UNICEF ECD newsletter (disability)
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Transcript of UNICEF ECD newsletter (disability)
Dear ECD Community,
Within UNICEF’s continuous re-focus on equity-based strategies, one of the emerging themes is children with disabilities. In the ECD context it has been noted that “in settings where services and facilities do not exist, inclusiveness for children with disabilities is often looked upon as a next step, “an upgrade” to be implemented once the “basic” services are in place. Yet, to implement equity-focused programming, inclusiveness should be thought of as an indispensable feature of the original system to be addressed at the outset” (UNICEF Armenia).
Commemorating December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this issue focuses on the theme of disability in early childhood. We hope this newsletter and our newly established Intranet page on this theme will help draw more attention to addressing the needs of young children with disabilities across all ECD programmes. We are very grateful to our country and regional colleagues for enriching the newsletter with stories of their work in this area. We noted that most of the case studies in this issue are from the CEE/CIS region. We heartily welcome these contributions, however, this could be reflective of the need to build programmes and/or interventions for young children with disabilities in other regions and countries. This issue also contains news and information on other ECD topics from NYHQ.
The next issue of the ECD newsletter will focus on ECD Evaluations. In this issue, we are reporting on the first ever external evaluation of UNICEF’s ECD Programmes as a prelude to the theme of our next newsletter. We invite all COs and ROs to send us information (300-500 words long stories) by 15 January, 2012 on any ECD evaluations they have conducted in the last 2-3 years.
Warm Regards,
ECD Team in NYHQ
E d i t o r i a l
Special points of interest:
Treasure Trove of ECD Tools and Resources 8-9
The Evidence Series 10
Call for field stories on ECD Evaluations 11
Upcoming ECD Global Events 11
T h e b e s t s ta rt i n l i f e f o r e v e ry c h i l d
E a r ly c h i l d h o o d d e v e l o p m e n t
n e w s l e t t e r — D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 D i s a b i l i t y i n E a r l y C h i l d h o o d I s s u e
U N I C E F a n d W H O , in
consultation with numerous
partners, are developing a
discussion paper on disability in
early childhood. The paper
highlights many of the key
considerations and lays the
foundation for policy, advocacy,
research and programming.
Early childhood is the period
during which disabilities are
commonly identified and the
impact on children’s well-being
and development recognized. The
early years also hold particular
risks for children with disabilities
and developmental delays, if they
do not receive the appropriate
intellectual stimulation, health
care, inclusive quality learning
environments they need. Without
proper support and access to
services they can miss important
developmental milestones.
Intended as an initial review, the
paper provides an introduction to
disability in early childhood (birth
to 8 years of age) with a rights-
based approach, and touches on
i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o e a r l y
intervent ion , as se ssment/
detection, role of the family,
importance of stimulating
environments, health care and
inclusive education. It also
touches on cross cutting issues
such as: gender, children in
ind igenous and minor i ty
communitie s, chi ldren in
alternative care settings, violence
and abuse and considerations for
children with disabilities during
D i s c u s s i o n P a p e r o n
D i s a b i l i t y a n d E a r l y C h i l d h o o d D e v e l o p m e n t
humanitarian situations.
More commitment will be needed
to sustain and support all actors in
the process of developing
inclusive ECD programmes.
Therefore, UNICEF and WHO
are planning to engage with
experts in 2012 to outline steps
needed to influence national
policies for the delivery of
inclusive ECD programmes. You
can access a working draft of the
discussion paper here under
Resources section.
Click on the video above to view
activist Aimee Mullins speaking
at the TED Medical Conference
on the impact of the word
“disabled” on a child’s self-image
In this Issue:
Discussion Paper on Disability in Early Childhood 1
Cross-cutting Disability Unit in NYHQ 2
News from NYHQ 3
Stories from the Field on Disability in Early Childhood 4-7
Click here to read about the
International Day of Persons
with Disabilities on
3 December, 2011
UNICEF completed its Gov-
ernment of Netherlands
(GoN)-funded ECD Pro-
gramme (2008-2011) along
with an external evaluation,
which is the first-ever compre-
hensive assessment of its mag-
nitude on UNICEF’s ECD
programmes globally.
The evaluation was comprised
of in-depth case studies of
ECD programmes in four
countries (Nepal, Cambodia,
Ghana and Tanzania), an ex-
tensive document review, and
a desk analysis of data from
ten countries which had re-
ceived the GoN funding. It
also provided an opportunity
to examine global and regional
level efforts in support of
ECD programmes around the
world. Findings and recom-
mendations focused on three
ECD strategies namely (1)
mainstreaming ECD into poli-
cies and programmes, (2)
capacity building of policy-
makers, service providers and
parents, and (3) knowledge
generation, dissemination, and
management. In addition to
drawing useful conclusions,
the evaluation addressed chal-
lenges and opportunities in
providing ECD services to
disadvantaged populations.
UNICEF’s Evaluation Office
carried out this evaluation in
close collaboration with the
ECD Unit, Regional Offices,
and respective Country Offic-
es. The process was guided by
an inter-divisional reference
group that included represen-
tation from Regional Offices.
To safeguard independence,
the evaluation was conducted
by a team of international con-
sultants from Mathematica
Policy Research and supported
by national consultants in each
of the four case study coun-
tries. Click here to view the
webinar on ECD External
Evaluation. Click here to read
the full ECD Evaluation report
and here for a summary of the
report.
Page 2 Early Childhood Development Newsletter - News from NYHQ
I n t r o d u c t i o n t o T h e C r o s s - C u t t i n g
D i s a b i l i t y U n i t i n N e w Y o r k
E x t e r n a l E v a l u a t i o n o f E C D
P r o g r a m m e s w i t h a f o c u s
o n t h e D u t c h F u n d s
Roseangela Berman-Bieler,
Senior Adviser on Children with
Disabilities, Division of Policy and
Practice, NYHQ
Amy Farkas, Disability Focal
Point, Programme Division,
NYHQ
In early 2010, UNICEF estab-
lished a Disability Unit in the
Gender, Rights and Civic En-
gagement (GRACE) Section of
the Division of Policy and
Practice (DPP) and appointed
Roseangela Berman-Bieler as
Senior Adviser on Children
with Disabilities in early
2011. Under her leadership,
UNICEF is currently develop-
ing a global framework and
guiding principles on disability
to ensure that the rights en-
shrined in the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities are mainstreamed
across UNICEF’s advocacy,
programming and humanitari-
an work. An example of a
major achievement in 2011
was the release of the Execu-
tive Directive on Disability
(CF/EXD/2011-005).
Rosangela is a Brazilian Jour-
nalist with a Master’s Degree
from the University of Sala-
manca on the Inclusion of
Persons with Disabilities.
Rosangela has been a disability
rights advocate for more than
30 years and has worked at the
World Bank, IADB, UNDP
and other UN and internation-
al agencies. Her expertise on
disability issues covers areas
such as Inclusive Development
& Public Policy, HIV and
AIDS, Post-Conflict, Poverty
Reduction, Media, Gender
and Human Rights. She is also
the founder and Director of
the Inter-American Institute
on Disability and Inclusive
Development created to pro-
mote social-economic and
political inclusion in the Latin
America Region and al-
so Lusophone Africa. Working
closely with her, is Amy Farkas
who is currently the focal
point on disability for Pro-
grammes Division and has
been with UNICEF for three
years. Amy has a Master’s
Degree in Disability Studies
and previously worked with
NGOs to promote the rights of
persons with disabilities, main-
stream disability and address
stigma and discrimination. She
has experience in inclusive
development with a special
focus on the use of sport and
recreation in addressing stigma
and discrimination.
Click here to read the 2011
mid-year report of the Disabil-
ity Unit under the Resources
section. Click here and here to
read related ICON stories.
© UNICEF-NYHQ2006-0808-
Shehzad Noorani
Click here for the newly
launched ECD and Disability
page on the Intranet
From 5-6 October 2011 UNICEF
TACRO together with Plan In-
ternational and Child Fund, orga-
nized a three day regional work-
shop on Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR) and Emergency Response
in Early Childhood. Over 40
ECD, DRR and Humanitarian
Assistance Experts, including
government officials and partner
organizations from the region
were in attendance. This work-
shop represented a significant
step toward prioritizing and ad-
vancing DRR strategies including
emergency response and prepar-
edness, the provision of safe and
protective environments for
young children, and the reduc-
tion of adverse impact on young
children during emergencies.
Vijaya Singh from ECD Unit
NYHQ presented an integrated
approach to ECD in Emergencies
(ECDiE) at the workshop.
The presentation familiarized
participants with ECDiE materi-
als from UNICEF, such as the
ECD Kit, and gave a better un-
derstanding of how child-friendly
Page 3 Early Childhood Development Newsletter - News from NYHQ
T A C R O W o r k s h o p o n D i s a s t e r R i s k R e d u c t i o n
i n E a r l y C h i l d h o o d
“Stop violence against children
through positive parenting” held
on 18 November 2011. Panelists
included Nurper Ulkuer from
UNICEF, Pia Rebello Britto from
Yale University, Eduardo Garcia
On the occasion of the Universal
Children’s Day, Permanent Mis-
sion of Chile to the United Na-
tions and World Day of Prayer
and Action for Children co-
organized a panel discussion on
Rolland from International Res-
cue Committee , and Nancy
Downing from the Covenant
House. View the webcast here.
Access full story and presenta-
tions here.
Pictures from the
Positive Parenting Side Event
S i d e E v e n t o n P o s i t i v e P a r e n t i n g t o
p r e v e n t v i o l e n c e i n e a r l y c h i l d h o o d
spaces can be used in emergency
situations. Several common
themes emerged from the discus-
sions and debates around these
ideas and experiences, which are
summarized in the final report,
available in both English and
Spanish on the ECDiE Intranet
page under Workshops and
Meetings.
Vijaya Singh participated from
the ECD Unit and her presenta-
tion created tremendous interest
among the participants. Parenting
programmes were identified as an
important channel to reach the 0-
3 years age group.
As a follow up to this meeting,
UNFPA and UNICEF will for-
In an effort to engage boys and
young men in gender equality
efforts at an early age when per-
ceptions about gender roles are
being formulated, UNFPA and
UNICEF met on 11 November
2011 to strengthen related col-
laboration between the two agen-
cies.
malize this partnership. The
agencies will also prepare a re-
port on the discussion.
Click here for the meeting agen-
da, concept note, and UNICEF
presentation.
U N F P A / U N I C E F M e e t i n g o n
E n g a g i n g B o y s I n G e n d e r E q u a l i t y W o r k
Social Protection Section in DPP
and the Governance of UN and
Multi-lateral Affairs (GMA) Unit.
Discussions focused on learning
about The World Bank’s position
on ECD after publication of the
Lancet Series in 2011 and on
determining a joint World Bank/
UNICEF strategy for communi-
cation and advocacy for ECD.
Fundraising and innovative fi-
nancing opportunities for ECD
were also discussed. Mr. Garcia
introduced World Bank’s assess-
ment framework - “System As-
sessment and Benchmarking for
Education Results” (SABER),
which was developed to guide
implementation of The World
Bank’s Education Strategy 2020.
The initiative was launched by
On 20 October 2011, Marito
Garcia, The World Bank’s Lead
Economist in the Human Devel-
opment Department for the Afri-
ca Region, visited UNICEF.
The ECD Unit held a planning
meeting with Mr. Garcia and
arranged meetings with the PD
Deputy Director, the Education
and Nutrition sections in PD,
W o r l d B a n k ’ s M a r i t o G a r c i a ’ s V i s i t t o U N I C E F N Y H Q
The World Bank’s Human Devel-
opment Network in order to
make policy and program choices
based on better evidence and
analysis, achieve better educa-
tional results, and fill the gap in
the availability of data on critical
factors to improve the quality and
relevance of human development
policies, especially those related
to education.
With a goal of increasing the
quality of care for all children in
Serbia, UNICEF has been ad-
dressing the role of health and
social welfare systems in prevent-
ing early institutionalization of
children with disabilities. The
birth of a child with an impair-
ment is a stressful time for par-
ents and can have emotional con-
sequences and cause feelings of
disempowerment.
To help parents make decisions
that are in the best interest of
their child, UNICEF has support-
ed the Ministry of Health to es-
tablish standardized practices in
maternity wards and specialized
hospitals for children. The model
includes the formation of adviso-
ry teams trained to support par-
ents of newborns and help them
comprehend health-related prob-
lems their new-born is facing,
understand medical treatment
options, as well as obtain advice,
support and information on addi-
tional services available in the
community.
Furthermore, UNICEF has sup-
ported the development of new
national Child Protection poli-
cies. One such example is the
new Social Welfare Law that bans
institutional placement of chil-
dren under 3 years of age and
supports capacity building efforts
to provide alternative family
solutions when a child cannot
stay with his/her biological fami-
ly.
A five-year Master-plan has been
endorsed for the transformation
of residential care institutions for
children. Simultaneously, consid-
erable efforts have been invested
into expanding and strengthening
the existing foster care system to
provide quality and in-time care
for all newborns. Finally, new
programmes and standards have
S e r b i a : A d d r e s s i n g H e a l t h a n d S o c i a l
S y s t e m s f o r C h i l d r e n w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s
Page 4
2011 - Disability in Early Childhood Issue—Stories from the Field
F o r m e r Y u g o s l a v R e p u b l i c o f
M a c e d o n i a : H e a r i n g E m a n u e l ’ s S t o r y
with satisfaction. It is obvious
that he is a keen observer. He is
focused and calm. But he was not
always this way explains his
mother. When he was younger
he often had a look of confusion
on his face, had only a few friends
in the neighborhood and tended
to lash out in frustration. His
parents learned that he was
eighty per cent deaf.
Emanuel and his family live in
Topaana, a Roma settlement in
Skopje the capital of former Yu-
goslav Republic of Macedonia.
Many of the small homes do not
have plumbing or electricity.
“Things all started to change once
we met the people at Sumnal and
started bringing Emanuel to the
centre,” explains his mother.
Sumnal (Romani for ‘world’) is a
local NGO founded by a group of
concerned citizens to improve
the lives and living standards of
children in the Roma community
through education. Sumnal runs a
fully staffed community drop-in
center which offers everything
from early learning groups,
homework help, family outreach,
health education and literacy
training. Sumnal prides itself for
getting all the children in the
community ready for school,
primed to fight against the status
quo. Since the centre opened in
2004 the grade point average of
Roma students attending Sumnal
has increased by 40 per cent and
the number of secondary school
students has jumped from zero to
almost thirty. Over the course of
the last two years, Sumnal has
become a daily part of Emanuel’s
life. He goes there both alone and
with his parents. With the help of
Sumnal they were able to file the
right paperwork and obtain finan-
cial assistance for Emanuel’s
hearing aid. “We’ve seen a huge
change in his behavior,” shares
Afrodita Rakipovska, Early
Childhood Specialist at Sumnal.
“He used to be so shy and with-
The Roma people make up the
largest minority population in
Europe and have faced genera-
tions of social and institutional
discrimination. Most Roma peo-
ple live in settlements which are
not reached by standard health,
education and welfare services.
Families often fall below the
poverty line and live on the mar-
gins of society. Less than one in
four Roma children in the region
participate in any organized early
learning programmes prior to
school entry. Experts agree that
this lack of readiness for school-
ing is one of the principal reasons
for the lower enrolment and high
dropout rates among Roma chil-
dren, where less than half of the
63 per cent of Roma children
who enter primary school man-
age to complete it.
Emanuel, a six-year-old Roma
boy, sits at the table drawing a
portrait of his mother. He looks
up at her every few minutes to
check the resemblance and smiles
Click on the video image above
to view the full story.
been developed in order to re-
cruit, train and provide continu-
ous supervision and support to
foster families caring for small
children with disabilities.
Read the full story here.
Click here for a related video.
Please contact Jadranka Milanovic
([email protected]) for de-
tails.
drawn. Now he is playful and has
made many friends with his ability
to make people laugh. He comes
here almost every day to study.
He is ready for success at school.”
Studies show that in Macedonia
98% of Roma children, who had
attended preschool, graduated
from primary school. In compari-
son, less than half of the Roma
students, who did not go to pre-
school, completed primary
school. UNICEF is working to-
gether with local partners like
Sumnal to achieve an inclusive
education system through advo-
cating for educational reforms
across the region.
Read the full story here.
Please contact Nora Sabani
([email protected]) for details.
Six year old Emanuel drawing
a portrait of his mother.
Read his full story here.
Since 1995, UNICEF Turkey has
worked in close collaboration
with the Ankara University
School of Medicine Develop-
m e n t a l P e d i a t r i c s U n i t
(AUDPU), a center for research
and training on child develop-
ment and developmental difficul-
ties, to create culturally appro-
priate and innovative child devel-
opment programmes for the
Ministry of Health.
Although exact rates of child-
hood developmental delays and
disability in Turkey are un-
known, the overall gross disabil-
ity rate determined by the na-
tional disability study is 12.3%.
One approach to support chil-
dren and families with disabilities
is through “Developmental Pedi-
atrics Units” (DPUs), which are
pediatric training centers special-
ized in addressing early child-
hood development issues. The
DPU model was developed over a
ten year period of research (1995-
2005) by the Ankara University’s
Prof. Ilgi Ertem, and disseminated
with UNICEF support to 12 largest
referral hospitals in the country
during the last two years. The mod-
el aims to provide tools to health
care providers and community
workers to enhance monitoring of
developmental delays; enhance
cooperation between health care
providers and caregivers; counsel
caregivers on how to enhance their
child’s development; advance child
development interventions within
the health care system; and increase
the use and training of inclusive
Growth Monitoring Child Develop-
ment (GMCD) support cards. DPUs
are currently located in major chil-
dren’s hospitals across the country.
Hospitals provide a minimum of
two people to receive the training
and to work in the designated
DPUs: a pediatrician and a child
development specialist. Addition-
al staff with background in nurs-
ing may also receive training.
Each DPU has a minimum of one
spacious room where caregiver-
child interactions and play oppor-
tunities can be observed and sup-
ported, interviews can be con-
ducted with families and early
intervention can be delivered,
plus an additional office room for
staff. Equipment for the DPUs
include: developmental evaluation
materials, mats for infant evalua-
tions, toys and educational mate-
rials. An innovative component of
the DPUs is that parents can stay
with their children when admitted
for in-patient treatment. At cur-
rent capacity each DPU is able to
provide comprehensive services
yearly, for at least 2000 children
with developmental risks. Apart
from direct service provision to
children and families, the DPU
model offers pre-service training
to pediatricians and medical stu-
Page 5 Early Childhood Development Newsletter - Stories from the Field
T u r k e y : D e v e l o p m e n t a l
P e d i a t r i c s U n i t s ( D P U s )
due to a critical shortage of properly
trained teachers. However during
the last decade, inclusive education
has expanded to 15 out of 24 prov-
inces across the country. In 2009
the Law on the Protection and the
Promotion of the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities was signed and, the
Early Childhood Care and Develop-
ment (ECCD) Policy was approved
by the Council of Ministers in 2010
with the specific strategy to expand
services for young children with
developmental delays and disabili-
ties. Specifically related to educa-
tion, the Policy on Education of
Children with Disabilities was ap-
proved in 2008 with the main goal
to ensure access to equitable and
quality inclusive education for all.
The Cambodia Education Strategic
Until a few years ago, inclusive
education for marginalized com-
munities and children with disa-
bilities was largely ignored in
Cambodian society. Many chil-
dren with disabilities did not
receive proper education, mainly
Plan 2009-2013 aims to improve
the quality of education for chil-
dren with disabilities and to im-
plement inclusive preschools. In
response to these national policies
and priorities, 30 existing pre-
schools were made inclusive in
October 2011. From 2010-2011,
the Cambodia Ministry of Educa-
tion, Youth and Sports (MoEYS)
developed a training module for
inclusive preschool education
with the support of Handicap
International Belgium (an interna-
tional NGO) and UNICEF, with
support from IKEA. Inclusive
education training was organized
for community and state pre-
school teachers, after which pre-
school teachers returned to their
communities to identify children
5-year old Sok Chea who re-
cently started attending pre-
school, since it became inclu-
sive, and his teacher Say Nuon
who received the inclusive
education training
C a m b o d i a : P r o g r e s s o n I n c l u s i v e
P r e s c h o o l s a n d E C I S y s t e m s
with disabilities. To learn from the
experience of another country in
establishing inclusive preschools
and Early Childhood Intervention
(ECI) systems and with the sup-
port of UNESCO, UNICEF Cam-
bodia organized a study tour to
India for MoEYS, Ministry of
Health, and Royal University of
Phnom Penh officials. Initial results
of the inclusive preschool initiative
are promising and the Government
of Cambodia is now looking into
developing ECI services. The re-
cently developed ECCD National
Action Plan (in draft) proposes to
establish ECI services for children
with disabilities in 2013. Contact
N a t a l i a M u f e l ( n m u f e l @
unicef.org for details.
dents. Thus, AUDPU also devel-
oped the “Early Childhood Devel-
opment Training Programme” to
increase knowledge and compe-
tence on inclusive ECD. It is esti-
mated that through the existing
DPUs there is a potential to train
approximately 2000 medical stu-
dents (primarily pediatricians) in
the Developmental Pediatrics cur-
riculum on a yearly basis across the
country. This is because the DPUs
are placed in large hospitals, which
serve as pre-service training cen-
tres for future pediatricians/
general practitioners.
For more details, please contact
Lilia Jelamschi (ljelamschi@
unicef.org).
In April, Turkey held the First
N a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t a l -
Behavioural Pediatrics Congress,
supported by UNICEF and part-
ners, and Developmental Pediat-
rics became an officially recognized
subspecialty.
Read 1st Congress details here.
In Nicaragua, advances have been
made over the past 25 years to
establish joint government, NGO
and family actions to address the
inequity faced by children with
disabilities and to create support-
ive environments that provide
these children with an opportuni-
ty to reach their potential.
UNICEF applies a multi-pronged
approach to influence policy,
promote sustainability and
strengthen civil society partner-
ships that build on public sector
services, while increasing the
participation and leadership of
families and local communities.
In its recent upstream work,
UNICEF has been supporting inter
-sectoral (Education, Health and
Family) ministry level ECD policy
development and service initia-
tives focused on early detection
and family-based interventions
emphasizing the important role of
parents. In its disability related
work with civil society organiza-
tions over the past two decades,
UNICEF has worked to focus on
early intervention and education
initiatives for young children with
disabilities and their families, and
to raise public awareness on this
issue. The most noteworthy en-
gagement is UNICEF Nicaragua’s
continued financial and technical
support to the work of Los Pipitos,
a national association of parents of
children with disabilities. Los Pip-
itos was founded in 1987 and fo-
cuses on early intervention and
education initiatives for young
children with disabilities and their
families. It currently has a base of
15,000 associated families and
offers programmes that include: (1)
Awareness Raising, Advocacy and
Promotion of Human Rights, (2)
Family and Community Learning,
(3) Social Integration and Commu-
nity Initiative, (4) Associative De-
N i c a r a g u a : C o m b i n i n g u p s t r e a m w o r k
w i t h c i v i l s o c i e t y p a r t n e r s h i p s t o
s u p p o r t c h i l d r e n w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s
Page 6
2011 - Disability in Early Childhood Issue—Stories from the Field
A r m e n i a : A d d r e s s i n g i n c l u s i o n i n E C D
p r o g r a m m e s t h r o u g h t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g
22 communities financed by a
World Bank loan. In 2010 this
pilot initiative was scaled up to 41
preschools in two regions and 84
additional preschools are being
currently established in 4 regions
across the country. Focusing pri-
marily on availability and financial
sustainability of these preschools,
the government programme ad-
dresses inequity in terms of urban-
rural disparities, but does not have
the provision for inclusion of chil-
dren with disabilities.
With an aim to address inclusion,
UNICEF Armenia is supporting
the government programme
through capacity development of
teachers and incorporating a mod-
ule on “Inclusive Education”. The
module is being rolled out in the
84 preschools in the current phase
to be launched in the Spring of
2012. The module will address
two main components – parent
outreach and classroom inclusion.
It will include themes like
“Creating Child-centered Class-
rooms”, “Interactive Teaching
Methods”, “Parents Involvement”,
“Gender Issues” and “Diversity”. In
rural communities where the pro-
ject is taking place, the preschool
teachers usually know if there are
children with disabilities that are
not enrolled. Their task at that
stage is to reach out to the family,
sensitize parents and other family
members about the importance of
ECD and convince them to bring
the child to preschool. Once the
children are in the preschool, the
next step is creating safe spaces and
suitable environments for their
education and development, for
example, adjusting teaching meth-
odologies as needed. In addition to
the training, teachers are also pro-
vided hands-on consultation and
mentoring by the Step by Step
Foundation, UNICEF’s implement-
There are close to 8,000 children
with disabilities in Armenia, of
which over 1,300 are of pre-
school age. Families of children
with disabilities are often caught
in poverty traps with higher ex-
penditure and reduced opportu-
nities to earn income. This has
led to a 54% child poverty rate
among children with disabilities
and their siblings, compared to a
41% average child poverty rate in
Armenia (National Statistics Ser-
vice 2011). In addition to eco-
nomic hardship, children with
disabilities also face negative
societal attitudes and segregation
practices that hinder their devel-
opment.
In Armenia, around 40% of the
communities do not have pre-
school services, with rural com-
munities being the most disad-
vantaged. The government set up
pilot rural preschools in 2009 in
Holvin Antonio, 8 years old, with
cerebral palsy received years of
supportive therapy from Los Pip-
itos and now attends school.
velopment, and (5) Institutional
Strengthening.
Click here to read a story from Los
Pipitos on a young boy Holvin An-
tonio, who participated in the pro-
gramme. Contact Anyoli Sanabria
([email protected]) for more
details.
ing partner in this initiative.
In the future, UNICEF Armenia
will use the results of its ongoing
Survey on the Access of Children
with Disabilities to have a better
insight of the problems they face in
terms of their access to preschool
services. The Community Database
Survey (implemented with UNDP)
which gathers data on the existence
of preschools and their enrolment
rate now includes children with
disabilities and will be used to in-
fluence community selection to
give a clear priority for setting up
preschools in communities with
problems of access.
C o n t a c t M e r i P o g h o s y a n
([email protected]) for
more details.
An inclusive preschool in Armenia
Page 7 Early Childhood Development Newsletter - Stories from the Field
To support the parents, regular roundtable meetings were held to give parents of children with disa-bilities an opportunity to ask ques-tions and receive the latest infor-mation to help guide their child’s development, such as training on speech therapy techniques and physiotherapy. While the pro-gramme only began a year ago, there are many positive results.
In Semey, five year old Ainagul who has vision and speech impairments, participated in UNICEF’s pilot programme. Her mother describes the positive impact of the pro-gramme, “We were lucky to be admitted in the UNICEF pilot. The project has changed our lives. I have participated in all the roundtables organized and I have met with other parents whose children have disabilities. Ainagul has progressed so much, she helps at home now and she also plays with toys. I am so happy for her. I was surprised by the difference the lekotek (child development room) led in her personality. All children
UNICEF is at the forefront of pro-moting the inclusion of children with disabilities into Kazakhstan’s pre-schooling system to support the Government’s signing of the Convention on the Rights of Per-sons with Disabilities in December 2008. UNICEF Kazakhstan’s ECD programme focuses on health, development and addresses a range of issues for children with disabili-ties and their parents. This work has been instrumental in changing the way that health practitioners and communities approach ECD.
UNICEF, together with its local partners, has piloted inclusive ch i ld deve lopment rooms (referred to as lekoteks) in kinder-gartens in Semey, Kamenogorsk and Astana cities.
with disabilities play very well with the other school children. We all live in the same world and have to live together. This is thanks to the UNICEF supported pilot programme on inclusion. Due to the joint efforts of Akimats (local governments) of Astana city, Semey city and East Kazakhstan Region several lekoteks (child de-velopment rooms) were devel-oped. The inclusion of children with disabilities into regular pre-schooling systems is now not only a possibility. It is a reality for some of us.”
The director of a kindergarten in Semey indicated that prior to UNICEF’s involvement and the introduction of the child develop-ment room, there had been previ-ous attempts to include children with disabilities into kindergar-tens, but it was challenging as “there was no system, no pro-gramme,”
One of the teachers responsible for observing, teaching and interacting with children with disabilities in
Five year old Ainagul attending
the pilot Kindergarten Child
Development Room in Semey .
K a z a k h s t a n : P i l o t C h i l d D e v e l o p m e n t
R o o m s i n K i n d e r g a r t e n s
the development rooms said that prior to UNICEF starting this pro-gramme, she had never worked with children with disabilities. She said, “I have now learned how to stimulate these children, how to play with them, as well as learned a lot about myself and different disabilities.”
UNICEF is changing the lives of children with disabilities. Through these inclusive child development rooms, UNICEF illustrates the positive impact these small steps can bring. The next steps are to evaluate and scale up the pro-gramme for national implementa-tion. However, several issues would need to be addressed first, such as how to reach all the chil-dren who need this service, and not just the few who are referred.
Please contact Tatiana Aderkhina ([email protected]) or Aigul Nurgabilova (anurgabilova@ unicef.org) for details.
Read the full story here.
R e g i o n a l I n i t i a t i v e s
Twenty countries participated in this conference, held in Moscow from 27-29 September, 2011. Click here for conference details and here for the background note.
CEE/CIS INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION CONFERENCE
“States Parties shall take all
necessary measures to ensure
the full enjoyment by
children with disabilities of
all human rights and
fundamental freedoms on an
equal basis with other
children.”
Article 7 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and
Optional Protocol
Over 300 participants renewed commitment to step up advocacy for 0-3 year olds at ARNEC conference in Singapore from 8-10 November, 2011. Click here for details.
ARNEC CONFERENCE ON
EARLY EXPERIENCES
KEY DOCUMENTS ON DISABILITY
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol. (Click here to read)
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the
United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007. There were 82 signatories to the Convention,
44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and one ratification of the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a UN
Convention on its opening day. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights convention
to be open for signature by regional integration organizations. The Convention entered into force on 3May 2008. Today 108 countries have
ratified and 153 have signed the CRPD.
The World Report on Disability (WHO/WB)
In 2011 the World Bank (WB) and World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated to develop the first ever global report on disabilities.
The report provides the best available evidence about what works to overcome barriers to health care, rehabilitation, education,
employment, and support services, and to create the environments which will enable people with disabilities to flourish. The report ends
with a concrete set of recommended actions for governments and their partners. Developmental Screening and Assessment Instruments
with an Emphasis on Social and Emotional Development for Young Children Ages Birth through Five.
UNICEF Executive Directive on Disability (CF/EXD/2011-005)
This document was issued in 2011 to underline UNICEF’s commitment to providing an inclusive working environment that offers all staff,
including those with disabilities, full and equal access to employment opportunities. The document lays out key principles of non-
discrimination, reasonable accommodation for employment, confidentiality, awareness raising, and protection of rights of people with
disabilities.
UNICEF 2011 Mid-year Report of the Disability Unit at UNICEF (Find it under Resources)
This brief report summarizes efforts made in the last year on integrating disability issues into the work of UNICEF, including towards
achieving the MDGs with equity.
KEY DOCUMENTS ON DISABILITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (INTERNAL UNICEF DOCUMENTS)
Discussion Paper on Disability in Early Childhood
As mentioned in the article on page 3 of the newsletter, the latest draft of the discussion paper is available via the ECD and Disability
Intranet page under ‘Resources’. The final version will be available in the first quarter of 2012.
Programme Guidance Note on Children with Disabilities (Find it under Resources)
In 2007 UNICEF developed a programme guidance note specifically on children with disabilities. Developed by a cross-sectoral team, this
programme guidance provides recommendations to COs on how to increase attention on childhood disability in programming and advocacy
within all MTSP areas. It consists of a core document providing information on guiding frameworks and commitments, general guidance on
programming and programme strategies, and recommendations by MTSP Focus Area and three annexes containing: a matrix illustrating the
different ways in which disability can be mainstreamed across MTSP Focus Areas; information on organisations working in the disability
field and a resource list.
Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities—Innocenti Digest No. 13 (Find it under Resources)
In 2007 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre produced a thorough report that reviews concrete initiatives and strategies for advancing the
social inclusion of children with disabilities. The Digest is intended to help raise the profile of childhood disability and to give impetus to the
challenge of ensuring that children with disabilities are fully included in efforts to promote the human rights of all children. More
specifically it explains definitions, international standards and mechanisms and foundations for inclusion.
Early Childhood Intervention, Special Education and Inclusion—Focus on Belarus (Find it under Resources)
In 2009, UNICEF Belarus CO published a thorough study that reviews early childhood intervention (ECI), special education and inclusive
education programmes in Belarus. It presents key programme concepts and information, identifies lessons learned, offers
recommendations, and presents general Guidelines for ECI and Special Education Systems for the consideration of other countries in the
region and the world.
Treasure Trove of ECD Tools & Resources
Page 8 Early Childhood Development Newsletter
KEY DOCUMENTS ON DISABILITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (EXTERNAL DOCUMENTS)
Consultative Group’s Coordinators Notebook on Disability (Find it under Resources)
The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development released their Coordinator’s Notebook that contained an article on the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a reflection piece from UNICEF colleague Garren Lumpkin with initial
thoughts on implications for ECCD. It provides an overview of the CRPD and implications for ECD. The article starts on page 38.
Plan International’s Fact Sheet on Disability Inclusion in ECCD (Find it under Resources)
Plan International Australia and the CBM-Nossal Institute Partnership in Disability and Development developed a fact sheet on disability
inclusion in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD). It briefly covers the situation for children with disabilities in the early years
and provide some suggestions for promoting disability inclusion in ECCD programming for all children aged 0-8.
Developmental Difficulties in Early Childhood: Prevention, early identification, assessment and intervention in low-
and middle-income countries (Find it under Resources)
This review by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the fourth in a series of papers on disability. The principle focus is on the
conceptualization, epidemiology, prevention, detection, assessment and early management of the broad spectrum of developmental risk
factors and developmental difficulties in children aged three years and under in low-and-middle income (LAMI) countries. The report also
seeks to help health care providers and systems to build local capacity in order to develop a systemic approach to improve services and care
for young disabled children and to create an environment that fosters social inclusion in LAMI.
Developmental Screening and Assessment Instruments with an Emphasis on Social and Emotional Development for
Young Children Ages Birth through Five (Access the report here, or under Resources on the ECD and Disability Intranet page)
The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS) developed a fact sheet that gives a
brief explanation of child development, developmental delays, and the importance of developmental screening. The overall aim of this tool
is to help caregivers identify developmental delays in young children and to assist them in providing their children with the necessary
services and attention to address disabilities at an early age.
Research Synthesis Points on Quality Inclusive Practices (US Office of Special Education Programs and UNC FPG Child
Development Institute) (Find it under Resources)
In April, 2009, two national organizations in the United States working on behalf of young children—the Division for Early Childhood of
the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)—completed two
years of historic and collaborative work with the release of a joint position statement on inclusion1. This document provides brief
descriptions and supporting references for the evidence-based and promising practices that support early childhood inclusion. These
practices are organized into three major sections corresponding to the defining features of high quality early childhood inclusion as described
in the joint position statement: access, participation and supports.
Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion (US Office of Special Education Programs and UNC FPG Child
Development Institute) (Find it under Resources)
The National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) based in the US and part of the FPG Child Development Institute at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides a summary of key conclusions or “synthesis points” drawn from a rev iew of
literature or research on early childhood inclusion.
Early Warning Signs of Developmental Disability. (Click here)
The Utah (US) Department of Health, supported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has a web resource that helps parents
learn about healthy development for their newborns and young children. It offers useful resources and tools to track developmental
milestones and begin to identify potential developmental delays.
GENERAL ECD RESOURCES
ECDiE Training Materials in French: UNICEF WCARO finalized the French translation of the ECD in Emergencies training materials, which include the ECD Kit Facilitators Guide and the Coordinators Guide. This is available on the ECDiE Intranet page.
UNICEF Primera Infancia - Paquete de Recursos (website): UNICEF TACRO, with CINDE’s support, translated the ECD Resource Pack into Spanish, and adapted and complemented it with research from the region. Online materials include documentation and case studies from national experiences from within Latin America and the Caribbean for frontline practitioners, civil society groups, as well as government officials and academia.
Treasure Trove of ECD Tools & Resources
Page 9 Early Childhood Development Newsletter
“Before the study, we thought it was likely the combination of difficult infant temperament and
negative parenting that put parent-child pairs most at risk for conflict in the toddler period. However,
our findings suggest that it was negative parenting in early infancy that mattered most. If you want
to prevent conduct problems before they start, you would want to do something in infancy.”
Introduction:
Among the more prevalent hypotheses are that parenting exerts an influence on a child’s conduct problems (CPs) by shaping the child’s
emerging emotion regulatory capacities, modeling behavior, communicating and enforcing rules and standards of behavior, and creating an
emotional environment that affects the child’s internal representations of how relationships work and their motivation to comply (Cummings,
E. M., Davies, P. T., & Campbell, S. B. (2000), Developmental psychopathology and family process: Theory, research, and clinical implica-
tions. New York: Guilford.)
A research study titled “Parenting and Infant Difficulty: Testing a Mutual Exacerbation Hypothesis to Predict Early Onset Conduct Problems”
by Michael F. Lorber and Byron Egeland of University of Minnesota, recently published in the Child Development journal, re-tests the above
hypothesis and provides evidence that aggression and anger are learned during infancy. (Child Development, November/December 2011,
Volume 82, Number 6, Pages 2006–2020).
Definitions:
Researchers defined “negative parenting” as parents expressing negative emotions toward their children or handling them roughly.
For the purposes of this study, “infant difficulty” was defined in terms of four elements: peak of excitement, rapidity of buildup, irritability,
and frequency of transition between different states (e.g., crying to alert) during an exam.
“Conduct Problems” (CPs) in a child were defined in terms of aggression and oppositionality (i.e. persistently aggressive, defiant, explosive)
Methodology:
The methodology comprised of a 30-year longitudinal study of mothers (ages 12–34) and their firstborn children (54.7% male) from a sample
of 267 high-risk urban families based in the United States. Mothers received prenatal care from a public health clinic between 1975–1977.
Approx. 35.6% of them had a high school education or less, and 60.3% were single. Extensive observational and questionnaire data from mul-
tiple informants were analyzed from assessments at neonatal Days 7 and 10; at 3, 6, 24, and 42 months; and at kindergarten and first grade.
Findings:
The findings suggest that the origins of the parent–child relationship process that supports the development of CPs in a child, are found both in
the mother’s manner of relating to her infant and, more strongly, in a reciprocal discordant relationship process that begins in the toddler
period. The researcher called this a “mutually exacerbating” model of interaction between a parent and an infant, where the negative parenting
of a mother exacerbates the difficult behavior of an infant and vice versa. Researchers believe a mother’s negative attitude and rough handling
of an infant in his/her first few months of life seems to start this negative cycle, which results in highly angry toddlers, thus spurring more
hostility from mothers (only mothers were studied).
Contrary to predictions, infant difficulty was found to be not predictive of CPs later on in life. This means that even if an infant expressed
difficult behavior (as defined above), if he/she received positive parenting, infant difficulty did not result in CPs later on.
The findings most strongly highlight the role of negative mothering in early infancy, and of changes in mother–toddler interaction, in early
onset of CPs. The researchers also found that it was escalating or progressive conflict between mothers and their toddlers that predicted later
conduct problems –that is, conflict that worsened over time.
Researchers believe the study’s findings can help in the development of appropriate interventions to target negative parenting — beginning as
early as 3 months — to help prevent later conduct problems in children.
Sources: You can access the full scientific published study here and read related media articles here and here.
The Evidence Series
2011 - Disability in Early Childhood Issue
Page 10
- Study researcher Michael Lorber
NEGATIVE PARENTING IN INFANCY LEADS TO CHILD CONDUCT PROBLEMS LATER ON
UNICEF House
3 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017
ECD KM: 1 917-265-4549
Disability: 1 212-326-7391
Fax: 1 212-824-6470
E-mail: [email protected]
Second International Congress of the Ibero-
American Attachment Network “New
Evidence, Models and Interventions in the
Development of Attachment along the
lifecycle”; Santiago, Chile; 9-14 January 2012
__________________________
1st National Interdisciplinary Congress on
Early Intervention (click on ENG to read in
English) - “Early Intervention from
Interdisciplinary Perspectives”;
Antalya, Turkey; February 1-5, 2012
__________________________
The Early Years Conference 2012 - The
Development of Children's Mental Health:
How Do We Become Who We Are?;
Vancouver, BC; February 2-4, 2012
U p c o m i n g e c d g l o b a l e v e n t s a n d
C a l l f o r P a p e r s
Early Childhood
Development -
The best start in life
for every child
We’re on the Intranet!
© UNICEF-NYHQ2010-0417
-Kate Holt
COMMENTS
Please send any feedback about the content or format of this newsletter to
Maryam Rashid ([email protected]) or Nurper Ulkuer ([email protected]).
SUBSCRIPTION
Please send an e-mail to Maryam Rashid ([email protected]) if you would like to be
added or removed from the distribution list of this newsletter.
The 2012 Annual Conference of the
Association of Maternal & Child Health
Programs (AMCHP); Washington, D.C.;
February 11-14, 2012
________________________
National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting
Programs; Washington, D.C;
February 15-16, 2012
________________________
Global Summit on Childhood by Association of
Childhood Education International;
Washington, D.C.; March 28-31, 2012
________________________
First International Congress on Family-centred
Early Intervention for Children who are Deaf
and Hard of Hearing; Bad Ischl, Austria;
30 May - 1 June, 2012.
News and Stories from the Field
Next issue of the ECD newsletter will focus on ECD
Evaluations. We would like to hear from our colleagues in
the field on whether you have conducted an evaluation of
your ECD programme. Please email your stories, pictures,
and related news (300-500 words) to
Maryam Rashid ([email protected]) by
15 January, 2012 for inclusion into the newsletter.