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One of our 3-year-old girls reading to the class! I LOVE my job! Kids enjoy playing “teacher!”
- Did you know that there is a preschool for children with identified delays or disabilities? Ages start as early as 2 years & 10 months and go through age 5. (until the child starts Kindergarten) And it’s FREE!
Services for preschool children (ages 3 through 5) are provided free of charge through the public school system. These services are available through the law—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act— IDEA Part C.
Want more information on this law? Find it here
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early intervention services (Part C of IDEA), and
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services for school-age children, in grades K through 12 (Part B of IDEA)
These are a few amazingly helpful toys that I have or will add to my classroom soon! Get them at home for hours of fun, helpful fine motor and cognitive growth and great imaginative play! Sort by color, learn ABC’s, expand vocabulary and play creative games.
In Arizona, Special Needs preschools are in the public schools. The Special Needs Preschool is sometimes alongside a Head Start Program on the campus, giving the children opportunities to socialize with general education peers who are not on an IEP’s
I teach a Special Needs Preschool in Phoenix, Arizona in the Washington Elementary School District. I feel fortunate that we have a team of evaluators in our district that are dedicated solely to evaluating and placing children in early intervention preschool classes like mine. In some districts in our state, the preschool teachers are responsible for these initial evaluations, IEP’s and placement meetings. I can’t imagine where they find the time!!
Parents can call and request a screening for their own child. Children also come directly from our Arizona early intervention services at age 2 yr 10 months to our evaluation center and are placed with a new IEP into one of our preschools. This year (2018/19) by the middle of September I already have 5 two-year-old children who were identified at birth and have received services through the state until now.
Read more here about early childhood intervention for Birth-age 3.
For more information on the process of getting your child evaluated, learn more about your rights and what is available, attend trainings, and connect with other families, Check out Raising Special Kids (Arizona) or find a Parent Training Information Center near you.
If you have a concern about a child’s development under the age of 3, you can still make referrals quickly and easily using AzEIP’s online referral at www.azdes.gov/AzEIP or contact the Early Intervention Team assigned to your zip code listed in the following link:
Referral Information for Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP)
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