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PEP is a special
education program for children who have educational
disabilities. All children in PEP have an Individualized
Education Program (IEP) with learning goals and objectives
based on needs identified through formal testing.
The goals and objectives are guides to help the staff
help the child acquire skills that other children
of their age already have learned. PEP is a noncategorical
program, which means that it serves children with
a variety of disabilities. Most children who participate
in PEP classes have moderate learning delays in
more than one area of development, and many of
the children receive related services such as speech/language,
occupational, and/or physical therapy. Parent education
is also a part of the program.
PEP is based on the premise
that early intervention is effective in remediating
learning deficits and/or identifying strategies to
offset the impact of educational disabilities on young
children. Developmental skills such as communication,
exploration, movement, play and socialization are essential
for all children. Some children with disabilities need
specialized intervention to gain the skills necessary
for kindergarten. PEP uses a model in which all
of the staff members working with a child share techniques
to address individual goals and objectives. These are
integrated into the learning environment (usually a
classroom) and also shared in activities for the child's
home. The team at school, along with parents and other
caregivers, work together in roles which are interdependent
and interlocking. In some cases, staff members develop
"co-treatment" plans in which staff from
several disciplines work simultaneously with a child.
If you visit a PEP classroom,
you might see several adults in the room. The special
education teacher designs the daily program which
is based on preschool curriculum and is play-based
(since play is the way most young children learn).
The paraeducator helps the teacher implement these
plans in which each child's goals and objectives are
addressed. On different days, there may be a therapist
in the room working with small groups or individual
children. Sometimes a therapist works outside the
classroom with a child individually. The therapist
integrates their activities into the classroom curriculum,
and the teacher integrates the therapists' techniques
into the child's activities.
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A free public school
program for children ages 3 to 5 years who have
developmental delays or disabilities. |
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