If a formula existed for giving children something that reduced the need for, or intensity of, later special education that can be both emotionally and financially costly, wouldn?t it be excellent"
Such a formula does exist. It?s called quality early childhood education.
I was part of a team of special education researchers that examined the impact of early childhood education in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. More than 50 years of data were offered to us by longitudinal studies that tracked children who received this quality education and compared their development to children who did not.
We reached a startling conclusion: participation in quality early childhood education programs significantly prevents special education placement and lowers the intensity of supports required for children with exceptionalities. Exceptionalities could include children on the autism spectrum, as well as other children who would require additional supports beyond the mainstream classroom ? for special education placements or tailored plans.
We found that a continuum of evidence, from multiple studies in multiple countries, unanimously demonstrates what specialists call the ?pre-emptive nature? of early childhood education: it pre-empts issues from developing or getting more challenging.
There is a payoff of early quality childhood education for families, for communities, for economies but especially for child development.
And, while investments in the early years mo...