Where did all the help go?

I conducted my field study hours in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom being taught by Mandy and her aide Brenda. This classroom has twenty children, 18 of the children were there in the classroom. She runs her classroom like a kindergarten room, so there is a lot of activity in the room. She has arranged the seat work where the stronger students are able to help the weaker students in the room, the ones who need more one on one help are in an easy to reach area.

According to the lead teacher, there are a  number of  developmental and learning disabilities that haven't been addressed and the students who have these disabilities are struggling in the classroom. According to Mandy she has a student with severe behavioral issues, one has ADHD, another child is learning impaired, one child is developmentally challenged. All these children have been assessed by a local agency and are unable to receive services "WHEN" they enter kindergarten.

I think what is shocking that most of the students who are showing signs of learning disabilities, like I mentioned, had been turned away from getting assistance because "a doctor won't label my child with a disability, or he is to young to have a learning disability, he is only in preschool." Only one child who has been labeled with a developmental delay has received services because his parents knew what to look for and was concerned enough to insist a second opinion from specialist. He was receiving services until he reached the goals set in an IEP plan at the local school district. The parents are planning on getting him reevaluated prior to him entering kindergarten this year.

There was one parent who stated she felt her son has ADHD, because there is a family history of it (his father has it) was talking to Mandy regarding getting a person in to observe his behavior in the classroom, so she can get a referral to get him some specialized help in the classroom. When I talked to Mandy she told me that yes there has been a call in for specialized observation planned for a number of the students, but because there is such a need and there is only one person who handles it in the Child Care Connections agency, there is a long waiting list.

We just discussed that we need to honor the family's feeling, so having early intervention in this classroom not only helps the child but the family as well. Early intervention can support and restore family life. I feel this parent would feel less worried or stressed about their child's learning or education chances if they knew that something was being done about the developmental or learning delays their child may be showing. 

Parents, like the teacher,  want their children to be successful in school and hold high hopes for their future but a special educational need may be evident from an early age and it needs to be addressed and not left until it is to late to really do anything about it.

I think my focus questions are being addressed with this classroom on a daily basis. What is the quality of services offered to children who are exhibiting signs of Autism or ADHD?

Are the services offered at the ages 0-3 adequate enough to prepare the young children for school age, or do early services need to be extended to age 4?

Do we have the programs to meet the many diverse needs when it comes to early intervention?

Interview gives insight to early intervention research

I interviewed a few teachers, all from different walks of education. I wanted to see how the lack of early intervention affected them in the long run. When there is a lack of early intervention it doesn't just affect the student now, but also in the future learning. I interviewed a first and third grade teacher, and then I interviewed a high school teacher.  I see everyday where a child may need early intervention but services are not available or the family will not follow through with the service plans.

Without proper intervention my teachers I interviewed felt that the child suffers, and will not receive the same training as their peers,  they have no understanding how the classroom setting work, socialization skills, and of course getting the basic skills such as colors, shapes, numbers before entering school. The high school teacher I interviewed felt that early intervention is needed because these same students are still playing “catch-up” with other kids even at the high school level. Without early intervention we are seeing these children suffer feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and "stupidity".

All three felt that early intervention is something to advocate for because of the diverse needs of students with special needs. It doesn't have to be extreme disabilities, but that little push that early intervention gives is that one small thing that can make a huge difference in the child’s education in the long run. I feel strongly about early intervention because of the field I currently work in, and see so many children who could benefit from this. Unfortunately because of the constant funding cuts we see a lot of needed services cut or limited to certain ages.

After talking to teachers from different grades I am able to get a full understanding how deeply this issue impacts this child from day one. I will continue with my plan to do early intervention as my research project.

I think by talking to the teachers, I think that early intervention is my main research, but three topics that interest me that tie in with this would be how early intervention is decided. How disorders such as ADD, ADHD, and other behavioral issues would benefit with early intervention, and if there is no intervention how does the child perform in a school setting. I would also like to look at the time constraints on how address learning or behavioral disabilities to identify the issues to get early intervention services before it is too late.

My question is how can a country who is rated so low in education, cut something so important as early intervention services?

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