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EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION
What is Special Education Preschool?
Preschool children need opportunities for growth and stimulation in all areas of development: physical, language, social, emotional, and mental. Because each child has unique needs, abilities, and experiences, it is sometimes difficult to know if a child needs extra help.
Preschool education is a variety of programs offered by the public school to meet the needs of children who are eligible for services. These services are optional services that are offered to families of children with special needs at no cost.
How do I know if my child needs special services?
Many preschool children develop skills at different rates; however, we expect certain skills to be present at specific times during early childhood. The following is a general list of some skills that should be present at ages 2-5.
Age 2 |
Age 3 |
Age 4 |
Age 5 |
| Jumps in place | Hops on 1 foot |
Jumps forward 10 times |
Runs lightly on toes |
| Snips with scissors | Copies circle with a pencil |
Cuts on a line |
Copies name |
| Names common objects | Answers questions |
Joins sentences together |
Communicates well |
| Points to 6 body parts | Tells 1st and last names |
Counts to 5 |
Retells story from a book |
| Puts 2-3 words together | Toilet trained |
Names 4-6 colors |
Counts 10 objects |
| Participates in simple games | Interacts with children |
Hangs coat |
Brushes teeth |
Who determines if my child needs special services?
A team of professionals that include the parent, the special education teacher, school psychologist, speech/language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and other specialists as needed will be assigned to evaluate your child. These specialists will evaluate your child for specific problems that can affect his/her higher education. These problems can be global or they can be as specific as a speech problem alone.
You will then meet as a Case Conference Committee to discuss the evaluation results and determine if your child is eligible for special education services. If your child is eligible, goals will be written and services will be developed and implemented.
Anderson Community Schools Special Education department offers a continuum of services that include homebound instruction, special education preschool classrooms, community-based preschool sites, and speech therapy services. These services will be determined by the Case Conference Committee.
Eligibility for special education programming is determined by the Case Conference Committee according to Indiana State Law, Article 7.
What should I do if I suspect that my child has some special needs?
If your child is 3 to 5 years old, contact Erin Smith, the Preschool Coordinator in the Special Education Department at Anderson Community Schools at 641-2000, extension 3046 and tell her that you would like your child to be evaluated for Early Childhood Special Education.
As infants learn to communicate, they progress at very different rates. Your baby may lag behind at some points but as long as he/she produces syllable with consonants (such as “ba” or “da”) by 10 months and doesn't’t suddenly lose the ability to babble once he/she gained it, experts say there’s no need to worry. Here’s a rough schedule:
| 1-4 months | Smiles, frowns, laughs, coos (vowel sounds such as “ooh” and “aah”);recognizes sound of own name |
| 5-7 months | Produces single syllables such as “ba” and “da”; understands “Mommy” and “Daddy” |
| 7-8 months | Babbles in strings (“bababa,” “dadada”) |
| 8-12 months | Grunts, whines, strings together different syllables into nonsense sentences; gestures meaningfully (points of objects, raises arms to ask for hug) |
| 11-14 months | May speak first words; understands 50 words or more |
| 18-24 months | Adding many single words to his/her vocabulary; some 2-word combinations emerging |
| By age 2 | Words should be combined into 2 and 3-word phrases and sentences; you should be able to understand about half of his/her speech |
| 3-5 years | Begin to learn to carry on a conversation – ask and answer questions and follow and give directions; you should be able to understand 75% of your 3- year old’s speech and 90-100% of a 4 and 5-year old’s. |
PRESCHOOL STAFF
| Pre-school Coordinator | Community Based Pre-School Teacher | Pre-school Speech Therapist |
| Erin Smith | Sandra Leslie |
Colleen Garner |
| 1229 Lincoln St. | 1229 Lincoln St. |
1229 Lincoln St. |
| Anderson, IN 46016 | Anderson, IN 46016 |
Anderson, IN 46016 |
| 765/641-2000 ext. 3046 | 765/641-2000 ext. 3047 |
765/641-2000 ext. 3948 |
| elsmith@acsc.net | sleslie@acsc.net |
cgarner@acsc.net |
Pre-school Teachers
Danielle Hinton |
Jessica Jones Quire |
Michelle Ray |
Susan Watkins |
Greenbriar School |
Greenbriar School |
Erskine Elementary School |
Ebbertt Education Center |
2001 Ashbourne Rd. |
2002 Ashbourne Rd. |
811 W. 60th St. |
325 W. 38th St. |
Anderson, IN 46011 |
Anderson, IN 46011 |
Anderson, IN 46013 |
Anderson, IN 46013 |
765/641-2034 |
765/641-2034 |
765/641-2099 |
765/641-2121 |
dhinton@acsc.net |
jajones@acsc.net |
mray@acsc.net |
swatkins@acsc.net |
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