INTEGRATING YOUNG-CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL - PROBLEMS AND PROMISE

Three-year-old Amy and her next door neighbor Kate attend a preschool program at their neighborhood community center. Making new friends at school has been fun for both of them. They enjoy art activities and circle time, especially the new songs and fingerplays that their teacher sings with them. Kate always looks forward to running on the playground and climbing the monkey bars. Amy spends her time outdoors sitting in the sandbox or swinging on the swing. Kate and Amy are like a lot of other little girls their age, with one important difference: Amy has cerebral palsy. She cannot walk, crawl, or speak. She uses a wheelchair or is carried by an adult to move from place to place. She understands what people say to her and is beginning to use a computer to help her communicate with others. In this community file years ago, children with disabilities similar to Amy's received intervention services in a special class or in an outpatient clinic. Much has changed in Amy's community in recent years: parents, teachers, and administrators worked together to develop inclusive preschool programs. Although she receives extra help from therapists at the local clinic, Amy has the stimulation and the challenges of attending school with her neighborhood friends. The discussion that follows examines some of the barriers that must be overcome and some of the benefits that are achieved in integrated programs such as the one that Amy attends.