You are a teacher in a community preschool. Recently, Jennifer, a child on the autism spectrum, has enrolled in your preschool. Jennifer is accompanied daily by a shadow aide. S

To prepare for this discussion,

• Read Chapter 1: An Inclusive Approach to Early Education
• Read Chapter 2: Federal Legislation: Early Intervention and Prevention
• Watch the video Session 1: Preschool Inclusion: Laying the Groundwork for SuccessLinks to an external site. on the Head Start Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center webpage.

For your initial response, utilize the tabs below.

• Last Name Begins With A-L
• Last Name Begins With M-Z
• Guided Response

Last Name Begins with A – L

Scenario A: You are a teacher in a community preschool. Recently, Jennifer, a child on the autism spectrum, has enrolled in your preschool. Jennifer is accompanied daily by a shadow aide. Several of the parents of the other students have started to ask questions. One in particular has requested a meeting to talk to you about this. You decide to meet with the parent to discuss concerns, specifically addressing the importance of membership and belonging. To help you get ready for the meeting, you decide to prepare talking points about the importance of inclusion.

For your initial post, create your talking points for the parent focused on the following: 

• State the name of the scenario you are responding to. 
• Explain how inclusion helps to create a learning environment centered around membership and belonging for both children with disabilities and those who are typically developing. 
• Discuss one reason why you support inclusion for young learners with diverse needs.
• Share a resource you could provide to families to help them understand inclusion.