Culturally Responsive Planning, Instruction, and Reflection for Young Children With Significant Disabilities

74 YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Vol. 25, No. 2, June 2022 https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250620951767 DOI: 10.1177/1096250620951767 journals.sagepub.com/home/yec Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions © 2020 Division for Early Childhood Mrs. Thomas is a secondgrade special education elementary school teacher. She co-teaches in an inclusive classroom that includes two children with significant cognitive disabilities. Recently, Ms. Thomas has been exploring her own identity and reflecting on her own biases with the guidance of professional development coordinators at her school. As a White American monolingual woman, she realizes that her life experiences in the majority culture require her to challenge her initial impressions of her culturally and linguistically diverse children. Three months into the new school year, Ms. Thomas is struggling to connect with one of her students (Isa) despite her best efforts. Isa is a second grader who just moved with her family from Puerto Rico. Her parents are bilingual but feel more comfortable using Spanish. Isa is also bilingual, but most often communicates nonverbally; she has been identified as having a moderate intellectual disability. Isa can communicate using single word responses when provided with a communication device. Ms. Thomas thinks Isa seems lost during lessons, and notes that Isa is not making progress on early literacy skills. She enjoys using technology (e.g., playing games on the class computer, navigating YouTube videos) and demonstrates strengths in early 951767 YECXXX10.1177/1096250620951767YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDRENCulturally / Rivera et al. research-article2020