Early childhood special education (ECSE)/Early intervention (EI) services can be defined as providing necessary services such as health, nutrition, & education based on the needs children with developmental delay/disability or at risk for developmental delay/disability between age of 0 & 6/8 & to their family in order to minimise the negative effects influencing children & their families & to maximise the overall quality of life of children & their families.(Sabuncuoglu & Diken, 2010). Services for the children with disabilities start with the screening ,assessment & referral. After the medical diagnosis, families are directly referred for guidance & research centers who are responsible for organizing & providing special education services in each areas for educational diagnosis so that their children are placed at appropriate educational institutions. screening can be done by special educators too, they can take help of parents or caregiver who knows child’s development and behaviours. After that they will refer them to the nearest centres for complete assessment of child’s hearing. It will be focuses on determining with accuracy, not just the existence of the hearing difficulty but also details about its nature type and extent.

1. BY-
ANSHITA SINGH

2.  Early childhood special education (ESCE) services
are designed for young children (3-5yrs) with
disabilities who need specially designed instructions
or related services & whose disability cause the
children to be unable to participate in
developmentally appropriate typical preschool
activities

3.  ECSE programme & services ensure that all children
with disabilities have a free & appropriate public
education which is designed to meet their unique
needs & enable them to make progress in acquiring
knowledge & skills , improving social skills &
relationships, & learning to take action & to meet
their needs within the general education programme.

4.  Early childhood special education(ECSE)/Early
intervention(EI) services can be defined as
providing necessary services such as health, nutrition,
& education based on the needs children with
developmental delay/disability or at risk for
developmental delay/disability between age of 0 &
6/8 & to their family in order to minimize the
negative effects influencing children & their families
& to maximize the overall quality of life of children
& their families.(Sabuncuoglu & Diken, 2010)

5.  The importance of ECSE/EI is highlighted with an
emphasis on family participation in the decision making
process related to education & rehabilitation of children
with disabilities &/ or at risk. This is facilitated by a
professional team that informs the families about the
possible options & services available to them. The team
implements a family orientation program about the cause
of disability, how to deal with the disability, how to
overcome the difficulties associated with the disability &
the educational opportunities that are available to families
with children with cognitive disabilities.

6.  ECSE/EI services should be provided for the
children between the age of 0-6 yrs (0-72 months)
with a diagnosis of disability. The services provided
for children are divided in two groups-
1. The first group indicates that early intervention (EI),
that embraces the children between the age of 0-36
months, is given both at home & at institutions by
informing & supporting the family
2. The second group indicates that preschool special
education , which embraces the children between the
age

7. of 37-72 months, preschool education is compulsory
for the children with a diagnosis of disability & this
education is given in the special education schools, &
other preschool educational institutions.
It is essential that children needing
special education receive preschool education in
preschool education institution , within the scope of
inclusion services although preschool education
institution / school & special education classes may
be established specifically for these children.

8.  Services for the children with disabilities start with
the screening ,assessment & referral. After the
medical diagnosis, families are directly referred for
guidance & research centers who are responsible for
organizing & providing special education services in
each areas for educational diagnosis so that their
children are placed at appropriate educational
institutions.

9. S.
No.
Question Respons
e
1 Response to a sudden loud sound, music or voices Yes/No
2 Turn his head or eyes toward a sound he can’t see Yes/No
3 Change expressions at the sound of a voice or a loud noise when he is in a
quite settings
Yes/No
4 Try to imitate sounds Yes/No
5 Begun to babble (ma ma ma…,ba ba ba….) to himself or back at others
who speak to him at the age of six months
Yes/No
6 Turn quickly or directly toward a soft noisemaker or “Shush” Yes/No
7 At 1 year, say a single words like “da-da”,” ma-ma” Yes/No
8 At 1 year say the first meaningful word as “Papa”, “Mama” Yes/No

10.  this checklist can be filled by special educator too,
they can take help of parents or caregiver who knows
child’s development and behaviors. After that they
will refer them to the nearest centers for complete
assessment of child’s hearing. It will be focuses on
determining with accuracy, not just the existence of
the hearing difficulty but also details about its nature
type and extent.

11.  Audiologist will assess child with different kind of
tests, after that he will explain about the severity of
the hearing problem and suggest a proper
amplification device (hearing aid) for child according
his age & loss.

12.  Generally following tests are conducted-
Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA)
assesses the degree and type of hearing loss. This
information is important and helps in selecting &
fitting a suitable hearing device, educational planning
and for ENT doctors who can then decide about the
medical or surgical intervention that might be needed
to be taken. It is done in a sound treated room. In this
child have to identify the soft or loud sound is
coming or not.

13.  Brain Stem Evoked Response Audiometry
(BERA) assesses the hearing level of the child on a
computer. The child does not have to do any action to
indicate whether he could hear the sound or not. If
needed the child is put to sleep, one may have to give
mild sedation to perform the test. Some wires
(electrodes) which are connected to the computer are
stuck on the forehead, behind the ears and the central
part of the child’s head. The sound is presented
through the headphone. The electrical activity of the
inner ear is measured and recorded on the computer.

14.  Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) assesses child is hearing
or not, then detailed hearing evaluation recommended. In
a noise free environment a probe is inserted in the ear
canal and then resulting emissions produced within the
cochlea are analyzed, and this gives the information about
the status of the hearing sensitivity.
 Reevaluation of hearing sensitivity will be performed
after each 6 months as well as reprogramming of hearing
device. After hearing aid fitting children should get
Intensive speech & language stimulation at home.

15.  Speech & Language Pathologist will assess child with
different kind of tests, after that he will explain about the
severity of the speech & Language problem and give proper
guidance about speech & language therapy. SLP will do a
speech & language evaluation to find out the severity of the
problem .

16. Speech & Language Evaluations includes details
about-
 Speech and language developmental history
 Mode of communication(verbal/nonverbal)
 Language age- Receptive language age and
Expressive language age (REELS,RELT,SECS,)
 Oral peripheral examination
 Articulation assessment (PAT)
 Voice Assessment
 Fluency Assessment

17.  0- 2 months
 Interact & eye contact with the child
 Chat with the child in a quiet, peaceful voice while
nursing or giving him or her bottle or during any
other activities.
 These activities help to make child to pay attention
towards faces, turns head towards sound and tries to
look there. Starts follow things or people with eyes
and recognize at a distance.

18.  2 to 4 months
 While looking at him /her, interact with the child by
establishing visual and auditory contact.
 While giving bath, nursing, feeding, dressing &
changing diaper continuously speak to the child—
especially about what you are doing, repeating the
same words over and over again.
 Any spontaneous vocalization of the child, should be
encouraged with smiles and imitation.

19.  4 to 6 months
 Provide auditory stimulation outside the child’s line of
vision to encourage her or him to look for the source of
the sound.
 Introduce child to household sounds
 6 to 9 months
 Play peek-a-boo with the child, using a cloth in front of
your face.
 Keep up a constant dialogue with the child, introducing
words with sounds that are easy to make (dada, pa-pa).
 While looking at the mirror interact with the child

20.  9 to 12 months
 Play with the child by singing songs and using
gestures (clapping, waving bye-bye) and encouraging
him/ her to respond.
 Talk and encourage child to learn the names of people
and objects in his / her environment.
 Speak naturally with the child, using short sentences
like “Here is your cup,” “Let us clean it up,” “wow
Good cookie!”

21.  12 to 15 months
 While having conversation with the child encourage
him/her to learn simple words.
 15 to 18 months
 Take a picture book and show it to the child. Talk
about the pictures on the pages and tell stories about
them.
 For learning and expansion of knowledge ask name
of the different objects with the child.

22.  18 to 24 months
 Play with the other members of the family to learn
the parts of the body. Let your child observes the first
and then participate.
 Pay attention to what he/ she is trying to express and
teach him new words.
 Encourage child to talk on the phone
 Ask with the child to identify pictures of characters
or things that he /she already knows from magazines
and games.

23.  2 yrs to 3 yrs
 Maintain an ongoing dialogue with the child, asking
her/ him to talk about play and name his/ her friends;
this will help stimulate language and intelligence.
 Give him/her plenty of opportunities to read (by
reading story books to him/ her) or draw (by
providing paper and pencils or fat crayons or
markers).

24.  Show pictures to the child, encourage
him/her to tell the name and use of objects
 3yrs to 4 yrs
 Encourage your child to talk
 Talk about his/ her daily routine, playtime activities,
and what she / he likes to play.
 Ask your child how he or she feels: “Are you tired?”
“Are you sleepy?”
 Play games with your child, singing songs that teach
gestures or imitate animals or characters from stories.

25.  4 yrs to 5 yrs
 Play games with your child using blocks or colorful
toys. Ask her or him to match colors or group similar
objects. Show him or her objects or things in the
environment that are of a certain color, and provide a
context for the colors.

26.  Encourage your child to play games involving the
following activities: drawing (either spontaneously or
copying), coloring, and cutting out pictures from
magazines. Always tell him or her picture represents
and asks your child to tell you about what she /he has
drawn.
 Tell your child stories and try to get him / her to
remember what they were about (for example, “What
is the name of the story we just read?” “What was the
story about?”

27.  There are three strategic areas for focus in early
childhood special education (ECSE)
 Improving systems to engage effectively with
families
 Improving systems to assist transition from early
intervention to prekindergarten to kindergarten
 Improving instructions to increase educational
outcomes in
- social/emotional skills & social relationships
- Acquiring & using knowledge & skills

28. - Taking appropriate action to meet needs
as well as to make a good ECSE programme you can
follow these guidelines
 Document children’ s learning with photos, videos &
notes.
 Connect the observations with curriculum objectives.
 Gain important knowledge of the children’s strength a
& needs.
 Track their learning & progress.
 Manage daily routine efficiently
 Collaborate with families and get more time to be spent
with the children.