Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE)

1 Oswego St.
Camden, NY 13316
315-245-2616

The Preschool Special Education Department facilitates evaluations and services for 3-5 year old children who are eligible under New York State regulations. Our goal is to support the development of children who exhibit developmental delays in cognitive, speech, language, adaptive, social, emotional or motor development.

If concerns are present, please contact our office.

For more information, visit the below links:

New York State Preschool Brochure: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/preschool/brochure.htm

Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE)

1 Oswego St.
Camden, NY 13316
315-245-2616

The Preschool Special Education Department facilitates evaluations and services for 3-5 year old children who are eligible under New York State regulations. Our goal is to support the development of children who exhibit developmental delays in cognitive, speech, language, adaptive, social, emotional or motor development.

If concerns are present, please contact our office.

Components of an Evaluation
As outlined by the State of New York, the evaluation must include:

Physical Examination - To include a report from the child's pediatrician or other specialists who have recently examined/diagnosed your child's needs. 

Social History - This includes interpersonal, familial and environmental factors which influence a child's general adaptation to the learning environment.
Psychological - This evaluation assesses a student's cognitive, developmental, behavioral and emotional development.

An Observation of the child in his/her natural setting - A natural setting may include a classroom in the evaluation area or home. 

An evaluation can also include one or more of the following evaluations depending on the areas of concern.

Language and Communication - An evaluation of speech-language skills measures the child's understanding and expression of language, the appropriate use of language (pragmatic skills), speech production (articulation and ability to be understood when talking), fluency (stuttering), and oral motor development (muscle strength and use of the lips and tongue, as well as feeding or swallowing skills.)

Cognitive - This measures attention span, thinking processes, concept formation, visual discrimination, imitation, memory, sequencing, reasoning and problem solving skills.

Adaptive Behavior - An evaluation of adaptive behaviors measures daily activities required to meet personal and social needs. These include self-help skills, play skills, motor skills and social interaction and behavioral skills.
Functional Behavior - This evaluation identifies behavioral concerns that hinder learning or participation in age appropriate activities.
Social-Emotional - This assessment measures interpersonal relationships, social interaction skills with adults and peers, personality traits and social-emotional development.

Gross Motor - This evaluation measures large muscle movement abilities such as locomotion and balance (running, jumping hopping), posture, range of motion (flexibility), muscle performance (strength), sensory integration, reflex and joint abilities.

Fine Motor - This evaluation measures small muscle abilities (hand skills) such as manual dexterity (holding and using writing utensils), eye-hand coordination, visual-perceptual-motor skills, and sensory integration development.

Referral and Evaluation Process
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/preschool/brochure.htm

1. Contact the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) office at 245-3410 with your concerns. We will set up an appointment to meet with you.

2. During your appointment, we will review your concerns, discuss the process and complete paperwork for the next steps. You will be signing consent to move forward with the evaluation process as well as choosing an agency to complete the evaluation. 

3. The paperwork that you have completed, along with your consent, will be sent to the agency that you have chosen (to complete an evaluation on your child). 

4. The evaluating agency will contact you to schedule/set up a time to complete the evaluation on your child. Once you set up the evaluation, it is important that you make this appointment. There is a timeline that New York State has set up .

5. You will meet with the evaluating agency and the evaluation(s) take place.

6. The agency will meet with you upon completion of the evaluation to discuss their preliminary findings. They will complete a report and send a copy to you (the parents) and the school district.

7. A Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) meeting will be set up to review the results of the evaluation, discuss the evaluation, your concerns and to determine if your child meets eligibility criteria for special education, along with any supports/services.

8. If it is determined at the CPSE meeting that your child meets criteria for eligibility, then providers are contacted so that supports can be set up for your child. Where possible,some supports are provided in the home at this level (ages 3 - 5 years)

**The ECDC Center can assist you with any questions you may have about the CPSE process, please contact them at  https://www.rcil.com/ECDC?action=details&param=early-childhood-direction-center-of-cent