DEC Launches New Resource for Instructors and Leaders

Are you interested in free, high-quality, evidence-based resources to use in your work? Would you like a source for fresh ideas to use as part of your practice, courses, professional development, presentations, or briefings? The Division for Early Childhood (DEC), an international membership organization for those who work with or on behalf of young children (0-8) with disabilities and other special needs and their families, may have just what you’re looking for.

Resources within Reason is a new bi-monthly, one-way listserv. Each issue focuses on a topic of interest to individuals who support young children and their families, with emphasis on children with or at risk for disabilities. All featured resources are free.

The content of Resources within Reason is coordinated by Camille Catlett. The listserv is supported by DEC. All or part of Resources within Reason may be freely shared or copied.

To receive Resources within Reason directly, visit http://www.dec-sped.org/resources-within-reason and click “Join the listserv”.

We hope you will find this resource useful and encourage others to sign up and use it. We’re provided it in both Word document and PDF versions to make it easy to re-purpose all or part of the document. 

Issues of Resources within Reason are archived on the DEC website at http://www.dec-sped.org/resources-within-reason where you can also find information about the organization and other DEC resources for early childhood, early childhood special education, and early intervention professionals.

To suggest resources or request focus topics for the listserv, please contact Camille Catlett at (919) 966-6635 or camille.catlett@unc.edu 

To continue receiving this FREE bi-monthly resource, you must opt-in. 
Did you ever have someone ask you for a definition of inclusion? Or did you ever wish you could quickly access the research that documents the benefits of inclusion for young children with and without disabilities? If you answered yes, you may find this issue of Resources within Reason useful. It features resources that will help you quickly pull up and share definitions, research findings, and access essential examples of the evidence for inclusion. These materials may be used to raise awareness, support planning, offer strategies, and hopefully, change attitudes.
Definitions of Inclusion
In 2009, a definition was jointly developed by DEC and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It appears on page 2 of Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Statement . This definition also identifies three defining features of inclusion: access, participation, and [systemic] supports .
The September 2015 Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs
offers a definition of inclusion on page 3. Their definition explicitly defines inclusion as applying to “all young children with disabilities, from those with the mildest disabilities, to those with the most significant disabilities.” Their policy statement also summarizes the benefits and challenges of inclusion, and delineates several recommendations for states.
Inclusion Research Facts
Want easy access to a summary of the research documenting the benefits of quality inclusion for preschoolers with and without disabilities? Look no further than Fact #2 of the  Fact Sheet of Research on Preschool Inclusion  (2014). The document describes examples of empirically supported facts regarding preschool inclusion. The authors also created a 4-page  Brief Summary  that just lists the facts and references.
An April 2016 resource ( Preschool Inclusion: Key Findings from Research and Implications for Policy ) highlights research relevant to three questions: 1) What are the effects of inclusive preschool on children’s early learning and development? 2) What is known about the quality of inclusive preschool programs? and 3) What is known about how to improve the quality of inclusive preschool?

To learn about research findings that are not exclusive to preschool, take a look at the Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion . Take a look, for example, at the evidence for the importance role collaboration plays in creating quality inclusion. 
Barriers to Preschool Inclusion
Want to know what a national survey found to be the greatest barrier to inclusion? Attitudes and beliefs.
Read more about this survey, the results, and strategies for addressing each barrier in Early Childhood Inclusion: Challenges and Strategies from the 2014 Preschool Inclusion Survey . NOTE: In December 2015, New Mexico replicated the study by surveying early childhood and early childhood special education partners throughout the state. Attitudes were still the #1 barrier. 
Resources within Reason is a free, bi-monthly, one-way listserv provided by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC). All resources are evidence-based, readily available and free. Resources within Reason may be freely shared or reproduced. Past issues are available here.

To sign up for or to continue receiving Resources within Reason, click here or email dec@dec-sped.org

To suggest resources or request topics for the listserv, please contact Camille Catlett at 919.966.6635 or camille.catlett@unc.edu.

Visit the DEC website to learn more about resources, practices, products and professional development opportunities that can help support young children with or at risk for disabilities and their families. 
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