Educational Program Early Intervention Program The child with mental retardation benefits from an early intervention program.

The skills are taught when the child is still young and more malleable than when he has grown older and less flexible. By learning the adaptive skills early enhanced and increase the chances for the child to be able to cope with the demands of future environment. The program emphasizes the important role of the home and the participation of the parents and family members who are the natural caregivers of the child. Effective early intervention takes place in the natural setting at home when the parents and relatives accept the fact that the child has developmental disability and can learn like his normal siblings in a different way. Their willingness to be patient in teaching the child basic adaptive skills on self-care and daily living activities redounds to the benefit of both the child and the family. Social and emotional bonds are developed as well that set a strong base for future special education programs and activities. The staff members of this program have formal trainings in early childhood education and special education. They participate in in-service training programs and attend conferences and workshops. Intervisitations among programs and agencies are held to update the staffs competencies and learn from each others experiences. Rationale for Early Intervention Five reasons why early intervention services should be provided: 1. During intervention secondary disabilities that would have gone unnoticed can be observed. 2. Intervention services can prevent the occurrence of secondary disabilities. 3. Intervention services lessen the chances for placement in a residential school. 4. The family gains information about the disability, they would learn to offer support and fulfill childs need for acceptance, love and belongingness like the way they behave with their normal child. 5. And lastly it hastens the childs acquisition of the desirable learning and behavior characteristics for the attainment of his potential despite the presence of the disability. Models of Early Intervention 1. Home-based Instruction Program - The Philippine Association for the Retarded (PAR) initiated the development of the Home-Based Instruction Program for Children with Mental Retardation in the 1970s. The goal is to provide a continuous program of instruction both in school and at home for a more effective management of the handicapping condition. The program utilizes the Filipino adaptation of the Portage Project.

The Portage Guide to Early Intervention is printed in Filipino and the dialect of some regions. - The key persons are the parents who are the primary caregivers. All members of the family are included in training to implement the program. Monitoring and evaluation of the program show positive result. 2. Head Start Program - The program addresses preschool education for the socially and economically deprived children who are 4-6 years old. The program operates on the principle of early intervention as a preventive measure against behavior problems among young children that may lead ultimately to juvenile delinquency. - The participants are children and siblings of youth offenders, slum dwellers, street children and others of preschool age. - The program was subsequently adopted by the Special Education Centers of Manila with a group of parents serving as teacher-aids. 3. Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Services - The World Health Organization defines community-based rehabilitation as measures at the community that use and build on the resources of the community to assist in the rehabilitation of those who need assistance including the disabled and handicapped persons, their families and their community as whole. - The CBR has been acclaimed as the answer to the rehabilitation needs in poverty-stricken areas where institution-based rehabilitation programs are not available. - CBR services have been successfully organized in many communities for preschool-age children and young adults. The utilization of the services of volunteers is employed and maximized in providing rehabilitation programs to urban and rural communities. 4. Urban Basic Service Program - The program adopted the principle of home-based instruction. It also utilized the Filipino adaptation of the Portage Guide to Early Intervention. The barrangay or villages identified as depressed and underserved were chosen as sites for the program. Children with disabilities who are not receiving special education services were placed in the program. Parents were trained yearly to implement early intervention at home as a mean to minimize the effects of disabilities and increase the childrens readiness and response to rehabilitation programs. Educational Approaches The Curriculum

Students need a functional curriculum that will train them on the life skills which are essentially the adaptive behavior skills. The goal and direction of this curriculum is towards selfdirection and regulation and the ability to select appropriate options in everyday life at home, school and in the community. It fosters independent living, enjoyment and social activities and improved quality of life. Curriculum Programs Cognitive Curriculum for Young Children Based on Piagets theory of cognitive development, Vygotskys zone of proximal development and Feuerteins concept of mediated learning. It builds its instructional program around the childs deficits in cognition where mediated learning is applied. The learning potential is derived from the zone of proximal development that is determined by comparing the childs actual level of performance to the performance under the teachers direct supervision.

Instrumental Enrichment In this program the child is trained to develop a sense of intentionally and feeling of competence as a result of structured mediated learning environments.

Montessori Method Aims to develop the childs sense of self mastery, mastery of the environment and independence by focusing on his perceptual and conceptual development as well as in the acquisition of skills in self-care and daily living activities.

Ypsilante Perry Preschool Project Derived from Piagets cognitive development theory and it is used in teaching disadvantaged children with mild retardation who are 3-4 years old.

Portage Project Uses the precision teaching model to deliver a home based curriculum in language, self-help skills, cognition, motor skills and socialization. Parents are trained to teach their children using behavior modification procedures.

Carolinas Abcedarian Project It includes parent training, social work services, nutritional supplement, medical care and transportation. It is designed around the interaction of

consumer opinions or the goals that parents have for their children, Piagets developmental theory, developmental facts (language, motor, socio-emotional, and cognitive/perceptive), adaptive sets(winning strategies that generate ageappropriate success) and high risked indicator (Hickson et al, 1995). Methods of Instruction Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Derived from the theory and principles of behavior modification and the effect of the environment on the learning process. Task analysis is the process of breaking down complex or multipleskills into smaller, easier-to-learn subtasks. Direct and frequent measurement of the increments of learning is done to keep track of the effects of instruction and to introduce needed changes whenever necessary.

Active Student Response (ASR) The observable response made to an instructional antecedent is correlated to student achievement.