Justice and colleagues conclude that regardless of disability, classrooms in which most children have poor language skills are not ideal. They suggest that since typically developing kids continue to improve their language skills even when they have some less-skilled classmates, administrators should aim for a diversity of skill level in the classroom.
Six hundred seventy preschoolers participated in the study. Just over half of them had a clinically diagnosed disability, including autism spectrum disorder, language impairment, or Down syndrome.
The researchers found that preschoolers with special needs were more influenced by their peers’ language skills than were children without disabilities. Children with disabilities whose classmates had weak language skills showed the strongest effects – by spring, their language skills lagged far behind those of typically developing children.
This parent newsletter out of Colorado, is not necessarily geared toward Early Childhood, but does have many wonderful articles and is available online in both Spanish and English.
This BriefCASE contains strategies to assist individuals using a coaching style of interaction to refine their skills when supporting parents, care providers, and colleagues.
Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media
:As a national and international resource for addressing emerging issues affecting children from birth to age 5, the Center continues Fred's commitment to building bridges between early learning and children's media.
A joint position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College
With the increased recognition that an important part of brain development occurs within the first three years of a child's life, and that reading to children enhances vocabulary and other important communication skills, the group, which represents 62,000 pediatricians across the country, is asking its members to become powerful advocates for reading aloud, every time a baby visits the doctor.