SPEC 618 - Assessment and Transitions: Early Childhood Special Education

Credits: 3
This course explores assessment and transitions for children in early childhood special education. Candidates will learn to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities to participate in collaborative teams that plan, implement, and evaluate transition practices for children ages 0-kindergarten. Candidates will learn laws and practices related to transition that are applicable to individuals ages 0 through kindergarten. Candidates will learn the relationship between assessment, transition, and curriculum planning and selection. Assessment and evaluative practices will emphasize the development of instruction that aligns with content standards and includes options for transition and equitable access to educational practices in general background. Assessments will include person-centered planning, understanding of family and cultural backgrounds, and contribution in diagnosis, ecological analysis, and formal and informal assessments in IFSP/IEP implementation and interventions. Candidates will learn to modify assessment procedures as acceptable within the normative parameters of the particular assessment to accommodate or compensate for the impact of the child's disability on the child's ability to perform on the assessment as designed. Candidates will use ongoing assessment data from a variety of sources and settings (e.g., information from children's families/caregivers, records from other service providers' progress monitoring, and reports from IFSP/ IEP team members) to establish meaningful, individualized learning goals and intervention activities. Candidates will communicate and use assessment results accurately and effectively so that they are understandable and useful to families and other service providers, and develop and implement policies, structures, and practices that promote shared decision making with other service providers and families. Candidates will learn how to hold and/or participate effectively in IFSP/IEP meetings according to the guidelines established by IDEA and the California Education Code.
Take SPEC 601, SPEC 684A (Required, Previous)