Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)

ECSE 201. Infants and Young Children With Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course focuses on the foundations for early intervention and education, with emphasis on inclusive environments, typical and atypical development, family and community contexts for development, professional standards and current policy issues.

ECSE 202. Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course examines typical and atypical social-emotional development of young children, as well as risk factors impacting social-emotional development. Students learn techniques for supporting positive behavior (to prevent inappropriate behavior) and strategies for building children's social competence.

ECSE 250. Infant/Toddler Fieldwork. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 1.5 lecture and .5 field experience hours. 2 credits. Prerequisite: ECSE 201. Corequisite: ECSE 302. Enrollment is restricted to students enrolled in the B.S.Ed. in Special Education and Teaching with a concentration in early childhood program who have been admitted to teacher preparation. This field-based course provides an in-depth experience in working with infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Students may be placed in settings that provide home-based or community-based services.

ECSE 301. Developmental Assessment for Young Children. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. The purpose of this course is to equip early childhood professionals with strong foundational knowledge and application skills in screening and assessment of young children birth through age 8 in inclusive settings. The focus of the course is to introduce formal and informal developmental assessment through a variety of formats and approaches. Students will also learn structured and unstructured observations of young children with or without disabilities in inclusive settings. Survey, review and critique of standardized and non-standardized tests as well as the use of test data in planning instruction will be covered. This course provides experiences to increase awareness of, and knowledge about, a variety of assessment procedures appropriate for use with children birth through age 8. Students completing the course will be prepared to make professional decisions regarding the screening, assessment and ongoing evaluation of typically developing children and children with or at risk for disabilities.

ECSE 302. Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ECSE 201. Enrollment is restricted to students with a minimum of 30 hours (sophomore, junior or senior standing). This infant-toddler early intervention class focuses on the provision of family-centered services as discussed in Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Students learn various relationship-based approaches for providing services that support the development of very young children with disabilities and their families.

ECSE 303. Behavior Support in Early Childhood. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Prerequisites: ECSE 201 and ECSE 202. Enrollment is restricted to students with a minimum of 30 hours (sophomore, junior or senior standing). This course will provide an introduction to theoretical models, research and strategies for supporting positive behaviors and reducing challenging behaviors of young children. Emphasis is on developing, implementing and/or structuring environments and interventions to encourage adaptive behaviors in young children. Trauma-informed approaches to understanding the nature of children’s behavior will also be explored. Course content focuses on conducting formal and informal assessments of behavior and environments to individualize and implement strategies to support the growth and development of individuals with challenging behavior.

ECSE 304. Communication and Language Development in Early Childhood. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with a minimum of 30 hours (sophomore, junior or senior standing). This course emphasizes how children learn to communicate and how to facilitate communication development. The course includes examination of language development, language differences and disorders, language facilitation, and relationship of language to literacy. Course content and assignments include information about evidence-based practices and promote critical reflection and problem-solving skills.

ECSE 350. Preschool Fieldwork. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 1.5 lecture and .5 field experience hours. 2 credits. Prerequisites: ECSE 201 and ECSE 250. Corequisite: ECSE 410. Enrollment is restricted to students in the B.S.Ed. in Special Education and Teaching with a concentration in early childhood program who have been admitted to teacher preparation. This field-based course provides an in-depth experience in working with preschool-aged children with disabilities. Students may be placed in school- or community-based settings.

ECSE 351. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 1-3 Hours.

Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of nine credits. A course on selected topics in early childhood special education. Generally, the content will relate to infant and toddler development, parent-child relationships, and strategies to support young children with or at-risk for disabilities and their families.

ECSE 401. Medical Aspects of Early Childhood Special Education. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ECSE 201. Enrollment is restricted to students with a minimum of 60 credit hours (junior or senior standing). This course focuses on the nature and characteristics of major disabling and at-risk conditions for infants and young children. Emphasis is given to the medical aspects of young children with disabilities and the management of neurodevelopmental and motor disabilities. Specific strategies for positioning and handling, facilitating movement, and developing self-care skills are provided. Review of adaptive equipment and its safe use, and selection and implementation of appropriate assistive technology will be covered.

ECSE 410. Play-based Instruction for Inclusive Settings. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Registration requires permission of the instructor. This course is designed to introduce students to the sources, concepts, theory and integrated approaches to play-based instruction for young children with or without disabilities from diverse backgrounds, and including school, home and community settings. Young children’s development and learning are viewed as integral components of play. Various approaches to formal and informal play will be addressed through a hybrid format of course delivery that includes face-to-face lectures, online discussions and reflections, onsite observations, and case-based inquiries. This course particularly values the critical role of families in child development, therefore emphasizing family involvement in play-based instructions across all settings.

ECSE 450. ECSE Consultation/Itinerant Fieldwork. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 1.5 lecture and .5 field experience hours. 2 credits. Prerequisites: ECSE 201, ECSE 250 and ECSE 350. Corequisite: SEDP 405. Enrollment is restricted to students in the B.S.Ed. in Special Education and Teaching with a concentration in early childhood program who have been admitted to teacher preparation. This field-based course provides an in-depth experience in providing consultation or itinerant services for young children with disabilities. Students may be placed in school- or community-based settings.

ECSE 499. Student Teaching in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education. 9 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture and 7 field experience hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 9 credits. Prerequisites: ECSE 250, ECSE 350 and ECSE 450. Enrollment is restricted to students in the B.S.Ed. in Special Education and Teaching with a concentration in early childhood program with a minimum of 90 credit hours (senior standing). The student teaching experience is designed to provide in-depth practical experience within a school, community-based program serving young children (birth to age 5) and their families, from a variety of cultural backgrounds, who are at risk for or have developmental disabilities. Through readings, community-based learning and face-to-face and online collaboration, the student will gain an understanding of the early intervention/early childhood special education requirements and practices. To demonstrate their abilities to critically reflect on their effectiveness, students will demonstrate problem-solving and critical-thinking skills as they apply the competencies gained through course work within the student teaching experience. These competencies are based on DEC-CEC standards and include participation in the assessment, planning and implementation of intervention programs; collaboration on an interdisciplinary team; use of family-centered principles; and development of professional relationships with families and other professionals in the student teaching setting.

ECSE 500. Language/Communication Intervention for Young Children with Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Undergraduate students must have permission of the instructor prior to registration for this course. This course emphasizes how children learn to communicate and how to facilitate communication development. The course includes examination of language development, language differences and disorders, language facilitation, and relationship of language to literacy. Course content and assignments include information about evidence-based practices and promote critical reflection and problem-solving skills.

ECSE 501. Principles of Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: ECSE 201, ECSE 202 and ECSE 303; or SEDP 501 or ECSE 541; or permission of instructor. Enrollment is restricted to students with a minimum of 60 credit hours (junior or senior standing) or graduate students. Non-degree seeking students may enroll in this course with permission of instructor. This course provides an introduction to issues related to infant and early childhood mental health. Parent-child attachment, risk, resilience, assessment and intervention strategies will be discussed through the lens of relationship-based practice.

ECSE 541. Infants and Young Children With Special Needs. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Course offered online. Undergraduate students must have permission of the instructor prior to registration for this course. This course focuses on the foundations for early intervention and education, with emphasis on early intervention research, typical and atypical development, family and community contexts for development, professional standard and current policy issues.

ECSE 542. Family/Professional Partnerships. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Undergraduate students must have permission of the instructor prior to registration for this course. Theory and practice relevant to working with families of children with disabilities. Family-centered services and cultural sensitivity are emphasized. Provides an overview of family processes and reactions to having a child with a disability, strategies for helping family members support and work with their children, available community resources and legal rights of families and children with disabilities.

ECSE 601. Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Provides knowledge and practical applications for the identification, placement and assessment for program planning and evaluation of children with disabilities ages birth through five.

ECSE 602. Instructional Programming for Infants and Young Children with Disabilities. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours; 3 credits. Offered in hybrid format. This course provides the knowledge, skills and methods necessary to deliver effective education to infants, toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities and their families. The course includes readings, discussions and activities on topics central to understanding the conceptual and theoretical foundations underlying current educational curricula and methods. The course emphasizes blending recommended practices from early childhood education and early childhood special education, family-centered service delivery, cultural competence, inclusive placements, and research-based intervention. Course content and assignments promote critical reflection, collaborative decision-making and problem-solving skills to be used in planning and implementing programs for young children with special needs and their families.

ECSE 603. Integrated Early Childhood Programs I. 2 Hours.

Semester course; 2 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 2 credits. Examines the needs, opportunities, resources and barriers to early intervention and inclusive early childhood programs in Virginia and local communities. State and federal laws and policies, research-based practices and local models will be studied to understand the context for systems change. A planning process that includes funding mechanisms, staffing patterns, curricula service models, family participation options, resource coordination and program evaluation procedures will be emphasized.

ECSE 604. Early Literacy and Augmentative Communication. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Designed to increase the professional knowledge and skills of early childhood special educators to meet the literacy needs of young children with disabilities through the use of technology.

ECSE 605. Integrated Early Childhood Programs II. 1 Hour.

Semester course; 1 lecture hour. 1 credit. Prerequisite: ECSE 603. Examines the needs, opportunities, resources and barriers to early childhood intervention and inclusive early childhood programs in Virginia and local communities. State and federal laws and policies, research-based practices, and local models will be studied to understand the context for systems change. A planning process that includes funding mechanisms, staffing concerns, curricula service models, family participation options, resource coordination and program evaluation procedures will be emphasized.

ECSE 641. Interdisciplinary Methods in Early Intervention. 3 Hours.

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course focuses on the nature and characteristics of major disabling and at-risk conditions for infants and young children and the influence of interdisciplinary teamwork in service delivery. Emphasis is given to the medical aspects of young children with disabilities and the management of neurodevelopmental and motor disabilities. Review of adaptive equipment and its safe use, as well as selection and implementation of appropriate assistive technology will be covered. The importance and role of collaborative planning teams that include families and professionals from various disciplines, including health care, will be discussed. Essential teamwork skills will be learned and students will reflect on the application of those skills in practice.

ECSE 672. Internship in Early Development and Intervention. 1-6 Hours.

Semester course; 1-2 field experience hours. 1-2 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. Designed to provide practical experience in different community programs that serve young children (birth to 5) from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, who are at risk for or have developmental disabilities, and their families. These observation, participation and service-learning experiences are distributed across the graduate program, linked to other core content courses documented via portfolios and aligned with professional standards. This course includes site-based requirements.

ECSE 700. Externship. 1-6 Hours.

Semester course; 1-6 field experience hours. 1-6 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of nine credits. Enrollment requires permission of the department. Plan of work designed by extern with prior approval of the offering department. State certification or equivalent may be required for some externships. Off-campus planned experiences for advanced graduate students designed to extend professional competencies, carried out in a setting, under supervision of an approved professional. Externship activities monitored and evaluated by university faculty. This course includes site-based requirements.