Early Childhood Special Education

• The Early Childhood Special Education program (ESCE) provides services to children aged 3 to pre-K who qualify for Special Education Services.
• USD 290's ECSE program consists of Community-Based services, Home-Based services, and the Pathways to Access Learning Skills (PALS) Classroom.
• The ECSE team consists of an ECSE teacher, Occupational Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist, Physical Therapist, and School Psychologist. Referrals are made as appropriate for services such as Social Work, Nursing, and Vision Consultant.
• Children who have Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) with the Ottawa-Wellsville Infant Toddler Program (OWIT), transition from OWIT to the USD 290 ECSE program on or before the child's third birthday.

ECSE Developmental Screenings:

The first Wednesday morning of each month during the school year, developmental screenings are held in the PALS classroom at Eisenhower Elementary, 1404 S. Ash. Children must be referred by a parent, who has a developmental concern about their child. Developmental screenings are advertised in the Ottawa Herald each month. A screening may be recommended to a parent by a doctor, a Kan-Be-Healthy visit, Franklin County Health Department, Elizabeth Layton Center, a community-based preschool, or a day care provider.

Developmental Screenings are at no cost to the family. The screening coordinator schedules the screenings and takes initial information about the family/child. Screenings last approximately 30-45 minutes. Areas of development that are screened include: Personal-Social (play/behavior), Adaptive (self-care), Cognition (thinking), Motor (movement), Speech-Language (speaking/listening), Hearing (ears), and Vision (eyes). Parents are also asked to complete a questionnaire about their child's development and medical history.

At the completion of the screening, the ECSE team will score the results and notify the parents of the findings. If the team determines that more information is required, the parents are notified, and the team will request written consent for a full evaluation to determine if the child requires ECSE services to meet his/her developmental needs. If so, an IEP will be developed, and the child will receive services in one or a combination of the following service delivery model.

ECSE Community-Based Services:

USD 290 believes that all children should receive needed services in the least restrictive environment. To support that belief, the ECSE team provides Special Education services to support children whose families have decided to enroll their child in Community-Based preschools and/or Day Care programs. The team members who provide services to a particular child collaborate with the family and child care center the child attends to provide services in the child's natural environment.

ECSE Home-Based Services:

If a child is at home, the ECSE team collaborates with the family to provide services in the home environment. Caregivers frequently observe or participate in the child's lessons. The caregiver is trained on in-home lessons by the ECSE team, so the caregiver can facilitate the lessons with the child on a daily basis. The child’s daily routine is incorporated into ways to teach the child as much as possible. A child can also come to the PALS classroom for individual skill training, if that is a more effective setting for teaching purposes.

ECSE Pathways to Access Learning Skills Program (PALS):

• If a more structured setting is required for a child to learn skills, the ECSE team may recommend the child attend the PALS classroom. This classroom is exclusively for children that are on an IEP. Typically children who are 3-years-old attend 2 days per week, and 4-year-olds or Pre-K children attend 3 days per week.
• The program is staffed by the Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapists, Physical Therapist, and Paraeducators. Other specialty consultants are available on an as needed basis.
• The curriculum for the PALS Program is structured to support the needs designated on a child's IEP. Skills that are emphasized are Social Skills, Self-Help skills, Thinking skills, Motor Skills, and Language Skills.
• Children participate in structured free play, preschool art projects, circle learning time, story time, snack, restroom, large and fine motor play, language activities, structured social skills, and individual lessons.