The NAEYC Code of Ethics and Statement of Commitment states in Section 1 under Ethical Responsibilities of Children the following ideals:
I-1.5—To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.
I-1.6—To use assessment instruments and strategies that are appropriate for the children to be assessed, that are used only for the purposes for which they were designed, and that have the potential to benefit children.
I-1.7—To use assessment information to understand and support children’s development and learning, to support instruction, and to identify children who may need additional services.
I-1.8—To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.
I-1.9—To advocate for and ensure that all children, including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful.
I-1.11—To provide all children with experiences in a language that they know, as well as support children in maintaining the use of their home language and in learning English.
In light of these ideals, it is my conviction that if proper assessment tools are implemented which are inclusive of the assessing of Sensory children as those with special needs, to have access to the support services needed to be successful; then the NAEYC Code of Ethics will prove to be well implemented and noted as a substantial tool for guidance and counsel in the early childhood field. Without proper inclusion of the assessing of Sensory children as those with special needs, the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct will be compromised according to its own principle listed below:
NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct 3 Revised April 2005 Principles
P-1.1—Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code.
The probabilities of inhibiting the learning experiences for a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), in all literal senses, are extremely high. An unsuccessful assessment of a child with SPD can result in the child functioning poorly in his/her learning environment. Depending on the educator’s lack of awareness to this type of condition, an educator can be emotionally damaging, dangerous, degrading, disrespectful, intimidating, and potentially physically harmful to the child. The imperativeness of educators to be well informed and knowledgeable of the symptoms and behaviors of SPD is crucial to the health and well-being of early aged children.The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children states the following principles and practice guidelines:
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE - Professional and Interpersonal Behavior
5. We shall use individually appropriate assessment strategies including multiple sources of
Information such as observations, interviews with significant caregivers, formal and informal assessments to determine children’s learning styles, strengths, and challenges.
6. We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children’s development and learning.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PREPARATION
1. We shall engage in ongoing and systematic reflective inquiry and self-assessment for the purpose of continuous improvement of professional performance and services to young children with disabilities and their families.
2. We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and services for young children with disabilities and their families.
3. We shall be responsible for maintaining the appropriate national, state, or other credential or licensure requirements for the services we provide while maintaining our competence in practice and research by ongoing participation in professional development and education activities.
4. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.
RESPONSIVE FAMILY CENTERED PRACTICES – Enhancement of Children’s and Families’ Quality of Lives
2. We shall recognize our responsibility to improve the developmental outcomes of children and to provide services and supports in a fair and equitable manner to all families and children.
4. We shall advocate for equal access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of lives.
ETHICAL AND EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES in the field of early childhood special education relies upon sound research methodologies and research based practices to ensure high quality services for children and families. As professionals researching and practicing within the field, it is our responsibility to maintain ethical conduct in building a cadre of practices based on evidence. Establishing an evidence base not only involves critically examining available research evidence relative to our professional practices, it also involves continually engaging in research to further refine our research-based or recommended practices. Sound and ethical research strategies always should be used including adherence to institutional review board procedures and guidelines prior to the conduct of research and use of peer-reviewed venues for published dissemination of findings. Honoring and respecting the diversity of children and families should guide all research activities.
Evidence Based Practices
1. We shall rely upon evidence based research and interventions to inform our practice with children and families in our care. OF ETHICS
2. We shall use every resource, including referral when appropriate, to ensure high quality services are accessible and are provided to children and families.
3. We shall include the diverse perspectives and experiences of children and families in the conduct of research and intervention.
Two weeks ago, I met with five ECS professionals—resource teacher, LD teacher, speech and language teacher, occupational therapist, and school psychologist-- at my son’s school. The meeting was called to address some of my concerns regarding equal access to high quality services and supports for children with SPD. I was told by the highest of the officials that it was impossible for me to receive any type of services for my son in regards to his SPD unless his academic development was markedly failing. I explained to the group that, due to the fact that my son has had SPD challenges early in his life, I have been for the past four years faithfully working at home with him in all of the areas of academia so that his behavior would not result in a lack of education for him. The oxymoron of this situation is that my son’s academic development rates as high as second grade in his reading skills and comprehension, and first grade in other areas of learning, which disqualifies him for any type of service that would help he to improve in his academics by virtue of aiding him with his self-regulation ability. Currently, the things that he is being taught in his kindergarten class have already been learned at home. Therefore, the behaviors that cause him to be titled as “disruptive”, “lacking focus”, “aggressive”, and “uncooperative” are all that he is able to demonstrate in his classroom (where his teacher is unknowledgeable about SPD).
Professional practices need to include the elements of SPD in their assessment strategies. Professional development and preparation needs to include more than what is already being practiced; there must be broader research involved which includes the aspects and findings of SPD studies. Responsive family centered practices can only be implemented effectively when caregiver’s concerns are taken seriously; children and families’ lives can only be enhanced when the responsibility to improve developmental outcomes is available for all children. Ethical and evidence based practices must venture out to include more methodologies and research based practices that will address the findings of SPD in early aged children. Each of the above discussed ideals will become a part of my professional life by providing the guidance and counsel needed to invoke forward progressions in the field of early childhood development.
REFERENCES
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/56607/CRS-CW-4744591/educ6005_readings/naeyc_codeofethicspdf.pdf
The Division for Early Childhood. (2009, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/56607/CRS-CW-4744591/educ6005_readings/dec_codeofethics.pdf
