ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the education of children with disabilities in kindergarten through third grade. This period signals the transition to middle childhood, which includes changes both in the development of children and in their academic environment. Issues surrounding the education of children in primary grades differ in nature from those in preschool and earlier classroom settings. Children who might have learning disabilities are typically identified during elementary school years since they are required to perform more challenging academic tasks. Characteristics of learning disorders include difficulties in performing academic tasks such as reading, writing, and math. Early childhood strategies to help children with learning disorders concern building strong foundations, such as improving memory, decoding and encoding reading and oral materials, and developing number sense and foundational numeracy skills. Other important issues in primary grades relate to the inclusion of students with disabilities, which include the integration of appropriate and meaningful areas of learning in the curriculum, such as music, adapted physical education, functional academics, sexual education, self-advocacy, anti-bullying programs, and support for parental involvement in school and homework completion.
