Vall Peter Defensor

BSPED-2B

A. EARLY INTERVENTION MOVEMENT -Infants and children with motor delays or movement problems can benefit from early intervention. This involves support and training for the child and family. It is provided by therapists, educators, or behavioral specialists skilled in working with children with motor and other developmental delays. Early intervention sometimes starts in the neonatal nursery. Or it may begin after the parents or pediatrician decide that the childs motor delays or movement problems are interfering with his ability to interact with his environment or with others. Using the skills of many specialists, early intervention programs focus on helping the child use motor skills that will provide him with opportunities to explore his environment, play, and interact with others. Guiding a child to move in the most useful way improves social, emotional, and intellectual development. Early intervention programs or therapies generally include occupational therapists and physical therapists who specialize in motor skill therapy. If feeding, speech, and other communication processes are affected, speech and language pathologists (SLPs) will coordinate their work with the other early intervention specialists. As children develop some movement skills, they may begin to work with early childhood special educators . These educators work with the therapists to help the child with social and cognitive skills. Other specialists are involved as needed, such as psychologists or social workers, vision specialists, and audiologists . The goal of early intervention is to help the family and the child to use the most functional movement patterns and build on a childs strengths to facilitate further development. Motor Skills Development Links & Resources B. INTERVENTION HISTORY B.1. POLICIES -The purpose of early intervention and support is to identify children with special needs as early as possible and to provide them with the supports and services they need to meet their physical growth and their social, emotional and intellectual development needs. The lifelong benefits of early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities are well documented. The earlier a childs special needs can be identified and addressed, the more likely the child and family will experience meaningful results from intervention. Evidence shows that early intervention increases the developmental, educational and social gains for children and reduces the potential for secondary problems. Another function of early intervention and support is to better allow families to understand their children and become actively involved in supporting their childs development. When children and families receive support early on, family stress is often reduced with the result that families are better able to envision a more positive and optimistic future for their children.

B.2.PUBLIC POLICY AND THE GIFTED - PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA FOT THE 113th UNITED STATES CONGRESS (2013-2015) The Council for Exceptional Children is an international community of educators who are the voice and vision of special and gifted education. Our mission is to improve the education and quality of life for children and youth with exceptionalities and their families through professional excellence and advocacy. CEC represents over 30,000 professionals who work on behalf of children and youth with exceptionalities, is the national voice for special educators and children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. CEC members serve on the frontline, educating children and youth today for integral participation in the workforce and society tomorrow. As a national leader in special and gifted education policy, CEC in close collaboration with its Children and Youth Action Network (CAN) has created its Public Policy Agenda for the 113th United States Congress. At a time when numerous policy challenges and opportunities are confronting special and gifted education, CEC stands ready to collaborate with policymakers to craft solutions that will positively impact children and youth with exceptionalities and the professionals who work on their behalf. CECs advocacy priorities emerge from one essential conviction: every child deserves access to a challenging, motivating, and rigorous education. A high quality education requires superior leadership, full financial support, effective instruction, skilled staff, appropriate programs, suitable facilities, and family and community involvement. CEC is committed to ensuring that the voice of special education is heard in public policy forums in which decisions are made or influenced. While there are many areas of concern to CEC members, CECs U.S Public Policy Agenda represents priority issues and is not intended to be an exclusive list, but rather to serve as a blueprint for the Councils policy and advocacy work. B.3. LAND MARK REGISTRATION OF PEOPLE W/ DISABILITIES - The civil rights movement for people with disabilities has made substantial progress through the enactment and implementation of several pieces of landmark legislation. UCP continues to advocate for a life without limits for people with disabilities through its policy efforts. Below is an index of some key pieces of legislation that has created meaningful change for people with disabilities and opened doors to employment, education, housing and other access to community life.

2010
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, known as the Health care reform law (P.L. 111148, as amended by P.L. 111-152). The ACA contains numerous provisions that greatly benefit people with disabilities. The most important changes that the ACA will bring about are: Prohibiting pre-existing condition exclusions; Eliminating annual and lifetime caps; Prohibiting discrimination based on health status and disability (prevents insurers from dropping individuals when they get sick); Requiring insurers to issue and renew insurance to employers and individuals; Expanding Medicaid eligibility to cover individuals with incomes up to

133 percent of the federal poverty line (approximately $29,000 per year for a family of four); and making a number of improvements to the Medicaid program. Learn more about the Rosas Law (P.L. 111-256) changes the terms mental retardation and mentally retarded to intellectual disabilities and intellectually disabled in federal laws regarding education, employment and certain health programs (not including Medicaid however). The statute does not alter eligibility, services or rights under these laws nor does it compel states to change their terminology, though many states have already changed their terminology. The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act (P.L. 111-374) makes many longoverdue reforms and improvements to the Housing and Urban Development Section 811 program. Most importantly, the law authorizes and/or incentivizes more integrated models supportive housing units by funding small set-asides of Section 811 units within affordable housing developments. The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (P.L 111-260) will ensure that Americans with disabilities can more fully participate in society and enjoy all that new technologies have to offerespecially Internet-based and mobile services. The new law will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind or have low vision to access the Internet, smart phones, television programming and other communications and video technologies. The law will also make sure that emergency information is accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision. In addition, $10 million per year will be allocated from the Interstate Relay Service Fund for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind. For more information read What S.3304 Does For Us. The Teacher Jobs and State Fiscal Relief Act of 2010 provides $16.1 billion in Medicaid funding and $10 billion in education funding that states can receive for 2011. Enactment of the law brings significant relief to advocates from across the country that had been bracing for further budget cuts to HCBS as well as special education teacher layoffs. The Social Security Applicants Access to Representation Act of 2010 (P.L 111-142) provides for the permanent extension of the attorney fee withholding procedures to qualified non-attorney claimant representatives for the OASDI and SSI programs. C. INCLUSION AND CASE LAW -Today an ever-increasing number of infants and young children with and without disabilities play, develop, and learn together in a variety of places homes, early childhood programs, neighborhoods, and other community-based settings. The notion that young children with disabilities1 and their families are full members of the community reflects societal values about promoting opportunities for development and learning, and a sense of belonging for every child. It also reflects a reaction against previous educational practices of separating and isolating children with disabilities. Over time, in combination with certain regulations and protections under the law, these values and societal views regarding children birth to 8 with disabilities and their families have come to be known as early childhood inclusion.2The most far-reaching effect of federal legislation on inclusion enacted over the past three decades has been to fundamentally change the way in which early childhood services ideally can be organized and delivered.3 However, because inclusion takes many different forms and implementation is influenced by a wide variety of factors, questions persist about the precise meaning of inclusion and its implications for policy, practice, and potential outcomes for children and families.The

lack of a shared national definition has contributed to misunderstandings about inclusion. DEC and NAEYC recognize that having a common understanding of what inclusion means is fundamentally important for determining what types of practices and supports are necessary to achieve high quality inclusion. This DEC/NAEYC joint position statement offers a definition of early childhood inclusion. The definition was designed not as a litmus test for determining whether a program can be considered inclusive, but rather, as a blueprint for identifying the key components of high quality inclusive programs. In addition, this document offers recommendations for how the position statement should be used by families, practitioners, administrators, policy makers, and others to improve early childhood services. D. PREVENTION AND RELATED LEGISLATION

- It is important that the health benefits of sport participation to youth13 are not offset by the
risk of sports-related injuries, such as concussion. Unfortunately, more than half of the traumatic brain injuries sustained by youth are caused by participation in sports.4 ,5 These injuries can have lasting cognitive effects (including impaired attention and memory) in addition to behavioural consequences, such as mood disorders.69 Since the developing bodies of youth are prone to the long-term consequences of injury,10 it is especially important to minimise the risk of concussion in all sports youth play. Recently, several jurisdictions have introduced initiatives aimed at preventing concussions among youth playing sports in North America. Legislation has been used to prevent injury in other, similar settings; helmet laws for cyclists reduced risk of cycling-related head and brain injury by up to 88%.11 Exploring the parallels between these two prevention efforts permits the opportunity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the new sport injury prevention initiatives relative to former, successful helmet laws for cyclists. Doing so can benefit the new initiatives as we can avoid past errors and learn from prior successes. The first legislation to prevent concussion was introduced in the USA in 2009, when Washington State drafted and enacted the Engrossed House Bill 1824, otherwise known as the Zackery Lystedt Law (ZLL).12 In 2012, the Government of Ontario, Canada, introduced Bill 39, the Education Amendment Act (Concussions), to protect young athletes from sports-related concussions by promoting awareness about concussions and implementing protocols to manage them.13 It is important to note that Bill 39 has since been prorogued due to changes in political leadership; we examine the prior Bill nonetheless to understand its potential, which may influence future discussions surrounding its reintroduction.

D. PHILIPPINES POLICY ON EARLY INTERVENTION - REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8980

AN ACT PROMULGATING A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AND A NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT (ECCD), PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "ECCD Act". Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote the rights of children to survival, development and special protection with full recognition of the nature of childhood and its special needs; and to support parents in their roles as primary caregivers and as their children's first teachers. The State shall institutionalize a National System for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) that is comprehensive, integrative and sustainable, that involves multi-sectoral and inter-agency collaboration at the national and local levels among government; among service providers, families and communities; and among the public and private sectors, non-government organizations, professional associations, and academic institutions, This System shall promote the inclusion of children with special needs and advocate respect for cultural diversity. It shall be anchored on complementary strategies for ECCD that include service delivery for children from conception to age six (6), educating parents and caregivers, encouraging the active involvement of parents and communities in ECCD programs, raising awareness about the importance of ECCD, and promoting community development efforts that improve the quality of life for young children and families, Sec. 3. Objectives. - The objectives of the National ECCD System are: (a) To achieve improved infant and child survival rates by ensuring that adequate health and nutrition programs are accessible to young children and their mothers from the pre-natal period throughout the early childhood years; (b) To enhance the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, psychological, spiritual and language development of young children; (c) To enhance the role of parents and other caregivers as the primary caregivers and educators of their children from birth onwards; (d) To facilitate a smooth transition from care and education provided at home to community or schoolbased setting and to primary school; (e) To enhance the capabilities of service providers and their supervisors to comply with quality standards

for various ECCD programs; (f) To enhance and sustain the efforts of communities to promote ECCD programs and ensure that special support is provided for poor and disadvantaged communities; (g) To ensure that young children are adequately prepared for the formal learning system and that both public and private schools are responsive to the developmental needs of these children; (h) To establish an efficient system for early identification, prevention, referral and intervention for developmental disorders and disabilities in early childhood; and (i) To improve the quality standards of public and private ECCD programs through, but not limited to, a registration and credential system for ECCD service providers. Sec. 4. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act: (a) Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) System refers to the full range of health, nutrition, early education and social services programs that provide for the basic holistic needs of young children from birth to age six (6), to promote their optimum growth and development. These programs include: (1) Center-based programs, such as the day care service established under Republic Act No. 6972, public and private pre-schools, kindergarten or school-based programs, community or church-based early childhood education programs initiated by non-government organizations or people's organizations, workplace-related child care and education programs, child-minding centers, health centers and stations; and (2) Home-based programs, such as the neighborhood-based play groups, family day care programs, parent education and home visiting programs. (b) ECCD Service Providers include the various professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteer caregivers who are directly responsible for the care and education of young children through the various center and home-based programs. They include, but are not limited to, day care workers, teachers, teacher-aides, rural health midwives, social workers, community health workers, barangay nutrition scholars, parent effectiveness service volunteers, child development workers, and family day care providers. (c) ECCD Curriculum refers to the age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate educational objectives, program of activities, organized learning experiences and recommended learning materials for children that are implemented by service providers through center and home-based programs. It shall consist of national program goals and guidelines, instructional objectives, and content outlines integrating local learning experiences and indigenous learning materials. (d) Parent Education refers to the various formal and alternative means of providing parents with information, skills, and support systems to assist them in their roles as their children's primary caregivers and educators. These include public and private parent education programs linked to center, home and media-based child care and education programs.

References: Miller, L. J. and Fuller, D. A (2007) Sensational kids: Hope And Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder. New York: Penguin Group. Tecklin, J. S. (2007) Pediatric Physical Therapy. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2640.htm Wilms Floet, A.M. (2006) Motor Skills Disorder. Emedicine: Medscapes Continually Updated Clinical Reference. - See more at: http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/physical-development/motorskills/articles/early-intervention-for-motor.html#sthash.bhPtmPdo.dpuf http://www.inclusionbc.org/about-us/social-policy-positions/early-intervention http://www.cec.sped.org/~/media/Files/Policy/Current%20Sped%20Issues%20Home/public%20policy% 20agenda%20FINAL.pdf http://ucp.org/what-we-do/public-policy/landmark-legislation/ http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2013/08/21/injuryprev-2013-040855.short http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8980.htm#.UqMwEdKKKrM