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

(jmilanovic@unicef.org) 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

(nsabani@unicef.org) 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

(asanabria@unicef.org) 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

(mpoghosyan@unicef.org) 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 (taderkhina@unicef.org) 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: marashid@unicef.org

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 (marashid@unicef.org) or Nurper Ulkuer (nulkuer@unicef.org).

SUBSCRIPTION

Please send an e-mail to Maryam Rashid (marashid@unicef.org) 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 (marashid@unicef.org) by

15 January, 2012 for inclusion into the newsletter.