An Inclusive Early Childhood
Development Program
Adaptations for Including All Children
Children with Limited Dexterity, Motor Disabilities, and Physical Disabilities
Plan ahead for how they can successfully participate in all activities.
Provide…
- Housepainting brushes, foam wedges, roll-on applicators, and squeeze bottles
- Hand rollers to flatten clay because they can be used with one hand, or rolling pins
- Adaptive squeeze scissors (“spring scissors”)
- Custom scissors with large loops for one- or two-handed cutting and spring action to make them self-opening
- Stamps and cookie cutters that have grips so they are easy to grasp
- Self-stick colored dots or stickers
- Large pieces of collage materials, such as ribbon, yarn, and fabric
- Wheelchair easels or lap trays that include a pencil holder, wrist rest, and pouch for art supplies. These may include scoot guards and Velcro® to hold items in tray.
Adapt paint brushes by slipping foam hair curlers over the handles to make them easier to grip. Or, build up the grip with white sports tape or bicycle handgrip tape.
Adapt printmaking tools by adding knobs or handles to them.
Stabilize pie pans containing paint by taping them to the table with a strip of heavy-duty tape.
Avoid very small collage items that may be difficult to pick up.
Assist by spreading glue where the child wishes to add collage materials.
Provide a variety of fastening materials. Wood strips with pre-applied Velcro® may be easier than gluing for some children.
Make sure children are fully included in drama experiences. Try not to isolate them with "special" rules and environments. Ask the same of them as you would any child.
Make sure children are fully included in all dance activities. Don’t avoid words, topics, or areas because you think a child cannot do the activity.
All children move from one place to another.
Children using wheelchairs can move in different pathways, in different directions, at different rates, to different beats and different dynamics. Upper body, arms and hands can do alternative versions of any movements that legs can do.
Consider moving the child’s limbs in a therapeutic way that has been taught by the child’s family or therapist. Although some children cannot "get up and dance," each child can participate in his or her own unique way.
Use terms that are more open and broad, such as "reach for the skies" rather than "march on tiptoes," for movement activities.
Consider a "buddy system." Make sure that the child with a disability gives permission for the classmate without a disability to assist.
Have available various instruments that can be played with one hand and/or with little movement. Have wristband bells available for children who have trouble grasping.
Modify instruments as needed. Attach bells to the wheels of wheelchairs or scooters. Attach rain sticks to a limb or wheel with a simple Velcro® strap. Add extra support to drumsticks by strapping them onto hands with Velcro®.
To allow those without the use of their arms to hold a brush, use homemade or purchased headgear to hold tools. Attach a rubber spatula to the end of a brush to create a comfortable mouth painting tool.
For foot painters and sculptors, construct an art slipper from wood and leather that fits over the shoe and can be used for sanding or pounding. Brushes or other tools can be attached to the front of the slipper by drilling holes in the wood.
For those without fine dexterity who have limited use of their hands, construct a cuff that can fasten a brush or tool to the hand.
Fill empty roll-on deodorant bottles with paint to provide students without fine motor control a painting tool that is easy to maneuver.
Wrap string around the roller of a rolling paint brush to create unique textures that do not require fine motor control to produce.
Use thicker drawing tools for easier grasping. Use modeling clay or Plasticine® to thicken the tool handle if necessary. Modeling clay and Plasticine® are good for this purpose because they follow the unique contours of a student’s hand.
Children Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
Plan ahead for how they can successfully participate in all activities.
Provide…
- Gel paint. It leaves a raised bead when dry, providing tactile definition.
- Textured paint—or tempera paint with sand added
- Scented markers
- Books on tape for listening at a listening station
- High-contrast paper; light, dark, shiny, and sparkling paper
- Collage materials that make a textured surface, such as cotton balls and scrunched-up tissue paper
- Large magnifiers in learning centers
Never walk away from a child who is blind without notifying him or her that you are leaving.
Place the paper the children will be drawing on inside a tray with raised edges. This will help define the boundaries.
Notch the paper on one corner to help students feel the difference between the top and bottom of a piece of paper.
Place a screen, cardboard, rubber mat, heavy cloth, or other textured surface beneath the drawing paper to create a relief effect students can feel and understand with their fingers.
Use bold colors that are easy to differentiate.
Set up and/or line up the materials in open containers or trays. Tell children which material is first, second, and third.
Provide a tape recorder for children to record an oral portrait. Allow time for them to practice what they want to record. Give suggestions. For example: Describe your hair, your height, the way you sit, and the way you move. Are you smiling?
Make sure other children identify themselves before speaking.
Describe pantomimes.
Use auditory cues, such as playing and turning off music, to indicate starting and stopping of performances.
Use thick cord taped to the floor in either circles or squares to mark children’s personal performance spaces. Now they can “feel” the edges of their dance and movement spaces with their feet.
Attach a string to opposite walls of the classroom. That way students can use the string as a guide and move along it.
Consider a "buddy system." Make sure that the child with a disability gives permission for the classmate without a disability to assist.
Children with Hearing Disabilities
Plan ahead for how the children can successfully participate in all activities.
Speak directly to a person or child who is deaf, not to his or her sign language interpreter.
Do not play or let other children play with a companion or guide dog. The dog is working (like a police dog or a guard dog is working) and should not be distracted from its job.
Provide visual cues, such as red and green cards, to indicate that the drumbeat or music has stopped or started.
Provide visual cues to stories, such as quickly shining a flashlight to indicate lightning.
Face children and drum out the rhythm on a drum in their view. Invite them to feel the drum.
Write out the words and phrases of songs on the chalkboard or easel pad chart. Use pictures to illustrate the story.
Remember that children may require their sight in order to follow along with an activity. Having children close their eyes or even dimming the lights too low may inhibit or even prevent their participation.
Some children may enjoy listening to the music through headphones.
Invite children to sit close to the speakers so that they can feel the vibration as the music is being played.
Make sure children are looking at you and you have their attention before giving instructions.
Include many visual props to enhance the meaning of the songs.
Encourage participation in class songs by allowing children to sing along whenever possible, sing along in sign language, or play along with a musical instrument.
Children with Cognitive Disabilities
Plan ahead for how children can successfully participate in all activities.
Set out materials in the order in which they will be used. This will help children plan what to do first, next, and last.
Give instructions one step at a time. Praise each completed step, then continue with the next step.
Provide picture cards with simple illustrations that represent favorite songs so that children can communicate their selections by pointing.
Suggest some parameters to the collage theme or other visual arts lessons by giving children more specific ideas for subject matter. For instance: "What I Like to Do (on the playground, with my family, in the summer, etc.)."
Break up stories into small sections, stopping between sections to summarize and ask questions. Check for comprehension before reading or telling the next section.
Use multisensory props when telling a story or conducting a drama lesson. Consider tactile, auditory, and visual props, and props that incorporate children’s sense of smell.
Provide safe opportunities for children to touch warm and cold objects in order to differentiate between the concepts of hot and cold.
Demonstrate dance movements. Give children only one or two movements to focus on at a time. Build sequences gradually.
Tape a large unique shape or color cutout to the floor—one for each child—as a starting and ending point for dance and movement activities.
Children with Behavioral and Emotional Disabilities
Set appropriate expectations and boundaries and make sure the children know and understand these. Focus on the desired behaviors rather than depending on telling children what not to do. Consistency is important for all children and particularly for children with behavioral issues.
Praise and encouragement are effective ways of encouraging positive behaviors. Commenting on effort, cooperation, and appropriate expression will encourage children to seek recognition and attention in constructive ways.
Offer a range of choices in all activities so that the children are able to feel secure that they can participate in ways that will be successful for them.
Keep consequences for inappropriate behavior clear and straightforward. These should be consistent with the general classroom routine. As at all times, difficult behavior should be dealt with calmly and in a matter-of-fact manner, so that escalation of emotional outbursts is avoided as much as possible.
When planning and conducting drama lessons or other lessons that involve expression of feelings, be aware of any traumatic events in children’s lives. Take care not to cause children distress during pantomime, dramatizations, role playing, dance, or movement activities.
Some children may prefer to assist with stopping and starting the music or helping with other cues, rather than directly participating in drama activities.
Pair children with others or have them perform with small groups of children, as they may feel uncomfortable in the spotlight.
Children with Chemical Sensitivities
Remember that they can be adversely affected by art materials, like glue, markers, starch, and tempera paint, particularly if the materials have an odor or are used in spray forms.
Avoid using any aerosol sprays and check with children’s families and/or physicians for specific materials to avoid. Use reasonable substitutes.
Motor and Physical Disabilities
Blind or Have Vision Disabilities
