Building a strong foundation of success for life through high-quality special education

 Have concerns for your child?

Years of research have proven that Early Intervention is highly successful in helping children with developmental delays reach their full potential. The earlier a child begins receiving services, the more opportunity he or she has to attend school with his or her typically developing peers. To the right is a box named “I Have Concerns” with a link to “Developmental Milestones”. Please review these, keeping in mind your child’s current development. If you suspect that your child is not developing like other children his or her age, click on “Concerns: Next Steps” link for next steps to take.  If you have recently moved to the area and your child already has an IEP or IFSP, click on the “New to Cumberland County with an IEP/ IFSP” link for next steps to take.

Program Description

Cumberland County Schools is the lead agency for special education and related services to eligible preschool children with disabilities who reside in Cumberland County.  Licensed teachers and therapists provide these services to qualifying 3, 4 and 5 year-olds who are not eligible to attend kindergarten.  Eligibility is determined by results of screening, observation and/or evaluations completed by the multidisciplinary Early-In team, along with parent input. Services may be provided in a variety of settings dependent upon each child’s determined needs.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “children with disabilities” includes all children who, because of permanent or temporary cognitive, communication, social/emotional, adaptive or physical disabilities, are unable to have all of their developmental needs met in a natural environment without special education and related services.

Services

Services can be provided in a variety of settings depending upon each child’s needs.  Settings include:

• Itinerant teacher services in homes, child care centers, regular state or federal preschool classrooms, or service provider location
• Developmental Day Center
• Special education classrooms
• Outpatient speech therapy