Teach

As human beings, our need to belong is part of who we are. Our relationships with others help define us as individuals. From our earliest moments of life, we seek out others to protect, nurture and teach us. When we have positive attachment experiences in our early years, we develop into secure, trusting and confident individuals who can handle the ups and downs of life in our later years. When we don’t have positive attachment experiences, all is not lost. There are still opportunities to right the course. As a trainer or coach, that’s one of the most incredible aspects of your work: You can right the course for adults, children, and youth through your instructional leadership. You support children, youth, and staff by helping create an environment where everyone feels they belong and all adults have the support they need to do their best work.

Everyone is Welcome

How people are treated when they first come into your program sets the stage for how relationships will develop over time. Though a personalized greeting is so simple, it’s often overlooked. Work with all staff members to greet each child and family by name each day at arrival and pick-up. No one should enter or leave a classroom without being addressed personally. Make sure you model this type of greeting as you move through the program, as well: greet each staff member by name, chat with families in the hallway, and support the front office team to make sure that each family feels welcome each day.

New families and new staff need to be systematically oriented to your program. Work with the program manager to arrange in-depth tours of the program that includes spending time with not only classroom staff, but also key personnel. For example, have new staff spend time with meal-preparation staff, administrative staff, and support staff. Hearing these staff members talk about their roles lays the foundation for a meaningful relationship and respect across the program. Post signs showing frequently used areas, such as adult bathrooms; shared spaces, such as a lending library; and places to keep children’s personal items, such as cubbies. Display pictures of staff members that include short bios about who they are, what they like, and their roles at the program.

Everyone is Valued

Although it may be easy to talk theoretically about valuing diversity, it’s another thing to demonstrate it in your program. Diversity refers to more than ethnicity and culture—it includes religious beliefs, sexual orientation, ability status, and even child-rearing practices. Diversity broadens our world view. Ask families and staff to share their favorite recipes and then have those recipes on lunch menus. Display photographs of families throughout the program. Include items that reflect the families and staff not only in classrooms but in common areas. These are small gestures that can make a big difference. When someone walks into your program, can they tell who “lives there” and what they are like?

Environments are typically different for older and younger children. For example, bathrooms for younger children are often open and inside the classroom itself, whereas school-age children and youth typically use more private bathroom settings. The level of privacy, or lack thereof, could be uncomfortable for different children and families, who may have strict beliefs about privacy or feel the need for strong bathroom supervision. It will be important to work with staff to respectfully meet these diverse beliefs. Work with your program manager to make sure you can model the capacity to adapt spaces or practices in ways that still allow you to meet program standards while also respecting the wishes of families. For example, could a preschool child use the bathroom individually to offer more privacy? Or could some sheer fabric be added to open bathroom areas to create the feeling of more privacy?

Think deeply with program managers and staff about the messages your program sends about ability and access. Do all children, families, and staff receive the message, “You belong here” or are there barriers they must overcome? Historically, special education and disability services have followed what is known as a “medical model of disability.” In this model, services are a lot like a doctor’s prescription: a child’s diagnosis is the focus, and plans focus on how to strengthen the child’s weaknesses or build skills that will help them cope in classrooms. There is a different way to think about disability, though. It is known as the “social model of disability.” In this social model, the environment plays a key role in how children and adults experience disabilities.

Consider the perspectives on disability in the figure below. Which do you most relate to or hope for?

As you think about adapting your environment to better serve children and families, be sure to focus on the messages your environment sends about ability and access. What can you do to make sure your program is welcoming and free of barriers? As a first step, you can identify the ways your program meets accessibility guidelines. Look for things like ramps, curb cutouts, wide doorways, and electric door switches. It is important not to stop there, though. Look for ways to eliminate barriers families, staff, or children face within the program. For example, keep areas free of clutter so families with wheelchairs, strollers, canes, and walkers can navigate easily. Use photos and simple images to help families find their way without written text. Avoid scents that may create barriers for families with allergies or sensory concerns. Provide a range of cubby and shelving heights, so people of all sizes and those using mobility devices can reach. Modifications and adaptations to the environment are ongoing processes based on the needs of the families and children you serve.

Staff members may not always feel qualified to support children with disabilities. Help them recognize that children are children first but disability is an important part of a child’s identity. Each child is different. You must teach staff members to focus on ways the environment can support learning for each individual child. This benefits all children, not just those with identified disabilities. It is also important to help staff members know that children without IEPs or IFSPs need support, too. A child may not have an identified disability, but he or she may still struggle with understanding the learning environment. A child may need more intellectual challenges than the current environment provides. Staff members must know how to recognize when the learning environment is not meeting children’s needs. You can help them identify successful strategies and build confidence working with all learners. There are several steps you can follow:

1. Help staff collect information and identify the child’s strengths. You can observe in the classroom or program. Focus on how the child interacts with materials, adults, and peers. Help staff members notice the child’s strengths, as well as brainstorm ways to improve the learning experience with the child. Talk with families about a child’s prior experiences and what has worked well in the past.
2. Brainstorm strategies to build on strengths. Make sure you and staff members are familiar with a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Work with the school or agency on the IEP or IFSP to make sure environments and supports are as consistent as possible. For example, if the child’s IEP or IFSP has a goal to follow 1-step directions (e.g., wash your hands), brainstorm with staff how they can make sure their own directions are short and clear. If the child has goals around communication, brainstorm ways staff could design activities or routines to build more opportunities for the child to make requests, share ideas, or talk to peers.
3. Put strategies in place. Work with management to secure any necessary equipment (fidget toys, adapted materials) or to adapt the physical (install ramps, handrails, or accessible playground equipment). Support staff as they try new ideas. Provide feedback, model strategies, and discuss implementation.
4. Evaluate how the strategies are working and make changes.

They can then use this process to find solutions and try them out. You can offer professional development and resources in your professional library (see Lesson Two) that promote strengths-based views of disability so staff are aware of the various ways they can adapt to best meet the needs of all children or youth.

There are a host of wonderful resources available to help programs best support all children, including those with disabilities. The Kids Included Together (KIT) program (https://www.kit.org/) offers a variety of environment-related ideas to support young children and youth with social and behavioral needs, autism spectrum disorders, and developmental disabilities. You can also consider Building Blocks (Sandall & Schwartz, 2008) or Cara’s Kit (Milbourne & Campbell, 2007; see http://www.dec-sped.org/cara-s-kit-base). These resources from the Council for Exceptional Children Division for Early Childhood provide practical, real-world ways to make sure learning environments work for all children.

Model

Model a strengths-based approach to supporting children and staff. Start the process by having an information-sharing meeting to learn about the child. Model inclusiveness and curiosity by asking questions. Here are some questions to ask:

• What have you tried already?
• What worked? Why do you think it worked? What made that strategy work?
• What didn’t work? Why not? What about this strategy made it fail?
• What does the child like? What are his or her favorite times of day? Favorite songs, books, activities, people?
• What does the child dislike? What activities, people, and places does she or he avoid?
• What are your biggest hopes for this child?
• What one change do you think would make the biggest difference for this child?

After speaking with staff members, you will want to observe the child in various environments to provide another perspective on how the child is currently navigating the environment and what supports, adaptations or equipment might be helpful. See the “observe” section below for more information.

In addition to observation, if the child has an IEP or an IFSP you can model using this information as a resource. These documents often outline specific supports, modifications, or equipment that will help the child be successful. Even if the child does not have a formally identified disability, you can model looking up resources relevant to the child’s exhibited behaviors. Often by searching high-quality resources you can find out about modifications to the environment that have worked well for other children who have encountered similar barriers. These can offer staff a starting point of ideas to try. However, be careful to emphasize that not all children will react or behave in the same way; the supports and adaptations that work well for one child may not work the same for all. See the Learn section attachment for some examples of environmental supports, adaptive equipment and materials for children with dis/abilities.

Also, model working with the child’s family to gather information and collaborate on next steps. You can ask staff members to observe your conversations with families or role-play with staff members so they feel prepared to have conversations directly with families. Model communication with families by asking questions such as:

• What would you most like us to know about your child and what works for them?
• What spaces at home does your child seem to work or play best in? What spaces does he or she most enjoy?
• Are there spaces or things your child dislikes? What could we learn from those spaces and avoid here at the program? Are there particular triggers or challenges we should be aware of? When or where do you notice your child seems to struggle the most?
• How would you like us to learn about any adaptive equipment (walkers, communication devices, braces) your child uses? Are there words your family uses for these devices that we should use in the program, too?

You can also model sharing what you and other staff members have observed in your program, your resources, and what your initial ideas are. When modeling, make sure you highlight for families the parts of the environment that the child seems to enjoy or work well in as well as the areas the team is still trying to figure out with the child. Share with them the ways you have worked together as a staff to draft a plan, but also invite families to share their ideas and suggestions. Confirm that they are comfortable with the environmental modifications you wish to implement and then set a time when you will report back how things are working.

Observe

After meeting with staff and hearing their ideas, concerns, and experiences, spend some time carefully observing the child. It is best to be transparent about when, what, and how you will observe. Let the staff members know what time you will visit, how long you will stay, and how often you think you will come back to observe the child. Make clear that you are observing the child interacting with his or her environment; this observation is not a performance evaluation or classroom inspection. Your goal is to help the staff members and the child. Talk with the staff members about whether you will be sitting back and taking notes, working with the child, or trying out ideas. Let the staff members see any observation tools you choose to use.

When you conduct observations, make sure you allow plenty of time to see the child in a variety of settings. You want to see:

• Settings in which the child is always successful
• Settings or activities the child likes
• Settings or activities in which the child struggles
• Settings or activities the child dislikes

All of this information will help you develop a plan with the staff members. Watch this video from a school-age program. What adaptations to the physical environment could help the child play similarly to her peers?

After observing the child, it is time to get back together with the staff members. Debrief together. Work together to identify aspects of the environment that could be changed to better support the child’s learning. Consider what a coach or trainer might say and do after the observation:

Do your part to help the team make the changes they planned. As a trainer or coach, you may be responsible for finding materials, locating resources, or modeling a strategy with the child.

Conduct regular observations and meet with the team to make sure problems are being solved. Be sure to celebrate successes! Also, remember to make sure there is constant communication with the child’s family, either by helping to facilitate conversations with the family, or by confirming that staff members are regularly updating children’s families.