2025 International Inclusion Institute

In this session, we will discuss how there is need for continued support for early childhood educators so that as we work to eliminate practices such as suspension and expulsion, we provide early childhood educators with a toolkit of inclusive, proactive, and preventative strategies they can use in its place to promote social emotional competence. We will also address how exclusionary discipline disproportionately impacts young children of color and young children with disabilities. We will provide strategies to facilitate the meaningful inclusion of all young children. This includes strategies on how to seek additional support for children with disabilities who may have behavior viewed as challenging.

Children with complex support needs require an extensive array of supports to access their environment, interact with others, participate in instruction, learn, and communicate autonomously. When these supports are not present, they have reduced access to language, communication, and literacy interactions compared to their peers with and without disabilities. This session will describe specific supports such as augmentative and alternative communication and accessible literacy lessons that address these needs and result in increased access, participation, and learning success.