58 Janice K. Lee, Jaclyn Joseph, Phillip Strain and Glen Dunlap
children with ASD, targeted instruction in inclusive settings is necessary to develop
and become fluent in social emotional skills. Social development with adults and
peers is extremely important and should be included in any child’s educational plan
(National Research Council, 2001).
The importance of early childhood inclusion cannot be overstated. However, just
being around typically developing peers is not enough to support young children
with ASD in developing enduring peer relationships. Just as all young children need
support in developing enduring peer relationships, children with ASD require more
targeted and intentional opportunities to learn and practice age-appropriate social
skills. The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for
the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) published a joint position statement in
2009 stating that early childhood inclusion should include three fundamental fea-
tures: (a) access to learning opportunities for young children with disabilities (ages 3
through 5) that are varied in activity, setting, and environment; (b) full participation
of young children with disabilities in learning activities and play through the use of
tiered models of support; and (c) systems-level supports that include collaboration
among individuals involved in a child’s education, therapy and caregiving respon-
sibilities (DEC/NAEYC, 2009). In addition, in order to optimize outcomes for
all children, inclusive educational placements should also be individualized, ensure
active engagement, and promote the development of meaningful friendships for
young children with disabilities (Barton and Smith, 2014; DEC and NAEYC, 2009;
Odom, Buysse and Soukakou, 2011).
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the current early childhood research
on inclusion, discuss the effective practices of social inclusion and introduce three
programs specifically designed to promote social inclusion for young children with
ASD. This chapter concludes with recommendations for future directions in sup-
porting young children with ASD in socially inclusive settings.
Current and relevant social inclusion research
The Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) literature
is replete with studies confirming the efficacy of early childhood inclusion. For
example, research has shown that inclusive programs are at least comparable to, and
at times of higher quality than, segregated placements that do not enroll children
with disabilities (Buysse, Wesley, Bryant and Gardner, 1999; National Professional
Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI), 2009; Odom, 2000; Wolery, n.d.). It
has also been found that early childhood inclusion is not more costly than spe-
cialized, segregated placements (Odom et al., 2001; Wolery, n.d.). Further, research
shows that teachers and parents of children with and without disabilities have
positive views about early childhood inclusion, and children with and without
disabilities benefit from attending quality inclusive early childhood settings (Brown,
Odom, Li and Zercher, 1999; Diamond and Haung, 2005; Cross, Traub, Hunter-
Pishgahi, and Shelton, 2004; Odom, 2000; Rafferty and Griffin, 2005).