Week 1

• Examine terminology used for special populations in early childhood education.
• Identify federal, state, and local legal structures governing programs for special populations that serve children from birth to preschool through third grade.
• Examine the effect of public policies and laws on special populations in early childhood.
• Compare and contrast personal and societal perceptions of special populations in early childhood educational programs.

Week 2

• Analyze characteristics of the early childhood developmental milestones and learning styles within special populations.
• Differentiate between the different categories of special populations and describe how the child’s education can be impacted.
• Examine the implications of the classroom environment on the education of the early childhood special needs child.

Week 3

• Examine characteristics of students with high incidence disabilities (Specific Learning Disabilities, Significant Developmental Delay, Mildly Impaired Intellectual Disability, Emotional Behavioral Disorder, and Other Health Impaired).
• Identify the characteristics, prevalence, causes, and identification processes associated with special populations in early childhood education from birth to third grade.
• Analyze the different forms of reinforcement procedures and how they may impact a young student.
• Identify the learning obstacles that may be present in children with sensory loss.

Week 4

• Identify strategies for adapting classroom management procedures to meet individual children’s needs.
• Describe instructional strategies that may be used to adapt learning activities to meet individual children’s needs.
• Construct ways to incorporate all of the areas of development into classroom routines.
• Design classroom rituals that will help facilitate independence in all areas of development.

Week 5

• Examine assessment practices and related issues in administering, scoring, and interpreting test results to determine abilities and functioning levels of children in early childhood settings.
• Describe the pre-referral, referral, evaluation, and staffing processes for special populations in an early childhood setting.
• Identify support services, personnel, community resources, and agencies available to provide additional resources for special populations in early childhood.
• Identify collaborative practice with stakeholders for designing an effective IFSP/IEP plan inclusive of accommodations/modifications, goals, and objectives for the exceptional child.