-service training);lectures and discussions with specialistsrelevant to all of the in-service areas mentionedabove;discussion sessions with parents, in which par-ents train staff about the needs of specialchildren;workshops on curriculum, equipment andmaterials;slides and filmstrips;special or college courses outside the centerwhich deal with helping special children (someprograms pay part or all of the tuition of such

courses to encourage staff to pursue furthertraining).

Many day care programs have set up small librar-ies which they use as part of their training pro-grams. Your staff and parents can bring in theirown books and materials, or the center can ordersome books and pamphlets. (Many good publica-tions are available at little or no cost., See Ap-pendix C.)

STAFF RESOURCES

If you don't have enough money to hireextra staff for your special children, you can addquantity and quality to your roster without addingmuch to your budget. Try using some of the fol-lowing resources. However, you must not usethese part-time staff resources to replace the staffwho work on a permanent full-time basis. It isimportant that care be continuous and stable forthe children. Too many people in and out of thecenter for short periods of time may disruptthe continuity of the program.

STUDENT TEACHERSStudent teachers from local colleges and

universities often prove to be the most reliablesources of non-paid staff. Student teachers havea genuine commitment to come regularly to thecenter. They're often eager to learn. Their pro-fessional supervisors in the university may alsobenefit the program. Particularly useful are stu-dents from departments of early childhood educa-tion, elementary education, special education,psychology, or counseling. You might try to findstudents specifically interested in the needs ofyour special children. (Keep in mind that thesestudents may not be available during schoolvacations.)

STUDENTS ON FIELD PLACEMENTSStudents from schools of social work,

sociology, psychology, nursing, medicine physi-cal or occupational therapy can be awned tothe program on field placements or internships.Depending on their particular profession, theycan work in the classroom with the children, orwith parents and community resources. Studentson field placements make a commitment to comeregularly to the centerthis can mean onceweekly or full-time. As with student teachers,they are generally under the supervision of peoplefrom their schools.

PARENTS OR SIBLINGSBoth parents and older brothers and sis-

ters can help in the classroom. As aides, youshould give them responsibility for specific tasksor activities and treat them as experts. Use themas resources for their special areas (art, music,carpentry, etc.). Although they may not be ableto serve as regular or full-time volunteers, theirassistance for special events or field trips can bemost helpful. (A father who is a fireman couldorganize a trip for a few children to his fire sta-tion, where they could see and play on the firetrucks.)

Parents who speak foreign languages canprovide bilingual activities in the program. Thisis great for children who are themselves bilingualand for other children who have not yet had theopportunity to experience other languages andcultures.

If they've worked as teachers or aides inthe center, parents can help train other parentsor volunteers to carry out activities. Parents arealso good teacher trainersfor example, in in-service training programs, parents can sensitizeteachers to their concerns by leading discussionson the feelings and problems of families withspecial children, how teachers can best helptheir children, and similar topics.

Parents can help in administrativecapacities: serving on the governing board of thecenter, serving as public relations agents, aslobbyists for relevant legislation, as fund-raisers,as car-pool drivers for the center, as equipmentbuilders for the program.

HIGH SCHOOL CHILD DEVELOPMENT OR HOMEECONOMICS STUDENTS

High school students, particularly thosetaking child development or home economicsclasses, may be interested in working with youngchildren. Try advertising informally for interestedhigh school students, or set up a regular programin cooperation with the school. The latter ensuresa regular structure and supervision for thestudents.

WORK-STUDY STUDENTSMany colleges participate in work-study

programs which place students who need to earnmoney in jobs, preferably appropriate to theirfield of study or career interests. The largestshare of their salary comes from the FederalGovernment; the remainder is paid by theemployer.

15

FOSTER GRANDPARENTSSome programs have found the Foster

Grandparents Program (0E0 Act of 1964) verybeneficial. This program recruits, trains andplaces elderly citizens with low incomes in part-time jobs where they work with young children.They receive the Federal minimum wage per hourfor an average of 4 hours a day, 5 days a weekfrom the Government. You may find that these"grandparents" can give the extra love andwarmth certain children need. They can beespecially useful working on a one-to-one basiswith a particular child who can benefit from in-dividual attention. To find out more about FosterGrandparents in your area, write to: Older Ameri-cans Program, Domestic and Anti-Poverty Opera-tions, ACTION, 806 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20525.

OTHER VOLUNTEERSSome centers rely heavily on volunteers

to maintain their minimum teacher/child ratios;others try to use volunteers only for extras suchas special activities or one-to-one work. Most pro-grams agree that volunteers aren't necessarilyas reliable as regular staff and shouldn't be de-pended upon to take the place of staff. The pre-viously mentioned volunteers must be people whoare more committed to the program than theaverage volunteer is expected to be. In general,volunteers can come from many sources in thecommunity (see Appendix A).

16

If you want to use volunteers on a regularbasis, look for people who will commit themselvesto specific times and regularly fulfill that com-mitment. Also, stress to the volunteers how im-portant their participation is. They must be in-cluded in staff training workshops and meetingswhere they can contribute their observations andknow their presence is appreciated.

PART-TIME CONSULTANTSChildren with special needs may require

help from specialists outside your program.Some children will already be getting this help;others may need it. The specialist called for de-pends on the needs of the child. Appendix A isa listing of different specialists and clinics wherehelp can be found. Clinics can evaluate, diagnose,treat and prevent problems in children.

Specialists can work directly with a child,or they can train you to help him. You can consultwith them about specific needs (how best to helpSusan learn to walk), or about more general skills(working with children who have speech prob-lems). Such advice helps the whole program. Forexample, a speech therapist can suggest activitiesto encourage the language development of all thechildren. Moreover, specialists can help preventfuture problems as well as treat present ones.It may be necessary to make extensive use ofspecialists before and when a child with problemshas first enrolled, so the staff will know what toexpect and how to start off using correct specialtechniques.

17

LS PARENTS IN YOUR PROGRAM

COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS

The best way to find out about a child isto ask his parentsthey're experts in dealingwith the child and his needs. Remember, they'vebeen caring for him for many months or years.If the child has special needs, his parents mayhave talked with specialistsdoctors, psycholo-gists, social workers or physical therapistsabout those needs, and they can pass along pro-fessional advice and information.

You and the parents in your programneed to share information. Parents can tell youwhat their children are like and what's happen-ing to them at home. In return, tell parents abouttheir children's accomplishments, activities andproblems in the day care program so parents canfollow up at home.

Setting up times to talk to parents canbe a real problem, particularly if both parentswork, but it's one of the most important aspects ofa good day care operation. Communication withparents should begin even before a child is en-rolled, when you describe your integrated pro-gram to them and answer any questions theyhave. A teacher or other staff member shouldvisit a child's home to get acquainted with thewhole family. While mothers seem to have themost contact with staff, fathers, brothers andsisters should be involved, too.

Once a child is enrolled, you'll find itvaluable to chat with family members when theybring the child to the program or pick him up.Encourage parents to come early or to drop induring the day so they can watch their children.These informal contacts give parents and otherfamily members a chance to see the child inactionthis is especially important for thefamilies of special children who may see theirchild doing things they didn't know he wascapable of doing.

Because many parents work full-time, in-formal contact between staff and families

probably won't be enough. You may need to setup more formal times for staff and parents to gettogether. It's easier for home care teachers to beinformal about meetings because they deal with asmaller group of families. Frequent telephonechats or an occasional coffee get-together canhelp keep the channels of communication open.

QUESTIONS PARENTS ASK

Before parents enroll their child in yourintegrated program, they'll naturally want toknow if it's the right kind of program for theirchild. Their concerns are very understandable.They want to be sure it's a happy and worthwhileexperience for everyone. The foliowing questionsare those most often asked by parents.

PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITHOUT SPECIALNEEDS ASK:

"Will the presence of special children in the class-room upset my child?"

Generally speaking, children don't getupset because they simply don't see childrenwith special needs as different. When they donotice differences they can learn to handle themsometimes on their own, but most often withthe support of teachers and parents. One coupletold about their son's integrated experience:

"Once, we did notice that he was upset bythe disruptive activities of one of the veryaggressive children. It did upset Jimmy, butthat doesn't mean that it was bad. It meantthat he was working on a problem. He de-cided to tell the child that he would onlyplay with him if he would stop hitting him.After a few days, they were playing togethermost of the morning. Upsets can give op-portunities as well as problems. If we want

I

17

him to be a problem-solver when he growsup, he ought to start when he's young."

One day care teacher puts it this way:

"It's a growing experience for children tosee and face a variety of human experi-ences. They'll face these problems in publicschool anyway, and it's easier for them tosolve them now, before they have precon-ceptions. Four-year-olds are less likely tohave learned stereotypes. They can still treatspecial children as individuals."

Although upsets aren't common, they dooccur. Teachers and parents must be alert tochildren's possible fears or worries about otherchildren's special problems. For example, if thereis a blind child in the classroom, another childmight develop a fear that blindness is somethinghe might catch or something that will happento him if he's naughty. Since some kids can'ttalk about their fears as well as others, observethem in the classroom and listen to what they say.

Communication between teachers andparents is most important here, because somechildren express anxieties at home and not atschool. If a fear seems to be developing, parentsshould tell you, and vice versa. The child can thenbe reassured with facts both at home and atschool.

"Should we explain to our child beforehand that'there will be children with special problems inthe class?"

Please don't. Although parents shouldanswer questions as they come up and be on thealert for possible anxieties, they shouldn't warnchildren beforehand that there will be "different"children in the classroom. Often as not, suchdifferences are perceived by adults and not bychildren.

Advise parents not to use labels such as"mentally retarded" with their children. Onemother enrolled her daughter, Alice, in a centerwhich integrated slow-learning children, anddecided to prepare her child. She told Alice therewould be some mentally retarded children in herclass. Alice spent the first few days in the 'centertrying to discover who the retarded children were.First, she decided that perhaps Matthew and Jill,the two children who wore glasses, were thementally retarded ones. She asked her teacherif Matthew and Jill were mentally retarded andwas told they were not. Then Alice looked aroundthe room and decided perhaps the children much

18

younger and smaller than she were mentally re-tarded. When once again her teacher told herthis wasn't so, Alice went around the room point-ing to each child, asking, "Is he mentally re-tarded? Is she?" After a few days she just gave uptrying to figure it out. By the end of the week, oneof her best friends in the class was Andrew, aboy her mother might have called retarded butwho, for Alice, was simply a great playmate.

"Will there be fewer activities offered because ofthe special children?"

Definitely not. If anything, there shouldbe a broader range of activities to meet the needsof individual children. A good integrated programmust rely on activities that stress all areas ofdevelopmentseeing, hearing, talking, smelling,touching, tasting, moving, thinking. This meanschildren will get more experiences, not fewer.

"Will my child be neglected because the staff hasto spend too much time with the specialchildren?"

A good integrated program makes sure ithas enough staff, aides and volunteers so everychild's needs can be attended to. Special childrenare of course not the only ones with needs.Maria is a healthy, bright youngster, but she'svery shy and fearful of new experiences. Herteacher will likely have to spend a great deal oftime trying to draw her into new activities andsituations. In fact, more individual time willprobably be spent with Maria than with Christo-pher, who is mentally retarded but outgoing, ex-plorative and very talkative. Remember too thatkids are great teachers of other kids. Christo-pher's needs will be met in large part by playingwith other children who will help him explorenewactivities and ideas.

"Will my child pick up bad behavior from childrenwith special needs?"

Many parents are afraid their child willpick up bad habits. For example, they'll wonderif their child will become aggressive and wildif there are aggressive children in the class. Achild may copy another's behavior for a shorttimeimitation, in preschoolers, is part ofnormal maturation and development. Some chil-dren may imitate the particular walk of a physi-cally disabled child,. the mannerisms of a blindchild or the aggressive behavior of another as asort of trying-on stage, just to see how it feelsto be that child. Usually this imitation behaviordies out because the child realizes he doesn'thave to act that way to get what he wants or to

19

have people respond to him.Another parental fear is that a child will

become "slow" in a class with children who aredelayed in their development. This won't happenwhen you're meeting the needs of each childindividually and providing a choice of activitiesfor children at various stages of development.Some integrated programs are currently research-ing this question. Although no study has yet beencompleted, one day care teacher has observed:

"In our six-week summer program, we haveseen no sign of children picking up thecharacteristics of the mentally retarded chil-dren. We have found, however, that thementally retarded kids were very much up-graded by the patterns of the otherchildren."

PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDSASK:

"Will my child get more specialized attention ina day care program only for children with specialneeds?"

This is a tough question to answer be-cause it depends so much on the particularchild's needs. If his ,problems are so severe thathe needs one-to-one attention at all times, thenperhaps a specialized setting is preferable. Butintegrated settings can be specialized as well.Trained staff with good attitudes can providespecialized attention for all children. If childrenhave needs the staff doesn't know how to handle,community resources can be mobilized soteachers can learn effective techniques. Cautionshould be taken to assure that specialized atten-tion is given to any child requiring such help,either in a specialized or integrated setting. Thechild's physician will be able to advise regardingwhich setting can best sr ve to meet the child'sspecial needs.

"Will an integrated setting be too pressurized formy child? Will he feel lie can't do anything whenhe sees what all the r,ber kids can do?"

Children with special needs must learn tolive with and work around their limitations. Thehealthy acceptars:e of limitations is a long, slowprocessone which might as well begin whenthe child is young and has understanding staffand parents to support him. For example, aphysically disabled boy may be very distressedand frustrated about his inability to run and jumplike the other children. Skilled teachers can helphim accept his real and undeniable differences

itgialli11106111111111MMliailmill110r

and find success areas to compensate for them.He may not be able to run, and this he mustslowly learn to accept, but he may be a greatartist or block builder. Finding activities that makea child feel good about himself is important inhelping a child accept his limitations.

A good teacher is always on the lookoutfor situations which might put too much pressureon a special child. But at the same time, shedoesn't overprotect him. For instance, Jamey, aslow-learning little girl, wanted to play Drop-the-Handkerchief with a group of kids. Althoughshe didn't understand the rules of the game, sheenjoyed being part of the circle and watchingthe others play. The teacher, watching from oneside, saw a boy drop the hankerchief behindJamey. Knowing she couldn't understand this wasa signal for her to run after the boy, she steppedin, took Jamey's hand, and ran with her. Thisgave Jamey the support she needed without call-ing attention to her problems, and the childrenwere delighted to have the teacher join in.

It's not unusual for both teachers andparents to imagine a child has limitations aboveand beyond those that really exist. They mayexpect too little from him and overprotect him.In cases like this, contact with other kids can bea healthy kind of pressure and a good teachingdevice.

Five-year-old Sandy is blind. When shefirst came to the center, she was afraid to playin the playground. Her mother had always dis-couraged her from playing on jungle gyms andslides because she felt it was too dangerous fora blind child. When Sandy's best friend at thecenter asked her to play on the jungle gym,Sandy at first refused. "I'm not supposed to. I

don't know how," she said. "Come on," said herfriend, taking her hand and coaxing her over.Sandy eventually climbed the first few rungs ofthe jungle gym and felt as if she'd scaled theHimalayas, thanks to a little girl's encouragementand helping hand.

"Will my child be rejected by the other kids?"No integrated program can promise that

all its kids will accept the child With special needsin a compassionate and insightful way. There'salways the possibility that someone will say or dosomething that will hurt a child. ("How come youtalk so funny?" or "Gee, you're a dummy!") Teach-ers must constantly be on the lookout for suchcomments so they can handle the feelings ofboth parties as soon as possible. They must helpthe special child understand the remarks and deal

19

0641

with his feelings. And a child who makes suchcomments must have guidance and realistic in-formation about the needs of the other child.

The special child has probably alreadyencountered and will continue to encounter oc-casional ugly comments all his life from insensi-tive people. It's unfortunate that special childrenare sometimes teased and rejected, but if ithappens, it's good for perceptive adults to be onhand to intervene and set things straight at once.Support and understanding at this stage canmake later experiences easier to handle.

PARENTS OF SPECIAL CHILDREN

Parents experience many joys and manyproblems in living with their children and watch-ing them grow. But families with special childrenhave likely had more problems to face andstruggle through than other families. Your staffshould have some understanding of theseproblems.

Common to most parents of special chil-dren is the difficulty of locating services andprograms to meet their child's needs. You canhelp parents find resources in the community ormobilize support for such resources. Parents mayneed to apply for financial assistance, talk to afamily counselor, or have a specialist evaluatetheir child's problem, and you can help by know-ing what's available in your area and by referringthem to the appropriate source (see Appendix Afor a list of community resources).

ACCEPTING THE CHILD'S SPECIAL NEEDSPerhaps the most difficult problem for

families of special children to cope with is theacceptance of the child's special needs. Everyparent looks forward to having a child who isbright, physically attractive and easy to get alongwith. While there are probably no parents whoalways feel their child is exactly what they wouldhave "ordered," parents of special children mustadjust to the fact that their child is in some waysnot what they feel a child of the same age shouldbe. They may at first try to deny that the childhas any problems at all. "He may be behind otherkids his age, but he'll catch up," is a familiarreaction to a child with learning problems.Eventually they may have to readjust their plansand goals for their child. Acceptance of a child'sspecial needs is the first step toward doing some-thing about them.

20

NEGATIVE AND GUILT FEELINGSParents often find it difficult to accept

a child because of his special needs. Seeingteachers, other parents and other kids acceptingand valuing the child may make it easier forthem to do so. Negative feelings toward thechildfeelings of anger, rejection, even revul-sionare normal. Most of us have learned to beuncomfortable with differences in other people,particularly physical differences. We grow upseparated from blind, deaf, physically disabledand mentally disabled people. (In fact, manyparents' first real contact with such a person maybe with their own child.) Moreover, this specialchild has probably caused his parents muchworry, mental anguish, extra time and extramoney. It would be abnormal for such parentsnot to have negative feelings about these children.Parents are usually afraid to express such feel-ings, or they may deny they exist, even tothemselves.

Guilt feelings are also common. Parentsmay feel guilty about their negative feelings, orthey may feel that they must somehow be toblame for their child's problem. They may havelived through many agonizing hours trying tofigure out why this happened to them, how theywere at fault. A mother may feel that her physi-cally disabled son is a punishment for an actionin her past which she regrets; the mother of aslow learning child may be convinced his prob-lems are a result of the time she accidentallydropped him on his head; the father of a girlwho can't relate well to people may think hisviolent arguments with his wife caused hisdaughter's emotional difficulties. The parentsare probably not to blame for their child's needs.But even if their actions partially caused theproblem, they certainly never meant to hurttheir child.

OVERPROTECTING THE CHILDOften from the time of his birth, the child

with special problems has needed extra helpfrom his parents. It's easy to see how parentsand teachers, too, get used to giving this childmore help than he really needs. They may do thisbecause they underestimate the child's abilities;because they feel guilty about him and try tomake up for this by giving him as much as theycan; because they feel helpless and frustratedby his problem and can only deal with these feel-ings by constantly doing things for him; or for amultitude of other reasons. The parents may also

have kept their child sheltered from the outsideworld to spare him from rejection by other people.Perhaps they themselves are ashamed of hisspecial needs.

HOW YOU CAN HELP PARENTSListen to parents and try to understand

their feelings. Let them know that asking forhelp isn't a sign of weakness. Tell them you, too,wil! need their help and advice. But when par-ents ask for advice, don't feel you have to comeup with an answerbe honest with them. Don'tbe afraid to say, "I don't know either. Let's see ifwe can find out together." You should, as men-tioned earlier, know about community resourcesfor special children and their families.

Helping parents accept their child'sspecial needs and overcome their negative andguilt feelings about the child is a very difficultprocess. Most parents slowly learn to adjust tothe situation, but some have great trouble doingsothey may find it helpful to talk to a therapistor counselor who can help them understand anddeal with their feelings. You are not, and shouldn'texpect to be, therapists for parents. Therapy takesa lot of skill and training you probably haven'thad, nor do you have time for intensivecounseling.

The best way you can help parents is toaccept the child's problem yourselves, and toshow the parents you do. When parents see teach-ers treating Tommy, who happens to be blind,as Tommy and not as "the blind boy"while atthe same time recognizing Tommy's blindnessand helping him deal with itit's easier for themto accept hiS special vision problem.

In talking with parents, you can acknowl-edge a child's special need without making itseem like the most important thing about him.Try this approach:

"I know you're concerned about Jo-Anna'sspeech problems. We've also noticed sheisn't talking as much or expressing herselfas clearly as other kids her age. I think yourplan to talk to a speech therapist is a goodidea. A therapist can really give her specialhelp. We'll try to help here in the center bytalking to her and encouraging her to talkmore. If we could also talk to the therapist,he could probably tell us the best ways tohelp her. You know, I enjoy having Jo-Annain my classroom; she's so happy and co-operative. Those great big smiles of hersreally give me a lift. She loves the art corner

6-Ar

she's just naturally good at making thingswith her hands."

You can help parents get out of theoverprotection habit by letting a child do every-thing he possibly can by himself. If parents getto watch this, or if you tell them what the childhas accomplished, they may decide their over-protection is no longer necessary. One commonresult of overprotectiveness is unintentionalneglect of other children in the family. Show aninterest in a child's brothers and sisters by talkingwith parents about them and by involving them insome of the center's activities.

PARENTS CAN HELP YOUR PROGRAMSeeing that they're really competent to

help their child can give parents confidence inthemselves. Offer parents the chance to help outin your program. Working with their own andother children is often more helpful than formalcounseling in changing attitudes about a specialchild. As we mentioned in Chapter One, thereare a number of ways families can help day careprograms.

Many educational activities can be carriedout at home by parents and older brothers andsisters. The center or family home can set upa toy and book lending library so parents cantake materials home. One center has a specialtoy shelf for parents to use. Each toy comes withwritten instructions for its use as a learning tool.For example, you might have a file of idea cardsfor playing with musical instruments, blocks,puppets, etc. (see diagram on following page).

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARENTS

INFORMAL CONTACTSContact between parents is an important

part of any day care program, but it's especiallybeneficial to an integrated one. Parents of specialchildren often feel isolated and alone with theirchild's problems. They may have avoided con-tact with other parents because of feelings ofshame about their child's problem, fears thattheir child would be rejected, or just prideawish not to be objects of sympathy. They may nothave had many chances to get together with otherparents.

In an integrated program, these parentscan share experiences, feelings, concerns andplans with other parents. Listen to the motherof a physically disabled boy relate her experience:

21

IDEA CARD FOR PLAYING WITH MUSICALINSTRUMENTS*

L Let child explore the musical

instruments by himselc.

2.Play instruments with the

child, labelin5 the sounds.(This is a avian-- boom( Thisis a bell --jingle,jinglel),

3.Ask child to close his eyes."What this sound?" or Isthis a drum? Pratse child.

4.1-ap a rhythm; ask chitto play with you.

&Play or sing a sim eMOP

theC.Pl ay `increasi'n&y difficult

why.thms for` child to'match.

I had kept Jim at home with me almost allthe time for the first three years of his life.He was born without arms and I can't tellyou the agony his father and I went through.in trying to accept this. He was fitted withartificial arms at an early age, but frankly, Inever gave him much of a chance to usethem. I guess I had the feeling that he wouldjust never be able to do much for himself,

From The Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders,1720 Seventh Avenue, South, Birmingham, Alabama, 35233. Parents can get to know each other in-

artificial arms or not. He went to a physicaltherapist weekly who taught him to use hisarms, but I always had the feeling whenshe talked to me that she was just trying togive me a rosy picture of what he wouldbe able to do. Also, I guess I just needed tobaby him. I felt so sorry for him, and some-times I felt so angry that he couldn't havebeen like other children that I almost hatedhim. Then I would feel guilty about feelingthat way and want to do even more for him.I didn't want him to play with the other chil-dren in the neighborhood because I wasafraid they would tease him. I never gotclose with the other mothers nearby, either.I guess I felt they would just be nice tome because they felt sorry for me.

Then last year I just happened to see anarticle in the newspaper about a day carecenter which had handicapped kids likeJim in it, along with the other kids. I wasworried about him not playing with otherchildren, so I decided to call them up. Ateacher came out to visit us and, to makea long story short, Jim ended up in thecenter auring the mornings. In spite of whatthe teachers said, I was still afraid of howthe other kids would treat him, so I hungaround the center and watched. They askedhim questions about his arms, but theyseemed to want to play with him like theywould any other kid. He was shy at first be-cause he hadn't been around many childrenbut after a few weeks he began to join rightin. Pretty soon he was painting and runningaround just like everyone elsehe was do-ing things I'd never dreamed he'd be ableto do! He made friends with a little, normalboy, Tyrone, and one day Tyrone's motherasked us both over for lunch. That justdid something for me. I can't explain itthere they were eating, talking, and gigglinglike any other two kids in the world. Therewe were talking about our sons and shewasn't acting like he was different from hersonshe had her problems with him, too!I guess that's what did the most for metalking to the other parents and feeling likeI could just get together with them withoutthem feeling like Jim and I were strange. It'sreally changed our lives.

PARENT GROUPS

22 23

formally as they meet at the center or familyhome. You should encourage parents of all chil-dren with and without special needsto getto know each other by seeing they're involved inparents' groups and committees. (One programorganized their car pool so each car includedchildren with special needs. This gave parentdrivers daily contact with different children andtheir families.)

Parent groups are more organized op-portunities for parent communication. An activeparent group is helpful to all parents and an assetto the program. Regular meetings allow parentsto get together and discuss their children andthemselves. Other activities for parent groupsare:

"A Day in the Life of Your Child" NightOne center arranged a night when parents

came in and did everything their kids did duringthe day. This gave them a better idea of whattheir children did with their time and how eachactivity was designed for a specific kind of educa-tional development.

DinnersOne center hosted monthly dinners dur-

ing which one teacher volunteered to eat and stayin one room with the children so parents couldrelax and talk informally over a meal.

Presentations and DiscussionsYou can discuss various aspects of child

development, particularly those relating to thespecial children in the program, or other topics ofinterest to parents, in round-table or more formaldiscussions. Community people with special

knowledge about the subject can be invited tolead these discussions.

Workshops

Teachers can help parents arrange work-shops on toymaking, arts and crafts and otherskillsthings parents can do with their childrenat home. Parents often really enjoy the art ac-tivities their own children do in the program, andcan use their toymaking skills to add to thecenter's equipment.

Work Days

Designate a Saturday or Sunday as a timewhen parents can come to the center or familyhome and help with whatever needs to be done:making toys, building playground equipment,cleaning, painting, etc. As parents work together,they'll also have time to get to know each otherbetter.

Family OutingsA weekend can be set aside for a picnic

for all the program's families.

Fund-Raising ActivitiesParents' groups can organize bake sales,

car washes, yard sales and many other groupprojects to help raise money for the program.

Remember that parent involvement inyour program isn't just for the benefit of parents.A center with strong and enthusiastic parentsbehind itpeople who have a stake in its successand are committed to ithas a very special kindof unity. Children who see their parents takingan active part in their center develop pride intheir own activities. They know their parents care.

23

GUIDELINES FOR YOUR PROGRAM

A GOOD PROGRAM FOR ALL CHILDREN

Good day care is more than having ex-pensive new equipment and a staff with lots ofdegrees, although these can be nice. A good pro-gram is tailored to meet the needs of the kidsthe basic needs of all children and the specialneeds of individual children.

MEETING BASIC NEEDS*

Every Child Needs to Feel LovedYou can communicate love and apprecia-

tion of each child in many ways as you holdand touch him, as you smile at and talk to him,as you give him care and attention through theday's activities. Being with the same adults everyday gives a child a chance to establish a lovingrelationship. Unhappily, special children mayhave had experiences which have given them theidea they aren't as good as other children. Ob-viously, they need more support from warm,understanding adults to help them feel goodabout themselves. Give them plenty of love.

Every Child Needs to Express His Feelings andto Feel Understood

Children feel many thingslove, anger,fear, frustration, to name a few. Babies expresstheir feelings through tears and smiles, laughterand screams. As they grow older, children learnnew ways of expressing their feelings, such ashugging and hitting. And gradually, they learn totalk about how they feel. Chris has angry feelingswhich make him strike out at those around him.He's afraid and ashamed of his anger and theresults it brings, but it just seems to make himhit harder. Your understanding can let him knowit's okay for him to have those feelings and canhelp him express them in ways that won't harmhimself or anyone else.

Research on the basic needs of children has been done byLewis E. Rath, see Rath, Lewis E., and Burrell, Anne P., Under.standing the Problem Children, the Economics Press, West Orange,New Jersey, 1963.

24

Every Child Needs to Feel That He Belongs andIs Accepted

You can help each child feel he has aspecial place in the center or family home, a placeno one else can fill. Do it by giving him a specialspace, marked with his own name or picture,where he can keep his things; his own crib orcot; his own place at the table. Greet himbynameenthusiastically when he comes to thecenter or home, and tell him you missed him if hewas away. Encourage him to join in group activi-ties such as singing, storytime or working withother kids at the art tables. Letting him helpwith special jobs which benefit the whole group,such as passing out snacks, is important for hisself-esteem.

Most of all, each child needs to feel ac-cepted as he is, with his weaknesses as well ashis strengths. If a child feels his teacher honestlyaccepts his limitations and still values him, hecan accept himself in the same spirit. This is,of course, especially true of special children.

Every Child Needs to Feel Secure and Free FromFear

Children gain a feeling of security in theday care center as they find that their needs arebeing met by teachers they know and trust. Ifthey know they'll be fed when they're hungry,taken to the toilet when they need to go, orchanged when their diapers are wet, held andcomforted when they're hurt or afraid, protectedfrom the angry feelings of other children (or fromthe possibly scary results of their own anger),they'll be able to feel secure. A predictable dailyroutine is also important: play time, storytimeand snack time in a regular order. Childrenmust always be able to count on meals and anap time when the teacher will help them bequiet so they can rest. Special children particu-larly need this kind of reassurance. Carmen, forinstance, is painfully shy and afraid of things

other kids don't think twice about. She'll needextra holding, comforting, extra protection to feelsecure.

Every Child Needs to Feel IndependentAt birth, babies are completely dependent,

but from then on, growth toward independencehas begun. Children need to feel they can dothings themselves and that adults trust them todo so. You can help children gain independenceby encouraging them to do things for themselves.Sure, you can do a better job wiping up two-year-old Timmy's spilled milk than he can, but Timmywants to wipe it up and he can clean up at leastsome of it. You can break an egg into the browniebatter with fewer accompanying egg shells thanfour-year-old Debbie, but Debbie can also helppick the shells back out. Maybe the coats andboots do go on faster when you put them on,but a little less time outside is a small sacrificefor the child who can say for the first time, "Idressed myself!" Jeremy, in a wheel chair, hasparents who do almost everything for him. He'llneed special encouragement to learn to do thingsfor himself, but when he does master them, he'llhave very necessary feelings of pride andindependence.

Every Child Needs a Chance to Discover the WorldThe day care room is rich in materials for

discovery, and so is the outside world. You canshare enthusiastically in the infant's or child'sdiscoveries and be an interested listener as hetalks about his grandmother's visit, the peanuthe found on the floor, the men who fixed thetelephone, his discovery that mixing ali the paintsproduces a muddy brown color, or the squirrelhe saw in a tree on the way to the center. Kidshave a natural curiosity most adults have lost;letting them explore their world and giving valueto their experiences makes learning the fun itshould be. For special children, this may be alittle harder. Jenny, who is blind, needs your en-couragement before she'll begin exploring theworld and discovering things she can delight in.But she can, with you to guide her.

Every Child Needs to Achieve and Feel SuccessfulGood day care means giving kids chances

to experience success. A baby learns to makenew sounds and his teachers show delight; thetoddler's first toilet training achievements aremet with smiles and praise; a little girl paints andmakes a tower with blocks for the first time; anolder boy climbs all the way to the top cl thejungle gym, makes a collage, prints his name,

ermeY41,...C.

buckles his overshoes. Sometimes just doingthese things is enough to give a child a feelingof achievement; sometimes recognition and praiseis awfully important ("What a fantastic tower youbuilt, Larry!" or "Ann, that's a really nice jobyou've done with those sticks."). John, who wearsbraces and has a hard time walking, feels hecan't do most things as well as other kids. Heneeds special help to find things he can do well,and extra praise for doing them, before he'll feelreal achievement.

Every Child Needs a Good Self-ImageThis is another way of saying every child

needs to know who he is and to feel good abouthimself. A child's self-image is strengthened asthe needs mentioned above are met: as he feelsloved and accepted, as he feels that someonelistens to and understands him, as he feels secureand successful in his ability to accomplish whathe wants to do and solve problems that come up.Tommy was slow in learning and developing andhas been a great disappointment to his parents.Your job will be to work extra hard at making himfeel loved, accepted and successful.

You can also promote healthy self-imagesby allowing each child to develop his own individ-ual style and by expressing appreciation aboutwhat makes each one special. Tony has brownskin, black hair and brown eyes; he has threesisters; he lives on Center Street; he likes icecream better than anything; he especially likesto build things at the woodwork bench; he cancount farther than anyone in the class. That'sTony. Let him know that Tony's a pretty goodperson to be. tr

SETTING GOALS FOR CHILDRENYoung children grow and change quickly.

They grow physically larger; they learn to movein new ways and to do many things with theirlarge and small muscles; their language develop-ment increases. They learn to speak and under-stand more and more complicated thoughts;their intellectual abilities expandso they canunderstand more about the world around them;they grow socially in their capacity to understand,get along with, and enjoy other people; they growemotionally in the ways they feel and expressdifferent kinds of emotions. While it's useful forus to think of these different kinds of develop-ment separately, bear in mind that these areasare all interconnected. Each is a critical part ofa child's total development.

You grow one step at a time. You had to

26 25

walk before you could run, to speak words beforeyou could form sentences, to play alongsideanother child before you could play cooperativelywith him, to express frustration by crying beforeyou could talk about it.

Each child develops in his own way andin his own time, and this is also true for childrenwith special needs. Your day care center or familyhome must be a flexible place, full of the activi-ties, materials and warm, understanding peoplenecessary to help a child take each step when he'sready for it.

A good day care program sets concretegoals for each child based on the steps they'reready to take. If a child has a vocabulary of singlewords, your goal will likely be phrases and thencomplete sentences. Do this by structuring situa-tions which encourage or require that he linkthose new words he's learning together. Let himknow that's what you're driving at.

You and the child's parents should gettogether periodically to set up a series of goalsfor him. These goals give a sense of directionto both staff and parents in their work with thechild. Parent-staff cooperation isn't just a term:it's really important for a child to have con-sistent direction, both at school and at home.

Above all, be realistic in your approach.Use materials and activities already available inthe center or home as much as possible. Beflexible too. If a child doesn't want to participateon a particular day, encourage him but don't forcehim. If, after an adequate trial period, one ap-proach isn't working, try a new one. Look forspontaneous occasions to help each child learnuse breakfast or snack-time conversation tofurther language goals, for instance, not just yourformal language sessions.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

INTRODUCING THE CENTERBeth has a special problem. She speaks

very little and her words are hard to understand.She's getting speech therapy at a local clinic,but her therapist suggested it might also help ifshe were in a day care center where she'd havea chance to talk with other children and teachers,rather than being cared for by a babysitter whileher mother works. But before she's enrolled, bothBeth and her mother need to see what the pro-gram's like so they can decide whether it's rightfor her. Beth should have a chance to get used to

26

the room, the toys, the teachers and the otherchildren, with at least one parent there to makeher feel comfortable and secure. Although hermother had to arrange to take a few days off work,she's aware that a good, happy start is very im-portant. Children need the security of graduallygetting used to a new place, and special childrenmay need more time. A gradual start also letsparents get to know the center and feel com-fortable about leaving their child with you.

Teachers may also need a chance to getto know the child before he begins to come full-time. It's understandable that they may still havefears about their ability to work with a child withspecial needs, but actually meeting the childhelps overcome these uncertainties.

VISITING HOME AND THERAPISTAs we mentioned earlier, visiting the

child's home before he's enrolled is a good idea.You can see how he behaves when he's secureand happy. It's a chance to see his favorite toys,learn what he likes and doesn't like, and see howhis family deals with his special problems. He'llfeel more comfortable with you when his parentcan no longer stay at the center, and you'll bebetter able to talk to him about his family andhome.

Meet with the child's speech therapist,physical therapist, guidance counselor or otherspecialist, if there is one, to get special hintsabout working with him. You'll find you can oftenintegrate therapeutic exercises into your regularactivities or plan group things that are fun foreveryone but especially benefit the child withspecial needs.

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

Trial PeriodIf you're not sure a special child will fit

into your program, a trial period is useful. Thechild can try out the center for a month or twowith special attention from staff to help him ad-just. At the end of this period, you and his familyshould decide whether he ought to continue. Ifyou feel another kind of programone only forspecial children, or a smaller groupmight bebetter for him, try to help the family locate sucha program. Or you might suggest the child tryagain after he's had more time to grow and dealwith his problem. If a child does have to leavethe program, a great deal of care should be takenin explaining to him why he's leaving. He mustn'tfeel this is a failure on his part. Similarly, handle

27

4==m1111

trl

the separation carefully with classmates by ex-plaining that Sammy is leaving to get special helpin his new school, not because he was "naughty."

Part-Time EnrollmentA full day in the center or home might

be too much for a child with special needs, atleast at first. In this case, have him come halfdays or for a few hours daily until he's morecomfortable.

Special Scheduling for AppointmentsOutside appointments, such as for

therapy, should be arranged so the child doesn'thave to miss the most important activities or hisfavorite ones. If his parents can't leave work totake him, use a volunteer. This gives the childa chance for special attention from his very owndriver.

PROMOTING GOOD FEELINGSAMONG CIADREN

One teacher we know is often asked, "Howare the special children accepted by the otherkids?" Her answer is, "Kids are naturalsit's theadults who have the problems!" Children may becurious and ask questions about differences inother children, but they'll probably be able todeal with and accept those differences, especiallyif you're ready to help them. Adults tend tointerpret the directness of a child's questionsor comments about another child as insensitive.Such directness may seem insensitive to adultfeelings, but the special child may not bebothered at all. In one integrated classroom, ateacher overheard four-year-old Jill asking Billy,"Hey, how come you've only got one arm and I'vegot two?" The teacher rushed over, ready to pro-tect Billy's feelings, but Billy had calmly an-swered, "Because I've got one." Satisfied, Jillwent back to cooking sand on the toy stove.

Answer children's questions honestly anddirectlywith both the special child and theother children listening. For instance, if a childasks "Why can't Greg climb the jungle gym withus?" you can respond, "Greg needs to sit in hiswheelchair because his legs don't work like oursdo. He was born with different legs. He can watchyou climb, or maybe he wants to do somethingelse. He's awfully good at building castles inthe sandbox."

It may happen that a child becomes fear-ful about another's problem. If a child repeatedly

asks questions about another child, he may beafraid he'll catch a special problem or such thingswill happen to him if he's bad. Since some chil-dren can't verbalize their fears, watch for be-havioral signs of anxiety, such as a child fre-quently watching or avoiding a special child. Ifyou suspect a child's afraid, reassure him at once.

A fascinating problem in integrated pro-grams is that children are often overprotectiveof the child with special needs. If a child has anobvious problem, other kids, just like adults, maytry to do too much for him. Kevin could do almosteverything the other kids could do, but they likedto push Kevin around the center in his wheel-chair, to get toys for him, to run and get the ballfor him when he missed it. After a few weeks,his teacher noticed he'd stopped doing manythings for himself: he was letting the other kidswait on him. She began to watch and to step in,reminding the kids that while it was nice of themto help Kevin, he could get the ball himself andthrow away his own cup and napkin after snack.

Be on guard for unnecessary exclusionsof children. Make sure, for instance, that kidsunderstand that deaf children can't hear their in-vitations to play, and that silence may not meana refusal. Show them how to gesture to the deafchild or take him by the hand in invitation. Someexclusions may not be accidental or unintentional.There may be incidents where one child pur-posely teases another about his problem ("Youtalk funnyI don't want to play with you! "). Incases like this, discuss with the teaser how suchcomments hurt people's feelings, and how aspeech problem is not the child's fault. Most im-portantly, point out the special child's strengths.A highly effective device is to involve both chil-dren in a joint project where the special child canshine.

Special children may even exclude them-selves from activities because of shyness or feel-ings of inadequacy. Give them a hand with newactivities and make sure they get in on the thingsthey do well.

Kids can pick up attitudes about specialchildren from adults, parents and teachers. If youtreat a slow-learning child as if he can't learn todo anything for himself, the other kids may beginto treat him the same way. If you baby a physic-ally disabled child, then the children may beginto baby him too. Your own attitude must be posi-tivewarm, accepting and seeing the child ashimself, rather than in terms of his problem.Above all, be encouraging. When such a positive

27

pick it up.attitude is evident, the other kids will be able to

GUIDING BEHAVIOR

YOUR EXPECTATIONSA teacher recently told us why she

couldn't accept special children in her class.She'd like to, she said, but "since you can't ex-pect them to behave as well as other children,they'll destroy the limits I've already set up." Thisneedn't be so. You can expect the child with spe-cial needs to behave as well as other kidsyoujust may have to give him more help and enoughtime to change. Some special children have aneasier time following behavior guidelines thankids without special problems; others need morehelp and guidance in accepting your limits. Theteacher who says of an aggressive child who hasjust broken a window, "That's all righthe can'thelp it," isn't really helping him or giving him achance to learn to control his behavior.

Your rules for behavior should be clearlyand simply expressed, when necessary. Somechildren may need to be reminded often. Therules might be: 'We don't hurt children; we don'thurt toys or furniture; we help put away thethings we've taken out." If you see one child hit-ting another, tell him, "I won't let you hurt any-one here. I know you're angry but maybe you cantell me why." A very aggressive child may needa great deal of help before he can accept thislimit. It calls for your time and attention.

If a child doesn't yet understand lan-guage, or if he's deaf there are other ways of say-ing no. You can shake your head, communicatewith facial expressions, or you may need to ex-periment to find a way to help him understandwhat you do or don't want him to do. You can alsohelp a child express his anger in various non-destructive waysyelling at the other child,pounding clay, hammering nails into wood, doingmessy finger painting. Try to help him understandthat angry feelings are natural, but those feelingsshouldn't hurt others.

When a child goes beyond your limits, youwant to communicate to him that it's not himbut his behavior you don't like. Remember that achild should never be called bad or naughty.While the child who hits others may become veryupset and cry after being disciplined, he can beassured by the teacher, "I like you very much,Robbie, but I don't like it when you hit other

28

children." Putting your arm around him while youtalk may show you really do like him.

Don't use a child's behavior as a bad ex-ample for others. Never say, "See what a messJulie left? I don't want the rest of you to be likethat." Rather, praise children for their good be-havior: "Paul, you did such a good job picking upyour blocks!" Children should never be shamedinto changing their behavior. If three-year-oldCindy isn't yet toilet trained, don't exclaim,"Three years old and not toilet trained yet!"Cindy should be quietly changed in a room awayfrom the other children so they won't tease her.

Shaming and using a child's behavior asbad examples are both negative approaches todiscipline. Instead of negative thinking, take apositive outlook. Don't just say "No!"tell achild, "You can't do that, but you can do thisinstead."

REINFORCING GOOD BEHAVIOROne positive approach is reinforcement

of good behavior. It means rewarding children foracceptable behavior and withholding rewards forunacceptable behavior. Rewards might mean spe-cial attention or praise. Some teachers use otherkinds of rewards, like allowing children to dospecial activities. Since kids want attention,praise and privileges, they'll want to behave sothey get your rewards. Unacceptable behavior isignored or corrected. Most teachers use thismethod of guiding behavior without even thinkingabout it. It works well because it's positive in itsapproachit really encourages children to behavein ways that are good for them.

Reinforcement seems simple and it issimple. In order for it to work, however, you haveto be consistent. If a child is sometimes praisedand sometimes ignored for helping put away thetoys, he's less likely to keep putting them awaythan if he's almost always rewarded. How can abusy teacher manage consistently to be aware ofand praise each child's behavior? You probablycan't for all your kids, but you can use this tech-nique with children whose problems seem mostsevere. All of the teachers in the program can beasked to watch for certain behavior in specialchildren and to reward it appropriately. This mayseem difficult, but bear in mind that it probablywon't be necessary for very long. The point ofreinforcement is that the child soon begins tobehave appropriately without rewards from you.It's a gradual process: after awhile the childwon't need to be rewarded as often as he did at

29

firstyou progress from consistent to occasionalrewards, and finally to no rewards as the improve-ment in his life becomes the child's reward. Bythis time, the new behavior is automatic.

Teachers in integrated programs tell usthat children themselves are very helpful in guid-ing each other's behavior. Children don't want toplay with kids who constantly hit them or messup their activities. A child will learn he can't dothese things if he wants to be friends with theothers and join in their play. When children areoverwhelmed by an aggressive child who tries tohurt them, you might even suggest that the otherkids tell him they won't play with him unless hestops hitting.

Finally, as one teacher put it, "Don't giveup!" If a child seems to have a hard time con-trolling his behavior and getting along in theclassroom, give him time. There are reasons whyhe behaves as he does, ard it's taken him quiteawhile to learn how to behave that way in the firstplace. Give yourself time to understand him andhelp him change, and give him the chance tochange himself.

STRUCTURE OR NOT?

There's a lot of talk these days aboutstructured and non-structured programs for chil-dren, and not everyone agrees about what theseterms mean. Some people think of a structuredprogram as one in which children are organizedinto groups which are continuously engaged inteacher-supervised activities. They see non-structured programs as ones in which childrencan do whatever they wish all day long. Actually,very few programs fall into either of these ex-tremes. Most are a mixture. A program which is,structured usually has more time planned forteaching specific things to its kids, either indi-vidually or in groups: a non-structured programsets aside more time when children can choosewhatever activities they want to do.

Even the most unstructured programreally has some structure built into it, in the sensethat a child's choices about what to do are partlydetermined by what activities and materials areavailable to him. Many non-structured programsinvolve very careful planning of what materials toprovide at what times.

A structured program may be based onvarious concepts taught at specific times of theday, but there's lots of teaching in unstructuredprograms too. Here, in a less formal way, teachers

stimulate children's interests in educational mate-rials and provide them with support and informa-tion about the things they're interested in learn-ing or doing. If you teach a child how to use acertain toy, you're providing some structure: oncethe child knows how to use that toy, he has askill he can apply by himself in an unstructuredsituation.

It's been suggested that special childrenneed more structure than children without specialproblems. Again, this depends on what the childis like and what his special needs are. Some kidshave trouble choosing activities and then follow-ing them through by themselves. Others may beeasily distracted by everything that happensaround them, and still others can't sit still duringa story or participate in group activities. Somekids may have had few opportunities to exploreand play with many of the materials in yourclassroomthey may not know what to do witha toy once they have it in their hands. All thesechildren may need more structure than others.

You can tell if a child needs special guid-ance in using materials simply by watching him.(It's better not to start directing a child untilyou've watched him enough to know just howmuch help he needs.) Some kids just need timeto wander around and get used to the programbefore they feel comfortable enough to plunge in.Begin by letting them float around, and noticewhat activities they're attracted to and what theydo when they find something they like. Watchthem awhile and then decide how much structurethey'll need.

HOW TO PROVIDE STRUCTURESince all kids benefit from some struc-

ture, we're really talking about providing goodlearning situations. There are lots of ways to dothis:

Begin With Your ClassroomThe classroom should be arranged by

activity areas to make it easier for children tochoose and get involved in one activity at a time.Room dividers or partitions between areas willhelp kids who have a hard time shutting out dis-tractions. This kind of classroom arrangementalso helps guide children's behavior. If a childknows that in the reading corner he must quietlylook at books or play with puzzles and in the artarea he is to participate in or observe art projects,it will be easier for him to get involved. He'll knowwhat's expected of him in different parts of theroom.

29

Don't clutter the classroom with too manymaterialsthis only makes it harder for kids tochoose and play with any one thing. Select anddisplay only the materials you want the childrento use on a given day. This is actually anotherway of structuring the curriculum.

The classroom should also have placeswhere kids can be alone when they want or needto be. It may be a large chair in the corner, a littlehouse, or a special room where a child can bealone with a teacher.

Grouping the ChildrenIt's also easier for children to get involved

in activities if there aren't too many other kidsaround. If you can, keep groups fairly small. Thiswill mean fewer distractions for the children andshould also make it easier to hold their attentionduring stories, music or other group sessions.

Work With Children IndividuallyA child who has difficulty concentrating

on or following through with an activity will prob-ably gain more from individual structure thanfrom group structure. In general, you'll allow achild to pick an activity which interests him andthen help him learn from that activity. At othertimes, you may want to guide a child's learningby suggesting certain activities or by workingwith him to help him learn a specific thing. Thesespecific things will vary depending on the inter-est, ability, needs and stage of development ofthe child, as well as the philosophy of your pro-gram. One child may need to be taught to buttonhis coat, another may need help learning how topaste macaroni on paper for a collage. You maydecide a certain child will benefit by learning torecognize different shapes, colors and sizes.

Individual instruction takes many forms.It may mean just being with a child and support-ing him as he works; it may mean deliberatelyteaching him a certain skill or idea. The methodof teaching you use will depend on the child.Some kids may just need to be shown thingsonce; some need repetition. Some children al-most never need your guidance in choosing whatthey're going to do; others may almost alwaysneed it. Take your cue from the kids themselves.

ACTIVITIES OF THE DAY CARE DAY

Having a variety of activities means thatkids can develop in several areas in their owntime and their own ways. If you know what various

30

activities can do for your kids, you'll be able todo a better job of seeing they get special helpwhere they need it.

ARTS AND CRAFTSThe art corner is a busy, exciting place in

most day care centers. Art can take many formsfor young children: easel and finger painting,printing, crayoning, cutting, pasting, sewing, car-pentry, weaving, sculpturing. Children usuallylove art activities; they also learn and developthrough them. Remember, it's the process ofpainting, pasting, sculpturing, etc. that benefitsthe child; while everyone may admire the finishedproducts, these products shouldn't be the maingoal of your art program.

Art activities allow each child to expresshis feelings and ideas in his own way; to experi-ence mastery in exercising a skill and in creatingsomething beautiful; to develop his senses as heexperiments with new materials; to develop finercoordination of muscles.

These experiences may be especially im-portant for a child with special needs. If he hastrouble with speech, art activities give himanother way to express himself. If he's had fewchances in his life to feel successful, art projectscan let him experience success at being able topaint, paste, mold clay, make a picture. A childwith muscle coordination problems can improvehis control while doing things he enjoys. A childcan release aggressions by using clay or paintrather than pounding another child or hurtinghimself.

Here, as in other areas, extra support andencouragement may be necessary for special chil-dren to develop and express themselves freely.Resist the temptation to do something for thechild; instead, encourage him to do it his ownway. Praise his efforts often ("I like the way youpasted the shapes in this picture! "). If he's frus-trated by not being able to do something, (cuttingwith scissors, pasting two pieces of paper to-gether) you may want to step in and help himlearn that skill so he'll be able to make thingsfor himself. But never push a child to learn a skillhe doesn't want to learn. Art should be self-directed: if a child is enjoying art activities, he'salso learning and developing at his own rate.

MUSICMusic activities are a part of most day

care programs in one form or anothersinging,listening to records, dancing, rhythm bands, or

t.

r.

creative movement. While many programs have aspecial time of the day for music, it can happenspontaneously throughout the day as a child orteacher begins humming a tune or as music isput on the record player to paint or rest by.

Most kids enjoy music and will respondwith interest to these activities. Through music,they learn to listen carefully and to distinguishsounds, pitches, rhythms and words. Group musicactivities are a way for kids to feel close to othersby sharing an enjoyable experience. Music isanother way to express feelings and ideas. Musiccan stimulate or it can calm.

Music can be enjoyable for a child withvisual problems who may be very sensitive tosounds and won't be hampered by visual prob-lems in most of these activities. A child withhearing problems can practice discriminatingamong sounds, and a deaf child can participatein rhythm and creative movement activities. Onewith emotional problems can express his feelingsthrough music, especially creative movement, andmay be comforted by the soothing sound of afavorite song.

You may even learn more about a child'sspecial needs as you watch him during musicand creative movement activities. To make himfeel at ease, play his favorite songs or have thegroup sing them. Play his favorite record whenhe's having a difficult day. And of course, praisea child's attempts to express himself throughmusic.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Language development goes on almostconstantly in a good day care program. If there'slots going on. there's lots to talk about. Kidsshould be talking about their ideas, their feelings.what they do at home and school. Story readingis a regular activity in many programs; there maybe a reading corner where children look at booksby themselves or have stories read to them. Otherlanguage activities include acting out stories.finger plays or songs. You can use pictures, flan-nel board shapes, games and various objects totalk about and teach new words (animal names,colors and shapes) or new concepts (size rela-tionshipswhich is bigger? which is smaller?).Some day care centers use planned languagedevelopment programs such as the PeabodyLanguage Development Kit.

As a child's language develops, his abil-ity to communicate with others increases. This inturn gives him new feelings of competence and

skill, and increases his general intellectual ca-pacity (language development and the ability tounderstand are related). A child's attempts toexpress himself verbally should be encouraged.If a child's pronunciation is not perfect or if hislanguage is non-standard English, he should notbe constantly corrected. This will only make himmore self-conscious and less willing to expresshimself.

Some language development activitiesare valuable not only for their contribution to in-creased language capacitystories also bringunlimited possibilities for enriching a child's lifeby stimulating his imagination and adding to hisknowledge. Books can truly be the key to theuniverse for a child. Stories can also be an emo-tional release. As he experiences intense emo-tions along with the story's characters, a childfeels closer to other people and can handle hisown feelings better. A book about something thechild fears (going to the hospital, for instance)gives him a chance to practice experiencing thatfear in a safe place, and this can make the actualexperience much less frightening.

Children with special needs can benefitfrom language development activities too, par-ticularly if there are speech or special languageproblems. A child with emotional problems mayprofit from hearing stories embodying his con-cerns. All the kids benefit from hearing storiesabout similarities and differences between peo-ple, and this can smooth the way for a child withspecial problems, (see annotated bibliography ofchildren's books in Appendix C).

IMAGINATIVE PLAYImaginative play or dramatic play (or

good old-fashioned pretending) is one of thechild's most comfortable ways of "being" in theworld, a way of expressing ideas non-verballybefore he has a command of words. Imaginativeplay gives kids a chance to identify with adultroles by acting them out in a reassuringly child-centered setting. It gives them a chance to under-stand and control their emotionsfears can bemanaged easier when they're brought into a make-believe situation. Imaginative play promotes co-operation between kids too, and helps them real-ize that other people experience the world as theydo. It's also good as problem-solving and decision-making practice. Since children with specialneeds often have more problems than other kids;they may find special value in imaginative play.

You can learn a great deal about each

31

child by watching his imaginative playthingslike his self-concept, his strengths and weak-nesses, perhaps even his worries become evident.Although your role in dramatic play is usually notan active one, you can stimulate new kinds ofplay by the materials you provide and the sug-gestions you make. A shy girl who prefers towatch from the sidelines may need suggestionsfrom you. If she's visited a farm over the week-end, you can capitalize on this knowledge by giv-ing her a pile of blocks and toy animals and sug-gesting she build a farm like the one she saw.You might also want to stay with her and encour-age her play. A teacher's genuine interest andoccasional participation can build up a timidchild's confidence.

The housekeeping area is often wherechildren dramatize the roles they're most familiarwith: they can become mothers, fathers, babies,doctors, storekeepers, postmen. By trying onvarious roles, children learn what it's like to besomebody else. They're also free to express emo-tions or needsa little girl with a new baby sistercan be the baby herself and get lots of neededattention; the boy who is ordered around at homecan play mother or father and do the orderinghimself.

Blocks, cars and trucks encourage imag-inative play of a different kindkids build roads,houses, whole cities, and then destroy whatthey've built with a sweep of the hand and aheady sense of power and control.

The water play tub means an ocean tosail ships on, a lake to fish in, water to washdishes and clothes in. The sandbox can alsofire a child's imaginationwith kitchen utensils,kids can measure, pour, pretend-cook; small cars,trucks, people and animals will of course needelaborate roads, cities and farms; small sticksbecome trees growing in a forest.

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR LARGE AND SMALLMUSCLE ACTIVITIES

Because a child's muscular developmentimproves rapidly in the preschool years, manyday care activities are designed to help him prac-tice muscle coordination and control. Small-muscle coordination usually develops naturallythrough indoor activities such as painting, color-ing, pasting, looking at books, and playing withsmall puzzles, games and toys. Large-muscle co-ordination improves as kids play with large blocksand balls, move chairs and tables, or run aroundthe room.

32

The playground and its equipment canalso help develop large-muscle coordination.Jungle gyms, swings, tricycles, pull or pushwagons, and running, hopping, skipping andjumping games all exercise young muscles. Abalance board, made by resting a long piece of2 x 4 lumber on two supports, such as cinderblocks, can also be very useful (see diagram).Playground play not only develops balance andmuscle coordination, but also encourages cooper-ative play, since kids seem to have fun doingthese things together.

Some of your special children may havecoordination problems and will benefit frommuscle-coordination activities. The balance boardencourages arm and leg coordination as well asbalance. The jungle gym exercises both arm andleg muscles. Ball and bean-bag throwing devel-ops arm-hand-wrist and eye-hand coordination.Swings help develop the large back muscles. Tri-cycles, ladders and slides are good for leg musclecoordination. Pull and push toys, punching bagsand rope swinging help coordinate back and armmuscles.

You can also develop exercises yourself,using rhythms or music, for your special children.Since the others will enjoy them, do them withthe whole group. A child with arm-coordinationProblems may enjoy playing "Simon Says" ordoing rhythm activities which rely heavily on handmovements.

DIFFICULT TIMES OF THE DAY CARE DAY

Certain times of the day are difficult forkids; for those with special problems, they may beeven harder. The issues identified here should bediscussed fully with parents at admission time.Don't wait until the child is in the program andthe difficult times arrive to talk with parents aboutthem.

"LETTING MOMMY OR DADDY GO" TIMEAll young children have some difficulty

seeing their parents leave when they first beginin a day care center (or, for that matter, in kinder-garten). A child with special needs may, for avariety of reasons, be especially attached to hismother or father, and/or especially afraid to letthem go in the morning. He may also be shyerabout plunging right into whatever activities aregoing on. One teacher should plan to greet thischild every morning, talk to him, and stay withhim until his parent has gone and he finds some-thing he wants to do. Sometimes kids need tostart with the same activity every day to makethem feel secure. Two-year-old Janey shyly lookedat her feet and went straight to the play doughtable every morning. She'd sit down, grab a hunkof dough and squeeze it in her hands for a fewminutes before she had the courage to lookaround the room. If a child needs a certain mate-rial or activity to start the day, make sure it's al-ways there. If he doesn't gradually give up theactivity by himself, help him by slowly substitut-ing a new one. (But let him know ahead of timewhat you're going to put in place of his specialthing.)

TOILET TIMEToilet trained or not, children have a vari-

ety of attitudes about going to the toilet. Somemay have been punished for accidents at homeand may associate toileting with guilt and fear.Others may have been rewarded for going in theproper place and have feelings of pride about it.Parents often communicate feelings of disgustabout bowel and bladder functions to theirchildren.

Children who lack general physical co-ordination may have problems controlling theirbowel and bladder movements, or undressingthemselves and sitting on the toilet. If other kidstheir age are going by themselves, they may beashamed of their lack of control. Blind childrenare sometimes afraid of going to the toilet be-cause they can't see what's happening and maybe frightened by the loud flushing noises.

Make a point of finding out each child'sfeelings about bowel and bladder movements andabout going to the bathroom in general. Somekids may need to have an adult with them tohelp; others might just want to have an adult withthem; still others prefer to be left entirely alone,with no children or adults around. As mentionedearlier, if a child with control difficulties is wear-

ing diapers when others his age are toilet trained,you can help him by always changing his diapersin the staff room or other private place to avoidpossible teasing.

SNACK AND LUNCH TIMEFood and eating can also mean different

things to different children. Some kids may as-sociate food with securitythey may grab at foodor cry because they're afraid they won't getenough to eat. Other kids may not eat much be-cause they're distracted by the conversation andactivity around them, or because they've foundrefusing to eat is a way of getting the attentionthey need.

Some eating problems may be due to alack of physical coordination. Children may beunable to handle a fork or knife or have a glass ofmilk without tipping it over. They'll need yourhelp. Again, try to be aware of each child's feel-ings and problems with eating. Perhaps giving achild a certain place to sit every day at meal-time will give him the security of knowing hehas a place to eat, a place where he'll invariablyget his food. Plan to sit next to children withspecial eating problems and talk to them aboutgeneral topicsthey'll be getting individual at-tention, they'll be comforted and reassured, andyou'll be stimulating language development.

NAPTIMEEspecially at first, children often have

trouble going to sleep or resting quietly in a cen-ter or day care home. They're used to sleepingin their own beds, and they're not usually arounda lot of other kids when they try to rest. Somekids can't settle down simply because they'reafraid they might miss something.

Three-year-old Jeremy refused each dayto sleep during naptime. He sat stiffly on hiscot, rubbing his eyes and fighting sleep. He'drespond to a teacher's suggestion that he liedown and rest with a flat "No!" and to furthersuggestions with tears. One day his teacherquietly took Jeremy aside and asked him whyhe didn't like to sleep. He burst into tears andsaid, "Mommy and Daddy will come." "You thinkMommy and Daddy will come when you're sleep-ing?" she asked. "Yes, and then they'll go away.""You think they won't see you if you're asleep andleave without you?" Jeremy nodded and sobbedviolently. The teacher's reassurance that ifMommy and Daddy came, she or they would wakehim up brought more violent sobs and denials.

33

After school that day, the teacher spoke toJeremy's parents. That night, they convinced theirson that they would always wake him up andnever leave him in the center overnight. Whenthe next day's naptime rolled around, Jeremy fellasleep immediately and slept for several hours.

Talk to a child's parent about his sleep-ing habits. Some kids just don't seem to need asmuch sleep as others; some get more sleep atnight. If a child really seems to need sleep andhas a sleeping problem, try to stay near thatchild during rest time.

Some day care programs use quiet musicto get everyone in a relaxed mood at naptime.It also helps to precede naptime with a low-keyactivity such as story reading or telling to letkids wind down. Some centers separate childrenwho really do need to sleep from those who don't.The latter can talk quietly, look at books, play withquiet toys without distracting resting. kids.

END OF THE AFTERNOON: THE FIVE O'CLOCKAWFULS

The end of the day is a hard time forchildren and teachers alike. Almost everyone isexhausted and many children may be cranky. It'sat this time that a child's special needs are mostlikely to be displayed. Children with languagedifficulties may regress to more baby-like speech.Aggressive children may hit more. There's likelyto be more crying at this time of day.

Make this a relaxed time. Turn on the TVset and let the kids watch a children's program,or bring out special storybooks. Some kids enjoysinging at this time. One center found that largeblock building was good at the end of the dayaggressive children can put energy into building,shy children can build a house and retreat intoit, children can use the blocks in all kinds ofimaginative play. Kids may also need extrawarmth and cuddling at this time of day. And asmall snack such as a teaspoon of honey, acracker with peanut butter, or a piece of applecan give needed energy without spoiling supperappetites.

HOW GOOD A JOB ARE YOU DOING?

Evaluationthe process in which weregularly ask how well are we doing? how can weimprove?takes place all the time in a good daycare program. It's done at the end of an activity,at the end of the day, the month, the year. Good

34

programs are continuously trying to meet thegoals they've set for each child and for the pro-gram as a whole.

The whole idea of evaluation makes somepeople nervousthey don't want people criticiz-ing their program or trying to prove they're notdoing a good enough job. But that's not whatevaluation is all about. The basic purpose ofevaluation is to provide regular feedback to yourprogram in order to improve it, not to provewhether it's good or bad, right or wrong.

Evaluation must take place over time. It'sa little like taking movies. Watch films of Anita onher first and second birthdays and you'll seedramatically how she changed during that yearshe grew physically larger, her hair grew longer,she learned how to walk, she could blow out thecandles on her cake by her second birthday. Ifall you had was a still photograph of Anita age 1,you couldn't really see how much she'd changed.You'd need a series of pictures, taken over time,to see whether changes had occurred. You canput together your own pictures of children andyour program without expensive cameras. You'dcompile your pictures by recording your observa-tions and by constant evaluation.

EVALUATING CHILDRENHow can you evaluate whether a child has

developed in your program? Growth of this kindis hard to measure because it's so individual.Progress for one child may mean learning toquiet down, progress for another may mean beingable to speak up. There are no exact measures ofgrowth or progress. You simply have to use yourown judgment. Observe the child from the verybeginning and continue to do so throughout hisstay with your program.

Ideally, evaluation starts even before thechild is enrolled. When you visit his home (or hecomes to you) and you talk with his parents, askthem what he's like, and where he is physically,mentally, socially and emotionally. His parentswill provide the first pictures in the series you'llbe compiling.

During the first few weeks of the program,while he's adjusting, your observations will likelyseem erratic. They'll soon settle into a pattern youcan see. Ask yourself and his parents, after asuitable amount of time has elapsed, questionslike these to check his adjustment:

does he seem generally happy? does he smileand laugh? or does he seem sad, depressed?does he like coming to the center? or does he

r.

play sick many days or come reluctantly?does he seem happier outside the center thaninside?does he get involved in activities? or does hejust wander around or watch most of the time?has he made any friends at the center?does he spend most of his time alone?has he been excluded, rejected or teased byother children?does he go unnoticed because he's so quietand accommodating?has he disrupted the activities of others or theprogram as a whole?has he bullied, frightened or intimidated otherchildren?

Keep these questions in mind as you work withyour children during the first few weeks. At theend of this period, parents and staff should get to-gether to decide, on the basis of these or similarquestions, whether your program is the right onefor the child and whether you feel you can helphim.

While you're assessing, assess what thechild can do at the center, not just what he can'tdo. For example, when three-year-old Jose's par-ents and teacher got together to check his lan-guage development, they asked:

does he seem to understand what you say?can he make his wants known efficiently?does he verbalize his thoughts and feelings?does he speak clearly?how many words does he know?

They asked similar questions about his social,emotional, physical and mental development too.Putting together information from home andschool, they recorded what Jose could and couldnot do in each area. In the following months,his parents and teacher chose activitiesspecifically aimed at helping him where he washaving trouble. Evaluating his progress meantseeing whether he was improving in various areas.By repeating this process throughout his stay,the center compiled a record of his progress andits staff was able to tailor a program for his chang-ing needs. There are many child developmentbooks and manuals which cover the different de-velopmental areas and their stages (see AppendixC).

Some programs use more formal methodsof evaluation of each child's progress. There aremany tests available to measure gains in thedifferent areas of development. Consult with apsychologist, a child guidance clinic, a college

department of education or psychology, or aguidance department in a school system to findout which tests are appropriate for your needs.Most tests that are readily available requireadministration by trained professionals.

RECORDING YOUR OBSERVATIONSDon't wait until the end of the day or week

to get your observations down on paperyou'relikely to forget important points or even wholeincidents. Obviously, you can't always jot downyour thoughts immediatelyespecially whenyou're up to your elbows in finger paint. But it'shandy to have a central log or journal in thecenter where staff can write down their observa-tions as they happen or as soon after the event aspossible.

What should you note? Any event whichseems significant at the time. If Carol buttons hercoat all by herself for the first time, get it down.If Martin has three temper tantrums in the courseof a day, the time and circumstances under whichthey happened should be described. If Kennyseems less lively today than usual and his faceis flushed, you ought to note it. All of these littleevents, taken singly might not mean much: putthem together, however, and they form a composite picture of the child over time.

Here are excerpts from a teacher's notesat the Merrimack Day Care Center in Concord,New Hampshire:

David B.February 25: David started here Mon-day. His initial adjustment seemed very easy. Heparticipates in just about all the activities of theclass. He listened to stories and looked at booksby himself. He is not able to do even a three-piece puzzle, but this will probably develop.

He is strongest in the social areas, takesgreat pleasure in interacting with people, espe-cially adults. The children either ignore him orseem to be fond of him (kissing him and talkingto him). He does not initiate many contacts withthe other children yet. He kisses Peggy when heleaves.

When I gave him 10-inch cubes, he tookthem all and then gave them to me one by one,waiting for my reaction after each one--verysocial! Can build a 10-cube towergood fine-motor coordination. He understands almost every-thing you say to him, but doesn't always respondto his name when called.

February 27: We worked on two puzzles (threeand four piece) and 10-inch cubes. David was

a6 35

able to do the three-piece puzzle after some work-ing on it. Recognized glass of milk in four-piecedairy puzzle and said, "Milk." David babblesquite a bit and I'd expect he might start talkingwithin the year.

March 1: David says "goodnight" in response toa picture of a girl sleeping, "milk" to a pictureof a glass of milk. Long attention span-15 or20 minutes on a puzzle or story.

March 3: David copies horizontal lines, verticallines, a circle, and is almost ready to copy asquarelooks like this: D . This is almost upto age level.

May 3: David has become increasingly activeand sensitive to his environment. He reacts toalmost everythingfor example, when picking upa cylindrical block he will roll it along flat surfaces(does not try to roll square blocks). When hefinds a thread, he holds it up before his faceand blows it to watch it move.

He loves to climb in front of a personwhile holding onto both their hands. This is agood alternative thing to do when he raises hisarms to you to be picked up. Babbles and singsalmost always. One of his favorite things in theclassroom is the piano. He plays notes andlistens; seems very gratified that he produced it.

It's particularly useful for one teacher tonow and again spend a day observing each childin the program for 10 minutes or so, writing downeverything the child says and does while he'sinvolved in an activity. When this is done monthlyor more often, a picture of the child's thoughts,feelings, actions and growth will evolve.

Here's such an observation by a teacher atthe Merrimack Center:March 24, 9:52 a.m.: Merle has been sitting onthe floor for several minutes with blocks in frontof her but not using them. She is watching theolder children at the table and the teachers talk-ing to themwalks over to them and looks intoa bowl in which a worm is squirming about.Stands for another minute watching adult facesand children's movements. Is lifted to window byteacher but does not look outplays with dress,lifting it up and twisting it.

Mandy talks to Merle, bending over her tospeak. Standing sucking index finger. When storyis read to her, she lies back on me and seems toenjoy the physical contact but looks off into spaceand does not seem to be listening.

Joyce and Connie have convinced Merle

36

to play houseshe is the "baby" and is muchmanipulated as if she were a dollcarried about,etc. Connie and Joyce are occasionally annoyedthat she has a will of her own, unlike a doll!Joyce helps her undress doll. Merle dresses andundresses doll. First real spontaneous play sofar!

MAKING GOOD USE OF YOUR WRITTENOBSERVATIONS

Your observations won't be good for any-thing unless staff and volunteers refer to them.New teachers will find it particularly helpful toread through your accounts. They'll get a senseof who each child is and where he is in theprogram.

All teachersold and newshould referto the log when they're puzzled by a child's be-havior to see whether he's acted that way before,how it was handled, whether the solution worked.The log should be a vital source of information forstaff meetings and for conferences with outsidespecialists. Good written observations can providethose living pictures so necessary for evaluation.

OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHILDYou can also keep samples of children's

artwork to see how they are progressing. Someprograms periodically encourage children to tellan imaginative story which they record and keepin a special file to give some indication of changesin the child's concerns. It's also a record of lan-guage development.

Programs which formally test children'sgrowth as part of their evaluation will want tokeep the test results in the child's folder, alongwith any testing results or information from out-side sources. (See page 50 , "The I.Q. Score")Use this information in addition to your writtenobservations.

EVALUATING YOUR PROGRAMUsing the same techniques discussed

above, you can evaluate your program as a whole.These questions can help staff evaluate how gooda job they are doing and may point up areas wherethey could improve. At the end of a day, ask yourself:

how did the day go?did the kids seem to be involved in theactivities?if not, which children were least involved? werethey just having a bad day or were they bored?

Ai4 I offer them enough of a variety of materials

and activities?were there any difficult times or problem situa-tions today? why were they difficult? how werethey handled? could they have been handledbetter?

More general questions to ask at the end of aweek, two weeks, or a month:

on the whole, have we been able to meet theindividual needs of most of our children?do they seem happy?have they gained in language development,problem-solving, general intelligence? (somecenters use formal tests to measure growth inthese areas)have they gained in motor development?have they progressed in the abilities to getalong with others?do they benefit from teachers without depend-ing too much on them?are we happy? do we enjoy the children?are we able to handle special problems as theyarise? do we need special help or training?do we have a good in-service training program?are we growing in our abilities to understand,teach and appreciate the children?have we involved parents in our program? havewe been able to meet their needs?how are we using our resourcesfunds, space,equipment, staff, volunteers, professional ex-perts? could they be used better?have we reached out into the community foradvice, referrals, volunteers, funds, resources?

Ask parents for their evaluation of the programtoo. You'll find out what they like and what they'redissatisfied with. Some programs request thatparents fill out a questionnaire about the programat least once a year. One particularly useful ques-tion to ask is whether they would enroll their childin an integrated program again if they had thatchoice. Their reasons for choosing or not choosingyour setting will be very helpful for your ownplanning,

WHEN A CHILD LEAVES:THE FOLLOW-THROUGH

shown you every day how many things they cando. As they get older, as you watch them grow,you start to wonder what will happen to them afterthey've left you.

How do you know when it's time forspecial children to leave the center and go on toanother school? You know in the same way youknow when it's time for other kids to leaveyou've kept track of their progress in your pro-gram, so you know when they've acquired theskills they'll need to learn and to be happy inanother school. Children usually leave a day carecenter or family day care home to go to anotherearly childhood school, to a kindergarten or firstgrade. Some special children are ready to go onto kindergarten or first grade when other kids are;other children's needs may delay their develop-ment in certain areas and they may need to spendan extra year or two in a center or family daycare home.

You should be aware of the community'sschools and their policies regarding children withspecial needs. Some school systems have specificclasses for special children, especially those withlearning problems; other systems integrate thesechildren into regular classrooms. Some communi-ties have private schools, such as schools for theblind or the deaf. Talk with the different schoolsin the community and also encourage the child'sparents to do so. Together, you, his parents andschool representatives can determine what kindof school would be best for the child. If the sys-tem's policy is to place children with specialneeds in a special class, but you feel the childwould do well in a regular class, you might beable to play an active role in getting that childintegrated into a regular classroom.

Once a decision has been made aboutwhere the special child will go to school, tell hisnew teacher all about him so she'll be able topick up where you left off and so the transitionfor the child will be smoother. You'll want to passalong your perceptions about:

Larry, who can't see; Carlos, who can'twalk; Mary, who can't hear; Jimmy, who can'tlearn as fast as other children: you've had achance to be with these children in your centeror family day care home for awhile now. You'vetaught them and learned from them; they've

the child's special problemhis healthhis special abilitiesthe areas in which he needs special help; howto help himhis likes and dislikeshis personalityshy, outgoing, etc.his feelings about leaving his center and hisnew schoolhow to help him feel comfortable and happyin a new situation

37

You might suggest that the new teacher try toarrange her schedule so she can observe the childwhile he's still in the center. She'll get firsthandknowledge about him and it may also minimizeany doubts she has about having a special childin her classroom.

Once the child has started in his newschool, the center or family day care home staffmay want to keep track of his progress there. If hehas any problems, they might be able to help solve

38

them. Information about the progress of childrenwill also help you evaluate your own program.And, of course, staff will want to know what'shappening to their special children. The daycare center or family home might want to desig-nate a liaison counselor to keep track of specialchildren or all children who leave the program.This counselor can be a staff member, a parentor a volunteer.

39

........orman...Mrnno

WAYS TO HELP CHILDREN WITH

SPECIAL NEEDS

What follows in this chapter are generalsuggestions. There are no guarantees that they'llwork with every special child, but they've helpedmany. The books listed in Appendix C will give youmore specific information about special problemsand can help your staff prepare to work withchildren with special needs.

If you suspect a child has special needsbut aren't sure what is specifically the problem,you might read through the different sections inthis chapter to see if the special behaviors de-scribed are similar to your child's. For instance,you might find that a child's needs are like thoseassociated with learning disabilities. Your nextstep would be to contact his parents and thenseek the advice of specialists in your community.You might also try some of the suggestions listedto see if they work with him.

Don't expect to have time to follow all ofthese suggestions or to deal with all types ofspecial needs in your program. It's helpful, at leastin the beginning, to integrate children with onetype of problemfor example, one or two chil-dren with visual problems or one or two mentallyretarded children. When you've learned how tohelp these children, you might then considerincluding additional children with different needs.

HELPING VISUALLY-IMPAIREDAND BLIND CHILDREN

Relatively few children have total blind-ness. Blindness is a complete lack of vision, orthe inability to see anythingcolors, shadows,shapes, darkness, or light. Most special chiidrenwith visual problems are visually-impaired chil-dren who have slight vision. Some can see verysmall objects held close to their eyes; some cansee general shapes of things but not the details.Visually-impaired children can learn to use what-ever vision they have left, which is called theresidual, if they get a great deal of visual stimu-

lation. If they're not encouraged to use whatvision they have, their residual vision will de-teriorate. If they can see bright colors, then theyshould be taught the colors with brightly coloredclothes, toys and books. If they can see largeobjects held up close, they'll need large bookswith big pictures, large blocks and balls to playwith.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF BLIND ANDVISUALLYIMPAIRED CHILDREN

Blind and visually-impaired children gothrough the same stages of physical developmentnormal kids do, but sometimes at a slower rate.Starting when they're very young, they often needencouragement to exercise the muscles they'llneed for sitting up, creeping and walking. Evenbefore a baby learns to sit up or creep, he mustbe able to lift and hold his head up when he'slying down. Sighted children naturally lift theirheads at a certain age because they're curiousabout the sights around them. Visually-impairedand blind children are often slow to lift up theirheads and exercise these muscles because theycan't see what's there. They must be motivatedby sounds, not sights. Hanging objects with dif-ferent sounds above them in the crib or playpenencourages these children to raise their heads.Mobiles with bells, noisy rattles and wind chimesare great motivators.

Often children with visual problems mustalso be motivated to creep and walk, since theywon't reach out into the unknown unless they'vegot a reason to. Encourage them to move towardtoys with interesting sounds and textures. Someblind children are afraid to explore their sur-roundings because they can't see where they'rewalking and often bump into thingshave thempractice in areas that aren't too busy and clut-tered. If furniture and equipment stay in the sameplaces from day to day, a child can have a feel-ing of stability about his surroundings and he'llgain the confidence to explore. When things must

40 39

be moved around, tell him about the changesyou've made.

Such children can very quickly learn theirway around day care centers which are dividedinto activity areas. They'll know the art cornerby the smell of paints and paste; they'll know thenap area because that part of the room is car-peted; the storytime area has bookshelves alongthe wall. You can also give them hints to helpthem get their bearings. One teacher has hungdifferent sounding wind chimes in different areasof her center. Carpet or tile of various texturescan also tell a child where he is. Help him locatehis own cubbyhole or cupboard by giving him thelast one in the row, or by marking it with a bigbutton or feather for easy identification.

COMMUNICATING THROUGH WORDS ANDTOUCH

It's hard even to imagine learning with-out the help of our sight. We don't realize howmuch we rely on seeing the world to understandit. Most kids may be motivated to try by watchingsomeone else do it. To teach someone how todraw a circle, you draw one and ask him to lookat it and see if he can do one just like it. Visually-impaired and blind children can't draw one justlike itthey often can't see the circle in the firstplace. These children can learn best by hearinghow to do it (having the teacher talk about whatshe's doing) and feeling how to do it (having theteacher put her hand on theirs and guiding themthrough the circular motion several times). Otherways of teaching the circle include tracing stencilshapes of circles, feeling sandpaper shapes, feel-ing the rims of circular pans or drawing circlesin wet sand. It'll be easier for a child to learn ifyou chat about it while you're doing it"Now,Denise, we'll hold this pencil in our hand to-gether. And we'll take a piece of paper. Now let'sdraw a circle on this paper. We'll go round andround with the pencil like this. Round and round.Are you feeling the pencil going round and round?Oh, we're making nice round circles. Let's see ifyou can go round and round on the paper byyourself." The rhythm involved in the circularmotion may also help her.

It's very important to talk with these chil-dren all you can. Toys, objects, food and eventsshould be named as the child encounters them.By hearing words and doing and feeling whatthose words stand for, a child can compensatefor his lack of sight.

People often wonder whether they should

40

use words like "see" and "look" when visually-impaired or blind children are included. Do soby all means. As soon as he can understand, tellthe child that people see and look in differentwayssome people use their eyes to see; others,without sight, use their ears, hands and fingers.

Words help children with vision problemsto organize the world they experience. We sawabove that words can help a child learn how todo a certain task. Words also help the visually-impaired or blind child know how other peoplefeel. Sighted children know that a friend is happywhen they see the smile on his face; when some-one is angry by seeing his frown. We dependmore than most of us know. on eye-to-eye contactwith people. Blind and visually-impaired childrendon't have these clues. They can sense the feel-ings of others only when those feelings are con-veyed by speech or by touch. Without these clues,they're effectively cut off from the world aroundthem. When you communicate without usingwords, the blind child loses out. If you're in thehabit of showing your approval by smiling andwinking, the child without vision won't know youapprove. He receives only silence. You have totell hiM how you feel ("That's very good,Johnny!") or show him by giving him a pat onthe back.

These children can tell how you feel aboutthem by your voice and general manner. As in-fants, they rely totally on feeling and hearing thelove others have for them. Communicate love tovery young children by holding and embracingthem, by touching and patting them when they'reolder. Putting your arm around a child or holdinghis hand can convey a great deal of warmth andsecurity. Shaking hands can also give the childa feel for the person he's meeting.

THE NEED FOR CONCRETE OBJECTS ANDEXPERIENCE

You must systematically and deliberatelyintroduce blind children to the world aroundthem by stimulating their curiosity and desire todiscover. At first, toys and objects must behanded to a blind child to encourage him toexplore them. He needs concrete objects to ex-perience and feel. You can't just talk about anobjectyou've got to show him that object andhave him hold it, feel it, smell it, experience it.Talking about something called a "coffee pot" toa visually-impaired child is meaningless. He's gotto hold one, feel what goes inside it, pour fromit, touch it, taste it and smell it before he really

41

understands what a coffee pot is.Two fathers were discussing how their

blind children learn from their surroundings. Onesaid, "I don't know how I can ever explain toJohn about what a fence is. I can tell him it's arow of posts set in the ground, with wire strungalong them or with boards nailed to them, buthow will he ever get an idea of its extent in space,its relationship with its surroundingsin fact,what a fence is like?" The other father replied,"My little girl knows what a fence is. It's as faras you can go in the yard. It's what keeps the dogfrom running away and what keeps other dogsout. It's what the neighbors are on the other sideof. It's a board fence so it's what you can climbup on or brace a board against to jump on."

A blind child's definition of an object isa functional one. What does it do? What can I

do with it? He defines the object by touching it,manipulating it, moving it if it moves, beingstopped by it, being moved by it. Until he's hadmany experiences over time with real concreteobjects, he can't understand miniatures of thosethings. A child must play with a real dog whojumps on him, licks him, barks and wags its tailbefore a stuffed toy dog has any meaning for him.

"The visually-impaired child will need tohave many experiences with a ball or witha block or wagon before he can take clayand shape a ball, block or wagon, capturingtheir chief features. He can enjoy shapes(beginning with circles and squares) throughthe material they are made of, their odor,the sound they make when dropped, whetheror not they roll, etc. Later comes the ideaof roundness and squareness. Next comesthe ability to fit these pieces into the form-board. Still later, the child develops a grow-ing understanding that other things areround and square, too."

BLIND MANNERISMSSome visually-impaired children at times

rock back and forth, wave their fingers in frontof their face, or make odd noises and movements.People mistakenly call these mannerisms "blind-isms." It's an unfortunate label, since kids with-out visual problems often do these things andmany visually-impaired children never do. If theyoccur, such mannerisms should serve as signals

* Carol Halliday, The Visually-Impaired Child: Growth, Learning,Development, Infancy to School Age. Louisville, Kentucky: Ameri-can Printing House for the Blind, 1971. Page 53.

that the child is probably lonely or bored. He'smoving in this peculiar manner because hedoesn't know what else to do or because he wantssome attention. Blind and visually-impaired chil-dren often resort to these activities because theydon't have as many ways to exercise their mus-cles as other kids havethe mannerisms in factgive them sensations from their bodies. If a vis-ually-impaired child is waving his hands in frontof his face, he may be watching the light flashingbetween his fingers. If you feel he's simply bored,show him things to do that are fun and interest-ing. Toys that need both hands also help discour-age odd mannerisms. If other kids in the class-room ask about these mannerisms, explain hon-estly: "Johnny's probably rocking because he'sbored and wants something to do. Why don't youask him to play with you? I'm sure he'd ratherplay with the blocks than rock back and forth."

SELECTING TOYS FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUALPROBLEMS

Toys aren't much good without people. Avisually-impaired child won't even know a toy isnear him unless someone calls his attention toit and makes it interesting for him. Handing hima toy isn't enough, thoughhe has to be intro-duced to it. You'll have to teach him how to ex-plore toys and objectshow to feel the weightof the toy, to jiggle it to see if it makes noises, tomanipulate its parts to see if they move. If hedrops the toy, he must be shown that he can lookfor it and pick it up again, that it doesn't just dis-appear into nowhere.

You don't have to buy special toys forthese childrenthey'll enjoy the same things allkids do. Because of their vision loss, however,pick toys for them that are interesting to thetouch, to hearing and to smell, as well as towhatever remaining vision they have. Toys andmaterials in your program should vary in termsof:

texturesoft, hard, fuzzy, furry, rough, squishyweightheavy, lightsoundloud, soft, squeaky, jingling, rumbling,clangingmovementbouncing, rolling, take-apart toys,jack-in-the-boxes, tops

Toys found in regular stores will havemost of these characteristics. If the toys in yourprogram don't have interesting sounds or tex-tures, they can easily be adapted. Attaching ajingle bell to a toy which has no sound will help

2,41

make that toy interesting to a blind child. Dif-ferent textured fabrics pasted on toys with dullsurfaces are also inviting and attractive. Childrenwith visual problems are also great fans of home-made toyspots and pans, spoons, jar lids, tinfoil, cardboard boxes, egg cartons, ice cube trays,rolling pins, empty spools, etc.

Children with some residual vision shouldhave toys to help them exercise that vision. Ifthe child can see big things held up close, thenthere should be large toys for himbig blocks,dolls, trucks, balls. Some visually-impaired chil-dren prefer very small toys or pictures becausethey can see the whole object when it's held upclose. Don't worry if a child holds things rightup to his eyes, even touching his cheeks or nose.It won't hurt his eyes to look at things that close.

Here are some additional hints abouteveryday toys and activities:

BALLS: Balls must be large enough for thechild to handle and to locate. Sounding devices(like bells) make the ball easier and more inter-esting to follow. A special child must be shownhow to play with a ballfirst how to roll it, thenhow to throw and catch. Show him how to extendhis arms with palms up so he's ready to scoopthe ball toward him when someone throws it.With practice, you'll be able to bounce it nearenough so it falls into his extended arms. Afterhe learns the basics of throwing and catching, hecan learn to bounce the ball, throw it against awall, and so on.

GROSS MOTOR TOYS: Moving toys which youpush, pull and roll (like musical carpet sweepers)will be interesting to the child not only for theirshapes but also because they invite him to movearound and exercise many of his muscles.

TRICYCLES: With your help a blind child canlearn to use bicycles and tricycles. He'll have tobe shown how to pedal, since he can't learn thisby watching others. At first, hold his feet on thepedals or tape them lightly with masking tapeand guide him through the pedaling motion untilhe gets the feel of it. Once he's gotten a senseof the room layout, he'll be able to ride aroundwithout bumping into too many things. Thesechildren will, of course, need to learn where it'ssafe to ride. They should learn, for instance, tostay away from the swing area in the playgroundby listening for the squeak of the swing chains.They'll likely be afraid at first, so be sure to givethem plenty of encouragement and support.

42

DOLLS AND OTHER MINIATURES: We men-tioned earlier that representations of real objectsdon't have very much meaning for visually-im-paired children until they've had lots of experi-ence with the real objects themselves. This isn'tto say that dolls and other replicas of things can'tor shouldn't be used with them. They'll just playwith and enjoy these toys for different reasons thanmost children. They'll play with a doll becausethey like the noise it makes or its moving armsand legs, not because they understand it's a "pre-tend" baby which they can dress, feed, put tosleep, etc.

STORYTIME AND BOOKS: Blind and visually-impaired children have a lot to gain from story-time if you can make it meaningful to them. Ifthe child has any residual vision, he should beencouraged to sit up front at storytime so he hasa chance to see the pictures and colors up close.Often, the plot of a story is revealed only throughthe pictures, and you must be ready to explainwhat's happening in the pictures for the blindchild. One teacher tapes stories beforehand andlets her blind child listen to the preview tapesbefore storytime. This way, he's familiar with thestory and doesn't get lost when the teacher readsit to the group. Children with residual vision oftenenjoy looking at the book before storytime too.Books can be meaningful even if children can'tsee the pictures or read the wordsthey espe-cially enjoy the movement and sounds involvedin turning the pages. Cloth books and pop-uppicture books are great for the blind child to ex-plore with his hands. Books like this can be madeout of sheets of corrugated cardboard. Attachbuttons, feathers, scraps of velvet, etc. to thepages for the kids to feel and manipulate.

PAINTING, PASTING, COLORING: Althoughblind and visually-impaired children can't get in-volved iii the visual aspects of art, they can enjoythe physical sensations, muscle movements andsmells involved. Children love the sweeping mo-tions involved in moving the paint brushes, espe-cially on big pieces of paper or real-life thingslike fences or huge cardboard crates. Fingerpaints, play dough and clay are particularly stim-ulating to the touch. Paints and crayons give dif-ferent textures and feels to the paper and havevery distinctive smells. Pasting various objectsonto sheets of paper or cardboard is a great wayfor a child to practice his hand and motor co-ordination.

43

HELPING HEARING-IMPAIREDAND DEAF CHILDREN

Hearing-impaired and deaf children canparticipate in all phases of the day care daytheydon't need special buildings, special schedulesor special toys. Like other kids, they can play inthe playground, draw, build with blocks, climb,run, and so on. Even music and storytimes arefun (and necessary) for these children.

MUSICEncourage hearing-impaired and deaf

children to play and feel the different musical in-struments. Let a deaf child feel the sounds andvibrations of your guitar, piano, drums and cym-bals. Let him play these instruments by himselfit'll help his eye-hand coordination while he'senjoying the new and different sensations 9fsounds. See that special children hum and clapalong with the other kids at songtime. Rhythmexercises are also good for developing motor co-ordination and a good self-image. Although thechild may be shy about it at first, he'll soon beenjoying the new sounds and vibrations and thefeeling of being part of the group.

STORYTIM EIf you plan ahead, storytime will be very

interesting for children with hearing problems.Here are some things other programs have founduseful:

Plan to have the special child sit close to youso he can read your lips and gestures and can seethe pictures.

Books with colorful, simple, life-like pictureswill hold a deaf child's attention more than thosewith pictures that are too detailed or too abstract.Obviously, books with too much print and toofew pictures won't hold his interest.

Choose stories you can tell in your own wordsas well as read to the children.

Gesturing as you read will indicate what's hap-pening in the story (huffing and puffing for "TheThree Little Pigs," for instance) and can give thedeaf child those necessary clues.

You can sometimes dramatize a picture orstory by using a small toy or prop to make thestory more alive and understandable to the child.(You'd show the class sticks, straw and bricks todemonstrate what the three little pigs' houseswere made of.) Flannelboards and puppets arealso very useful, but don't overdo the propstoo

many can be distracting and take attention awayfrom the story itself.

If a child becomes too restless, let him sit onyour lap occasionally and help turn the pages.But try not to let it become routineit singles outthis child from the rest of the group.

Let all the kids, including special children,bring a favorite book from home now and againfor you to read. This helps keep interest high andmakes the book owner feel very important.

HOW AND WHEN TO TALKCommunicating with hearing-impaired

and deaf children is a real challenge for parentsand teachers alike. The best thing you can do istalk to them at every possible opportunity. Tryto imagine learning to talk with little or no hear-ing. Children normally learn to use words afterthey've heard the sounds of those words usedover and over again. Hearing-impaired and deafchildren can't learn to talk by hearing the spokensounds; they learn by watching other peoplespeak.

Learning by watching speech (lipreadingor speechreading) takes much longer than learn-ing by sound. Words must be seen many, manytimes before they can be understood and spokenby the hearing-impaired or deaf child. We takefor granted how many times a hearing child musthear a word: think how many more times a deafchild must see it. That's why talking to these chil-dren is so importantthey need the chance tosee words being spoken.

To be sure a deaf or hearing-impairedchild gets the most out of your speech, try follow-ing the suggestions below. Some of these point-ers may seem obvious, and you'll probably dothem naturally, but others we just seem to takefor granted.

Talk to the child even if you think or know hecan't hear what you're saying. You may feel un-comfortable, at first, talking to a child you thinkcannot hear you. However, very few children aretotally deaf, with no hearing at all. Most hearing-impaired children can hear only certain sounds orthey hear all sounds very faintly. Talking to themwill help exercise whatever residual hearing theydo have. And remember, even if he can't hearyour words, he can see what you're saying.

Talking to the child as you do things with him"Now let's get some crayons. What crayon doyou want to use first? What a nice color youpicked!"

43

Speak naturally. Use your normal voice, mouth-ing your words as you usually do, at a moderaterate of speedneither very fast nor very slowly.You may find yourself distorting speech at first,shouting or speaking slower than usual, or exag-gerating each word. Try not to. This only confusesthe child since lip reading is based on good,normal speech.

Speak in short, simple, but whole sentences.You want him to be able to talk normally, not inbaby talk. Ask, "Do you want a glass of milk,Johnny?" and not, "Johnny want milk?" This maysound far-fetched, but you'll be tempted to over-simplify.

Make sure the child can see you when youspeak to him. A deaf child must watch your lipsmove if he's going to learn lipreading. He can't doit when your back is turned or when you're at theother end of the room.

Come close to the child when you talk to him.Most hearing-impaired children have some hear-ing left, but they must be very close to the sourceof sound if they're going to hear it. Rather thanshouting from a distance, get near the child andthen speak. It's important to let him use and exer-cise whatever hearing he has left. Talking to himand humming and singing with him will also helphim use that residual hearing.

Face the light when you talk to the child. Thelight must be on your face, not hisif light isglaring in his eyes, he won't be able to focus onyour lips.

Try to get to child's eye level when you talk tohim. Lipreading is very difficult when the speak-er's lips are not on the same level as the child'seyes. Often an adult will assume the child cansee his lips if he just bends down from the waist.This isn't always enough, since the adult's faceis still at an angle. You should try to have yourface approximately parallel to the child's. Eitheryou must get down to his level (in a deep kneebend or by kneeling) or the child must get up toyours (by sitting in a high chair or at a desk ortable).

Make your conversation interesting and there-fore worth watching. A child won't bother lookingat your lips if he isn't interested in or familiarwith what you're talking about. When he's begin-ning to lipread, use words that represent objectsand actions he likes and is familiar with. At first,talk about concrete things and events happeninghere and nownot about something in the next

44

room or something that happened yesterday orwill happen tomorrow. When you're talking abouta ball, it helps to show him a ball. When you usethe word "running," make a running motion. Tryto connect the words you use with concrete ex-periences and actions.

CLUES THAT GO ALONG WITH TALKINGCommunication isn't just speaking. We

often know what someone is saying or thinkingby the look on his face or the gestures of hishands and body. You can tell when someone ishappy by his smile and by the look in his eyes.You can sense when someone is nervous by thetightness of his body and the fidgeting of hishands. Since children with hearing losses relyheavily on these nonverbal clues, help them withgestures when you communicate with them.

You don't have to overdo the gestures, buttry to remember to use them naturally when thereis a chance. When you do gesture, don't substitutethe actions for words: use both ways of com-municating simultaneously. For example, whenyou say, "Sit down, Eddy," you can also tap hischair. When you motion with your hands for Judyto come over to you, say, "Come here, Judy," soshe can practice lipreading at the same time.Physical contacts with deaf and hearing-impairedchildren are very important. A pat on the back,a hug, holding hands are ways of showing thefeelings you normally show through words.

Manual communication or finger spellingis a very special set of clues or signs used bydeaf children. The deaf child and those aroundhim learn finger signs which stand for letters ofthe alphabet or for certain words and expressions.You can get information on sign language andfinger spelling from a hearing specialist in yourcommunity or from one of the national associa-tions dealing with hearing problems listed inAppendix A.

FEELING WORDS AND SOUNDSDeaf children understand language not

only by seeing words on people's lips but also byfeeling the sounds of the different words. Frominfancy on, you can expose the child to soundsand vibrations. When you hold a baby, put hishead close to your chest so he can feel the vibra-tions in your speech. Sing, hum, and talk to thechild when you hold him so he can feel lots ofdifferent sounds. Let him put his hands on yourlips, cheeks and throat so he can feel where thesound comes from.

45

Before a child can become aware ofsounds, you have to be aware of them so you cancall them to his attention. Hundreds of soundsand vibrations can be everyday learning experi-ences. If you stop reading right now, you canlisten to all kinds of soundsthe refrigerator,the slam of a door, the squeaking of a swing,hammering on the fence outside, the laugh of achild, the flush of a toilet. Children with hearingproblems may hear these sounds if they are loudenough, or they can become aware of them bythe vibrations they makefor instance, the vibra-tion of vacuum cleaners, subway cars, airplanes,refrigerators, radios and telephones.

Once you are aware of sounds, you canbegin drawing a child's attention to them:

"LISTEN! I HEAR THAT!" Perhaps you couldturn the sound on and off a few times to helphim become aware of its presence. Helphim feel the vibrations by placing his handlightly on the object or some place where thevibrations can be felt. Some of the vibra-tions can be felt through a wood floor or atable top. We know one little boy who wouldlie down on the floor when music was play-ing because he could feel the vibrations allover his body through the floor."*

THE CARE AND USE OF HEARING AIDSMany hearing-impaired children wear

hearing aids which make sounds louder and bringthem more directly to the ears. A hearing aid won'tchange a child's hearing conditionit simplyamplifies sounds so the child can become moreaware of them. A profoundly deaf child with ahearing aid might become aware of certain loudnoisesa slamming door or the toot of a horn.Children with mild hearing losses can often,with the help of a hearing aid, learn to be awareof ordinary conversation and speech.

An audiologist is trained to test andevaluate hearing. He can decide if and when achild should begin wearing a hearing aid andwhich model he ought to use. There are threetypes of hearing aids commonly worn by children.One is worn in an undergarment pocket close tothe child's chest. Another is worn on the head,clipped to the hair or a headband. The third typeis worn behind the ear. These aids are attachedto cords which plug into the child's ear througha tiny insert called an earmold. When properly

* The John Tracy Clinic Correspondence Course,Street, Los Angeles, California.

fitted, the hearing aid is not uncomfortable andis usually taken for granted after the child adjuststo it. Minor difficulties teachers and parentsshould be on the lookout for include:

IMPROPER FIT OF THE EARMOLD: If the ear-mold doesn't fit the child's ear opening prop-erly, it can be very uncomfortable. A chippedor cracked earmold will often irritate the skinaround the ear. You can sometimes tell whenan earmold is chipped because it will make asquealing sound known as feedback. In thiscase, the audiologist or hearing aid dealershould check to be sure the earmold is fittedproperly or have a new one made.

DEAD BATTERIES IN THE HEARING AID: Youcan tell the battery is dead if the child doesn'tseem to be hearing the sounds he is usuallyaware of. Have a reserve supply of batteries onhand. Parents or a hearing aid dealer can showyou how to change the batteries.

WORNOUT HEARING AID CORDS: If a cordwears out, breaks or splits, the hearing aidwon't work properly. Cords are easily replaced,so keep a spare on hand.

INFECTED OR IRRITATED EARS: The earmoldshould never be inserted in an infected, soreor bleeding ear. The child's ears should beexamined by a physician and the earmoldshould not be inserted until his ear has healed.

At first, check a child's hearing aid at leastonce a day to see that it's turned on working andthe battery is good. Do this until the child learnsto check for himself. If other kids in the class havequestions about the "funny little box" called thehearing aid, let them try it on. They'll notice thatsounds are amplified and you can explain thatthis helps the special child hear better.

HELPING CHILDREN WITH OTHERPHYSICAL DISABILITIES

A child missing two fingers has a physicaldisability. So does a child who has a cleft palate(an opening in the roof of the mouth which affectsspeech), a child with cerebral palsy who has poormuscular control in both arms, and a childparalyzed from the waist down and confined to awheelchair. We can't cover the specific needs ofeach of these physically disabled children in this

924 West 37th manual. The best way to find out about a particu-lar child's needs is to talk to his parents and his

4645

physical therapist, if one is involved. If the childisn't seeing a therapist, you might try to locateone in your community. This specialist can de-termine the child's physical needs and find waysto overcome or deal with his problems. Physicaltherapists often recommend specific exercises tohelp a child strengthen a weak limb or muscle. Ifa child has trouble sitting up by himself, thetherapist can suggest special chairs or props tohelp him support himself.

Here are some suggestions from parentsand teachers of physically disabled children:

ADAPTING YOUR FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENTIf a child is confined to a wheelchair, cer-

tain requirements in the day care center or familyday care home must be met:

Doors must be wide enough to allow passageof a wheelchair.

Wheelchair ramps must be available wherestairs prevent movement into and out of thebuilding.

Toilet cubicles must be wide enough to accom-modate children with wheelchairs. (Standarddoors can be replaced by curtains or foldingdoors which take less space and make accesseasier.)

Handrails in the toilet cubicles should be at-tached so the child can swing from his wheel-chair to the toilet seat easily.

The suggestions below aren't absolutely neces-sary, but they are strongly recommended:

Non-slip floor coverings make it easier forchildren on crutches and those who have dif-ficulty walking to get around. If floors arewaxed, be sure crutches have non-skid tips andshoe soles have fine sandpaper or masking tapeapplied.

Equipment should be accessible to every child,including those in wheelchairs:

Sand tables and other activity tablesshould be placed away from walls so kidscan get to them from all sides.

Tables with semicircular "bites" out ofthe rims make it easier for wheelchairchildren to get up close to the table.These tables can either be bought ormade at home.

One way to make equipment accessibleto all is to put it on the floor. All kids canget to the floor, including those in wheel-

46

chairs. Sand tables and water tables caneasily be brought down to floor level. Sandtables can also be covered with plywoodtops and used for other activities.

Equipment should be scaled down to a child'sheight. For instance, adjustable blackboardsand easel stands can be lowered to wheelchairlevel, if necessary. Wheelchairs should also bescaled to the size of the childthey are manu-factured in both child and adult sizes.

Railings, at a child's level, should be attachedto walls. These provide mobility for childrenin wheelchairs and for kids who have difficultywith balance and motor coordination. The rail-ings are also great as ballet bars and asgeneral exercise rails for all children.

Chairs should be child-sized so the child's feetdon't dangle in mid-air. If this isn't feasible,make footstools out of reinforced cardboardboxes. It is very important for children to becomfortable sitting: a good sitting posture isnecessary for activities requiring fine handcoordination. If a child has problems support-ing himself in a chair, a physical therapistshould be consulted. He may need a modifiedchair with an abduction block which preventshim from sliding off. Abduction blocks caneasily be made from covered tin cans, woodenblocks or cylinders and can be applied to anychair (see illustration). Modified chairs whichmatch regular classroom chairs can also bebought: they usually come equipped with strapsfor legs, waists, chests, etc.

'$t

zig

ABDUCTION BLOCK ON CHAIR:

Suggested materials: small wooden cylindrical block, ortin can covered with carpet sample or heavy fabric.

Purpose: Prevents child from sliding off edge of chair.

47

Children in wheelchairs should have other seatsavailable to them. Floor seats exercise differentmuscles than do wheelchairs. They are achange of scenery for the child and give him achance to do activities he couldn't get to in hiswheelchair. Since there are a variety of floorseats available, you might want to consult aphysical therapist about your choice. Or youcould ask the therapist for advice on how tomake these seats yourselfthey're easy tomake and much cheaper this way. Many of thenational associations for physically disabledchildren publish how-to-make-it guides forparents and teachers (see Appendix C). Oneteacher discovered that a toy wagon with highsides and back (a farm wagon) gave the neces-sary support to a child who had difficulty sittingin seats other than his wheelchair. The otherkids enjoyed pulling the wagon and he lovedgetting the rides!

Small-sized benches and step-platforms areuseful in most day care programs, but they areespecially good for children with physical dis-abilities. A small wooden bench can be at-tached to the front legs of a chair so the child,while sitting, can support his legs instead ofdangling them (see illustration). As mentionedearlier, this gives the child a better sitting pos-ture for fine-motor activities. Wooden benchesshould also be used in front of the toilet andsink. With these benches, a child does\l't haveto be lifted to the facilities, but can reach themby himself. The bench in front of the to et letsa child rest his feet instead of helingsuspended in air, he has security and su:port.These benches are easy and inexpensi e tomake:

WOODEN BENCHES ATTACHABLE TO CHAIRS*

Measurements: 18" x 9" with several heights-2", 3", 4", 6"

Webbing straps on back should be long enough tofor chair legs from 131/2" to 161/2" wide.

Suggested materials: 3/4" plywood, webbing straps.

WOODEN BENCHES FOR BATHROOM ORCLASSROOM*

Measurements: 10" x 14", approximately. 6" height fortoilets, 8" height for sinks.

Materials: 3/4" plywood. Slots for handgrips to carry.

Purpose: To assist child in learning self-help skills. Childwill feel more secure with feet supported and can step

allow up to toilet and sink rather than being lifted. Benchesmay also be used in practicing sitting balance in class-room.

Purpose: To give the child a more secure sitting balancefor best use of hands in fine skills, and to avoid deformityof the ankles in some children.

From: Mrs. Nancy Fieber, Physical Therapist, Meyer Children'sRehabilitation Institute, Omaha, Nebraska.

eb 47

RECREATIONChildren with physical disabilities must

have a chance to discover for themselves whatthey can and can't do. Too often we discouragethem from participating in physically rigorousactivities because we are afraid they'll get hurt.Physically handicapped children may fall downor bump into things more often than other chil-dren, but they must be given a chance to try andto discover their own physical limitations andabilities.

Let them use all the equipment and par-ticipate in all the activities you normally providein your day care program. When disability pre-vents them from using a toy or a piece of equip-ment, try to find ways to adapt it for them. Com-mon sense and a good imagination go a long way.Here are some creative ideas parents and teach-ers have come up with:

If a child doesn't have enough muscular con-trol to keep his feet steady on the pedals of atricycle, secure his feet with a giant rubberband made out of a tire's inner tube. The tubeis so elastic and flexible that the child can pullhis foot out of the binding if he falls.

Children in wheelchairs find it difficult to playtoss games such as ring toss, bowling andtarget games with bean bags or balls. TheExceptional Parent magazine suggests:

"If you tie or sew one end of a piece of twineto the ball, bean bag, or ring, and the otherend to the arm of the wheel chair, your childwill be able to retrieve the object by pullingon the string. If the target is a hole, theball-on-a-string will probably get stuck inthe hole. Therefore, a flat target is adyis-able."

Scorekeeping from a wheelchair is another ac-tivity suggested in The Exceptional Parentmagazine:

"An abacus-like chain of beads attachedto a part of the wheelchair that can bereached and manipulated easily can be usedfor scorekeeping. The size of the bead willneed to be varied according to the coordina-tion ability of the child. Another possibilityfor scorekeeping is a pad of paper or a rollof tickets that can be torn off and collectedas a score is made."

Kids who have trouble with balance and motorcoordination may find it helpful to push some-thing as they propel themselves. One day careteacher loaded a toy carriage with sand bags.

........117=41.,

The child with poor balance was able to walkquite steadily when he pushed the carriage.At snack time, each child had a turn collectingthe paper cups and napkins in it, and soon itwas a special honor to use the carriage.

Wall toys, that is, toys mounted to the walls.1 a child's height, can be great for any childwho has problems with hand coordination,balancing and grasping. Wall toys allow chil-dren to grasp and play with toys that they other-wise might not be able to handle. Toys shouldbe mounted high enough to encourage stand-ing, far apart enough to encourage walking.These toys are also accessible to children inwheelchairs. Many toys on the market can bemounted on plaques and attached to the wall.Other wall toys can be made by your teachers,parents, brothers and sisters. For example, hereare directions for a homemade wall toy:

INSTRUMENT BOARD WALL TOY

Materials needed: A piece of birch 24" x 16" x 1".A piece of iron 20" long and 1/3" in diameter.Some wooden balls, 2" in diameter. Two bicyclebells which cannot be unscrewed. Three tele-phone dials. (The Telephone Company may helpout with some old samples.) Any other materialsthat you can think up, such as chains, iron rings,etc.

Directions: Sand the wood, especially the cornersand edges. Paint the wood in bright colors. Mountthe different pieces to the wood, making surethat they are not placed too close together.Mount the instrument board to the wall at chil-dren's height.

49

ART ACTIVITIESChildren with poor muscular control in

their arms and hands often find it difficult to doart activities. If their movements are very jerkyor spastic they'll find it hard to manage the finehand skills required. Occupational therapists canoften suggest devices and props to help thesechildren exercise their fine motor skills for draw-ing, painting, cutting, pasting and so on. If oneof the child's hands is stronger than the other,involve him in activities that require use of bothhands. Otherwise he'll ignore the weak one com-pletely rather than give it the proper exercise.Don't tell him to use his "bad hand"labels suchas "bad hand" and "lazy hand" immediately sug-gest that this hand is worth less than the otherand will make him more conscious of his dis-ability. Just draw him into activities whichnaturally involve both hands.

Here are some practical hints for artactivities:

Tape the drawing paper down on the table soit doesn't slide around when the child colors orpaints.

If a child's hand movements aren't steady orstrong enough to make dark marks with a pen-cil or crayon, use magic markers (very thickfelt-tip pens). These take less effort thancrayons.

There are lots of ways to make coloring easierfor a child. Large-sized chalk can be used fordrawing on blackboards. Punch pencils andpens through a rubber ball so a child can holdthe ball to control the instrument. One teachersuggests wrapping a crayon in several layers ofpaper until it's thick enough to fit inside a plas-tic deodorant container from which the ballhas been removed. Her kids can color mucheasier with crayons in these large, graspablecontainers. If the handle of a paint brush is toothin for a child to grip, it can easily be thick-ened with sticking plaster or layers of maskingtape.

If a child can only make large, sweeping move-ments with his hands, don't frustrate him withnormal-sized paper. Only part of what he triesto draw will actually land on the paper if it'stoo small. Extra-large easels and paper givehim the space he needs to express himself.Large blackboards are also good.

Children who have problems with fine-handcoordination can also be great artists when itcomes to painting big, life-sized objects like

fences or cardboard boxes. These activitiesdon't require very careful, delicate strokes.

Finger painting and clay are other activitieswhich don't require fine-hand coordination.

HELPING MENTALLY RETARDEDCHILDREN

CHARACTERISTICSMany mentally retarded children are

limited in their ability to learn, generally moresocially immature than others of their chronologi-cal age, and sometimes have additional emotionaland physical needs. In more scientific terms,mental retardation refers to "reduced intellectualfunctioning which originates during the develop-mental period and is assocated with impairmentin adaptive behavior."*

Mental retardation can be caused by de-fects in the developing embryo, by diseases of thenervous system, by toxins and poisons, or bybrain injury in early life. One serious factor affect-ing the development of children is environmentaldeprivation in early childhood. If a child's en-vironment fails to meet his basic physical, emo-tional and social needs and fails to stimulate hisdesire to grow, learn, and discover, the child maybecome retarded in his development. If, at anearly age, such children are exposed to an en-vironment which meets these needs, the mentalretardation can often be prevented or reduced.

Here are some characteristics often as-sociated with mentally retarded children:

inability to follow multi-step directions

little self-direction in choosing activities

tendency to imitate rather than to create

poor abstract reasoning ability

difficulties in concentrating and learning

inability to apply learning from one situationto another, or to anticipate consequences

inability to see similarities and differences inobjects or situations

slower development than other children (walk-ing, talking, toilet training)

delayed or poor motor coordination

poor eye-hand coordination

The Problem of Mental Retardation, U.S. Department of Health,Education, and Welfare, Office of the Secretary, Secretary's Com-mittee on Mental Retardation, Washington, D.C. 20201, p. 1.

SO 49

Mentally retarded children don't neces-sarily have all of these characteristics. This de-pends on the degree of mental retardationmild,moderate, severe or profound. A mildly retardedchild may not differ to any great extent from theslower children in his age group, while the mod-erately retarded child may have more of the abovecharacteristics and function more like childrenin a younger age group.

Here are some of the developmentalcharacteristics associated with the different de-grees of retardation:*

pegree6:0 Menial re-School Age 6-5Retardation Maturation and DeVelopment

-

./..

an ;' develop. s o.cia. I and cot-munication , ski I lsr minimal : re,

idaiqn in: SeniOrirridtqr areas'Offen .: not distingu 'shed from'.normal, until :bier age.::: --

era

00,,,.-

#:

' ';Cari:.talk ,or learri;t0 rcothenur6': cate; --".. poor, : social a Wa reness; ,

fa ii!: irOtor. deVe I oineritc: profitsfrom training-ski' :ielf:tielP; can150';Iniirligee'ilstifi moderate.iiitervision.

eVeriv' 1

i /

..PCor .....motor development;

..speech .-: is minimal; generally.:i.thable to profit froth training inself help; rillitile or no comuni-Cation skills ,

Pitfikiiid'xr

Gross .':,'. retardation; minimalCi paCity for' funCtion i ng 'in sen-sorhotOr areas beeds nursing

i care,

THE I.Q. SCOREThe most common way to measure de-

velopment of mental processes has been with anIntelligence Test, such as the Stanford-Binet Testor the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale forChildren (WISC) which compare a child's mentalabilities with those normally achieved by childrenof his chronological age. A child of six who seemsto be able to do only those things a four-year-oldcan normally do will have a lower IntelligenceQuotient (I.Q.) than a child of six who can do whatmost other six-year-olds are doing.

There is no exact way to measure how re-tarded a particular child is. Don't regard a child'sI.Q. score as infallible. If a child has a low I.Q.

The Problem of Mental Retardation, page IL

50

score, we tend to expect very little from himusually far less than he's capable of doing. It'shard to measure I.Q.'s in young children, andI.Q. scores can vary for the same child dependingon the setting and his mood when he takes thetest. Another problem with the I.Q. test is that thequestions seem to be geared to the white, middle-class culture and often ignore the cultures ofblack, Indian and Spanish-speaking children.

Because I.Q. scores are so variable, don'tuse them as the only measure of a child's abili-ties. The best way to find out what a child cando is to let him try. If the mother of a retardedchild with a low I.Q. inquires about your day careprogram, don't be frightened off by that low I.Q.score. Find out from his mother what the childcan docan he make his needs known? can heplay with other children? can he eat by himself?These answers will help you make a better judg-ment of the child's abilities than if you reliedonly on his I.Q. score. Letting the child try outyour program part time will give you concreteevidence of what the children can and can't do.

There are some scales you can use toassess how a child is developing in certain areasmotor, verbal, reasoning, social and emotional.Some of these scales are easy to apply just bywatching a child. For example, if a three-year-olddoing large motor activities has only the abilityof a two-year-old, you'll know he needs help inthis area and you'll structure his activities ac-cordingly. Examples of good developmentalscales are the Vineland Social Maturity Scale,The Kuhlman Tests for Infants, the Gesell Testingof Infant Maturity, Voile Developmental Survey,and Bailey's Developmental Assessment Scale.

If a child is functioning at a younger agelevel than his chronological age, he may benefitfrom day care classes for younger children. Hemay fit into a younger class easily because hisabilities will be similar to those of the kids aroundhim. This arrangement works out best if thementally retarded child is about the same size asthe other children. If he's much bigger and morephysically developed, the other children mightexclude him or he may feel out of place.

GENERAL GUIDELINESHere are some general guidelines for

working with mentally retarded children.

SELF-HELP SKILLSFor a variety of reasons, mentally retarded

children are often dependent on others to helpthem eat, dress, toilet and wash when other kids

$1

their age are doing so on their own. Sometimesthey have problems with these self-help tasksbecause their coordination is too poor to let themfill a spoon, unbutton a button, etc.but oftenthey're overdependent simply because theyhaven't been given a chance to do these thingsthemselves. Parents know they can get thingsdone faster, with less mess than their childrencan. They've also assumed that because thechild was mentally retarded, he just wasn't cap-able of performing self-help skills.

These children are capable of such skills.Day care mothers and teachers should emphasizeactivities to help the children learn to eat, dress,toilet and wash independently. You can't expectprogress overnight, but you must let them try,even if it takes longer and is messier at first.Letting retarded children do things for themselvesgives them highly important feelings of confi-dence and independence.

BREAK DOWN TASKSIn teaching self-help skills, break down

the task into sequences of simplified, short steps.A child with learning problems is likely to be con-fused by an activity or even a single direction nor-mally considered simple for children his age, buta series of shorter, simpler steps will let himmanage the task. He can practice one step at atime.

Take, for instance, an art activity whichinvolves cutting and pasting. You can't just sayto Alice, "Why don't you cut some circles out andpaste them on this cardboard?" Cutting and past.ing involves a series of skills. First of all, Alicemust be able to hold scissors in one hand and apiece of paper in the other. You are assumingthat she understands what the cutting motion isall about, what circles are, and how to cut outcircles. If you draw circles for her to cut out, shemust know what it means to cut along the lines.Once she's through cutting, she must learn howto paste the circles onto the cardboard. This in-volves learning to dip the paint brush into thepaste jar, putting the paste on one side of thecircles, and learning that the circles must beplaced somewhere on the piece of cardboard. It'soften impossible for the child to learn all thesethings at once. Alice might need to practice hold-ing the scissors and learning how to make thesnipping motion. She may have to practice cut-ting scraps of paper before she can learn to cutalong the lines. Sometimes it helps if a childbegins by learning the last step in the processpasting the circles on paper. This way, she can

learn the other steps later on, but she'll be ableto enjoy the same finished product the other kidshave.

You'll have to go through this process ofbreaking down tasks whatever you teach thesespecial children. What looks easy to us and tomost children may be very complicated for chil-dren with learning difficulties. This is the waythey'll learn how to walk, skip, talk, dress, play.Here are some other examples of breaking tasksdown:

Teaching a boy to put on his own trousers:*

1. Start with the child's trousers already onhim and almost up to his waist. Havehim help you put them into position.

2. Start with the trousers already on hislegs but down near his ankles. Encour-age him to pull them up himself.

3. After he has learned the pulling-up mo-tion, begin teaching him how to put hisfeet into the trouser legs, one foot at atime.

4. Teach him to put both feet in by him-self.

5. Hand the child the trousers in the properposition and have him put them on him-self.

6. Teach the child the front and back ofthe trousers, as well as the top andbottom.

7. Give the child the trousers folded andhave him set them up and put them oncorrectly.

8. The final step will be to teach the childto zipper and button the fly.

Teaching a child to eat with a spoon:*

1. Teach the child to hold a spoon in herhand.

2. Guide her through the motion of bringingthe spoon up to her mouth.

3. Fill the spoon with food and guide herhand to her mouth.

4. Fill the spoon but encourage her to bring.the spoon to her mouth by herself.

5. Teach the child to fill the spoon by her-self.

6. Supervise the child's eating and en-courage continuous practice.

*Gerard Bensberg, ed. Teaching the Mentally Retarded: A Hand-book for Ward Personnel. Atlanta: Southern Regional EducationBoard, 1965, p. 135.

51

KNOWING WHERE THE CHILD ISOf course, all kids won't have to start

learning at the very beginning of each task. Somewill already be quite far ahead in the series ofsteps. The challenge for parents and teachers isto find out what the child can already do in theprocess, and what the next steps are.

Where the child is and what's next aretough questions to answer. There aren't any clear-cut steps in this process. You learn to sensewhere the child is after you've spent time withhim, seen how he plays and socializes, how co-ordinated he is. How and what you teach eachchild will depend on what you think he alreadyknows and what he might be capable of doing.Since you can never tell how much a child mightbe able to do, always aim high. But not so highthat you frustrate the child and yourself. Thereis a middle ground.

TEACHING AT THE APPROPRIATELEVEL

There are three teaching levels to be awareof:*"1. A tolerance level at which it is easy for

the child to work, (using skills whichthe child has already attained);

2. A level at which it is a challenge forthe child to apply himself;

3. A level at which it is frustrating for thechild to try."

Everybody, adults included, learns best at thefirst two levels. Children enjoy activities whichthey can do and which are challenging for them.Things which overwhelm them are frustrating andno fun at all.

One day care mother decided to teachLennie how to tie his shoes. She knew where hewashe knew his right shoe from his left and howto put them onbut he wasn't yet able to tightenup the laces or actually tie the knot and bow. Sheelected to spend some time on the lace-tighteningstage before she went on to the knotting andbowing steps. This tightening stage might at firstseem insignificant (why spend time on somethingso easy?), but it was a challenge for Lennie, sincehe had very poor hand coordination and he hadtrouble concentrating on pulling both laces withboth hands at the same time. To try teachingLennie how to tie the bow without first teachinghim the preceding steps would have been a veryfrustrating experience for him.

Marylou Ebersole, Newell Kephart, James Ebersole. Steps toAchievement for the Slow Learner. Columbus, Ohio: Charles MerrillPublishing Company, 1968, page 4.

52

SUCCESS-ASSURED ACTIVITIESFailure breeds failure. If a child has too

many bad learning experiences he'll be afraid totry new things. Plan a number of success-assuredactivitiesones the child can't help but do wellto give him the confidence he'll need for newand more challenging ventures. Things with no"right" and "wrong" about them are reassuring tothe child with learning problems. They can be assimple as asking, "What do you think of whenyou hear that music?" or "Which book would youlike me to read today?"

Praising the efforts of any child is im-portant in teachingonly more so for childrenwith learning difficulties. They need frequent pos-itive encouragement. They're often timid aboutentering new activities for fear they won't begood at them, so your job is reassurance thatthey're doing a fine job with the tinker toys andthat it's wonderful that they can climb the junglegym.

If a child is learning a particular skill stepby step, such as tying his shoes, he must bepraised at every step. When he learns to tightenup the laces, make him feel he's accomplished avery important taskhe has. Waiting to praise himuntil he's learned the whole sequence will be toodefeating. If you want him to move on to theothers, he must be praised for what he's alreadymastered. However, don't praise children for noreason. Unwarranted praise can be smotheringand may even encourage a child to stop tryingaltogether. Again, there's a middle ground.

USING REPETITIONChildren with learning difficulties often

have very short attention spans, which meansthey don't learn well in activities which requirea lot of concentration and time. They learn bestwhen they have short doses of activities, repeatedmany different times. Repetition doesn't have tobe boring; these children need the security ofdoing something over and over again. They alsohave difficulty generalizing from one situation toanother. Once they seem to have mastered a par-ticular skill, they can try doing it at differenttimes, in different settings, and with differentmaterials. A boy might learn how to tie his brownshoes but be lost when asked to tie his sneakers.Practicing with different kinds of shoes is the kindof repetition he'll need.

SHOW AS WELL AS TELLMentally retarded children often have

trouble following verbal instructions. You cansuggest to Sharon, "Why don't you put the pegs

sa

..A.eirrorosrortecren

in the pegboard?" but this may not be enough.She may hold the peg in her hand and not knowwhat to do with it. If she doesn't seem to under-stand you when you tell her, show her how tomanipulate the pegs. If this doesn't work, guideher hands through the movements. As you showher or do the activity with her, talk about whatyou're doing. She needs lots of language stimula-tion too.

AVOID DRASTIC CHANGES OFGEARS

Children with learning difficulties mayfind it hard to change from one kind of activity toanotherfrom drawing to water play, from quietto noisy play, and so on. These changes in activ-ity can't and shouldn't be avoided in a regularday care programthey provide a varied, excitingcurriculum. But drastic changes of pace for aspecial child can be avoided. For instance, if the

child is playing a quiet game by himself, heshouldn't immediately be asked to plunge into anoisy, active game with a large group of kids. In-clude him first in an activity with a small group,then later move him into the larger group.

HELPING CHILDREN WITHLEARNING DISABILITIES

Many children who are referred to daycare centers or are already in programs havelearning disabilitiesdisabilities which preventthem from learning in the usual ways. Thisdoesn't mean these children can't learnit meanswe have to find other ways to teach them skills.

CHARACTERISTICSA child with learning disabilities some-

times displays the following characteristics:*

POOR VISUAL DISCRIMINATION: Dif-ficulty distinguishing between

squares and rectanglescircles and ovalsm and nh, n, and rp, b, d, g, and q6 and 9, 21 and 12

POOR VISUAL MEMORY:forgetting what he has seennot remembering what he has read

* Murphy, John F. Listening, Language and Learning Disabilities:A Guide for Parents and Teachers. Cambridge: Educators Publish-ing Service, 1970, page 1.

POOR AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION:Inability to distinguish between differ-ent, but similar, sounds and words

POOR KINESTHESIA: Difficulty distin-guishing between familiar objects byfeeling, such as

a penny and a nickela dime and a quartercardboard cutouts of letters of thealphabet

POOR EYE-HAND COORDINATION:Difficulty making his hand do what hiseye sees, such as

copyingtracinghitting a ball with a bat

POOR SPATIAL ORIENTATION: Diffi-culty remembering the differences be-tween

right and leftup and downover and underoutside and insidehorizontal and verticalon top of and underneath

POOR FIGURE-GROUND: Difficultyselecting one thing from a group, suchas

a particular letter in a wordhis cubby from other children'scubby holesa triangular block from a squareblock

PERSEVERATION: Difficulty shiftingfrom one activity to another. (Once hehas learned the answer to a question,he may give the same answer evenwhen the question changes.)

What color is the grass? Green.What color is the sky? Green.What color is the snow? Green.

HYPERACTIVITY: Inability to concen-trate on a structured activity, becausealmost any lesson bewilders a childwith a learning disability. This mightresult in

talking at any timetouching everythinginattentiondistracting other children

DISINHIBITION: Tendency to be leth-argic or hyperactive, with an "I don't

53

r.

54

care about anything" attitude.

POOR SELF-IMAGE: As a result of thereaction of parents, teachers, and class-mates to one or more of the abovesymptoms, a child may see himself asanything but "normal."

Obviously, most of us at one time or an-other display some of these symptoms. (You maybecome hyperactive or lethargic during a dullspeech.) But a child with a learning disabilityhas many of these symptoms most of the time,and they interfere with his everyday life and per-formance.

These children are not mentally retarded.Children with learning disabilities nearly alwayshave average or above-average intelligence. Andthese children are not emotionally disturbed, atleast not primarily. Their difficulties with learn-ing aren't because they're upset, or troubled, orundisciplined, or rejected. They may, however, betense, anxious, depressed or angry as a resultof their frustrating learning experiences.*GENERAL GUIDELINES

These learning disabilities need nothandicap children if we can teach them in waysthey'll understand. Some useful methods:

TEACH THROUGH ACTIVITY"Childrenall children, but especially

those with learning disabilitieslearn bestthrough activity, through doing something ratherthan sitting back passively and being told orshown. It may be partly because doing, touching,handling make things less abstract; it may bebecause of the element of discovery that doingbrings; it may be because impulses from themuscles to the brain facilitate the learningprocess." t

TEACH THROUGH MANY SENSESTeaching through as many senses as pos-

sible seems to work best. Good teachers bringin other senses even when the teaching materialseems to be directed at only one sense. Tracing aletter and feeling a letter made out of sandpaper,as well as looking at it, sometimes helps to fix itin the child's mind. If a child has trouble in fol-lowing spoken language, use a picture or chartto help him visualize a story, or to visualize a

`Bolick, Margaret, She Thought I Was Dumb But I Told Her IHad A Learning Disability, Toronto: Bryant Press Limited, 1969,page 8,

t Bolick, Margaret, A Parent's Guide to Learning Problems,Montreal' Quebec Association for Children with Learning Disabili-ties, 1970, page 12.

series of directions when they are presentedorally.

TEACH AT THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL(see page 52 )

THE USE OF REPETITION IN TEACH-ING (see page 52 )

AVOID DRASTIC CHANGES OF GEARS(see page 53 )

GIVE DIRECTIONS IN SMALL STEPSMany times children with learning dis-

abilities cannot follow multistep directions. Theyare usually capable of performing each step in-volved, but the directions are told to them in away that throws them off. If a whole series ofsteps are involved, ask them one at a time, notsimultaneously. For example, instead of askingJohn, "Could you close the door and then comeinto the kitchen and get out the cookies?", askhim in three consecutive steps:

1. "John, could you close the door?" (Johncloses the door.)

2. "John, please come into the kitchen."(John goes into the kitchen.)

3. "Please get the cookies out." (John getsthe cookies out.)

This is easier for John to understand and followthan asking all three steps at once.

GIVE DIRECTIONS WITHOUT CLUTTERChildren with poor auditory memory often

have difficulty screening out the unimportantwords that are not necessary in sentences. Youcan help by giving directions using only necessarywords. Here is an example of a cluttered direc-tion:

John, could you close the door so it won'tbe cold in here and then help Susie andme in the kitchen to get the cookies andmilk ready for snack time? (Bold phrasespoint out clutter.)

REDUCE DISTRACTIONSMany learning disabled children may be

easily distracted by outside stimuli. They maynot be able to put into perspective every soundand vision that they hear and see around them.They can't filter out all the details and thereforefind it hard to concentrate or focus on the im-portant stimuli. For example, when you showKeith the picture of a little boy on a book cover,he might not "see" the little boy but rather will

become distracted by the shiny cover or thegrooves in the binding.

If a child has severe learning disabilities,it might be difficult and inappropriate to placehim in a regular day care setting. But if his prob-lem is not so extreme, he can profit from partici-pating in normal day care activities. Be careful tomake sure he isn't bombarded with too many toysor materials at once. It's also helpful if the settingisn't too cluttered and confusing. A child will ad-just best to places that are divided into activityareasa nap area, an art corner, a quiet readingarea. Different areas give him clues about whattypes of stimuli he should expect and focus on ineach area. Family homes are fortunate in havingthese areas already set offkitchens for cookingand eating, bedrooms for napping, living roomsor playrooms for playing.

HELPING CHILDREN WITHEMOTIONAL PROBLEMS

Certain situations become too much forany child to handle. When this happens, a childmay react by crying, hitting, throwing things, be-coming very quiet, hiding under a table, or doingsomething else which he doesn't do when lifeis going smoothly for him. It's not unusual forkids now and again to react in these ways to vari-ous problem situations. But when children usuallyact as if life is too much for them to handle, wesay these children have emotional problems.

Why does a child develop emotional prob-lems? For some, life really has been too much tohandle. Their physical needsfood, shelter,clothing, good healthhaven't been satisfied.Other children may not have had their emotionalneeds satisfiedthe need for love, security,warmth, understanding. Others, who seem to begetting everything they need, may suffer froma chemical imbalance or brain injury which pre-vents their basic emotional or physical needs frombeing fulfilled. And in some cases, we just don'tknow why a child has emotional problems.

When a child doesn't get something heneeds, the way he thinks and feels about life andthe way he behaves are affected. The resulting be-havior patterns may stay with him as he growsup. If he gets help early enough he can often learnto deal more effectively with his emotional prob-lems. A psychiatrist, psychologist, or psychiatricsocial worker is trained to deal with emotionalproblems. If a child is seeing a professional per-

son, both parents arid teachers should be in touchwith the therapist so everyone can work togetherand share information. It can be very confusingand harmful to a child when different peopletry to help him in contradictory ways. One wayyou can help children with emotional problemsis by rewarding acceptable behavior and ignoringor correcting unacceptable behavior, as discussedin Chapter Three: Guiding Behavior.

There are three common types of emo-tional problems. Here are some ideas for workingwith kids who have them:

CHILDREN WHO HAVE TROUBLECONTROLLING THEIR IMPULSES

These are children whose activity levelsare faster-paced than other kids'. They're thechildren who seem to act first and think later.Although they may speak well, they seem to com-municate best with large-muscle activities.Fidgety or in constant motion, their attentionspans may be short They often destroy things,pull apart group activities and fight with otherchildren. They may seem more egocentric andunaware of the needs of others than most kidstheir age. Unstructured time means a chance torun around wildly instead of doing somethingquietly constructive, such as painting or lookingat pictures.

Children who have trouble controllingtheir impulses can be rewarded for appropriatebehavior and taught to control their actions. It'sa gradual process. The first step is preventativediscipline. You take over the job of controllingthe child's impulses for him. This must be doneby one teacher who assumes responsibility forkeeping track of what the child is doing andhelping him control those impulses. This teacherdoesn't have to be with the child all the timeshe can work with other childrenbut she mustbe free enough to be able to stop what she's doingand go to the child when he needs her. This re-quires a high teacher-child ratio or a specialteacher, such as a trained student teacher ormother. The child must know he can rely on thatperson to help him at each difficult time. It'salmost as if the teacher makes a contract withthe child, promising him that she'll help himkeep himself out of trouble.

When you see a problem situation on thehorizon, step in and keep it from happening.Learn when problem situations are about to occurby watching the child, noticing what situationsset him off and what signals he sends when he'sabout to have difficulty. A child might be set off

55

when he's expected to share a toy he wants forhimself. The signal might be a loud "No!" or acertain look in his eyes or a certain posture.When you see the signal, step in before he getsinto trouble if possible. If a problem does occur(a toy is broken, for example), physically removehim from the situation. If he really gets out ofcontrol, take him away from the group, but notout of the room, and stay with him until he calmsdown. And while you want to be understanding,don't make his removal a rewarding situationby being too solicitous.

The second step is teaching the child tolearn his own signals. This may be the easieststep to accomplish. Tell the child, "You know,you seem to have problems whenever you have togive up something you want for yourself. That'swhen you hit someone or break something. Whenyou think that's going to happen, call me and I'llhelp you." Try to be near enough to the child toget there in time. Also, check in with the childverbally now and again"David, how are thingsgoing?"so he knows you really care.

Third comes giving the child back his owncontrols. This must be done slowly so he doesn'tfeel you've abandoned him. Tell him, "Now for afew minutes, instead of calling me, you stopyourself from hitting. But you can call me if youreally think you're going to need me to help."Keep praising him for doing well, and graduallyencourage him to take more and more respon-sibility. Reassure him that he's not losing yourfriendship and will still get your attention afterhe learns to control his behavior. It won't workunless he's convinced it's really beneficial forhim to take control himself.

And as we said, it's slow work. You won'tsucceed in a week or probably even in a month.It'll take your time, energy, concern and dedica-tion, but it'll be worth all the effort you put intoit when you see those self-controls beginning towork.

Other hints for working with children whohave trouble with control:

In general, these kids need more guidance andprogram structure than most others. You mayactively have to keep the child involved in ac-tivities. When you see an activity breaking up,try to get these children'out of it and into some-thing else. When you lead them into a newactivity, stay with them awhile to make surethey get involved. Check on their progress fromtime to time.

Try to keep impulsive children out of activities

56

which are frustrating and may encourage des-tructive behavior (toys with lots of little pieces,activities which require a lot of sharing).

Intersperse quiet activities with times whenkids can run off steam (running, pounding clay,throwing bean bags).

Have a minimum of toys within their reach thatthey can spill or break.Or give these children their own special pileof toysif a child is playing with blocks nearother children, give everybody his own pileof blocks.

At storytime, bewhere they canpictures.

Serve them towards the beginning, rather thanthe end, of meals.

CHILDREN WITH WORRIES THATREALLY GET IN THE WAY

Worries or fears may get in the way of achild's participation in the program. He may crywhen he arrives and have great difficulty lettinghis mother or father go. (Remember, though,some difficulty is normal for all kids.) This childmay also cry whenever he's afraid or mildly upset.If he does participate in an activity, he may do soin a preoccupied way. He relies greatly on orderand routine and may be inordinately upset by anychange in the room or schedule. He may alsobe afraid of new people and situations.

General suggestions for working with suchchildren:

When they first enter the program, try to bewith them as much as possible. They need tofeel secure and trusting with you before they'llhave enough confidence to explore the class-room. While it's important for you to befriendly, don't be too gushy or enthusiastic orthe child may be overwhelmed and frightened.

Kids who have great difficulty separating fromtheir parents need help. It's not only the oneswho cry when their mothers leave who may behaving troubleit may also be the kids whoseem generally withdrawn and on the fringesof activities. Some separation difficulties maybe as much a parent's problem as a child's.Parents may need support and reassuranceabout leaving their children in the center.

It helps some children to know what theirmothers are doing while the children are inthe center. Others feel better if they can carrya picture of their mother or father. These chil-

sure these kids are sittingget involved and see the

5"(

dren may like to have pretend telephone con-versations with parents or teachers. Booksabout parents and children, such as A Run-away Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, oftenhelp kids with separation problems. They maylike to play separation games such as hide-and-go-seek or hide-the-penny. Parents can alsohelp by showing an interest in the child's ac-tivities (hanging up school artwork and askinga child what he did at the center). Let themborrow books to read to their children athome.

Such children may need more individual at-tention from teachers than many other chil-dren. A high teacher-child ratio and/or specialstudent teachers or volunteers are useful here.

Extra physical contact, such as holding andcuddling by a teacher, can help.

You may have to give these kids frequent en-couragement to enter into activities, and morepraise for their accomplishments.

Such children need to be able to talk abouttheir worries and fears, but only when they'reready to. You can encourage them to talk aboutworries without confronting them. You mightsay to a child who seems to be afraid of thenew water play tub, "I wonder if that new tubmakes you feel afraid," rather than, "You'reafraid of the water tub, aren't you?" Give thechild a chance to deny it. You might be wrongabout what's really frightening him, or thechild may not be ready to talk about it.

CHILDREN WHO DON'T RELATE WELLTO PEOPLE

Children who have a hard time relatingto people may display little or no reaction toother children, or even to their own parents.They may show more interest in objects than theydo in people. Language development may beextremely delayed, or they may repeat some ac-tion such as rocking back and forth over andover again. They may use toys in strange ways(turning a block over and over in their hands in-stead of using it to build) or stare at somethingfor hours on end.

In working with these children, try theseideas:

These children have very private worldsof their own, and often choose to beby themselves. Don't threaten orabruptly intrude into their worldscommunication must come very, very

gradually. You can try to participatein the child's world by first finding outwhat interests him. If a child watchesa faucet dripping for hours at a time,quietly join him in watching it forawhile. After you've done this severaltimes, you might drop a small commentabout the experience you've shared,such as "down the drain." Make thiscomment each time you watch thefaucet with the child. Gradually, he'llactually expect you to say this. You'vethen opened a door to communicatingwith him. In time, you can introducemore comments and then try to expandhis world by gradually interesting himin new objects and activities which in-volve his being near other children.

Eating may be a problem for some ofthese children. They may not want toeat when other kids do. Never forcethem to eat. Often, however, thesechildren want to be fed and mealtimecan be a good chance for you to builda relationship. If you feed the childthe kind of food he likes when he wantsto eat, you're telling him he's special toyou. He'll feel good about being withyou when you're helping him do some-thing he really likes. You're buildingtrust.

Generally, these children do best inprograms with some structure. Theylike routine and they like to know whatto expect next, even if they're not par-ticipating in the group routine.

Water, sand and clay play can befascinating activities for withdrawnchildren, who often enjoy the propertiesof these materials. In the same way,they may enjoy feeling different tex-tures and smelling different smells.

If they have good large-muscle control,these kids will likely enjoy balancingand climbing boards and jungle gyms.

Another way to expand their worlds isthrough books. Initially, they may justenjoy turning the pages. Give them thesame book to look at each time; afterawhile, you can point out certain ob-jects in the pictures. Alwaysspoint outthe same things so the child will knowwhat to expect.

57

APPENDIX A: COMMUNITY RESOURCES

This list includes some of the many resources day careprograms have discovered in their communities. Valuableresources often go unused simply because people don'tthink of calling on them. Find out who's doing what inyour community and establish working contacts whereverpossible. You'll benefit all the children in your program,not just the ones with special needs.

Special Clinics and Clinicians

Pediatric Clinics, Public Health Clinics, Maternaland Child Health Clinics, Child DevelopmentClinics, Well-Baby Clinics, Neighborhood HealthClinics, Pediatricians, Physicians, Public HealthNurses Can:

identify, evaluate, and diagnose general health condi-tions of childrenphysical, muscular, heart-related,neurologically-related, etc.identify emotional and learning problems in childrenrefer a child with a special problem to a specialist inthat areaprovide instruction and counseling for parentsconsult with your staff on health problems of particularchildren or activities to promote general health of allchildrenserve as a referral source to your program

Mental Health Centers, Child Guidance ClinicsCan:

identify, evaluate and diagnose emotional problems inchildrenidentify, evaluate and diagnose learning problems inchildrenoffer therapy and medication, if necessary

Community Action Agencies, Social ServiceAgencies, Community Welfare Councils, WelfareOffices, Neighborhood Centers Can:

identify and evaluate children with special problems orrefer them to diagnostic clinicsrefer children and families to proper specialistsoffer financial assistance to families or refer them toother sources-of-financial assistanceprovide funds for day care programsoffer family counseling servicesoffer recreational programs for childrenserve as a referral source for your program

Rehabilitation Centers Can:identify, evaluate and diagnose physical and motorproblems in childrenprovide physical therapyexercises and activities torestore gross motor functions and develop necessarymuscles for sitting, creeping, walking, etc.provide occupational therapyexercises to developfine -motor coordination and muscular development for

58

activities such as feeding, dressing, writing, cutting,pasting, etc.help fit children for braces, prosthetic devices, crutches,wheelchairsprovide instruction and counseling for parentsconsult with your staff on problems of particular chil-dren or activities to exercise physical and motor devel-opment of all childrenrefer children from the clinic to your program, if appro-priate

Speech and Hearing Clinics Can:assess a child's hearingprescribe hearing aids, if necessaryidentify, evaluate and diagnose speech problemsoffer speech therapy and speech correctionoffer language evaluation and diagnose problemsprovide instruction and counseling for parentsconsult with your staff on problems of particular chil-dren or activities to exercise speech and hearing de-velopment for all childrenrefer children from the clinic to your day care program,if appropriate

Vision Clinics, Offices of Optometrists and Oph-thalmologists Can:

assess a child's visiondiagnose visual learning problemsprescribe eyeglasses or corrective devices, if necessaryprovide instruction and counseling for parentsconsult with your staff on vision problems of particularchildren or activities to exercise the visual develop-ment of all childrenserve as a referral source to your program

4-C Councils

The 4-C (Community Coordinated Child Care) Coun-cils encourage communities to take a comprehensive, co-ordinated approach to day care and preschool services.These councils, composed of interested day care and pre-school operations, gather information about the communi-ty's child care needs and the resources and funds available.Administered by the Office of Child Development, 4-C isorganized at the local, State, regional and Federal levels.To find out where your nearest 4-C Council is located,contact the Office of Child Development, Box 1182, Wash-ington, D.C. 20013, or the Office of Child Development atyour nearest Federal Regional Office.

Universities and Colleges

Special Education Departments Can:place special education students in day care programsto practice teachinghelp identify and evaluate children with special prob-lems

consult with and/or train your staff to work with specialchildreninform you about conferences and training institutesrelated to special childrenrefer your staff to other programs and agencies whichwork with special children

Schools of Social Work Can:place social work students in day care programs for fieldplacementto work with families of children or coordi-nate community resources for special childrenconsult with and/or train your staff in areas of familyinvolvement, family counseling, coordination of community resourcesrefer your staff to other programs and agencies whichwork with special children

Psychology Departments Can:place psychology students in day care programs forfield placementto identify, evaluate, diagnose andtreat special problems, work with familiesconsult with and/or train your staff in psychologicalproblems of all children and of special children, waysto identify potential problems in children, how tohandle the emotional problems of children and theirfamilies, the emotional needs of staffrefer your staff to other programs and agencies whichwork with special children

Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health,Physical and Occupational Therapy Can:

place students for field placement in your programconsult with and/or train your staff in related areasrefer your staff to other programs and agencies whichwork with special childrenoffer diagnostic and treatment services

Public School Systems

Teachers of Special Classes, Itinerant and Re-source Teachers for Emotionally Disturbed,Mentally Retarded or Physically HandicappedChildren Can:

consult with and/or train your staff on the educationalneeds of special childrenshare training programs and any special equipmentvisit and work with special children in your programwho may enter their special public school classes

Teachers of Regular Classes, School Psycholo-gists and Social Workers Can:

visit your program, observe and work with special chil-dren who might enter their regular classes

Special Schools

Special Schools Can:sponsor joint activities for their children and your chil-dren on a regular or occasional basisconsult with and/or train your staff on the needs ofspecial childreninvite your staff to observe special school classes andactivities

refer their children to your program, when appropriate

Civic Groups.-

Civic Groups Can:volunteer for your programeither for group activitiesor on a one-to-one basis with a childdonate or build equipment for your programcontribute or raise funds for your programtransport children to and from the centerpublicize the program in their newsletters and at theirmeetingslobby for legislation favorable to day care funding andprograms

State Departments

State Departments of Public Health, MentalHealth, Mental Retardation, Welfare, Rehabilita-tion, Education and Special Education Can:

provide funds for day care programs, for special con-sultants, for staff training, or for supportive servicesfor special childrenoffer training and consultation for your staffrefer your staff to other sources of funding, of programdevelopment

Associations Dealing With Childrenand Disabilities

Contacts with associations for parents, educators, andprofessionals are really useful. These associations oftenhave conferences and run training institutes which willbe of interest to your staff. Their newsletter can keep youinformed of new programs and services in your area,pending day care legislation, funding sources. The national offices of these associations can send you a listof their publications which will be of interest both toteachers and parents. Below are the addresses of someof the national associations for children with disabilitiesand for general child care:

Agencies and Organizations Dealing with EarlyChildhood and Day Care:

American Association of ElementaryKindergarten-NurseryEducation (EKNE)

NEA1201 16th Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20036

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI)3615 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20016

Black Child Development Institute (Black child develop-ment in day care centers)

1028 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 514Washington, D.C. 20036

Child Study Association of America9 E. 98th StreetNew York, N.Y. 10028

59

Child Welfare League of America67 Irving PlaceNew York, N.Y. 10003

Day Care and Child Development Council of America, Inc.1426 H Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20005

National Association for the Education of Young Children1834 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20009

American Academy of Pediatrics1801 Hinman AvenueEvanston, Illinois 60204

Office of Child DevelopmentU.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and WelfareP.O. Box 1182Washington, D.C. 20013

Agencies and Organizations Dealing with SpecialEducation and Special Children:

Bureau of Education for the HandicappedU.S. Office of EducationU.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare7th and D Streets, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20036

Council for Exceptional Children900 Jefferson Plaza .

1499 Jefferson Davis HighwayArlington, Va. 22202

Mental Retardation:

National Association of Coordinators of State Programsfor the Mentally Retarded, Inc.

c/o Mr. Robert Gettings, Executive Director2001 Jefferson Davis HighwayArlington, Va. 22202(This association can refer you to the coordinator ofmental retardation programs in your State.)

National Association for Retarded Children2709 Avenue E EastArlington, Tex. 76011(An organization for parents of retarded children andinterested community members.)

Emotional Problems:

National Association for Mental Health10 Columbus CircleNew York, N.Y. 10019

National Society for Autistic Children621 Central AvenueAlbany, N.Y. 12206

League for Emotionally Disturbed Children171 Madison AvenueNew York, N.Y. 10017

Visual Problems:

American Foundation for the Blind15 West 16th StreetNew York, N.Y. 10011

60

American Printing House for the Blind1839 Frankfort AvenueLouisville, Ky. 40206(Publishes catalogs of braille, large type and talkingbooks, educational tape recordings, etc.)

Association for Education of the Visually Handicapped711 14th Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20005

National Society for the Prevention of Blindness16th East 40th StreetNew York, N.Y. 10019

Learning Disabilities:

Association for Children With Learning Disabilities2200 Brownsville Rd.Pittsburgh, Pa. 15210

Hearing and Speech Problems:

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the DeafHeadquarters: The Volta Bureau1537 35th Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20007(Acts as an information service center for parents throughits headquarters, the Volta Bureau, and will answer in-quiries and send free information kits to parents withdeaf or hard-of-hearing children. Provides a free directory,"Schools and Classes for Deaf Children Under Six.")

The American Speech and Hearing Association9030 Old Georgetown RoadBethesda, Md. 20014

The National Association of Hearing and Speech Agencies919 18th Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20006

The National Association of the Deaf2025 Eye Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20006(Offers a free catalog of materials about education andproblems of the deaf of all ages.)

The John Tracy Clinic806 West Adams BoulevardLos Angeles, Cal. 90007(Provides a correspondence course in both English andSpanish designed for parents of deaf children betweenthe ages of two and six throughout the world. The courseis adapted to the individual needs of the child and hisparents. Course work, letters and reports are exchanged.)

Physical Disabilities:

Epilepsy Foundation of America733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 1116Washington, D.C. 20005

Muscular Dystrophy Association of America, Inc.1790 BroadwayNew York, N.Y. 10019

National Easter Seal Society (for Crippled Children andAdults)

2123 West Ogden AvenueChicago, Ill. 60612

National FoundationThe March of Dimes1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, P.O. Box 2000White Plains, N.Y. 10602

National Multiple Sclerosis Society257 Park Avenue SouthNew York, N.Y. 10010

United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc.66 East 34th StreetNew York, N.Y. 10016

Handicapped Children's Early Education Program

Dr. Kay KingUniversity of Alabama1919 Seventh Avenue SouthBirmingham, Alabama 35233AC 205/934.5241

Dr. Eugenia R. WalkerUniversity of AlabamaPost Office Box 1982Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35489AC 205/348.7131

Dr. Rhoda WharryHuntsville Achievement School600 Governors DriveHuntsville, Alabama 35801AC 205/536-2895

Dr. Helen BeirneAlaska Crippled Children &Adults Treatment Center3710 E. 20th AvenueAnchorage, Alaska 99504AC 907/272.0586

Dr. Elizabeth SharpUniversity of ArizonaDepartment of Special EducationTucson, Arizona 85721AC 602/884-3214 or

884.0111

Miss Louise PhillipsMagnolia Public SchoolsPost Office Box 428Magnolia, Arkansas 71753AC 501/234-3511

Dr. Frank S. WilliamsJulia Ann Singer PreschoolPsychiatric Center4734 Fountain AvenueLos Angeles, Californi 90029AC 213/662-2118

Mrs. Lottie RosenEarly Growth Center1720 Oregon StreetBerkeley, California 94703AC 415/644-6183

Dr. Patrick F. EstesLos Angeles Unified School District #3450 North Grand AvenueLos Angeles, California 90012AC 213/625. 8911 Ext. 2784

Mrs. Judith SachseDubnoff School for Educational Therapy10526 Victory PlaceNorth Hollywood, California 91606AC 213/877-5678

Dr. Annabel TebergCasa Co lina Hospital forRehabilitative Medicine255 East Bonita AvenuePomona, California 91767AC 714/593-1336

Dr. Hilde S. SchlesingerUniversity of California401 Parnassus AvenueSan Francisco, California 94122AC 415/731.9150

Dr. Jerome G. AlpinerUniversity of DenverDepartment of Speech Pathology &Audiology2065 South YorkDenver, Colorado 80201AC 303/753-2223

Dr. Murray RothmanNew Haven Board of Education1 State StreetNew Haven, Connecticut 06511AC 203/562.0151

Dr. Enid WolfDevelopmental Center for SpecialEducation1619 M Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20036AC 202/737-4864

Mrs. Natalie ArringtonFederal City College733 8th Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20001AC 202/783-2770

Dr. Bertice CornishGeorgetown UniversityUniversity Affiliated Centerfor Child Development3800 Reservoir Road, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20007AC 202/625.7170

Mrs. Marcia ShulerLiberty County School BoardBristol, Florida 32321AC 904/643-3361

Mr. William J. Kirkpatrick, Jr.Sun land Training Center at Miami2000 Northwest 47 AvenueOpa Locka, Florida 33054AC 305/624-9671

Dr. Mary M. WoodUniversity of Georgia698 North Pope StreetAthens, Georgia 30601AC 404/549.8004

61

Dr. Joan DickersonPanhandle Child DevelopmentAssociation, Inc.1604 North 4th StreetBox 1320Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814AC 208/667-7407

Dr. Merle B. KarnesUniversity of Illinois403 East HealeyChampaign, Illinois 61801AC 217/333-4890

Mr. A. J. MoreauPeoria Association for RetardedChildren, Inc.320 East Armstrong AvenuePeoria, Illinois 61603AC 309/673.6481

Dr. Connie DawsonSchool City of Gary620 East 10th PlaceGary, Indiana 46402AC 219/886-3111Ext. 222

Dr. Edward GibbonsThe Capper Foundation for CrippledChildren3500 West 10th StreetTopeka, Kansas 66604AC 913/272-4060

Mrs. Rhea A. TaylorUnited Cerebral Palsy of the Bluegrass320 Clay AvenueLexington, Kentucky 40502AC 606/266-3109

Mrs. Beverly H. WhitlockMontgomery County Society forCrippled Children & Adults, Inc.1000 Twinbrook ParkwayRockville, Maryland 20851AC 301/424-5200

Dr. Eunice KenyonBoston Center for Blind Children147 South Huntington AvenueBoston, Massachusetts 02130AC 617/232-1710

Dr. Francis W. McKenzie andDr. Burton L. White*Brookline Town Hall andHarvard Graduate School of EducationLarsen Hall, Appian WayCambridge, Massachusetts 02138AC 6171734 -1111*(Emphasis on cost effectiveness analysis)

Dr. Dorothy J. WorthMassachusetts Department ofPublic Health480 Tremont StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02116AC 617/442-4134 or 4135 or 4136

62

Miss Barbara MillerJames Jackson Putnam Children's Center244 Townsend StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02121AC 617/427-1715

Mr. Claudius G. BrittDetroit Public SchoolsAdlai Stevenson Building10100 Grand RiverDetroit, Michigan 48204AC 313/931-2400Ext. 121Mrs. Winifred H. NorthcottEarly Childh000d Education Programsfor the Hearing-ImpairedSpecial Education SectionMinnesota Department of EducationCentennial BuildingSt. Paul, Minnesota 55101AC 612/221-2547

Dr. Ernestine RaineyMississippi State UniversityDrawer EDState College, Mississippi 39762AC 601/325-3747

Mrs. M. C. LeeAdams-Jefferson Improvement CorporationP.O. Box "L"Natchez, Mississippi 39120AC 601/442-4891

Dr. Audrey Ann SimmonsCentral Institute for the Deaf818 South EuclidSt. Louis, Missouri 63110AC 314/652-3200

Dr. Edward LaCrosseUniversity of NebraskaChildren's Rehabilitation Institute444 South 44th StreetOmaha, Nebraska 68015AC 402/541-4730

Mr. Richard L. LundquistClark County School District2832 East Flamingo RoadLas Vegas, Nevada 89109AC 702/736-5345Ext. 345

Mr. Donald E. TaylorChapel Hill City School System400 School LaneChapel Hill, North Caroliria 27514AC 919/967-4271

Mr. John P. HourihanMount Carmel Guild17 Mulberry StreetNewark, New Jersey 07102AC 201/624-2405

Dr. D. K. WordenBoard of County Commissioners2600 Marble Avenue, N.E.Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106

3AC 505/265-3511Ext 259

V...101.....

Miss Harriet BogradChildren's Circle PlanningCorporation530 East 169th StreetBronx, New York 10456AC 212/588 -3452

Mrs. Ronnie R. GordonNew York University Medical Center400 East 34th StreetNew York, New York 10016AC 212/679-3200Ext 3219

Mrs. Berta RafaelUnited Cerebral Palsy ofNew York City, Inc.399 East 44th StreetNew York, New York 10017AC 212/661-0900

Mrs. Una A. HaynesUnited Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc.66 East 34th StreetNew York, New York 10016AC 212/889-6655

Mrs. Jeanette BurroughsNational Urban League55 East 52nd StreetNew York, New York 10022AC 212/751-0300Ext 237

Dr. William R. FaucetteCity School District46 Moran StreetRochester, New York 14611AC 716/464-9368

Dr. Ann BardwellThe Ohio State UniversityP West Buttles AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43215AC 614/422-4285

Dr. Bruce MetzgarMedford School District #54902801 Memiman RoadMedford, Oregon 97501AC 503/779-3520Ea 314

Mr. William H. ThorntonPortland School District #1631 N.E. Clackamas StreetPortland, Oregon 97213AC 503/777-1769

Dr. Louise SandlerThe Franklin Institute20th & ParkwayPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania 19103AC 215/488-1508

Dr. Roger BuchananHome for Crippled Children1426 Denniston AvenuePittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217AC 412/521-8608

Dr. Peter HainsworthRhode Island Easter Seal Societyfor Crippled Children & Adults, Inc.333 Grotto AvenueProvidence, Rhode Island 02906AC 401-521-6800

Dr. Erbert F. CiceniaSouth Carolina Department of MentalRetardationCoastal CenterJamison RoadLadson, South Carolina 29456AC 803/873-5750Ext 365

Dr. Freeman McConnellThe Bill Wilkerson Hearing & SpeechCenter1114-19th Avenue SouthNashville, Tennessee 37212AC 615/383-2420

Dr. John P. OraGeorge Peabody College for TeachersChild Study CenterP.O. Box 158Nashville, Tennessee 37203AC 615/327-8084

Dr. Alton D. QuickMemphis State UniversityMemphis, Tennessee 38111AC 901/321-1771

Dr. Patricia G. AdkinsRegion XIX Educational Service Center6501-C TrowbridgeEl Paso, Texas 79905AC 915.772-5294

Dr. Tina E. BangsHouston Speech & Hearing Center1343 Mourisund AvenueTexas Medical CenterHouston, Texas 77025AC 713/524-3136

Mrs. Otilia V. VidaurriEdgewood Independent School DistrictWest Commerce StreetSan Antonio, Texas 78237AC 512/433.2361

Mr. Robert DeVoidBrattleboro Town School District96 Green StreetBrattleboro, Vermont 05301AC 802/257-7852

Dr. Ruth DiggsNorfolk State College2401 Corprew AvenueNorfolk, VirginiaAC 703/627-4371

Dr. Alice H. HaydenExperimental Education UnitChild Development & MentalRetardation CenterUniversity of WashingtonSeattle, Washington 98105AC 206/543-4450

Dr. Robert E. WilsonThe Developmental Center, Inc.P.O. Box 357300 South Mineral StreetKeyser, West Virginia 26726AC 304/788-1066

Miss Joan RechnerCurative Workshop of Milwaukee10437 West Watertown Plank RoadP.O. Box 7372Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226AC 414/342-2181

64

Mr. David ShearerCooperative Education ServiceAgency #12412 Slifter, Box 564Portage, Wisconsin 53901AC 608/742-2142

Mrs. Janis A. JelinekUniversity of WyomingBox 3311, University StationLaramie, Wyoming 82070AC 307(766 -6428

C5

k.

APPENDIX II: FUNDING RESOURCES

Funding is a problem for most day care programs,whether or not they enroll special children. To providegood day care, you need the money to hire good staff inadequate numbers, for facilities, equipment, teachingmaterials, nutritious meals and snacks.

Programs with special children obviously needjust as much money as regular programs, often more ifthey're going to meet special needs with extra resourcesand staff. You should become aware of all the fundingsources availableFederal, State and local; public andprivate; funds available to all day care programs and fundsfor programs with special children. Often, you'll find itnecessary to go to several sources for funds. If there arechildren with special problems involved, you might beable to get financial help from organizations and govern-ment agencies specifically for those particular disabilities.

Unfortunately, funding at the various levels ofgovernment can be confusing, overlapping and time-con-suming to apply for. The burden rests with you and yourboard of directors, however, to discover what's availableand whether you qualify for it. In some cases, you'll findthat the funds appropriated for the education of specialchildren are only available to children enrolled in spe-cialized settings such as preschool nurseries for thedeaf or day care programs for emotionally disturbed chil-dren. Such categorical funding makes it difficult andsometimes impossible for integrated programs to get thesefunds for their special children.

Here is a list of potential funding sources at the local,State and Federal levels you might investigate:

Local Level

Many of these suggested local resources may notbe able to provide direct funds, but may be able to offerfacilities in their buildings, special equipment, part-timeconsultants. staff trainers, etc.

4-C CouncilsThe 4-C (Community Coordinated ChildCare) Councils are composed of interested local agen-cies and organizations who help survey the community'schild care needs, coordinate day care efforts, provideinformation on day care funds and resources. The 4-Cprogram, organized on local, State, regional and Federallevels, is administered by the Office of Child Develop-ment.Associations dealing with special problems (Associationfor Retarded Children, Mental Health Association,Cerebral Palsy Association, etc. See Appendix A foraddresses)Private charity organizations, family foundationsCommunity Chests, United Fund AgenciesModel Cities Programs, Community Action AgenciesCommunity mental health and mental retardationcentersPhysical rehabilitation centersUniversitiesDepartments of education, psychology,etc. (These schools often donate space for preschoolprograms on condition that their students use the pro-

gram for research, observation, field placements or onthe condition that children of university staff can usethe program.)Local civic groups (Lion's Club, Kiwanis, Women'sLeague, church and synagogue groups)

State Level

State departments and agencies often provide di-rect funds to day care programs and administer andchannel many of the Federal funds available. These de-partments may have job slots for teachers of specialchildren. They may have construction funds or money forcurriculum development. Staff from these departmentsmay be available to consult with programs which enrollspecial children, or the department may fund staff train-ing institues.

State departments with funding potential includethe Departments of:

Mental HealthPublic HealthMental RetardationEducationRehabilitationWelfare

Federal Day Care and Pre-School Funds

It's difficult for day care operators to know whattypes of Federal funds are available and whether theirprograms are eligible. The three principal funding agen-ciesHealth, Education, and Welfare; Office of EconomicOpportunity; the Department of Laborhave set guidelinescalled the Federal Interagency Day Care Requirementswhich must be satisfied before any group program canqualify for Federal assistance. The Interagency Guidelineshave established requirements for physical facilities,standards for safety and sanitation, design and size offacilities, education services, supplementary social serv-ices, health and nutrition services, staff training, parentinvolvement, personnel administration and recruitment,and program evaluation.

Because of the increasing interest in the Congressfor new day care legislation, this manual doesn't includecurrent Federal funding resources. If we did includethem, they'd probably be out of date before publication.But to get up-to-date information on current day carefunds and eligibiliy requirements, write to:

Office of Child DevelopmentU.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and WelfareP.O. Box 1182Washington, D.C. 20013

For information on day care and preschool funds forchildren with special needs, write to:

Bureau of Education for the HandicappedU.S. Office of Education7th and D Streets, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20036

tCc;65

APPENDIX C: BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHILD DEVELOPMENTCURRICULUM AND TEACHINGCHILDREN'S BOOKSGUIDING BEHAVIORCHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDSMENTALLY RETARDED CHILDRENCHILDREN WITH LEARNING

DISABILITIESCHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL

PROBLEMSCHILDREN WITH PHYSICAL

DISABILITIESBLIND AND VISUALLY-IMPAIRED

CHILDRENCHILDREN WITH HEARING AND

LANGUAGE PROBLEMS

Child Development

Page

666667686869

Curriculum and Teaching

Ashton-Warner, S. Teacher. New York: Bantam Books,1963.

An account of the author's experiences teachingMaori children in a New Zealand Infant School. Itgives practical advice about teaching.

Association for Childhood Education International, 3615Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016.

70 Publishes material related to theory, curriculum andmethods in early childhood education. Write for alisting.

Bank Street College of Education Publications, 69 BankStreet, New York, N.Y.

Publishes material related to most aspects of earlychildhood education. Write for a listing.

Battin, R. R.; Haug, C. 0. Speech and Language Delay: A72 Home Tradition Program. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C

Thomas, 1968. $5.50

Includes information for parents on how languageand speech develop, discipline training for childrenwith speech delay, suggestions for an educationalprogram, methods of stimulation and motivation,training the ear, and auditory and visual memory.

Behrmann, Polly; Millman, Joan. Excel: Experience forChildren in Learning. Cambridge, Mass.: Educators Pub-lishing Service, Inc., 1968.

A good collection of simple activities to promoteoral expression, visual discrimination, auditory dis-crimination, and motor coordination in preschoolchildren. It emphasizes family-oriented activities,but is also useful in the classroom.

Brown, Carolyn. For Beginning-to-Be-Teachers of Begin-ning-to-Be Students. Nashville, Tennessee: Demonstra-tion and Research College for Early Education, GeorgePeabody College for Teachers, 1971. $1.50

A simple and practical guide for teachers just start-ing to teach preschool children. It includes materialsabout child development, curriculum and workingwith pamts.

Camp, Janet; Wilkerson, Peggy. All About Me. Nashville,Tennessee: The Demonstration and Research College forEarly Education, George Peabody College for Teachers,1971. $1.50

A curriculum guide to help preschool children under-stand and accept themselves and others.

Carmichael, Viola S. Curriculum Ideas for Young Children.Los Angeles, California: Southern California Associationfor the Education of Young Children, 1971.

Curriculum ideas for young children, mainly in thesocial science and science areas. For copies send$3.00 to Mrs. Carmichael, 1886 Kenneloa CanyonRoad, Pasadena, California, 91107.

70

71

71

Fraiberg, S. The Magic Years: Understanding and Han-dling the Problems of Early Childhood. New York: CharlesScribner's Sons, 1959.

A practical book which discusses developmentalproblems of children from birth to six years.

Gesell, Arnold, et al. The First Five Years of Life. NewYork: Harper and Row, 1940.

Discusses developmental stages of children frombirth to age five.

Hartley, Ruth E.; Frank, Lawrence K.; Golderson, RobertM. Understanding Children's Play. New York: CrowellCollier and MacMillan, Inc., 1957.

A general guide to understanding the developmentalsignificance of different forms of children's play.

Hymes, James. The Child Under Six. Englewood Cliffs,New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1963.

A simplified version of the development of the childfrom birth to six years.

Murphy, Lois Barclay. The Widening World of Childhood.New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1962.

Mussen, P.; Conger, J.; Kagan, J. Child Development andPersonality. New York: Harper and Row, 1969.

A textbook of child development from birth toadolescence summarizing and integrating researchfindings.

Von den Eyken, W. The Pre-School Years. Middlesex,England: Penguin Books, 1967.

A book on understanding children's development andbehavior during the preschool years.

66

Cohen, Dorothy H.; Stern, Virginia. Observing and Record-ing the Behavior of Young Children. New York: TeachersCollege Press, Columbia University, 1969.

A book on the evaluation of the growth of individualchildren.

Cooper, Georgia; Hatch, Betty; King, Peggy. Wings Emerg-ing: Language Opportunities and the PreSchool Child.Pleasant Hill, California: Contra Costa County Departmentof Education, 1966.

A guide to promoting language development of pre-school children through many types of activities.

Department of Elementary, Kindergarten, Nursery Educa-tion. National Education Association, 1201 16th Street,N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Publishes material relevant to early childhood edu-cation. Write for listings.

Dittmann, Laura L., ed. Curriculum is What Happens:Planning is the Key. National Association for the Educa-tion of Young Children, Washington, D.C., 1970. $1.75

A series of short articles dealing with planning andevaluating day-to-day experiences in programs foryoung children.

Education Development Center, 55 Chapel Street, Newton,Massachusetts.

Publications on making equipment from free orinexpensive materials and on curriculum. Write forlisting.

Engel, Rose. Language Motivating Experiences for YoungChildren. Van Nuys, California: Don Figge Associates,1968. $4.95

Lesson plans and experiences in language develop.ment in specific curriculum areas: art, cooking,motor activities, sensory experiences.

Evans, E. Belle; Shub, Beth; Weinstein, Marlene. Day Care.Boston: Beacon Press, 1971. $6.96

A book of practical advice on every aspect of plan-ning, developing, and operating a day care center.

Hymes, James. Teaching the Child Under Six. Columbus,Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1968.

A general, practical approach to early childhoodeducation.

Karnes, Merle B. Helping Young Children Develop Lan-guage Skills: A Book of Activities. Arlington, Virginia: TheCouncil for Exceptional Children, 1968. $3.50

A book of activities for teachers to help preschoolchildren develop skills related to all aspects of lan-guage development.

Mal lum, Mary Alice. California Children's Centers Curricu-lum Guide: Goals and Growth Experiences for the EarlyYears. Hawthorne, California: Children's Centers Directorsand Supervisors Associations, 4568 West 133rd Street,1970.

A helpful guide to setting and carrying out goals inthe various curriculum areas.

Murphy, Lois; Leeper, Ethel. Caring for Children Series.

U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Officeof Child Development, Bureau of Head Start and ChildService Programs, Washington, D.C., 1970.Number One: The Ways Children Learn

A practical, easy-to-read pamphlet which tells howchildren learn, what they need to know and how theteacher can help them learn.

Number Two: More Than a TeacherA pamphlet which tells how day care workers con-tribute to the child's development by giving him orher love and understanding as well as teaching.

Number Three: Preparing for ChangePractical advice on how to help a child prepare fornew and sometimes disturbing situations in his life.

Number Four: Away From BedlamPractical advice on finding the causes of and pre-vention of bedlam in the child care center.

National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC), 1834 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington,D.C. 20009.

Publishes a journal and many materials relevant toearly childhood education. Write for a listing.

Pines, M. Revolution in Learning: The Years From Birthto Six. New York: Harper and Row, 1966.

Current theories and practices in early childhoodeducation.

Pitcher, Evelyn Goodenough; Lasher, Miriam G.; Feinburg,Sylvia; Hammond, Nancy. Helping Young Children Learn.Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1966.$3.95

A good curriculum resource for teachers workingwith preschool children. It presents an orientationto teaching as well as practical suggestions in thevarious curriculum areas.

Warner, Dianne; Quill, Jeanne. Beautiful Junk. Washing-ton, D.C.: Project Head Start, Office of Child Development,1969.

A list of sources of free or inexpensive materials forearly childhood programs and suggestions about howto use them.

Wylie, Joanne. A Creative Guide for Pre-School Teachers.Western Publishing Company, 1969.

A comprehensive guide to goals, activities and mate-rials for an organized preschool program.

Children's Books

Books about differences between children:Beim, Jerrold. The Smallest Boy in the Class. New York:William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1951.

Stature isn't always measured in feet and inches.Green, Mary M. Is It Hard? Is It Easy? New York: Wm. R.Scott, Inc., 1960.

A boy and girl discover that different things are hardand easy for each.

Krasilousky, Phyllis. The Very Tall Little Girl. New York:

67

Pg?

Doubleday and Company, 1969.A reassuring book about a child who is taller thanher friends.

Books about getting along with other children:Cohen, Mirian. Will I Have a Friend? New York: MacMillanand Company, 1967.

Jim's fears about not having a friend in his newschool disappear as the day progresses.

Carle, Eric. Do You Want To Be My Friend? New York:Crowell Collier and MacMillan, Inc., 1971.

A child looks for and finds a friend.Zolotow, Charlotte. My Friend John. New York: Harper andRow, 1968.

A book about best friends.Zolotow, Charlotte. The Quarrelling Book. New York:Harper and Row, 1963.

Friends can quarrel, too.

Night fears and sleeping problems:Alexander, Anne. Noise in the Night. Chicago: Rand Mc-Nally and Co., 1960.

A light-sleeping reader can find reassurance in thisbook that tells of things that go bump in the night.

Brown, Margaret W. Goodnight Moon (1947) and A Child'sGoodnight Book (1950). New York: Harper and Row.

Two good books to make going to bed easier.Hoban, Russell. Bedtime for Frances. New York: Harperand Row, 1960.

Frances, the raccoon, doesn't want to go to sleep.She gradually gets over her fears.

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York:Harper and Row, 1963.

A young boy conquers terrible monsters.

Family worries:Brown, Margaret W. The Runaway Bunny. New York: W. R.Scott, 1950.

A good book for children with separation problems:a mother reassures her child that she will alwaysbe with him.

Hoban, Russell. A Baby Sister for Frances. New York:Harper and Row, 1964.

Frances, the raccoon, is jealous of the new babysister but learns to like her.

Langstaff, Nancy. A Tiny Baby for You. New York: Har-court, Brace and World, 1955.

Real photographs and text show what a new babyis like.

Sickness:Rey, M. Curious George Goes to the Hospital. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966.

A child's fears about going to the hospital will berelieved as he reads about Curious George, themonkey, and his experiences there.

Guiding Behavior

Becker, Wesley. Parents are Teachers: A Child Manage-ment Program. Champaign, Illinois: Research Press Com-pany, 1971. $3.75

Describes the use of reinforcers and punishers inmanaging children's behavior.

Madsen, Ch:jles H.; Madsen, Clifford K. Teaching andDiscipline: Blhavioral Principles Towards a Positive Ap-

68

proach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.Designed to help teachers use behavior principlessuch as rewarding positive behavior as a part of theteaching method.

Patterson, Gerald R.; Gullion, Elizabeth. Living With Chil-dren: New Methods for Parents and Teachers. Champaign,Illinois: Research Press Company, 1971. $3.00

Written in the form of programmed instructions, thisbook introduces the concept of positive reinforce-ment.

Valette, R. E. Modifying Children's Behavior: A Guide forParents and Professionals. Palo Alto, California: FearonPublishers, 1969.

Presents information for parents on behavior andbehavior modification for use in self-instruction,parent counseling, parent education, or teacher in-service training.

Children With Special Needs

Barbe, Walter. The Exceptional Child. New York: TheCenter for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1963.

A textbook describing the different types of specialchildren and their educational needs.

Dunn, Lloyd, ed. Exceptional Children in the Schools.New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, Inc., 1963.$11.00

Discusses the educational needs of schoolage chil-dren with special problems. Excellent bibliographiesat the end of each chapter on relevant books, re-source organizations and films.

Exceptional Children, Vol. 37, No. 9, May, 1971. TheCouncil for Exceptional Children, 1411 S. Jefferson DavisHighway, Suite 900, Arlington, Virginia, 22202.

This journal, issued monthly, is an excellent in-formative source on special children. This particularissue is devoted to "The Exceptional Child's EarlyYears." In addition to many articles on exemplarypreschool programs, it contains a directory of re-sources on Early Childhood Education which listsand describes model preschool programs, agenciesand organizations concerned with early educationand major publications with interest in the educationof young children.

The Exceptional Parent Magazine: Practical Guidance forthe Parents of Exceptional Children. Boston: Psy-Ed. Cor-poration.

A new magazine that will be of interest to anyoneconcerned with special children. It deals with spe-cial problems from the parents' point of view, pro-vides technical information stripped of professionaljargon and practical advice on day-to-day care. Pub-lished 6 times a year; subscriptions are $2.00 acopy; $12.00 a year. Write the Psy-Ed. Corporation,264 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 02116.

Feeding the Child With a Handicap. Health Services andMental Health Administration, Maternal and Child HealthService. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government PrintingOffice, 1967. $.30.

This pamphlet provides many helpful suggestions tothe parents of a handicapped child who has feedingproblems.

Kough, Jack; De Haan, Robert. Identifying Children withSpecial Needs. Science Research Associates, Inc.

A book to help identify children in the classroomwith potential special needs. Lists observable char-acteristics of children with hearing and visual prob-lems, physical disabilities, speech problems, learningand emotional problems.

Kvaraceus, W. C.; Hayes, E. N. If Your Child Is Handi-capped. Boston: Porter Sargent, Publisher, 1969. $7.95

A collection of highly personal accounts by parentsof the experience in having a handicapped child.

Murphy, Lois B.; Leeper, Ethel M. The Vulnerable Child.No. 5 from the series, Caring for Children. Office of ChildDevelopment, Bureau of Head Start and Child ServicePrograms, U.S. Department of Health, Education, andWelfare, Washington, D.C.

An excellent down-to-earth booklet about childrenin day care centers who may have special problemsor vulnerabilitiesphysical handicaps, emotionalvulnerabilities, everyday fears, stresses. Directed tostaff in child care centers and homes.

Siegel, Ernest. Special Education in the Regular Class-room. New York: John Day Company, 1969.

Offers hints for teachers on helping school-age chil-dren with special needs to overcome poor self-con-cept, anxiety, poor coordination, behavioral prob-lems. Many parts of the book are applicable to thepreschool child as well.

Spock, Benjamin; Lerrigo, Marion. Caring for Your Dis-abled Child. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1965. $4.95(Also in paperback, Collier-MacMillan Publishers, $1.95.)

A reference book for parents on caring for theirdisabled children: suggestions about medical care,education, home management.

Weatherby, Doris. Project Quest: Films on Early Childhoodand Special Education. Pitman, New Jersey: EducationImprovement Center, South Jersey Region, P.O. Box 4260E071.

An annotated film catalog on early childhood andspecial education films. Ratings of films on childdevelopment, programming, management, environ-ment, special education.

Mentally Retarded Children

Bensberg, Gerald. Teaching the Mentally RetardedAHandbook for Ward Personnel. Atlanta, Georgia: SouthernRegional Education Board, 130 Sixth Street, N.W. 30313,1965. $3.00

An excellent manual for parents and teachers aswell as ward personnel. It presents principles andmethods for teaching the mentally retarded the vari-ous skills and information required for them to beas independent as possiblelanguage development,self-care, etc.

Carlson, Bernice; Ging lend, David. Play Activities for theRetarded Child. New York: Abington Press, 1961. $4.00

Ideas for parents and teachers to help the mentallyretarded grow and learn through music, games,handicrafts and other play activities.

Connor, Frances P.; Talbot, Mabel E. An ExperimentalCurriculum for Young Mentally Retarded Children. NewYork: Bureau of Publication, Teachers College, Columbia

University, 1964.A curriculum developed for preschool mentally re-tarded children with sequences of goals set up inthe following areas: intellectual development; imag-ination and creative expression; social; emotional;manipulative; motor; and self-help development.

Dittmann, Laura L. The Mentally Retarded Child at HomeA Manual for Parents. Children's Bureau Publication No.374, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Wash-ington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959. $.35

This parent manual has many suggestions day carestaff will also find helpful. It discusses toilet train-ing, dressing, cleanliness, speech, play, etc., frominfancy to adolescence.

Door ly, Ruth K. Our Jimmy. Arlington, Texas: NationalAssociation for Retarded Children, 1967. $3.95

A book for preschoolers who share in the responsi-bility of helping a retarded brother or sister. It ex-plains what retardation is and what it means in thelife of a family.

Dybwad, Gunnar. The Mentally Handicapped Child UnderFive. Arlington, Texas: National Association for RetardedChildren, 1969.

Describes the different types of services needed bymentally retarded pre-schoolers and their families.

Environmental Criteria: Mental Retardation PreSchool DayCare Facilities. College Station, Texas: Research Center,College of Architecture and Environmental Design, TexasA&M University, 1971.

Describes the environmental implications of day careprograms for mentally retarded, culturally deprivedand normal children. Also discusses basic planningconsiderations in designing activity areas of daycare centers, the use of light, color, acoustics, space,etc. It will be most useful for those planning futureday care centers; not as helpful (but of interest) tothose centers already established.

Ging lend, D. R.; Stiles, Winifred, E. Music Activities forRetarded ChildrenA Handbook for Teachers and Parents.Nashville, Tennessee: Abington Press, 1965. $3.50

Designed to help you start a developmental begin-ning music program for mentally retarded or youngnormal children.

Gorham, Kathryn. Selected Reading Suggestions for Parentsof Mentally Retarded Children. U.S. Department of Health,Education, and Welfare, Office of Child Development.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.$.60

An excellent annotated bibliography on mental re-tardation for parents. Includes books and personalaccounts by parents; books about families of theretarded; books for siblings of the retarded; manualson helping the retarded child at home.

McIntire, Pamela. "The Let's Talk Program." Welfare Re-porter, July, 1971.

Outlines speech and language stimulation activitiesfor the mentally retarded. For copies write to:Public Information Office, Department of Institutionsand Agencies, 135 West Hanover Street, Trenton,New Jersey, 08625.

Roberts, Nancy. David. Richmond, Virginia: John KnoxPress, 1968. $4.50

Pictures and text tell the story of the arrival, accept-ance and early childhood of the Roberts' mentallyretarded son.

.fr"Ilf,\ 69

Teach Me Now. Norfolk, Virginia: Tidewater Associationfor Retarded Children. $2.00

A guide for teachers of preschool mentally retardedchildren with suggestions for teaching, learning andreadiness skills, for curriculum development, plan-ning and evaluation.

Van Witsen, Betty. Perceptual Training Activities Hand-book. New York: Teachers College Press, Teachers College,Columbia University, 1967. $1.75

Activities for children with learning disabilities todevelop vision, auditory perception and other formsof sensory perception.

Children With Learning Disabilities

Cruickshank, W. M. The Brain-Injured Child in Home,School and Community. New York: Syracuse UniversityPress, 1967. $6.50

Written for parents, teachers and others who workdaily with brain-injured children. Includes consid-erations of the symptoms of brain damage, recom-mendations for diagnostic procedures and personnel,and descriptions of treatment techniques that haveproven effective at home and in the classroom.

Ebersole, Marylou; Kephart, Newell C.; Ebersole, James.Steps to Achievement for the Slow Learner in the Class-room. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill, 1968.

describes the characteristics of the brain-damagedchild; enables the teacher to identify the slowlearner early and shows how to develop and sharpenhis readiness skills.

Flowers, Ann M. Helping the Child with a Learning Dis-ability: Suggestions for Parents. Danville, Illinois: Inter-state Printers and Publishers, Inc., 1969. $.30

Written for parents of children with learning dis-abilities, this booklet provides information on thenature of learning and suggests activities parentsmay use to help children become more aware oftheir environment and to stimulate their learning.

Go lick, Margaret. A Parent's Guide to Learning Problems.Montreal 252, Quebec: Quebec Association for Childrenwith Learning Disabilities, 6338 Victoria Avenue, 1970.$1.00

Useful for both parents and teachers, this guide dis-cusses how to help the child with learning problemsassume responsibility. The learning process isdescribed and learning activities are suggested whichcan be carried out in the kitchen and elsewhere inthe home.

Go lick, Margaret. She Thought I Was Dumb But I ToldHer I Had a Learning Disability. Montreal 252, Quebec:Quebec Association for Children with Learning Disabil-ities, 1971. $1.00

Provides an overview of learning disabilities, describ-ing some problem areas for children with learningdisabilities and guidelines for evaluating develop-ment. Contains suggestions for helping the child inthe classroom and at home.

Hart, Hane; Jones, Beverly. Where's Hannah? A Handbookfor Parents and Teachers of Children with Learning Dis-orders. New York: Hart Publishing Company, 1968. $8.50

A mother and a teacher relate the experiences ofHannah, a brain-injured 111/2 year-old girl.

Kronic, Doreen. They, Too, Can Succeed: A Practical

70

Guide for Parents of Learning Disabled Children. SanRafael, California: 1969. $3.75

Written for parents of children with learning dis-abilities, this text offers practical hints for the solu-tion of recurring educational, physical and socialproblems.

Learning Disabilities: A Handbook for Parents and Teach-ers. Des Moines, Iowa: Polk County Board of Education,112-116 Eleventh Street, 1970. $1.50

A short booklet describing children with learningdisabilities and their needs. Contains chapters en-titled, "How Can I Help As a Teacher?" and "HowCan I Help As a Parent?"

Lewis, Richard S. The Other Child. New York: Grune andStratton, 1960. $3.75

Written for both parents and professional workers,this text in non-technical language defines and dis-cusses the brain-injured child.

Minde, K. A Parent's Guide to Hyperactivity in Children.Montreal 252, Quebec: Quebec Association for ChildrenWith Learning Disabilities, 1971. $1.00

Discusses the causes and effects of hyperactivity inchildren, how parents can help the hyperactive child,different methods of management and possible prob-lems arising during a day with a hyperactive child.

Murphy, John R. Listening, Language and Learning Dis-abilities: A Guide for Parents and Teachers. Cambridge,Massachusetts: Educators Publishing Service, 1970. $2.00

Describes the characteristics of children with learn-ing disabilities and possible causes of the problems.Includes suggestions on developing listening abil-ities, speech and language.

Van Witsen, Betty. Perceptual Training Activities Hand-book. New York: Teachers College Press, Teachers Col-lege, Columbia University, 1967.

Activities for children with learning disabilities todevelop visual and auditory perception and otherforms of sensory perception.

Children With Emotional Problems

Axline, Virginia M. Gibs: In Search of Self. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company, 1964.

The case history of a young boy with emotional prob-lems as he is helped through psychotherapy.

Axline, Virginia M. Play Therapy. New York: BallantineBooks. 1969.

A very readable book about a method of therapy foryoung children.

Bettelheim, B. Love Is Not Enough. Glencoe, Illinois: TheFree Press, 1967.

A book about a therapeutic setting for children withemotional problems.

Baruch, Dorothy W. One Little Boy. New York: Dell Pub-lishing Co., Inc., 1964.

A boy with emutional problems is helped throughtherapy.

Braun, S.; Lasher, M. Preparing Teachers to Work withDisturbed Pre-Schoolers. Boston: Nimrod Press, Inc.,1970.

A report of a training program on teaching teachersto work with preschool children with emotionalproblems. For copies write to the authors at the14.14

Department of Child Study, Tufts University, Med-ford, Massachusetts, 02155.

Caplan, Gerald. Emotional Problems of Early Childhood.New York: Basic Books, 1955.

A book about the different kinds of emotional prob-lems of young children.

Joseph, Harry; Zern, Gordon. The Emotional Problems ofChildren: A Guide for Parents. New York: Crown Publish-ers, 1954.

A broad summary of the management of many typesof emotional problems in children and adolescents.

Leibman, Samuel, M.D. Emotional Problems of Childhood.Philadelphia: J. A. Lippincott Company, 1958.

A broad summary of the management of many typesof emotional problems in children and adolescents.

Moustakas, Clark. Psychotherapy with ChildrenThe Liv-ing Relationship. New York: Harper and Row, 1959.

On helping children with emotional problems throughtherapy.

Pavenstedt, Eleanor. The Drifters. Boston: Little, Brownand Co., 1967.

About the emotional problems of children from low-income families.

Redl, Fritz. Children Who Hate. Glencoe, Illinois: The FreePress, 1951.

A book about children with emotional problems whoseem to hate others; how they got that way.

Redl, Fritz; Wineman, David. Controls From Within.Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1952.

A book about helping children with emotional prob-lems to develop their own controls.

Rubin, Theodore I. Jordi. New York: The MacMillan Com-pany, 1960.

About a child who doesn't relate well to people.Socially and Emotionally Disturbed Children: A Guide forParents. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Depart-ment of Education, Bureau of Special Education, 1970.

A booklet on helping parents understand and findhelp for their children with emotional problems.

Children With Physical Disabilities

Calovini, Gloria. The Principal Looks at Clzsses for thePhysically Handicapped. Washington, D.C.: The Councilfor Exceptional Children, NEA, 1201 Sixteenth Street,N.W., 1969. $1.75

Addressed to the principal who has little or no back-ground in special education, but who has a class forthe physically handicapped in his school. This intro-duction to physical handicaps, their implicationsand appropriate programs will be helpful to anyperson interested in the care of physically disabledchildren.

Dorward, Barbara. Teaching Aids and Toys for Handi-cappcd Children. Washington, D.C.: The Council for Ex-ceptional Children, 1960. $1.75

Describes how to make and use a number of teach-ing aids and toys for cerebral palsied children ofnursery school and kindergarten age. The toys havealso been used with brain-injured, mentally retardedand multiply-handicapped children.

Finnie, Nancie. Handling the Young Cerebral PalsiedChild At Home. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1968.$3.50

An excellent guide for parents, nurses, therapists andothers involved in caring for young cerebral palsiedchildren. Hints on carrying, bathing, toilet training,dressing, feeding, playing. Contains a list of ad-dresses of suppliers of accessories and equipment,chairs, feeding and drinking utensils, strollers, toys,etc.

Frantzen, June. Toys, the Tools of Children. Chicago: Na-tional Society for Crippled Children and Adults, 2123W. Ogden Avenue, 60612, 1957. $1.00

Analysis of toys and their use with normal childrenand in the training and treatment of the physicallydisabled. Useful as a selection guide for parents,teachers, therapists, physicians and others con-cerned with children's growth and development.

Helsel, Elsie; Messner, Sherwood; Reid, L. Leon. OpeningNew Doors to the Cerebral Palsied Through Day Care andDevelopment Centers. New York: United Cerebral PalsyAssociations, Inc.

A booklet discussing the administration, program,staff and parent services in day care programs forcerebral palsied children.

Please Help Us Help Ourselves. Indianapolis, Indiana:United Cerebral Palsy Association of Central Indiana, Inc.,615 Alabama Street, 46204. $2.00

This manual contains directions for constructingeasily made, inexpensive adaptive equipment for thephysically disabled childcardboard tables andchairs, styrofoam sit-up table boxes, handles forutensils and games, bicycle pedals, etc.

Blind and Visually-Impaired Children

Dorward, Barbara; Barraga, Natalie. Teaching Aids forBlind and Visually Limited Children. New York: AmericanFoundation for the Blind, 1968. $2.75

Presents educational aids specifically designed todevelop the physical and mental capabilities of blindChildren, while bearing in mind their visual limita-tions. Each educational aid comes with instructionsand a list of necessary materials.

Halliday, Carol. The Visually-Impaired Child: Growth,Learning, Development, Infancy to School Age. Louisville,Kentucky: American Printing House for the Blind, 1971.$3.25

An excellent practical manual for parents andteachers on the care, training and instruction of thevisually-impaired child from birth until entry into aformal school program. It describes the basic needsa visually-impaired child shares with all children andpresents in outline form how all children normallydevelop. It lists and describes educational materialsand practical techniques to help the visually-im-paired child at each stage of development.

Krebs, Mrs. Gordon. The Blind Child in Kindergarten. NewYork: Commission for the Blind, New York State Depart-ment of Social Welfare, 270 Broadway, Booklet No. 202.

A kindergarten teacher tells of her experience withtwo blind children in her regular classroom. Dis-cusses parent cooperation, acceptance by other chil-dren, adaptations of the program.

Moor, Pauline M. A Blind Child, Too, Can Go To NurserySchool. New York: American Foundation for the Blind,Pre-School Series No. 1, 1962. $.25

72 71

it

An excellent pamphlet describing the integration ofblind children into regular nursery school programs.It discusses the questions raised by nursery schoolteachers about enrolling blind children; how tointroduce the child to the school; what to expect ofa blind child in terms of participation in activitiesand performance; how to prepare the other childrenfor a blind child in class.

Pe lone, Anthony. Helping the Visually Handicapped Childin a Regular Class. New York: Teachers College Press,Teachers College, Columbia University, 1957. $2.25

Describes the needs of children with visual prob-lems in regular classrooms; the roles of variousschool personnel (nurse, teacher, counselor, psychol-ogist) in meeting these needs; curriculum adapta-tions for the regular classroom setting. It deals withschool-age children only.

Pfeiffer, Elsbeth. Study of JoeA Blind Child in aSighted Group. New York: Bank Street College of Educa-tion, 69 Bank Street, 10014, 1958.

An excellent pamphlet written by a teacher aboutJoe, a blind child who entered her regular nurseryschool program. Describes in detail the daily activ-itives Joe could join in and how staff were able toadapt their program to meet his needs.

Toys for Early Development of the Young Blind Child: AGuide for Parents. Springfield, Illinois: The Office of theSuperintendent of Public Instruction, 1971.

A list of toys to help the blind child in his earlydevelopment. Toys are categorized according to pur-pose and age of the child from infancy to age three.

Children With Hearing and LanguageProblems

Adler, Irving and Ruth. Your Ears. New York: The JohnDay Company. $2.68

Easy-toread information on the ear and hearing.Bloom, Freddy. Our Deaf Children. London, Melbourne,Toronto: William Heinemann Ltd., 1963. $3.70

The British mother of a severely hard-of-hearing littlegirl describes the problems a family faces in dealingwith a young deaf girl.

Directory of Services for the Deaf in the United States.American Annals of the Deaf, Gallaudet College, Wash-ington, D.C. 20002.

A comprehensive listing of schools, clinics, instruc-tional materials, conferences, agencies and organiza-tions for the deaf.

Harris, Grace M. For Parents of Very Young Deaf Children.Washington, D.C.: Alexander Graham Bell Association forthe Deaf. $.60If You Have a Deaf Child: A Collection of Helpful Hintsto Mothers of Deaf Children. Urbana, Illinois: Universityof Illinois Press. $1.00Lassman, Grace Harris. Language for the Pre-School Deaf

73

Child. New York: Grune and Stratton, Inc., 1950. $7.45A teacher of the deaf discusses fundamental con-cepts, activities and training techniques; also in-cludes a design for nursery school and parent edu-cation and selected case histories.

Learning to Talk. Information Office, National Institute ofNeurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes ofHealth, Bethesda, Maryland, 20014, 1969. $.45

This pamphlet discusses speech, hearing and lan-guage problems in the preschool child. It also de-scribes normal language development in childrenfrom 3 months to 5 years.

Lowell, Edgar L.; Stoner, Marguerite. Play It By Ear. LosAngeles: Educational Materials Department, John TracyClinic, 806 West Adams Blvd., 90007. $3.50

Auditory training games for young deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Myklebust, Helmer R. Your Deaf Child: A Guide forParents. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas Co., 1950.$4.70

This book describes the kinds of problems confront-ing parents in caring for the deaf child and ways tomeet the child's needs.

Newton, Mary Griffith. Books for Deaf Children. Washing-ton, D.C.: Alexander Graham Bell Association.

Suggestions of books for nursery school throughgrade 9.

Palmer, Charles E. Speech and Hearing Problems: AGuide for Teachers and Parents. Springfield, Illinois:Charles C Thomas Co., 1961.

An excellent book in question and answer formatdivided into two parts; the first deals with speechproblems; the second with hearing problems. Sug-gestions of what to do and where to go for help.

Ronnei, Eleanor C.; Porter, Joan. Tim and His HearingAid. Washington, D.C.: Alexander Graham Bell Associa-tion. $1.00

A picture book for children who wear hearing aids.Teach Your Child to Talk: A Parent Handbook. New York:CEBCO, Standard Publishing Co., 1959. $1.50

A reference book for parents of children from infancyto 5 years. Lists stages of normal speech and lan-guage development; questions parents can answerto check if their child is developing within normallimits; and suggested games, activities, books, rec-ords, etc. useful for speech and language stimula-tion.

Utley, Jean. What's Its Name? A Guide to Speech andHearing Development. Urbana, Illinois: University ofIllinois Press, 1968.

A workbook designed for parents and teachers ofhearing-impaired children.

The Volta Review. Washington, D.C.: Editorial Office, 153735th Street, N.W.

A monthly magazine which contains articles for bothprofessional workers and parents. Membership feeis $3.00

*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1972 0-462-046

Child Development SeriesDay Care

Reader Evaluation FormYour assistance in helping us evaluate this publication, Serving Children withSpecial Needs, will be most valuable. Please fill out the form, cut it out, andmail to the address listed below.

1. Does this publication provide the kind of information that is helpful to you?Yes No

2. Does it contain information and advice which is new to you or do you feelyou already possess the knowledge? Yes No

3. Is the publication easy to read and understand? Yes No

4. Is the subject presented in an interesting style? Yes No

5. Does the publication omit substantial information that you believe shouldbe included? Yes No If so, what'

Name (optional)

Title (Director, Staff, Parent, Specialist, etc.)

Location of Program

Public Education DivisionOffice of Child DevelopmentP.O. Box 1182Washington, D.C. 20013

ATTENTION: Handbook evaluation

74 73