Free ILTS Early Childhood Special Education (230) Study Guide

Cognitive Development Milestones

Cognitive development refers to the progressive growth of thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and memory abilities from infancy through early childhood. Educators working with young children who have disabilities must understand the expected sequence of cognitive milestones so they can identify delays and plan appropriate interventions.

During infancy (birth to 12 months), cognitive growth is characterized by sensory exploration and the development of object permanence—the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Infants begin to recognize cause-and-effect relationships, such as shaking a rattle to produce sound. They also develop early memory skills, turning to look for a familiar caregiver's voice.

In the toddler period (12 to 36 months), children engage in symbolic thinking, using objects to represent other things during play, such as pretending a block is a telephone. They begin to sort objects by color, shape, or size, demonstrating early classification skills. Deferred imitation—reproducing an observed behavior after a time delay—becomes evident, showing increased memory capacity.

During the preschool years (ages 3 to 5), children develop preoperational thinking, as described in Piaget's framework. They engage in more complex pretend play, begin to understand concepts of quantity and number, and start recognizing letters and print. However, their thinking remains egocentric, meaning they have difficulty understanding perspectives different from their own. They also struggle with conservation—the idea that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance.

By the early primary years (ages 5 to 8), children transition into concrete operational thinking. They can classify objects along multiple dimensions, understand seriation (ordering items by size or quantity), and begin to use logical reasoning to solve problems involving tangible materials. Working memory and attention span increase, allowing children to follow multi-step directions and sustain engagement with academic tasks.

Teaching Application: When working with a four-year-old who has a cognitive delay and is not yet engaging in symbolic play, the early childhood special educator should introduce structured play activities using familiar objects—such as toy food and dishes—while modeling pretend sequences ("Let's feed the baby") to scaffold the child's transition from concrete to representational thinking.

Physical and Motor Development

Physical development encompasses growth in body size, proportion, and overall health, while motor development refers to the progressive acquisition of movement skills. Motor development is divided into two categories: gross motor skills (large muscle movements such as crawling, walking, running, and jumping) and fine motor skills (small muscle movements such as grasping, drawing, cutting, and writing).

In infancy, gross motor development follows a cephalocaudal (head-to-toe) and proximodistal (center-to-extremities) pattern. Infants gain head control before sitting, sitting before standing, and standing before walking. Fine motor development progresses from a palmar grasp (whole-hand grip) to a pincer grasp (thumb and forefinger) by approximately 9 to 12 months.

During the toddler years, children refine their walking and begin to run, climb stairs with support, kick a ball, and stack blocks. Fine motor skills expand to include turning pages in a book, using a spoon, and beginning to scribble with crayons.

Preschool-age children demonstrate increasingly coordinated gross motor abilities: hopping on one foot, throwing and catching a ball, and pedaling a tricycle. Fine motor milestones include using scissors to cut along a line, drawing recognizable shapes (circles, crosses, squares), and beginning to write letters. Hand dominance typically becomes established during this period.

By the early primary years, children can skip, ride a bicycle, and perform coordinated movements required for organized games. Fine motor precision allows them to write legibly, tie shoes, and manipulate small objects like beads or puzzle pieces.

Children with physical disabilities, cerebral palsy, or developmental coordination disorder may exhibit significant delays in reaching these milestones. Early childhood special educators must understand the typical progression so they can identify when a child's motor development deviates from expected patterns and collaborate with occupational therapists and physical therapists to provide targeted support.

Teaching Application: For a three-year-old with fine motor delays who struggles to hold a crayon, the educator should provide adaptive writing tools such as triangular crayons or crayon grips, offer strengthening activities like squeezing playdough, and position materials on a vertical surface (easel) to promote wrist extension and hand stability during drawing activities.

Communication and Language Development

Communication development includes the growth of both verbal and nonverbal abilities that allow children to express needs, share ideas, and interact socially. Language development encompasses receptive language (understanding spoken words) and expressive language (producing words and sentences).

During infancy, communication begins with crying, cooing, and babbling. By 6 months, infants produce canonical babbling—repetitive consonant-vowel combinations like "bababa" or "mamama." They respond to their name and understand simple phrases like "no" and "bye-bye." By 12 months, most infants produce their first true words and use gestures such as pointing and waving.

In the toddler period, vocabulary expands rapidly during a phenomenon called the vocabulary explosion, which typically occurs around 18 to 24 months. Children begin combining two words into telegraphic speech ("more milk," "daddy go"). By age two, most children have a vocabulary of approximately 200 to 300 words and are beginning to form simple sentences.

During the preschool years, children develop increasingly complex syntax (sentence structure) and morphology (word forms, including plurals, past tense, and possessives). They ask questions using "who," "what," "where," and "why." Pragmatic language—the social use of language—develops as children learn to take turns in conversation, stay on topic, and adjust their communication based on the listener.

By ages 5 to 8, children produce grammatically complete sentences, understand figurative language and humor, retell stories with a clear sequence, and use language for increasingly abstract purposes such as explaining reasoning and making predictions.

Children with speech or language impairments, hearing loss, or autism spectrum disorder may follow different trajectories. Some children may be nonverbal and require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to participate in classroom activities and social interactions.

Teaching Application: For a two-and-a-half-year-old with an expressive language delay who uses fewer than 50 words, the educator should implement naturalistic language strategies during daily routines—narrating actions ("You're pouring the water"), expanding the child's utterances ("Cup? Yes, you want the blue cup"), and embedding communication opportunities by placing desired items slightly out of reach to motivate verbal requests.

Dual-Language and Second-Language Acquisition

Dual-language learners (DLLs) are children who are acquiring two or more languages simultaneously or sequentially. In early childhood special education, it is essential to distinguish between language differences and language disorders, because a child's performance in English may reflect the normal process of second-language acquisition rather than a disability.

Simultaneous bilingualism occurs when a child is exposed to two languages from birth. These children may code-switch—alternating between languages within a conversation or sentence—which is a normal and sophisticated linguistic behavior, not a sign of confusion or delay.

Sequential bilingualism occurs when a child learns a second language after the first language is partially or fully established, often upon entering a school setting. Sequential learners may experience a silent period lasting several weeks to several months, during which they are actively absorbing the new language but producing very little speech. This is a typical phase of second-language acquisition and should not be misidentified as a language impairment.

Key principles for working with DLLs include: supporting the child's home language as a foundation for learning the second language; using visual supports, gestures, and contextual cues to make input comprehensible; providing culturally responsive instruction that values the child's linguistic background; and collaborating with families to understand the child's language use across settings.

When a true language disorder is present, the delay will be evident in both languages, not just the second language. Assessment of DLLs must be conducted in both the home language and English to avoid misidentification.

Teaching Application: When assessing a four-year-old whose home language is Spanish and who has been in an English-speaking classroom for six months, the early childhood special educator should gather a language sample in both Spanish and English, consult with a bilingual speech-language pathologist, and compare the child's performance to developmental norms for bilingual children rather than monolingual English norms before making any referral for special education evaluation.

Social-Emotional Development

Social-emotional development encompasses a child's growing ability to form relationships, regulate emotions, develop a sense of self, and interact positively with others. This domain is deeply interconnected with all other areas of development and is a critical focus in early childhood special education.

During infancy, social-emotional development centers on attachment—the emotional bond between a child and a primary caregiver. Secure attachment, as described by Bowlby and Ainsworth, develops when caregivers respond consistently and sensitively to an infant's needs. Securely attached infants use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment. Insecure attachment patterns (avoidant, ambivalent, or disorganized) may develop when caregiving is inconsistent, neglectful, or frightening.

In the toddler years, children develop a sense of autonomy, asserting independence ("I do it myself!"). They begin to experience a wider range of emotions, including frustration, jealousy, and pride. Emotion regulation is limited at this stage; toddlers frequently express intense emotions through tantrums because they lack the cognitive and linguistic skills to manage their feelings independently.

During the preschool period, children develop self-regulation skills, learning to wait, share, and follow rules. They begin to understand others' feelings through the development of empathy and theory of mind—the recognition that other people have thoughts, beliefs, and feelings different from their own. Friendships become more selective and sustained.

By ages 5 to 8, children demonstrate increased emotional literacy, identifying and labeling complex emotions. They develop a clearer self-concept, comparing themselves to peers. Social interactions become more governed by rules and expectations, and children can resolve conflicts with adult guidance.

Children with autism spectrum disorder, emotional disturbances, or those who have experienced trauma may show significant challenges in social-emotional development, including difficulty reading social cues, forming peer relationships, or managing emotional responses.

Teaching Application: For a five-year-old with autism spectrum disorder who has difficulty recognizing peers' emotions during group play, the educator should use structured social stories describing common social scenarios, teach emotion identification using picture cards with facial expressions, and provide direct coaching during play by narrating peers' emotions ("Marcus looks sad because his tower fell—you could ask if he wants help rebuilding it").

The Role of Play in Development

Play is the primary vehicle through which young children learn and develop. It is not merely a break from instruction but a critical context for growth across every developmental domain. In early childhood special education, understanding the stages and functions of play is essential for designing meaningful interventions.

Parten's stages of social play describe the progression of children's play interactions: solitary play (playing alone), parallel play (playing alongside peers without direct interaction), associative play (playing with peers with some shared activity but no coordinated goals), and cooperative play (organized play with shared goals and role assignment).

Play supports motor development through activities that strengthen gross motor skills (climbing, running, digging) and fine motor skills (stringing beads, building with blocks, manipulating playdough). Cognitive development is advanced as children engage in problem-solving during construction play, classification during sorting games, and abstract thinking during pretend play. Language development is enriched as children negotiate roles, describe their actions, and create narratives during dramatic play scenarios.

Play also builds social-emotional competence: children learn to share, negotiate, compromise, and manage frustration during cooperative play. Perhaps most importantly for young children with disabilities, play develops executive functioning skills—including working memory (remembering the rules of a game), inhibitory control (waiting for a turn), and cognitive flexibility (adapting when play scenarios change).

Children with disabilities may need explicit support to access play. A child with a motor disability may need adapted equipment; a child with autism may need direct instruction in pretend play sequences; a child with a cognitive delay may need simplified play scripts and peer models.

Teaching Application: For a group of preschoolers that includes a child with developmental delays who engages primarily in solitary play, the educator should set up a structured dramatic play center (such as a pretend grocery store) with clearly defined roles, visual cue cards showing each step of the play sequence, and peer buddies trained to invite the child into cooperative interactions, gradually fading adult support as the child develops more independent social play skills.

Factors Affecting Development

Development does not occur in a vacuum. Multiple biological, environmental, linguistic, and experiential factors interact to shape a child's developmental trajectory. Early childhood special educators must understand these factors to interpret children's behavior and learning patterns accurately.

Biological and physical factors include genetics, prenatal exposure to substances (such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder), premature birth, low birth weight, chronic illness, and diagnosed conditions such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy. These factors may establish the parameters of a child's development but do not determine outcomes in isolation.

Environmental factors include the quality of the home environment, access to stimulating materials and experiences, family stability, socioeconomic status, and exposure to environmental toxins such as lead. Children living in poverty may experience chronic stress, limited access to healthcare, and fewer language-rich interactions, all of which can affect developmental outcomes.

Linguistic factors include the language or languages spoken in the home, the quantity and quality of adult-child verbal interactions, and access to literacy materials. Research on the word gap has highlighted significant differences in language exposure across socioeconomic groups, though educators must avoid deficit-based assumptions about families.

Trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—including abuse, neglect, domestic violence, parental incarceration, or substance abuse in the home—can have profound effects on brain development, stress response systems, and a child's ability to regulate emotions and form trusting relationships. Toxic stress, defined as prolonged activation of the stress response without the buffering presence of a supportive adult, can impair the developing architecture of the brain.

Resilience refers to a child's ability to adapt positively despite adversity. Key protective factors include the presence of at least one stable, caring adult; strong family and community connections; positive school experiences; and the child's own temperament and coping skills. Educators serve as a critical protective factor for many children.

Teaching Application: When working with a three-year-old in an Early Childhood Special Education program who has experienced housing instability and shows hypervigilance and difficulty separating from a caregiver, the educator should create a predictable classroom routine with visual schedules, designate a calm-down area with sensory tools, use a consistent and warm greeting ritual each morning, and collaborate with the school social worker to connect the family with community support services.

Health, Nutrition, Safety, and Universal Precautions

Young children with disabilities often have specific health, nutrition, and safety needs that require attention within the educational setting. Educators must be prepared to support the whole child, not just academic or developmental goals.

Health needs may include managing chronic conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, or diabetes; administering medications; monitoring for signs of illness; and understanding how health conditions affect a child's energy, attention, and participation. Children with certain genetic conditions may have associated health complications that require ongoing monitoring.

Nutrition plays a significant role in brain development and learning. Adequate intake of essential nutrients supports cognitive function, attention, and emotional regulation. Some children with disabilities have feeding difficulties, including oral-motor challenges, sensory aversions to certain food textures, or the need for specialized diets (such as a ketogenic diet for seizure management). Educators should collaborate with families and nutritionists to ensure children's dietary needs are met during the school day.

Safety considerations include maintaining a physically safe environment, conducting regular safety checks of equipment and materials, and being prepared for emergencies. Children with physical disabilities may need modified evacuation plans. Children with sensory sensitivities may be overwhelmed by fire alarms and need pre-teaching about safety drills.

Universal precautions are standard infection-control practices used to prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens and other infectious diseases. These include proper handwashing, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves when handling bodily fluids, safe disposal of contaminated materials, and routine sanitization of surfaces. In early childhood settings where diapering, toileting assistance, and first aid are common activities, strict adherence to universal precautions is essential.

Teaching Application: When a five-year-old with epilepsy is enrolled in the classroom, the educator should obtain a current seizure action plan from the family and healthcare provider, train all classroom staff on seizure first aid procedures, ensure soft padding is available near hard surfaces, document any seizure episodes including duration and characteristics, and communicate regularly with the family about the child's health status and any changes in medication.

Mental Health and Supportive Relationships

Early childhood mental health refers to a young child's capacity to experience, regulate, and express emotions; form close and secure interpersonal relationships; and explore the environment and learn. Mental health in early childhood is not the absence of problems but the presence of foundational social-emotional competencies.

Young children can experience mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and behavioral disorders. These challenges may manifest differently in young children than in older individuals—for example, a preschooler with anxiety may present with excessive clinginess, frequent stomachaches, or refusal to participate in activities rather than verbalizing worry.

Challenging behaviors in young children—such as aggression, tantrums, withdrawal, or self-injury—are often expressions of unmet needs or underdeveloped skills rather than willful defiance. A function-based approach recognizes that all behavior serves a purpose (gaining attention, escaping a task, accessing a tangible, or sensory regulation) and seeks to teach replacement behaviors that serve the same function.

The single most important factor in supporting young children's mental health is the presence of consistent, responsive, and nurturing relationships with adults. The teacher-child relationship is a powerful influence on a child's sense of safety, willingness to explore, and capacity to learn. Educators who respond with warmth, set clear and consistent boundaries, and validate children's emotions create a psychologically safe classroom environment.

Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is an evidence-based approach in which a mental health professional partners with educators and families to build adult capacity to support children's social-emotional development. This consultation model has been shown to reduce expulsion rates in early childhood programs.

Teaching Application: When a four-year-old with a developmental delay exhibits frequent aggressive outbursts during transitions, the educator should conduct an informal functional behavior assessment to identify the antecedent (the transition), the behavior (hitting), and the consequence (removal from the situation), then teach a replacement behavior (using a visual "break" card to request a pause), provide a transition warning with a visual timer, and offer the child a specific role during the transition ("You can carry the books to circle time") to increase predictability and a sense of control.