Creative Options becomes demonstration site for Pyramid Plus Program

CP of Colorado's Creative Options Program for Early Education is pleased to be one of four demonstration sites in Colorado for the Pyramid Plus program through the University of Colorado -Denver's School of Education and Human Development, Pyramid Plus: The Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion, is the first state-funded project of its kind in the nation and was created to promote the positive social-emotional development of all infants and young children and the inclusion of children with disabilities in all early childhood settings through its Special Quest Birth-Five approach.

According to Brenda Sears, Colorado Health Foundation Program Officer, "Children served by this project will have a lower risk of serious mental health disorders later in life. In addition, they are more likely to be self-sufficient and better able to positively contribute to their community and society."

SpecialQuest is specifically focused on early childhood inclusion of children with disabilities. It is an evidence-based model that has been shown to improve the quality and effectiveness of inclusion of every young child with disabilities into early education and community settings with their typically developing peers. Social skills in young children with disabilities are greatly improved in settings where they are with their typically developing peers; however, states report that only 48% of preschoolers with disabilities spend 80% of their time in inclusive settings.

In order to both assess a child and measure his or her progress in the Pyramid Program, Creative Options administers the ASQ-SE to each child in Fall and Spring each year. (The ASQ-SE provides an assessment of a child's social and emotional development.) At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, 23% of Creative Option's children tested were considered to be seriously at risk for difficulties. At the end of the year, only 11% of our children were at risk. This is the best improvement seen among the four demonstration programs in Colorado.

CP of Colorado has welcomed children of all abilities to join its Creative Options Early Education program since its founding in 1992. The program provides an inclusive and integrated setting for children to learn and accept each other's differences. CP of Colorado is pleased to be an integral part of the Pyramid Plus program and to help Coloradoans see the complexities and importance of providing optimal learning environments for young children with a variety of talents and needs.

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