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In Practical Solutions to Practically Every Problem, Steffan Saifer discusses the various challenges that sometimes arise when integrating children with disabilities into preschool classrooms. However, before dealing with prickly matters, he provides this introduction:
"Many teachers worry about having a child with a disability in their class. They worry they do not have the proper training or expertise to help the child or to deal with a child's problems. They worry that the child will take up so much extra time and energy that the rest of the class will suffer. These are real and valid concerns. However, most teachers find that when they actually have a child with a disability in their class, the joys far outweigh the problems, real or imagined....
"If you are already using good early childhood practices, you will not have difficulty caring for and teaching a child with a mild or moderate disability. You will have to stretch some of the things you already do, but your basic approach and routines will not have to change. For example, many children with developmental delays or mental disabilities have very short attention spans and experience difficulty focusing in group situations. Undoubtedly you already have a few children who fit this description, but a child with a disability may have an even shorter attention span and experience more difficulty focusing. Lower your expectations slightly, but keep challenging the child. Use the same techniques you already use — small groups, short group times, alternative quiet activities during group times for some children, seating the child next to you, involving all children actively — but employ these techniques sooner, more often, and very consistently with a child with a disability."
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