"My overall teaching has really improved since I've been working with the special educators. They have shown me how to use planned and intentional teaching strategies to target a particular skill with children with IEPs. But I can really put those strategies into practice with all the children in my class." – Head Start Preschool teacher

This section is about creating positive learning spaces for children with disabilities or developmental delays. It explains how teachers and home visitors can adjust their teaching to meet each child’s needs in both classroom and home settings.

Programs must offer high-quality early education for all children. As a disability services coordinator (DSC), you work with education staff and program leaders to make sure children with disabilities can take part in every activity. This takes teamwork across different parts of the program.

Key Ideas

• Individualized teaching helps all children learn, not just those with disabilities.
• Classrooms and learning spaces should match children’s ages and respect their abilities, backgrounds, and languages.
• Children with disabilities need full access to learning activities and support to join in.
• Plans like Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs), Individualized Education Programs, (IEPs) Section 504 plans, and Child Action Plans (CAPs) help you understand what each child needs and how to support them.
• Training and coaching help teachers and home visitors improve their skills.
• Teamwork across services creates better learning environments for children and their families.

What education services do Head Start programs provide?

Head Start programs must give high-quality early education to all children, including those with disabilities, as established in Education and Child Development Program Services, 45 CFR §1302 Subpart C. These services help children grow in their thinking, social skills, and emotions so they’re ready for school.

Center-based and Family Child Care Programs

• Teachers must build strong, caring relationships with children.
• Teachers should use teaching strategies that respond to each child’s needs.
• Learning happens when there are strong relationships between adults and children.
• Learning takes place during play, routines, and group activities.
• Teachers must use child assessment data to guide their teaching.
• The learning environment should be safe, welcoming, and support exploration.

Home-based Programs

• Staff must visit families at home and lead group socializations.
• Staff help parents build strong bonds with their children.
• Parents learn how to teach their children at home using fun, everyday activities.
• The home should be a safe and engaging place for learning.

Supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs)

Programs must support children who are learning English and speak another language at home:

• Infants and toddlers: Teachers and home visitors speak the child’s home language and introduce English gradually.
• Preschoolers: Teachers and home visitors help children learn English while continuing to support their home language.
• If staff don’t speak the home language, they can use:
  • Books and materials in the child’s language
  • Volunteers who speak the language
  • Other creative strategies

Some Tribal programs also work to preserve and teach Tribal languages as part of their services.

What Makes a Good Learning Environment

The learning environment includes everything from the setup to how adults interact with children. Programs must:

• Let children explore, play, and make choices. Offer a mix of:
  • Infant/toddler: Flexible, small-group activities
  • Preschool: Teacher-led and child-led activities in small and large groups
• Use daily routines (like meals and rest time) as learning moments.
• Regularly adjust the environment to match children’s interests and needs.

Services for Children with Disabilities

Under Additional Services for Children with Disabilities, 45 CFR §1302 Subpart F, programs must:

• Serve children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
• Provide services during everyday routines and activities.
• Make changes to the environment or teaching methods to help children fully participate.
• Offer individualized supports based on each child’s needs.

These rules help create a coordinated approach that supports every child’s learning and development.

Planning for Partnerships

There are many opportunities to collaborate.

• Consider different partnership models between Head Start programs and Part C and Part B lead agencies. Perhaps you can create blended classrooms or share the cost for a staff position.
• Explore delivery of early intervention and special education services in Head Start center- and home-based programs.
• Include joint training so education staff and specialists get to know each other.
• Describe how to share data about children and your program. Use that data to keep improving services. Respect the privacy rules.

The Framework for Effective Practice

The Framework for Effective Practice, also called the House Framework, outlines five elements of quality teaching and learning for children ages birth to 5 in all Head Start program options. 

The five elements of the Framework for Effective Practice are:

• Interaction and Environments: Providing nurturing, responsive, and effective interactions, and engaging environments
• Curriculum: Implementing research-based curriculum and teaching practices
• Screening and Assessment: Using screening and ongoing assessment of children's skills
• Individualized Support: Embedding highly individualized teaching and learning
• Families: Engaging parents and families

When you connect these elements, they form a single structure that surrounds the family in the center, the House Framework. Family is at the heart of the house because programs implement each element in partnership with parents and families in their cultural and community context. 

What does individualization mean?

Individualization is central to quality early childhood programs. It means the focus is on the individual child. Staff tailor their teaching practices and curriculum decisions to meet the child's needs, build on the child's strengths, follow the child's interests, and respond to the child's unique background.

As a DSC, the House Framework anchors much of your work. There are three highly individualized teaching practices in the roof of the house: curriculum modifications, embedded teaching, and intensive, individualized teaching. Think of them as a pyramid that represents varying levels of support. See Appendix E for a list of curriculum modifications and embedded learning opportunities.

• Curriculum modifications are small changes to activities and materials that enhance a child's participation in learning experiences. They are the broad base of the pyramid and are used often in center- and home-based programs.
• Embedded teaching refers to planned interactions that staff use during specific activities, routines, or transitions. Embedded teaching helps a child get extra practice while learning new skills and concepts.
• Intensive, individualized teaching refers to specialized teaching practices that give a child the extra help they need to learn a specific skill or concept. This teaching practice is at the top of the pyramid and is used less frequently.

Building Strong Teaching with Individualized Support

Think of teaching like building a house. The roof is made of highly individualized teaching and learning. But that roof needs a strong foundation — which comes from warm, engaging interactions and a supportive environment.

Why individualized teaching and learning matters?

All children can benefit from extra support — not just those with disabilities. When education staff use targeted strategies, they help any child who is having a hard time learning something new.

Some children who may need extra help include those who:

• Are learning a new language
• Show challenging behaviors
• Learn quickly and need more advanced activities

As staff learn more about the “House Framework” and feel confident using these strategies, they’ll be able to support all children more effectively.

What are accommodations?

Sometimes, staff or specialists talk about accommodations. These are small changes to:

• Materials
• Learning goals
• Teaching methods

Accommodations help children with disabilities take part in all learning activities and environments. They’re not just extra tasks — they’re a key part of good teaching. 

How do you support highly individualized teaching practices?

As a DSC, you can help implement highly individualized strategies. Where do you begin? You have choices.

Start with What Staff Already Know

Build on what staff already know and do. Remind them that they already make modifications to support a child's learning and development. For example, they steady a shaky stool to help a toddler climb to the changing table or sit quietly every morning with a child who is sad about saying goodbye to parents.

Work with Others

Some children get services through IDEA and work with outside teachers or therapists. Staff can learn a lot by teaming up with them. Many of the strategies therapists use are already part of the “roof” of the House Framework. With extra support, these strategies become even stronger. You don’t have to do this alone. Connect with:

• Early intervention and special education partners
• Program specialists, education managers, and coaches
• Families

Discuss effective strategies with them. 

Review Agreements and Plans

Check your program's interagency agreements. Your Head Start program and the specialists in your community share responsibility for children with IFSPs or IEPs. The agreements spell out the collaboration process needed to optimize learning and development. Gather information from:

• IFSPs or IEPs
• Section 504 plans
• Child Action Plans
• Ongoing assessments and family notes
• Health records (ask the health team for help)

Review all this information with the education staff. This will help them set up the classroom or plan the home visit so that children with disabilities can engage in the activities. Children’s IFSP and IEP include teaching strategies. Staff will collect data more often for these IDEA-eligible children. Collecting data often allows staff to adjust their strategies promptly.

Support Staff When Referrals or Evaluations Are Pending 

You may not know a lot about a child when you support education staff. Maybe you just referred the child, or you are waiting for the evaluation results. Staff want to help but don’t know how. Here’s what you can do:

• Watch the child in action
• Ask a coach, manager, or specialist to observe with you
• Talk to the family about what they’ve noticed and what works at home
• Try out strategies together and compare notes
• Decide if the child needs a referral, a CAP, or other support

Help with Training

 As you observe and talk with staff, you’ll notice what they do well and where they need help. Work with supervisors and coaches to offer ongoing support, such as:

• Modeling strategies
• Using photos or videos to show examples of helpful strategies
• Planning joint trainings with specialists and community partners

Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices

Families in your Head Start program come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. These shape their goals for their children. Their goals shape how they parent and support their child's development. This impacts how they hold a baby, respond to a toddler's crying, or handle a preschooler's conflict with another child. Adults within the same culture may have different views, too.

As the DSC, learn about the family's goals for their child with disabilities. By knowing their goals and child-rearing practices, staff can match the learning experiences of the program to those of the home. 

Scenario: Respecting Families While Supporting Development

One Early Head Start program showed how to respect a family’s background while supporting a child’s learning.

A mother enrolled her 9-month–old daughter in the program. The baby couldn’t roll over or sit up on her own. Staff were concerned and thought she might have a developmental delay. The mother didn’t seem worried, but she also didn’t seem happy that staff placed her baby on the floor.

When staff talked with her, they learned something important: In her culture, adults usually wrapped babies in fabric and carried them most of the day. They did not place babies on the ground.

Once they understood and could plan ways to follow her guidance, the mother felt more comfortable. The teacher explained why they use tummy time to help babies build strength. She asked if they could try a plan: Instead of placing the baby on the floor, they used a foam mat next to a teacher. The mother agreed but asked that they still hold her baby often.

What the teachers did?

• Held the baby often, in ways that helped her move and build strength
• Played bouncing games while holding her
• Let her lie across their legs on her stomach
• Gave her large toys to hold and explore
• Sent a foam mat home so the mother could try similar activities

The teacher respected the mother’s cultural beliefs while creating individualized learning opportunities for the baby.

Tips to Promote Individualized Practices

Education services cover both the learning environment (like classrooms, homes, or group spaces) and the teaching or home visiting practices. They also include how programs choose and use curricula.

Here are some ways you, as a DSC, can support individualized teaching:

What You Can Do

• Encourage individualized practices for all children — not just those with disabilities. Explain how these practices improve your program’s quality.
• Use the House Framework as a guide when working with teachers, home visitors, and families.
• Use data to plan. Watch what works and what doesn’t in teaching and home visits.
• Involve specialists from local IDEA Parts C and B agencies. Ask them to:
  • Observe children
  • Suggest strategies
  • Model effective practices
  • Support staff through coaching
• Help your program coordinate its approach. Review things like:
  • Budgets
  • Staff policies
  • Training plans
  • Facility need
• Support children who are also DLLs. Make sure staff follow the Head Start Program Performance Standards for supporting both home languages and English learning.
• Respect differences. Learn how a family’s culture and experiences shape their expectations and practices.
• Be a strong voice for children with and without disabilities learning together. Be ready to explain why it matters to anyone who has doubts.

These all affect how well you serve children with disabilities.

People Who Can Help

• Education managers, teachers, coaches, home visitors, child development specialists
• Health staff and managers
• Mental health consultants
• Early intervention providers and special educators
• Bilingual staff, volunteers, and consultants
• Families
• Program leaders, including training coordinators
• TTA providers

Questions to Ask Your Team

• Are our teachers and home visitors using individualized practices with all children, including those with disabilities?
• Are some disabilities harder to support than others?
• How do we help families use modifications or accommodations at home?
• What support do we offer staff — like training or coaching? What outside help do we use?
• How do we choose curricula, interventions, and adaptations for all children?
• Who helps make those decisions?
• How do we check if our strategies are working?

Scenario: Supporting Amir with Individualized Strategies

Jordan and Valerie are teachers in a Head Start Preschool classroom. At their weekly meeting, they plan how to support children with disabilities. One of their students, Amir, is 4 years old and has motor delays. He struggles with staying positive and trying again when tasks are hard — especially writing his name.

Step 1: Creating a Plan

• They shared the plan with the therapist, who approved it.
• The disability services team helped create a CAP for Amir.
• An occupational therapist observed Amir and suggested strategies to help him write his name.
• Amir’s parents said he gets frustrated when trying to write at home. He wants it to be perfect.
• Jordan and Valerie made a plan:
  • What: Help Amir write his name
  • Who: Jordan works with Amir; Valerie supports other children
  • When: After snack, every day for a week
  • How: One-on-one time at the writing center
• They posted the plan with their weekly curriculum.

Step 2: Putting the Plan into Action

• On the first day, Jordan sat with Amir at the writing table.
• She gave him a name card and a big marker.
• Amir didn’t want to write at first. Jordan gently offered to help him.
• They held the marker together and traced the letters.
• Jordan noticed Amir had trouble writing on a flat table, so the next day she brought a slant board.
• By the end of the week, Amir could write “A-M” by himself!

Strategies Jordan Used

• Curriculum modification: Using a slant board to support Amir’s motor needs
• Embedded teaching: Teaching during regular center time
• Intensive individualization: One-on-one support every day

Step 3: Expanding the Impact

• The disability services lead and education manager thanked the therapist.
• They saw how well the strategies worked and wanted to use them with other children.
• They asked the therapist to train all education staff using funds from the training and technical assistance budget.
• Together, they planned a professional development session to improve teaching for all children — not just those with disabilities.