Over the last month, Birth to Thrive discussed issues special needs families face in early learning, ranging from a lack of a voice in key debates to autism’s role in shaping early learning support for families with disabilities. The debate is far from over, and we thought we would offer some policy resources to keep the dialogue going:

National Groups

• The Council for Exceptional Children: A group working to improve education for special needs and gifted students.
• The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center: “NECTAC is the national early childhood technical assistance center supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).”

Washington State Links

• Early Support for Infants and Toddlers, Washington State Department of Early Learning.
• Experimental Education Unit, University of Washington: The center is arguably the city’s top resource for children with disabilities, offering inclusive classrooms from birth through kindergarten, services and support.
• The Kindering Center: One of the region’s leading providers of services and support for children with disabilities.

Federal Resources

• Learn the Signs. Act Early. Developmental Milestones and Fact Sheets, Centers for Disease Control.
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.

A new study found infants living in poverty often have mothers with depression, The Washington Post reported.

Researchers found 11 percent of babies who lived in poverty had a mom dealing with severe depression, according to the study done by the Urban Institute.

In what was described as the first detailed portrait of its kind, researchers reported that one in nine infants in poverty had a mother with severe depression and that such mothers typically breastfed their children for shorter periods than other mothers who were poor.

                …

The study said that even severe depression goes largely untreated among low-income mothers of infants, with just 30 percent speaking to a professional about a mental health problem during the year before the survey was conducted. – “Study links poverty to depression among mothers.” Washington Post, 8/26/10.

Another interesting story on depression in children, “Can Preschoolers be Depressed” ran in The New York Times magazine over the weekend.

In Other News: “No link between vaccines and autism, appeals court rules,” Associated Press, 8/27/10.

Economists, researchers and advocates talk a lot about the economic return of good quality early learning, but few are as compelling and clear as University of Chicago professor James Heckman.

The Nobel-Prize winning economist explains the importance of putting returns of early learning efforts, such as teaching self-discipline and other soft skills, in the correct context, in a question-and-answer on the Washington Post’s “Economics and Domestic Policy, and lots of it” blog.

So what you’re learning is self-discipline, to stay on task, you’re learning social relationships, because you’re doing this assessment collectively, and you’re building a set of life skills that turn out to be important. So we looked at what the consequences were of these changes early in life for the child. And we see that those patterns are there.
It leads to less aggression, more socialization, what sometimes psychologists call externalizing behavior, and it promotes a lot of productivity down the line. So you’re changing the character of these children. – “It’s just a question of using the same dollars wisely.” 8/25/10.

During the talk, the economist also calls on President Barack Obama – Heckman advised the Obama campaign on early learning issues, according to the blog – to take a stronger lead role in improving early learning.

It is a great and in-depth read for a Q&A and worth checking out.

You can follow Heckman at the Heckman Equation on Twitter (@heckmanequation) and on Facebook.

School is around the corner and here are a few facts and findings before child care, preschool and kindergarten open for many parents.

Babies apparently get stressed out and remember when mom or dad leaves them, a study out of Canada found.

It isn’t just emotional for parents. A new study shows that when babies as young as six months old are stressed, they have a biological response and can remember it for at least 24 hours.— “Babies feel and remember stress when parents don’t respond.” Parentcentral.ca. 8/25/10.

In this country, the U.S. Census Bureau found more than half of three- and-four-year olds, 53 percent, were in school in 2008.

And nearly three-quarters, 72 percent, of children age 3 to 6 who were in kindergarten attended school all day in 2008, according to the same report, “Back to School: 2010-2011.”

In the not shocking category, children are less likely to be in child care during the summer, the Census said in a separate report “Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2005/Summer 2006,” with 55 percent of preschoolers not in regular child care.

Back in Washington D.C., the U.S. Education Department announced the second wave of Race to the Top winners (Washington State did not make the cut). Check out Early Ed Watch’s take on “How Will ‘Race to the Top’ Winners Address Early Ed?”

(This is the fourth story in a series on special needs in early education.)

Could autism overwhelm federal programs that support children with disabilities?

Autism appears to be nearly everywhere these days - 1 in 110 children are now diagnosed with the disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is on “Oprah,” national magazine covers and the minds of parents.

Now there are signs not every child that could have autism is getting diagnosed. Researchers found lower rates of diagnosis among African American and Hispanic families and suggestions that parents’ education may play a role in getting a diagnosis, according to a commentary.

What would happen if every family had access to high-quality autism screening and intensive services, which can total more than 20 hours a week? Would the system fall apart? These are among the questions raised by the commentary “Is Autism the Disability that Breaks Part C?”

We worry, however, that as professionals continue to make recommendations for intensive early intervention for children with ASD (autism spectrum disorders), the programs are going to crumble under the additional burden. – “Is Autism the Disability That Breaks Part C?” Journal of Early Intervention, 3/10.

The fact is the recent spike in autism diagnoses is already straining the system. Parents of autistic children run into waitlists, a shortage of therapists and health insurance that often fails to cover tens of thousands of dollars in therapy a year. This occurs even in cities such as Seattle, which are home to cutting edge research and support.

The commentary wonders whether this increase could strain or break federal support for disabled infants and toddlers, known as Part C.

One of the most important issues it raises is a divide between haves and have nots within the autism community.

We worry, however, that establishing an early and accurate diagnosis may be related more to where a family lives, whether the parents went to college, and what medical insurance they have than to the young children's behavioral profiles. To the extent that our perceptions are valid, something in "the system" is not working. – “Is Autism the Disability That Breaks Part C?”

Schwartz also suggests there is a gap between families who get a diagnosis of autism for their child and those whose children have another type of developmental delay.

“There is also a divide between families who have ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and those who do not,” Schwartz wrote in an email. “…But we need to provide services for all children that are high quality.  Unfortunately… the way schools are funded that is becoming increasingly difficult.”

The co-authors write in their commentary they are far from opposed to intense early intervention for children on the autism spectrum. In fact, they point out they developed one of the models. Instead, they write the system needs to be changed to ensure all families raising a child with a disability get support.

Co-author Ilene Schwartz, who adds in the story she is hopeful the system will not collapse, has ideas to ensure the system doesn’t break.

One of her most interesting proposals is that high quality child care could help manage the burden.

“If all children had access to high quality child care, then we may be able to provide fewer hours of specialized instruction.  High quality child care where children are engaged and have high quality and consistent interactions with caring adults, supported by some specialized intervention and some training for parents and other caregivers may be sufficient and it would certainly be more sustainable and more child friendly,”    Schwartz, director of the University of Washington’s Haring Center for Applied Research and Training in Education, wrote in an email.

Schwartz raises more questions than answers – not surprising given we don’t know what causes autism or how to cure it.

It sounds like we need to start answering some of these questions before the system breaks down even more.

Article: “Is Autism the Disability That Breaks Part C? A Commentary on "Infants and Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Early Identification and Early Intervention, “by Boyd, Odom; Humphreys, and Sam.” By Ilene S. Schwartz and Susan R. Sandall, University of Washington, Seattle. Journal on Early Intervention, 3/10.

It is worth noting when the nation’s top central banker talks about things besides interest rates and inflation, and earlier this month Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took time to urge state policymakers to continue investing in early childhood education. 

The busy Fed chief reminded his audience that while a strong K-12 system is an important factor in building a good workforce, quality early learning classrooms also play an important role.

Research increasingly has shown the importance for both individuals and the economy as a whole of both early childhood education as well as efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills. The payoffs of early childhood programs can be especially high. For instance, investment in preschool programs for disadvantaged children has been shown to increase high school graduation rates. Because high school graduates have higher earnings, pay more taxes, and are less likely to need to use public health programs, such investments can pay off even from the narrow perspective of state budgets; of course, the returns to the overall economy and to the individuals themselves are much greater. – Speech to the Annual Meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. 8/2/10. (Early learning comments are near the end. See text for footnotes.)

As a journalist who dissected Federal Reserve speeches for key policy changes years ago, I can tell you Fed chairmen don’t waste too many words. And it is great to see Bernanke’s endorsement of quality early learning when he has so many other issues to comment on, including the sluggish recovery from the Great Recession.

The country’s version of the free market is failing early learning.  It doesn’t support the right balance of supply and demand, costs tied to return on investment or decent salaries for the industry’s workers.

There is plenty of support for this argument in a new post “Why Girly Jobs Don’t Pay Well” over on The New York Times Economix blog. The piece looks at how the market fails to support caring services, such as elder care and early learning, and why women tend to work in these fields.

…Caring often creates “outputs” that are not easily captured in market transactions, such as the increases in lifetime capabilities created by excellent kindergarten and preschool teachers.

It’s hard to imagine an explicit contract that could enable a care worker to “capture” the value-added – which extends well beyond increases in lifetime earnings to many less tangible benefits. – “Why Girly Jobs Don’t Pay Well.” NYT, 8/16/10.

Capitalism’s failure to support this work is one reason the U.S. has a large welfare system, according to the blog post.   

Indeed, market failures in the provision of these services help explain why we rely heavily on a welfare state that is, not incidentally, often dubbed a nanny state.

…

Many of the worst-paying girly jobs – like teaching young children before they enter public kindergarten – pay badly because they get relatively little public support, are poorly regulated and serve families who can’t afford to pay for high-quality services.

There is a lot more in the story that’s worth checking out.

(Thanks to EarlyStories for highlighting this story.)

In this era of diagnosis, a new study suggests that when a child is born can mean he or she is more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, MSNBC.com reports today.

North Carolina State University researchers found that children born just after the kindergarten eligibility cutoff date were 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children born just before the cutoff date. Children born just after the cutoff date are among the oldest in their class, and those born just before the cutoff date are among the youngest in their class. – LiveScience via MSNBC.com, 8/18/10.

The research and story raise several concerns. For example, are many students receiving an incorrect diagnosis of ADHD only because they are the youngest in a classroom?

It is also only one of the latest developments in the debate over diagnosing mental disorders and mental illnesses in children. A label of youth bipolar or ADHD often comes with a prescription for drugs with side effects, even though there is disagreement about how those disorders are diagnosed.

Toddlers Using Stats: It turns out toddlers use statistics when they play, a new study says.

Researchers found toddlers relied on non-random sampling to decide what toys someone wants, according to work conducted by researchers at Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley and University of Michigan.

They watched the adult choose five toys that were either 18 percent or 82 percent of the toys in a box. The adult played happily with the toy either way, but the toddler only concluded that the adult had a preference if they'd picked the toys from a box in which that toy was scarce. – “Preschoolers Use Statistics to Understand Others.” HealthNewsDigest, 8/17/10.

(Third story in a series on special needs in early learning.)

When Anna’s son was born with a rare disorder four years ago her world changed and that included her child care. Her options shrank to nearly nothing.

During her four-month maternity leave, Anna looked for a high-quality program around Seattle, but nothing seemed to work. Initially, she hoped to enroll her new baby in a home-based child care near her North Seattle home. While they said they would be happy to add him, they were not equipped for his special needs tied to Ohdo syndrome, a disorder characterized by eating, movement, speech, learning and other disabilities.  

“I would rather have that answer than have him sit in the corner and not get what he needs,” Anna, who requested that her name be withheld, said.

Eventually, Anna found an option, Northwest Center, a long-running resource for children and adults with disabilities. But, the center was too expensive for a family that relies on Anna’s public teacher’s salary and her husband’s income as a Boeing Co. Machinist.

They tried an Au Pair for 18 months, but it didn’t work out. Then Anna heard of a good nanny through friends – an expensive option she was unsure would meet her son’s needs – and hired her. Three years later, the nanny remains a sweet and helpful part of the family, but also a costly addition to their already complicated juggle of half-day preschool at the University of Washington’s Experimental Education Unit, medical appointments and weekly physical therapy.

Parents often complain about the challenges of finding high-quality child care – waitlists, extensive individual research and the shock of fees that can run as high as college tuition. But families with special needs children have a far harder time. They may need accommodations, though not as expensive as some think, have few choices and bigger bills. These barriers may explain why one parent often stops working.

But Anna didn’t have that option. Like many modern American families, she and her husband live in an urban area where two salaries are often needed to cover the steep cost of living.

“I have to work. I don’t have a choice,” said Anna, who also has an 11-year-old child.

Hurdles in special needs child care not only make Anna’s life and others more difficult, but may push these families and their children further outside the mainstream. At a time, when many educators say they are striving for greater inclusion of children with disabilities in kindergarten through high school, these kids often start the first years of their education on the outside.

Complicating their child care juggle, Anna’s family, like many with special needs children, has bills other parents don’t.  Their son has medical treatments, prescriptions and physical therapy that sometimes are not covered by their health insurance.

And while some people may think Anna gets a lot of help with these bills from state and federal programs, Anna points out that isn’t the case.

 “I don’t have any assistance from the state,” Anna added.

As Anna’s son prepares for kindergarten next year, everything is once again changing. Anna will need to find care for her son before and after school. They are on the waitlist for Northwest Center, but they don’t think they will get in.

Anna and her family are not looking for sympathy or charity. It took Anna a year to grasp the idea that raising her son will be a lot different than raising her first child. But now the family accepts the future will always hold unknowns.

“It is just a different lifestyle, and you just accept it and go on. You don’t have a choice. You just do,” Anna said.

 Perhaps they should have a few more choices for child care as they do.

The U.S. Education Department is doing some interesting work with its competitive grant contests, i3 and Race to the Top, but there are now questions about early learning’s role in these battles for better education systems.

Some child care advocates criticized the finalists announced this month for i3, officially known as Investing in Innovation, for not including enough early learning work, EarlyStories reports. Today, the Hechinger Institute blog covers the response from Ed Department leaders, who said there is plenty of early learning among the finalists.

Early Ed Watch questions some of the scoring of i3 grant applications, “Inconsistencies in Scores for i3’s Early Learning Winners.”

Folks who are tracking federal efforts to encourage early learning innovation should check out both stories.