ECH/302 - Exceptionalities of the Young Child

Course Description

This course provides an overview of the exceptional young child in early childhood education who may require accommodations and adaptations. The course focuses on developmentally-effective methods and techniques used for the identification, assessment, and instruction of children with special needs from birth to age 8. Legal structures, public policy, and information related to current practices serving exceptional young children in early childhood are also examined.

This undergraduate course is 5 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for students residing Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming and individuals who live outside the United States are not eligible to enroll in this course.

Course Objectives

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.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing education for teacher’s courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing education for teachers’ courses is not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. More information about eligibility requirements, policies, and procedures can be found in the catalog or please check with a University Enrollment Representative.