PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The West Fargo Public Schools provides services to preschool children ages 3-5 years of age with developmental delays. Children qualifying for the early childhood special needs preschool program demonstrate delays in their speech, language, learning/pre-academic, motor skills or social/emotional development. Children are identified through preschool screening or referrals from parents, doctors, or outside agencies. The Early Childhood Special Education Program is especially designed to address the special education needs of young children with disabilities. These services may include: screening, evaluation, consultations, parent education, classroom based instruction, speech/language therapy, and physical or occupational therapy.

ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM

The preschool program provides services to children between ages 3-5 years of age who are:

1. Developmentally Delayed-A child who is performing approximately one year below age norms in any of the two areas described below.
2. High Risk-A child whose development is related to a high risk medical diagnosis that commonly results in developmental delays such as premature birth, hearing loss, Down’s Syndrome etc.

PRESCHOOL SCREENING

FREE preschool screenings are provided to children 3-5 years of age. Children are screened in the areas of speech, language, pre-academic, motor, vision and hearing.

Screenings are done periodically during the school year. If you have concerns about your child’s development in the speech, language, learning, motor and/or social/emotional skills, please contact the West Fargo Schools at 356-2115 to schedule an appointment.

AREAS OF CONCERN ARE:

1. Speech-Is your child having trouble pronouncing (saying) all the different sounds we hear and say everyday when we talk. This is also called articulation.
2. Language- Is your child having trouble making sentences, understanding meanings of words, knowing how to talk to other people, and following directions.
   Receptive language-Being able to understand what someone is saying.
   Expressive Language-being able to tell someone what you are thinking, either by using words, gestures, symbols, or some other communication system or device.
3. Social/Emotional-Does your child interact appropriately with family and peers? Is your child able to handle emotional situations in a normal or acceptable manner?
4. Self-Help-Activities such as dressing, eating, toileting, grooming and home routines.
5. Academic Readiness - Is your child learning new information through interactions with their environment? This could include:
   • Pre-academic skills such as knowledge of colors, numbers, and letters
   • Memory skills
   • Concepts (such as in, on, under, or many) for following directions
   • Being able to generalize from one learning experience to another
   • Reasoning (what to do in different situations, or the use of the information that he/she has)
   • Understanding symbols (words have meaning, letters, numbers, etc.)
6. Gross Motor- Development and use of the large muscle groups in any activity involving movement such as running, jumping, ball skills and balance.
7. Fine Motor-The development and use of small muscles such as the muscles of the hands and fingers for activities such as cutting, coloring, writing, building with blocks, and stringing beads.
8. Behavior-Does your child show signs of being afraid, extremely shy, angry, crying a lot, hostility towards others, especially authority figures; overly active or passive, not wanting to participate in activities, extreme dependence on others, not showing interest in his/her environment, and showing little or no feeling toward others.

• Plays by himself and with others
• Learns to share toys
• Can feel happy and sad for others
• Waits and takes turns
• Enjoys simple humor
• Enjoys praise
• Enjoys play
• Proud of what she makes
• Helps with simple chores
• Separates from parent easily
• Plays make believe
• May continue to be unsure of strangers

• Understands turn-taking and sharing
• Plays and cooperates with other children
• Shows concern for younger children
• Role-plays (pretends to play house, school, etc.)
• Plays well with others in a supervised group
• Puts toys away by him/herself
• Dresses and undresses with little assistance
• Does up buttons

• Climbs stairs unassisted
• Jumps, walks runs and hops
• Rolls ball with direction
• Catches and throws a large ball
• Walks on tiptoes
• Stand on one leg briefly
• Walks 3 steps backwards
• Unbuttons large buttons
• Holds crayon with fingers
• Tries to cut with scissors
• Feeds self
• Tries to dress self

• Climbs ladders, trees, and high playground equipment
• Jumps over objects
• Hops on one foot
• Runs, stops, starts running again
• Walks down stairs one foot on each step
• Threads small beads
• Copies circle, cross, and line
• Carries cup of water without spilling
• Cuts with scissors
• Does simple 8-10 piece form puzzles
• Draws recognizable human shape

• Speaks in 4-6 word sentences
• Uses “me”, “you” and refers to self by name
• Can carry on a conversation
• Asks questions
• Tells what’s happening in a picture
• Listens to stories
• Sings, laughs
• Beginning to count
• Follows two step directions
• Knows 7 or 8 body parts
• Knows big and little
• Points to red, blue, yellow and green
• Speech is at least 80% understandable by age 3

• Speaks in sentences of 6 to 8 words
• Names basic colors
• Names triangle, cross, circle and square
• Asks many “How” and “Why” questions
• Stays at one activity for 10 minutes
• Can tell stories back to you
• Counts to at least 5
• Follows a 2 step direction
• Uses past tense, like “I ran”
• Understands vocabulary of at least 1500 words
• Expresses at least 900-1500 words
• Speech is at least 90% understandable