Early Childhood Special Education

The Early Childhood specialty area is designed to prepare professionals to work with infants and preschool children who have or are at risk for disabilities and their families. Careers in early childhood education include, but are not limited to:

	early interventionists		transdisciplinary team members
	early childhood special educators		family service coordinators

Personnel are preprared with knowledge, skills, and competencies in:

	typical child development				models for implementing instruction in natural environments
	development and behavioral characteristics and needs of infants and young child with disabilities				evaluation of child progress
	child assessment techniques and procedures,				working in collaboration with families and professionals
	behavior and operant procedures				philosophical, historical, and legal foundations in special education
	service delivery models for infants and young children				professionalism and ethical practices
			intervention techniques and strategies

There are 22 credit hours of supervised practicum experience within this program concentration. Students are placed with infants and young children with disabilities in a variety of settings including inclusive classrooms, special education classrooms, general education classrooms and children's homes.