Inclusion Institute Offers First Presentations on Newly Published DEC Recommended Practices
FPG’s National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute has sold out for the first time in the conference’s 13-year history, and when more than 500 attendees pack UNC’s Friday Center this week, the Institute will mark another first. Participants will hear the inaugural conference presentations on the final version of newly updated recommended practices from the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Since 1991, the DEC’s recommended practices have provided guidance to parents and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning and promote the development of young children, with or at-risk for developmental delays or disabilities. FPG’s Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) has collaborated with the DEC over the past 18 months to revise and update the practices, and the DEC recently published the much-anticipated update.
According to the new DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education, the ECTA and DEC derived the updated recommendations from the best available research, “as well as the wisdom and experience of the field.” The updated practices “support children’s access and participation in inclusive settings and natural environments and address cultural, linguistic, and ability diversity.” In addition, the update identifies “key leadership responsibilities associated with the implementation of these practices.”
FPG senior scientist Pamela J. Winton, who chairs the Inclusion Institute and who also served on the 13-member DEC Commission that created the new recommendations, said the Institute is a natural fit for the first conference presentations on newly published practices. “This is the premier event for people from all early childhood sectors to come together to learn and problem-solve about inclusion for young children,” said Winton.
On May 21st, Mary McLean delivers a presentation of the published update in a session titled “DEC Recommended Practices: How Do We Ensure Application and Use?” McLean, who chaired the DEC Commission, will review and discuss the practices in each of the report’s topic areas: leadership, assessment, environment, family, instruction, interaction, teaming and collaboration, and transition. She also will ask participants to provide suggestions for products that will help facilitate use of the recommendations in the field.
The same day, Carol Trivette, co-director of the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute and president of the DEC’s board, will presents “DEC Recommended Practices: Making Them Real for Families.” In addition, Ilene Schwartz, professor at the University of Washington and director of the Norris and Dorothy Haring Center for Research and Training in Education, will discuss the updated practices with an eye on helping children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a session titled “Using the DEC Recommended Practices to Provide High Quality Programs for Toddlers and Preschoolers with ASD.”
From May 20th through the 22nd, this year’s Inclusion Institute also will feature opening plenaries and over 40 concurrent sessions from national leaders and other experts on inclusion, several reflection sessions, and a special keynote address from TV journalist Dwayne Ballen.
Although the popular three-day event is sold-out, you can track #InclusionInstitute2014 on twitter by following @FPGInstitute.
Browse the full selection of programming at this year’s Inclusion Institute
Read the new DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education:
Read about the Inclusion Institute’s keynote speaker, Dwayne Ballen
Contact
Pamela J. Winton, Senior Scientist and Director of Outreach
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
919-966-7180
pam_winton@unc.edu
FPG grants permission to publish this story in part or in its entirety and to use the above photograph in conjunction with this story.
Photo caption/credit: Between sessions at the 2013 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute, courtesy of UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.
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