Via’s Inclusive Childcare Project provides valuable training, support and technical assistance to childcare centers throughout the Lehigh Valley. Through attention to a center’s individual needs, Via staff will assess, give feedback, hands-on assistance and consultation where needed.
How Does Via’s Inclusive Childcare Program Work?
Via Inclusion Childcare program is made possible through a grant from The United Way. The grant enables Via to hire Inclusion Specialists who are full-time employees of Via. Inclusion Specialists are professionally trained through Via and assigned to childcare centers in the Lehigh Valley. This program is available to pre-school and childcare providers throughout the Lehigh Valley.
Via’s program is not designed to be strictly one-on-one with a particular child - it is structured so the specialist helps with the overall environment of the childcare center. Inclusion Specialists work with two to three centers, working on a part-time basis in each center. Specialists are typically in a center for nine to twelve months, providing support and assistance to centers that welcome inclusive opportunities for children up to age five with special needs.
Working with childcare center staff, Specialists identify barriers to inclusion within the childcare setting, both environmental and curriculum based, and collaborate to find ways to overcome barriers. Via Inclusion Specialists and childcare center staff will:
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Develop a curriculum that is inclusive of children with a variety of disabilities.
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Adapt classroom environments to accommodate wheelchairs and different forms of mobility for children.
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Facilitate therapies in the classroom.
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Consult with teachers in the center to help identify behaviors that may indicate learning delays in young children.
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Assist parents in accessing and advocating for support for their children so they can continue their education in inclusive learning environments.
Via Inclusions Specialists also assists staff on ways to adapt activities to facilitate the active participation of children with special needs and how to facilitate friendships between disabled and non-disabled children. Once a comfort level has been established with childcare center staff, a “fading out” plan is established with the center and monitored. Childcare centers can contact Via any time for additional support and training.
For more information, contact:
Marisa Nimtien, Director of Children's Services
m.nimtien@vianet.org
• 484-893-5379
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