title: From playgroup to preschool: facilitating early integration experiences.
abstract: This paper discusses community playgroup and preschool settings for non-disabled children as programme options for infants and preschoolers with a variety of physical and mental impairments. These options provide age-appropriate integration experiences which may result in benefits to parent and child, realistic developmental expectations, and a cultural expectation that social integration is a basic part of any child's education. The discussion identifies advantages to beginning integration before the age of 5 years and emphasizes the need for individualized services, ongoing staff training, support for parents, and programme evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Special Education Services, Foundation for the Junior Blind, Los Angeles, CA 90043.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Hanline
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004519:Education, Special; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008282:Mainstreaming, Education; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012578:Schools, Nursery; D012917:Social Adjustment