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A History of EI/ECSE in The United States: A Personal Perspective - Dr. Diane Bricker

Dr. Diane Bricker lays out the history of early intervention and early childhood special education programs in the United States. She describes how these programs have evolved from no services available to legislative protections and funding for services for all infants and toddlers with disabilities. This evolution required contributions from government, the legal system, higher education, and dedicated professionals. Change takes time, as establishing need through research, developing policies and legal precedents, and securing funding all contributed to lasting improvements in services over the long term.

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Elyssa Daggett
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82 views4 pages

A History of EI/ECSE in The United States: A Personal Perspective - Dr. Diane Bricker

Dr. Diane Bricker lays out the history of early intervention and early childhood special education programs in the United States. She describes how these programs have evolved from no services available to legislative protections and funding for services for all infants and toddlers with disabilities. This evolution required contributions from government, the legal system, higher education, and dedicated professionals. Change takes time, as establishing need through research, developing policies and legal precedents, and securing funding all contributed to lasting improvements in services over the long term.

Uploaded by

Elyssa Daggett
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A History of EI/ECSE in the United States: A Personal Perspective - Dr.

Diane Bricker

As I suppose is often the case, when I started to work with young children and Young

children with disabilities, I never really spent a lot of time thinking about how the services

and programs that these children received actually came to be. This article presents itself as

a road map of how to introduce any new program or innovation in education. Step by step

Dr. Bricker lays out how we have gone from no Early Intervention or toddler programs for

children with moderate to severe learning or social-emotional disabilities to where we are

today with legislative and judicial decisions designed to protect and provide services for all

infants, toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities, governmental funding for research and

programs and professional preparation programs targeting the Early intervention and

preschool. None of these moving pieces – governmental, judicial or higher ed. professionals

in the field could have probably gotten us to where we are alone. Clearly, the determination

and dedication to people like Dr. Bricker, who knew what it would take and where to get the

support and policies they needed to move the needle forward was a major drive of the EI

movement. Universities play a large role in getting the ball rolling. They provide the data and

evidence needed to get the others’ attention.

My final take away- change doe not always come quickly. Proof of need backed by

data often produced and promoted at the University level, together with policy and judicial

development and governmental or corporate financial support is the key to changing almost

anything in significant and lasting way. Slow and steady wins the race!

Discretionary Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs -


Infant and toddler intervention services can be critical to the development of a

child with special needs. The sooner one can identify a disability the sooner you can begin to

address or adapt it to the benefit of the child. This article did a great job of laying out the

process and procedures of infant and toddler services. I had not considered the fact that these

programs are often in based in the family home. The recognition of the role of the family

in infant and toddler programming is key! On going conversations about their

concerns, priorities or access to resources should be as much a part of the program as

actual servicing of the child. How can these services help this child function better

within their home environment? Family willingness to participate in an in home

program for their toddler/infant can often lead to their participation in carrying

through with some activities at home.

Coordination and scheduling of services and communication with each of the service

providers could easily become overwhelming to a parent whose daily household routine can

be interrupted regularly by visiting service providers. These programs can impact not just the

toddler or infant targeted as needing the service but the entire family. The importance of not

negatively impacting the family is a complication that those who deliver services in a public

school or center setting do not have to consider. The program coordinator position is critical

to the success of toddler/infant and the family acceptance and understanding of what is taking

place. While the in home service delivery model is absolutely the right place for infants and

toddler programs, it does add another layer of coordination of services and extra attention to

communication between the family and the program coordinator .

Mandated Service for Young Children


The public school special education process is one that I am fairly familiar with. What struck

me most after reading chapters 9 and 10 is how the “family focus” of the infant/toddler

intervention program shifts to “child focus” once they enter public school. Both programs are

focused on improving the quality of life and function of the child, The big difference is that

infant and toddler programs really work with the family, within the family home and work

not just on child goals but family goals as well. I can see where this transition of focus can

be difficult for parents who are used to being an active member of the “team” and program

that has been a part of their household and are suddenly, and while still an important member

of the team, a less hands on active participant in the day to day program. The importance of

keeping them in the loop is critical. Just as the adjustment to going to school is for the child,

it is also an adjustment for parents. I think of my Mom telling me how hard it was for her to

let me go when I went to Kindergarten. I can just imagine how hard it must be for a parent of

a special needs child. Your role as care giver, advocate, and parent of a special needs child

can be an intense experience. Your child is often more dependent on you for even basic

needs and your time the first 5 years of their life and suddenly they are gone off to school

without you. Teachers who recognize the concerns of these parents and have some

knowledge of their family needs will be able to ease these concerns through communication

and reassurances. While the paperwork involved in IEPs and assessments, they do insure

that each child’s specific needs are being addressed. Programs are truly structured to provide

individualized instruction/services with targeted goals and measured progress.

States’ and territories’ definitions of/criteria for IDEA Part C eligibility


After reading through all of the different iterations of part C eligibility from State to

state, I was struck by two things:

1. Wouldn’t it be great if every state/territory could agree to a single criteria for all

children regardless of where they live! If I were a parent of a preschooler or toddler

diagnosed with a disability, this data would be of great interest to me. It could literally

help determine where I might want to live in order to support the needs of my child. It

would seem that in the United States we should be able to get what is needed for our

children and not worry about eligibility differences from State to State.

2. The North Eastern U.S. appears to be more comprehensive and progressive in their

eligibility as compared to the South East US. I would be curious to look into whether

this is based on economics, population distribution, or regional culture. Perhaps this is

the next step in the evolution of EI/infant and toddler programs

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