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Early Childhood Needs Assessment Form

Use of Recommended Practices in Early Childhood Special Education 2008

Directions

Please tell us about your information and professional development needs related to early childhood special education services for children with disabilities served in Virginia Preschool Initiative, Head Start, Title 1, Community-Based or Self-Contained classrooms.

Please make sure that you answer all the questions so we may obtain an accurate compilation of data.

I would like information and/or professional development on how to:

1

Set up well-defined learning centers in the classroom.

2

Create clear visual cues to help children manage time, activities, and transitions.

3

Structure transitions and use them as teaching opportunities.

4

Arrange the environment to support child-initiated learning (not dependent upon adult presence).

5

Embed learning opportunities throughout the children’s daily routines and activities.

6

Obtain classroom visuals, toys, and materials that reflect multiple cultures and languages.

7

Use a developmentally appropriate curriculum.

8

Provide supports, adaptations, or special equipment that might be needed to help a child to participate meaningfully.

9

Communicate effectively with families.

10

Work as a team with families, therapists, and educators to decide what is important for a child to learn.

11

Use authentic and routine-based assessments for program planning (i.e., observing children in natural situations).

12

Use multiple measures to assess children’s progress, program impact, and outcomes (e.g., developmental observations, criterion/curriculum-based assessments, curriculum-compatible norm-referenced scales).

13

Assist related services providers in provided therapy to a child within typically occurring situations.

14

Use naturalistic teaching strategies, including time-delay, prompting and prompt-fading, progressive matching, models, incidental teaching, the mand-model procedure, and imitating- elaborating-and-expanding on the child’s behavior.

15

How to collect data for the purpose of individual child progress monitoring.

16

Use strategies that promote positive social interactions among all the children -- with and without disabilities.

17

Use reinforcement and other consequences to strengthen children’s desired behaviors and reduce problem behavior.

18

Collect data to determine the function that a problem behavior is serving for a child.

19

Teach a child to use more efficient, desirable behaviors to replace a problem behavior.

20

Modify the environment to prevent problem behaviors from occurring.

21

Use a team process to determine what assistive technology and/or communication devices would be helpful to a child.

22

Use assistive technology effectively in the classroom.

23

Provide inclusive opportunities for children with disabilities.

24

Other topics (please specify):

25

What methods do you prefer for gaining additional information? [Check all that apply.]








26

What days are most convenient for you to attend professional development activities? [Check all that apply.]

27

What time of day is most convenient for you? [Check all that apply.]

28

Would it be helpful if professional development opportunities were coordinated through your school division/program and occurred within your division?

29

Other comments or suggestions:

Before you submit! Please make sure that you answer all the questions so we may obtain an accurate compilation of data.

VDOE Training and Technical Assistance Center @ Virginia Commonwealth University
Partnership for People with Disabilities | School of Education
Region 1: 10 E. Franklin St. - Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 828-6947
Region 8: Pickett Park, 440 QM Circle, Blackstone, VA 23824 (434) 292-3723
Copyright © 2008 VCU Training and Technical Assistance Center | Last Update: Monday, November 23, 2009

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