Preschools that are staffed by individuals who have expertise in designing and operating programs that blend the needs of children of all abilities, including children with disabilities. These programs offer specialized educational experiences and activities for children with disabilities who are integrated into their program as well as those that are appropriate for other children.

Programs that provide educational experiences and activities that are especially designed to meet the needs of young children who are at risk for disabilities or who have been identified as having a disability and who would benefit from a structured preschool setting which focuses on social, emotional and physical development in addition to pre-academic skills. Services generally include an assessment of the child's strengths and weaknesses and the development and implementation of an individualized plan to help the child develop confidence, self-esteem and appropriate social skills.

Programs that identify infants, toddlers and in some cases, preschoolers who show evidence of or are at risk for lags in physical development, cognitive development, language and speech development, psychosocial development or self-help skills, and provide or coordinate the delivery of an enrichment program in order to minimize the potential for a developmental delay and to meet their current developmental needs. The program may include early identification activities (child find); a developmental evaluation; a review of family concerns, priorities and resources; meetings with the family to develop an individualized family service plan; service coordination to ensure that the individual and his or her family receive needed services which may include but are not limited to physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, health/medical services, nursing services, nutrition services, psychological services including specialized play groups or therapy sessions, counseling, speech and language assistance, special instructional services, transportation, and parenting skills development; and ongoing evaluation of the child's progress and his or her changing enrichment needs. Included are "birth to three" programs and federal, state or local programs that address the needs of slightly older children or children not otherwise eligible for "birth to three" programs.

Programs that provide individually-focused substitute parental care for abused, neglected and at-risk children within an inclusive child care setting. Specialized services for children in the program may include medical supervision, health screenings, individual health plans, developmental screenings for speech, gross and fine motor skills as well as services related to their social-emotional status. Child and family therapy and parenting classes may also be available.

Children who are age three to five.

Very young children from birth to age three.

Language, articulation, voice and/or fluency disorders which are outside the range of acceptable variation in a given environment and which are inconsistent with the person's chronological and/or developmental age.

A severe, chronic disability that is attributable to a cognitive, neurological or physical impairment or a combination of cognitive, neurological and physical impairments; that is manifested during the developmental period (prior to age 22); that is likely to continue indefinitely; and that results in substantial functional limitations in three or more areas of major life activity including self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.

A disruption in the normal hearing process that may occur in the outer, middle, or inner ear, which prevents sound waves from being converted to electrical signals and nerve impulses from being transmitted to the brain to be interpreted. Included are conductive hearing loss that results from abnormalities of the external ear and/or the ossicles of the middle ear; sensorineural hearing loss that results from malfunction of inner ear structures (i.e., cochlea); and central auditory dysfunction that results from damage or dysfunction at the level of the eighth cranial nerve, auditory brain stem, or cerebral cortex. Hearing loss may be present at birth (congenital) or become evident later in life (acquired); and may or may not preclude the normal development of language. The severity of hearing loss is measured in decibles (dB). The threshold or 0 dB mark for each frequency refers to the level at which typical young adults perceive a tone burst 50% of the time. Hearing is considered normal if an individual's thresholds are within 15 dB of normal thresholds. Severity of hearing loss is graded as mild (26-40 dB), moderate (41-55 dB), moderately severe (56-70 dB), severe (71-90 dB) and profound (90 dB).

An alteration in thinking, mood or behavior or some combination of those that either creates distress or interferes with people's relationships or their ability function.

Any of a variety of conditions that may be due to muscular, skeletal or neuromuscular disorders, paralysis or absence of one or more limbs, which impose physical limitations on the individual.