The early years of human life are often referred to as a “window of opportunity.” It is well known that children who receive high-quality early educational experiences are more likely to experience future social, emotional, and academic success. For children with disabilities, in particular, research has shown that with individualized instruction and support they can make tremendous gains in development and learning during this period.

Given its strong, positive impact on young children with disabilities, the field of early childhood special education continues to expand and develop to take advantage of these developmental opportunities. For example, a recent national push toward inclusive practices has led to more and more children with disabilities being served in preschool classrooms alongside their typically developing peers. The objective of the inclusion movement is to provide both groups of children with the same opportunities to flourish. Children with disabilities, however, often lack critical social and communication skills needed to become active members of the inclusive environment.

Unfortunately, social communication is one of the most common deficits in early childhood. Each year the percentage of children entering preschool classrooms with communication-related disorders steadily increases. Inclusive preschool teachers continually face the challenge of ensuring equal opportunities for groups of children who are anything but equal when they walk through the door. Teachers are in need of new and innovative models of instruction and support to meet the needs of increasingly diverse groups of children. As a result, many programs are looking toward tiered models of instruction to meet those needs.

This fall we will be conducting a study to examine the effectiveness of a tiered model of social-communication instruction designed to meet the needs of a diverse group of children in an inclusive preschool classroom. The inspiration behind the model is a response to intervention approach, where child progress is continually monitored and increased levels of instruction and support are provided until the child shows adequate progress. The model includes three levels of instruction: a universal approach, a targeted small group strategy, and a structured, intensive method. Each level of instruction is designed to increase conversational turn taking and will be introduced in an additive manner based on a hierarchy of intensity.

The needs of the children in the inclusive classroom are diverse and the variation of instructional approaches needed to meet their needs is complex. The data collection method for the study, however, is not difficult.

Each day we will employ the easy-to-use LENA System to record and count conversational turn taking for the child participants. After each phase of the study (i.e., following each increase in the level of instruction), we will evaluate the participant's LENA data to determine which children are producing and maintaining an acceptable level of progress. Children who are not making progress will continue through the subsequent phases of the study until we determine which level of instruction is needed to support their individual needs.

We know from previous studies that the LENA System provides a reasonable means of collecting valid and reliable data that can be used to shape and transform classroom practices. The ability to monitor a child's progress over time with as much precision as LENA offers is a luxury, and we are confident that the LENA results will provide professionals with critical insights into individual child behavior and invaluable information about intervention integrity and effectiveness.