Dear ECD Community, Within UNICEF’s continuous re-focus on equity-based strategies, one of the emerging themes is children with disabilities. In the ECD context it has been noted that “in settings where services and facilities do not exist, inclusiveness for children with disabilities is often looked upon as a next step, “an upgrade” to be implemented once the “basic” services are in place. Yet, to implement equity-focused programming, inclusiveness should be thought of as an indispensable feature of the original system to be addressed at the outset” (UNICEF Armenia). Commemorating December 3 rd , the International Day of Persons with Disabilities , this issue focuses on the theme of disability in early childhood. We hope this newsletter and our newly established Intranet page on this theme will help draw more attention to addressing the needs of young children with disabilities across all ECD programmes. We are very grateful to our country and regional colleagues for enriching the newsletter with stories of their work in this area. We noted that most of the case studies in this issue are from the CEE/CIS region. We heartily welcome these contributions, however, this could be reflective of the need to build programmes and/or interventions for young children with disabilities in other regions and countries. This issue also contains news and information on other ECD topics from NYHQ. The next issue of the ECD newsletter will focus on ECD Evaluations. In this issue, we are reporting on the first ever external evaluation of UNICEF’s ECD Programmes as a prelude to the theme of our next newsletter. We invite all COs and ROs to send us information (300-500 words long stories) by 15 January, 2012 on any ECD evaluations they have conducted in the last 2-3 years. Warm Regards, ECD Team in NYHQ Editorial Special points of interest: Treasure Trove of ECD Tools and Resources 8-9 The Evidence Series 10 Call for field stories on ECD Evaluations 11 Upcoming ECD Global Events 11 The best start in life for every child Early childhood development newsletter—December 2011 December 2011 Disability in Early Childhood Issue UNICEF and WHO, in consultation with numerous partners, are developing a discussion paper on disability in early childhood. The paper highlights many of the key considerations and lays the foundation for policy, advocacy, research and programming. Early childhood is the period during which disabilities are commonly identified and the impact on children’s well-being and development recognized. The early years also hold particular risks for children with disabilities and developmental delays, if they do not receive the appropriate intellectual stimulation, health care, inclusive quality learning environments they need. Without proper support and access to services they can miss important developmental milestones. Intended as an initial review, the paper provides an introduction to disability in early childhood (birth to 8 years of age) with a rights- based approach, and touches on issues related to early intervention, assessment/ detection, role of the family, importance of stimulating environments, health care and inclusive education. It also touches on cross cutting issues such as: gender, children in indigenous and minority communities, children in alternative care settings, violence and abuse and considerations for children with disabilities during Discussion Paper on Disability and Early Childhood Development humanitarian situations. More commitment will be needed to sustain and support all actors in the process of developing inclusive ECD programmes. Therefore, UNICEF and WHO are planning to engage with experts in 2012 to outline steps needed to influence national policies for the delivery of inclusive ECD programmes. You can access a working draft of the discussion paper here under Resources section. Click on the video above to view activist Aimee Mullins speaking at the TED Medical Conference on the impact of the word “disabled” on a child’s self-image In this Issue: Discussion Paper on Disability in Early Childhood 1 Cross-cutting Disability Unit in NYHQ 2 News from NYHQ 3 Stories from the Field on Disability in Early Childhood 4-7
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Dear ECD Community,
Within UNICEF’s continuous re-focus on equity-based strategies, one of the emerging themes is children with disabilities. In the ECD context it has been noted that “in settings where services and facilities do not exist, inclusiveness for children with disabilities is often looked upon as a next step, “an upgrade” to be implemented once the “basic” services are in place. Yet, to implement equity-focused programming, inclusiveness should be thought of as an indispensable feature of the original system to be addressed at the outset” (UNICEF Armenia).
Commemorating December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this issue focuses on the theme of disability in early childhood. We hope this newsletter and our newly established Intranet page on this theme will help draw more attention to addressing the needs of young children with disabilities across all ECD programmes. We are very grateful to our country and regional colleagues for enriching the newsletter with stories of their work in this area. We noted that most of the case studies in this issue are from the CEE/CIS region. We heartily welcome these contributions, however, this could be reflective of the need to build programmes and/or interventions for young children with disabilities in other regions and countries. This issue also contains news and information on other ECD topics from NYHQ.
The next issue of the ECD newsletter will focus on ECD Evaluations. In this issue, we are reporting on the first ever external evaluation of UNICEF’s ECD Programmes as a prelude to the theme of our next newsletter. We invite all COs and ROs to send us information (300-500 words long stories) by 15 January, 2012 on any ECD evaluations they have conducted in the last 2-3 years.
Warm Regards,
ECD Team in NYHQ
E d i t o r i a l
Special points of interest:
Treasure Trove of ECD Tools and Resources 8-9
The Evidence Series 10
Call for field stories on ECD Evaluations 11
Upcoming ECD Global Events 11
T h e b e s t s ta rt i n l i f e f o r e v e ry c h i l d
E a r ly c h i l d h o o d d e v e l o p m e n t
n e w s l e t t e r — D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 D i s a b i l i t y i n E a r l y C h i l d h o o d I s s u e
U N I C E F a n d W H O , in
consultation with numerous
partners, are developing a
discussion paper on disability in
early childhood. The paper
highlights many of the key
considerations and lays the
foundation for policy, advocacy,
research and programming.
Early childhood is the period
during which disabilities are
commonly identified and the
impact on children’s well-being
and development recognized. The
early years also hold particular
risks for children with disabilities
and developmental delays, if they
do not receive the appropriate
intellectual stimulation, health
care, inclusive quality learning
environments they need. Without
proper support and access to
services they can miss important
developmental milestones.
Intended as an initial review, the
paper provides an introduction to
disability in early childhood (birth
to 8 years of age) with a rights-
based approach, and touches on
i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o e a r l y
intervent ion , as se ssment/
detection, role of the family,
importance of stimulating
environments, health care and
inclusive education. It also
touches on cross cutting issues
such as: gender, children in
ind igenous and minor i ty
communitie s, chi ldren in
alternative care settings, violence
and abuse and considerations for
children with disabilities during
D i s c u s s i o n P a p e r o n
D i s a b i l i t y a n d E a r l y C h i l d h o o d D e v e l o p m e n t
humanitarian situations.
More commitment will be needed
to sustain and support all actors in
the process of developing
inclusive ECD programmes.
Therefore, UNICEF and WHO
are planning to engage with
experts in 2012 to outline steps
needed to influence national
policies for the delivery of
inclusive ECD programmes. You
can access a working draft of the
discussion paper here under
Resources section.
Click on the video above to view
activist Aimee Mullins speaking
at the TED Medical Conference
on the impact of the word
“disabled” on a child’s self-image
In this Issue:
Discussion Paper on Disability in Early Childhood 1
Cross-cutting Disability Unit in NYHQ 2
News from NYHQ 3
Stories from the Field on Disability in Early Childhood 4-7
Page 7 Early Childhood Development Newsletter - Stories from the Field
To support the parents, regular roundtable meetings were held to give parents of children with disa-bilities an opportunity to ask ques-tions and receive the latest infor-mation to help guide their child’s development, such as training on speech therapy techniques and physiotherapy. While the pro-gramme only began a year ago, there are many positive results.
In Semey, five year old Ainagul who has vision and speech impairments, participated in UNICEF’s pilot programme. Her mother describes the positive impact of the pro-gramme, “We were lucky to be admitted in the UNICEF pilot. The project has changed our lives. I have participated in all the roundtables organized and I have met with other parents whose children have disabilities. Ainagul has progressed so much, she helps at home now and she also plays with toys. I am so happy for her. I was surprised by the difference the lekotek (child development room) led in her personality. All children
UNICEF is at the forefront of pro-moting the inclusion of children with disabilities into Kazakhstan’s pre-schooling system to support the Government’s signing of the Convention on the Rights of Per-sons with Disabilities in December 2008. UNICEF Kazakhstan’s ECD programme focuses on health, development and addresses a range of issues for children with disabili-ties and their parents. This work has been instrumental in changing the way that health practitioners and communities approach ECD.
UNICEF, together with its local partners, has piloted inclusive ch i ld deve lopment rooms (referred to as lekoteks) in kinder-gartens in Semey, Kamenogorsk and Astana cities.
with disabilities play very well with the other school children. We all live in the same world and have to live together. This is thanks to the UNICEF supported pilot programme on inclusion. Due to the joint efforts of Akimats (local governments) of Astana city, Semey city and East Kazakhstan Region several lekoteks (child de-velopment rooms) were devel-oped. The inclusion of children with disabilities into regular pre-schooling systems is now not only a possibility. It is a reality for some of us.”
The director of a kindergarten in Semey indicated that prior to UNICEF’s involvement and the introduction of the child develop-ment room, there had been previ-ous attempts to include children with disabilities into kindergar-tens, but it was challenging as “there was no system, no pro-gramme,”
One of the teachers responsible for observing, teaching and interacting with children with disabilities in
Five year old Ainagul attending
the pilot Kindergarten Child
Development Room in Semey .
K a z a k h s t a n : P i l o t C h i l d D e v e l o p m e n t
R o o m s i n K i n d e r g a r t e n s
the development rooms said that prior to UNICEF starting this pro-gramme, she had never worked with children with disabilities. She said, “I have now learned how to stimulate these children, how to play with them, as well as learned a lot about myself and different disabilities.”
UNICEF is changing the lives of children with disabilities. Through these inclusive child development rooms, UNICEF illustrates the positive impact these small steps can bring. The next steps are to evaluate and scale up the pro-gramme for national implementa-tion. However, several issues would need to be addressed first, such as how to reach all the chil-dren who need this service, and not just the few who are referred.
Please contact Tatiana Aderkhina ([email protected]) or Aigul Nurgabilova (anurgabilova@ unicef.org) for details.
Read the full story here.
R e g i o n a l I n i t i a t i v e s
Twenty countries participated in this conference, held in Moscow from 27-29 September, 2011. Click here for conference details and here for the background note.
CEE/CIS INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION CONFERENCE
“States Parties shall take all
necessary measures to ensure
the full enjoyment by
children with disabilities of
all human rights and
fundamental freedoms on an
equal basis with other
children.”
Article 7 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and
Optional Protocol
Over 300 participants renewed commitment to step up advocacy for 0-3 year olds at ARNEC conference in Singapore from 8-10 November, 2011. Click here for details.
KEY DOCUMENTS ON DISABILITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (EXTERNAL DOCUMENTS)
Consultative Group’s Coordinators Notebook on Disability (Find it under Resources)
The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development released their Coordinator’s Notebook that contained an article on the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a reflection piece from UNICEF colleague Garren Lumpkin with initial
thoughts on implications for ECCD. It provides an overview of the CRPD and implications for ECD. The article starts on page 38.
Plan International’s Fact Sheet on Disability Inclusion in ECCD (Find it under Resources)
Plan International Australia and the CBM-Nossal Institute Partnership in Disability and Development developed a fact sheet on disability
inclusion in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD). It briefly covers the situation for children with disabilities in the early years
and provide some suggestions for promoting disability inclusion in ECCD programming for all children aged 0-8.
Developmental Difficulties in Early Childhood: Prevention, early identification, assessment and intervention in low-
and middle-income countries (Find it under Resources)
This review by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the fourth in a series of papers on disability. The principle focus is on the
conceptualization, epidemiology, prevention, detection, assessment and early management of the broad spectrum of developmental risk
factors and developmental difficulties in children aged three years and under in low-and-middle income (LAMI) countries. The report also
seeks to help health care providers and systems to build local capacity in order to develop a systemic approach to improve services and care
for young disabled children and to create an environment that fosters social inclusion in LAMI.
Developmental Screening and Assessment Instruments with an Emphasis on Social and Emotional Development for
Young Children Ages Birth through Five (Access the report here, or under Resources on the ECD and Disability Intranet page)
The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS) developed a fact sheet that gives a
brief explanation of child development, developmental delays, and the importance of developmental screening. The overall aim of this tool
is to help caregivers identify developmental delays in young children and to assist them in providing their children with the necessary
services and attention to address disabilities at an early age.
Research Synthesis Points on Quality Inclusive Practices (US Office of Special Education Programs and UNC FPG Child
Development Institute) (Find it under Resources)
In April, 2009, two national organizations in the United States working on behalf of young children—the Division for Early Childhood of
the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)—completed two
years of historic and collaborative work with the release of a joint position statement on inclusion1. This document provides brief
descriptions and supporting references for the evidence-based and promising practices that support early childhood inclusion. These
practices are organized into three major sections corresponding to the defining features of high quality early childhood inclusion as described
in the joint position statement: access, participation and supports.
Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion (US Office of Special Education Programs and UNC FPG Child
Development Institute) (Find it under Resources)
The National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) based in the US and part of the FPG Child Development Institute at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides a summary of key conclusions or “synthesis points” drawn from a rev iew of
literature or research on early childhood inclusion.
Early Warning Signs of Developmental Disability. (Click here)
The Utah (US) Department of Health, supported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has a web resource that helps parents
learn about healthy development for their newborns and young children. It offers useful resources and tools to track developmental
milestones and begin to identify potential developmental delays.
GENERAL ECD RESOURCES
ECDiE Training Materials in French: UNICEF WCARO finalized the French translation of the ECD in Emergencies training materials, which include the ECD Kit Facilitators Guide and the Coordinators Guide. This is available on the ECDiE Intranet page.
UNICEF Primera Infancia - Paquete de Recursos (website): UNICEF TACRO, with CINDE’s support, translated the ECD Resource Pack into Spanish, and adapted and complemented it with research from the region. Online materials include documentation and case studies from national experiences from within Latin America and the Caribbean for frontline practitioners, civil society groups, as well as government officials and academia.