Early Childhood Special Education

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Contact Us:
If you have a concern about your child's development, call one of the following depending on your child's age:

Children birth to age 2 call:
Parent Education Infant Development Program (PEID) at 540-372-3561

Children ages 2-4 call:
Spotsylvania County Public Schools Early Childhood Special Education Resource Office at 540-582-7020

School-age children call:
Your zoned school or SCPS Office of Student Support Services at 540-834-2500 ext. 1005

Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs instruct students with developmental delays or other federally defined disabilities. Preschool special education services are designed to enhance the developmental functioning of children with disabilities between the ages of 2 (by September 30) and 5 (and not age-eligible for kindergarten). Services are provided in the least restrictive environment, including home, community, and school-based settings. Spotsylvania County Schools offers a full continuum of services based on the student's needs.

ECSE Resource services are provided to children with mild to moderate delays in general education, community-based, or home-based settings. Such settings include private preschool, child care, Head Start, and other site-based locations. This allows children with delays to participate in typical programs with their peers while receiving special education to address areas of delay.

The Preschool Speech/Language program instructs students with mild to moderate speech and language impairments. Early childhood special education teachers provide language groups, and speech therapists provide preschool speech sessions.

ECSE Center-based classes (2’s, 3’s, and 4’s) are language-based classrooms for children with disabilities, emphasizing language development, problem-solving, social engagement, multi-sensory stimulation, literacy, prewriting and math activities, and behavior management. An Early Childhood Special Education Teacher provides services. The programs are individualized to address the uniqueness of each child. In addition, teachers provide family education and support through home visits to carry over learning into the home.

The ECSE Intellectual Disability Program is a therapeutic program focusing on intensive services in a smaller setting to meet each student's needs.

The ECSE / Head Start Inclusion Program is a language-based program that emphasizes language development, problem-solving, readiness skills, pre-writing, and social skills. The program places Head Start-eligible students into an Early Childhood Special Education class to be social and educational role models for students with disabilities. This class is a large group setting mirroring typical community preschools.

The ECSE Inclusion Program is a language-based program that emphasizes language development, problem-solving, readiness skills, pre-writing, and social skills. The program voluntarily places typically developing 4-year-old students into an Early Childhood Special Education class so that these students can be social and educational role models for the students with disabilities. This class is a large group setting mirroring typical community preschools.

ECSE for Autism program is a service delivery model that affords a classroom program for preschool children with autism. Utilizing nationally recognized, evidence-based practices developed for preschool children with autism, this program is based on the principles of applied behavioral analysis. The program uses structured teaching methods, including visual schedules, data-based procedures, individually selected motivators, augmentative communication systems (ex: Picture Exchange Communication System - PECS), and a variety of prompting procedures.