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National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning

May 2021 | Issue No. 43

Increased Access, Increased Learning: Promoting Access and Participation for All Children

Early childhood environments offer many different kinds of learning experiences. Educators work hard to develop activities and lessons that get children actively involved. But children have a variety of strengths, needs, and interests that can affect their participation. Even with thoughtful planning, some children still struggle to participate. When children don’t engage in a meaningful way, their opportunity for learning can be impacted. This can be especially true for children with disabilities or suspected delays. Specific strategies, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and using individualized modifications, can enhance access and participation.

UDL is a foundational strategy educators can use to plan their learning environment with the needs of all learners in mind. An environment that applies UDL principles works for a wide range of learners. It helps ensure children are not limited to a single way of participating and that learning can take place in a variety of ways. Modifications help to maximize a child’s participation in planned activities, interactions, and routines. Modifications include making small changes to classroom activities or providing materials that are based on individual needs.

Promoting access and participation by using universal design strategies and making individualized modifications are Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices. To learn more about effective practices in these areas, read Role of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiation in Inclusive Preschools. It is part of the DEC Recommended Practices Monograph Series No. 2. In this chapter, review term differentiation, which is often used in special education and early intervention to describe how to make modifications and adaptations that can promote participation in learning environments.

Read About It

Young boy with disabilities working with teacher.

Maria has been the lead educator in an early learning program at Bridgeport Early Head Start for about six months. Her program’s disabilities services coordinator, Luis, just let Maria know that a new child, Hani, will be arriving. Hani is 18 months old. She was born with Down syndrome.

Maria is looking forward to having Hani join, but she has never had a child with Down syndrome in her program before. Maria wants to make sure she prepares the learning environment so it is appropriate for Hani. She also wants to make sure she is able to support Hani in her first days as she gets to know her.

Maria and Luis work together to make a plan that will help them learn as much about Hani as they can. First, Luis and Maria review Hani’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) goals to see what skills she is working on. Next, Maria reaches out to Hani’s family to learn more about her development. Maria learns that Hani is not yet walking but can sit and belly crawl. She also cruises along using furniture for support. Hani babbles and says “mama”. She waves and claps and reaches and fusses to get what she wants. She likes to play with many different toys. She bangs toys and drops things but does not yet put toys together. Hani likes to be near other children and watch them play. Luis and Maria talk about how important it will be to collaborate and work closely with Hani’s family and her IFSP team. They will need to communicate often about Hani’s development and about teaching strategies Maria and her team can use to support Hani. Luis and Maria meet with the Early Intervention providers to learn about their work with Hani and her family and to share information about their program.

Types of Curriculum Modifications and Embedded Learning Opportunities
This appendix from the Disability Services Coordinator Orientation Guide provides an overview of eight modification categories. Educators can use individualized modifications to promote a child’s engagement in learning activities.

Curriculum Modifications for Infants and Toddlers
Explore curriculum modifications for infants and toddlers that can be used in a variety of home and program settings. This training module includes slides, learning activities, tools for educators, and helpful resources. Scenario: To help Maria learn more about modifications and how they support participation, disabilities services coordinator Luis arranges a short training for Maria using the module materials. Based on what they know about Hani’s skills, Maria and Luis choose to make a few changes to the current program set-up. They think these changes might help Hani in her first few days. They agree to use the child participation form to assess Hani’s engagement in activities, once she has started.

Universal Design for Learning: Creating a Learning Environment That Challenges and Engages All Students
This module examines the three principles of UDL. Discover how to apply these principles when creating goals, selecting instructional materials, planning instructional methods, and planning for assessment.

Take a Look

Environments That Support High-Quality Inclusion
Watch this webinar to learn effective, research-based ideas for changing the environment in ways that can support children from birth to age 5 who have suspected or identified disabilities or delays.

Supporting Inclusive Environments
Circle Time Magazine, a professional development talk show, provides strategies and resources to promote children’s access and participation in the learning environment. This episode highlights modifications for both indoor and outdoor environments. It discusses how to use individualized strategies that support accessibility in inclusive classrooms. Scenario: Maria is excited about having Hani join the early learning program. She is interested in learning more about the importance of inclusion and belonging for all children. Maria wants to give a warm welcome to Hani and her family. She watches this episode to learn more about how planning her learning environment to reduce barriers and ensure accessibility can also promote a sense of belonging.

Adapting Children’s Learning Opportunities
Find strategies for making sure all children can access materials and activities in their daily environments. The practice guide describes how to tell if children are participating, what modifications to use, and how to tell if modifications are working.

Try It Out

Child Participation Evaluation Form
This resource is part of a 15-minute In-service Suite on modifications to promote access and participation. The suite has other helpful resources, including an activity matrix for modifications and a tool for supervisors to help guide classroom observations.

Supporting Early Literacy Through Universal Design and Assistive Technology
Developed for supervisors, this checklist is designed to guide observations of educators. Use this tool to help determine how supports are provided for children who require modifications in order to participate in early literacy activities.

Environmental Adaptations Checklist
Puzzled about what types of environmental adaptation can be used in your program to reduce barriers and promote participation? This checklist can help you assess what’s already being used and then create an action plan for individual adaptations.

Improve Your Practice

Tiered Supports for Individual Learners
Providing a high-quality, accessible learning environment for all children, along with offering individual supports for children who need them, is called a system of tiered supports. This webinar describes how to use tiered supports to meet the learning needs of each child. Scenario: As Maria learns more about modifications to support inclusion, Luis knows it’s important for her to learn about other supports within a tiered system. They watch the webinar together, then make some notes about how they might recognize if Hani, or other children in the program, need a higher level of support than the modification level.

Differentiating Learning Opportunities in Early Math
Learn how to apply the strategy of differentiation to support participation in early math activities. This in-service suite describes how education staff can use ongoing child assessment to plan individualized math learning opportunities.

UDL Tool Kit
This toolkit focuses on two key areas, assessment and instructional practices, to help leaders and educators use UDL principles.

Partnering with Part C Providers
Explore benefits and tips for building partnerships between education staff and Part C providers in support of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

Families, Too!

Everyday Learning at Home
Families can use this tip sheet for guidance on using modifications to help their young child with disabilities actively participate in routines. Scenario: When they first met, Hani’s parents told Maria they were worried about “doing too much” for Hani. Maria has been talking to many families about how to support their child’s growing independence and is working on a family information night to share suggestions. She decides to share and use information from this tip sheet at the event, along with other resources.

Supporting Your Child’s Learning
This tip sheet for families of young children with disabilities offers ideas on how to use Assistive Technology (AT), a type of support, to help their child participate in activities and routines.

Ongoing Features

Free access to a specially selected article from DEC
Read Role of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiation in Inclusive Preschools. This specially selected resource is available through our newsletter until June 30, 2021.

Head Start Disabilities-Inclusion Network
Engage with Head Start and disabilities-focused colleagues around the country in an online community hosted on the MyPeers platform. Our community currently has more than 1,000 members who are sharing resources, engaging in conversations, and asking questions. Login or register as a member of MyPeers. Find the Head Start Disabilities-Inclusion Network community under "All Communities" and select the blue "Join" button.

Upcoming Events

There are two upcoming webinars in the Inclusion Webinar series:

May 25, 2021, 3–4 p.m. ET: Increased Access, Increased Learning
July 27, 2021, 3–4 p.m. ET: Increased Opportunity, Increased Learning

Find out more information about these webinars and other upcoming events on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).

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