Children's Perspectives on the Roles of Teachers and Therapists in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs

Abstract

In the United States, slightly more than half of young children with disabilities are enrolled in community-based early education programs with their typically developing peers. When this occurs, individualized intervention programs are often provided in the child's classroom with other children present. This study examined typically developing children's different ideas about the roles of the teachers, interventionists and therapists in inclusive early childhood programs. While most children knew their teachers by name, they were less likely to know the names of some of the therapists. Children described teachers' primary roles as teaching and taking care of children, while therapists were most often described as providing special services for a few children. Differences in children's descriptions of the adults' roles were related to the ways in which interventions were provided in the classroom. Implications of these findings for including children with disabilities in early childhood programs are discussed.