One of the keywords in education is early intervention. This means that the child’s special needs are detected at an early age and the child starts receiving developmental support as soon as possible. The timely identification of special needs and the provision of necessary assistance are the key to enabling the child to live as independently as possible one day. A preschool child care institution, or kindergarten, is an educational institution that offers care and preschool education to children. The activities of a kindergarten are regulated by the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act and the learning and teaching conducted there are based on the national curriculum for preschool child care institutions. The education of children with special needs in kindergartens is organised by the local government. A disabled child may attend a regular group in a regular kindergarten, but the local government may also, on the proposal of the director of the kindergarten, form, in that kindergarten, integration groups which include both children with special needs and other children, as well as groups which include only children with special needs. Some kindergartens also employ support specialists, such as speech therapists, who can help children with speech problems through speech therapy.

To ensure the greatest possible development of a child’s abilities, it is important for teachers, families, specialists, doctors, and the local government’s social and child protection workers to work together. Through the collaboration of the various parties, an individual development plan (IDP) is created for the child. In order to support your child’s development, it is also important to participate in development evaluations, where teachers give an overview of the child’s development and make suggestions for supporting the child both at home and in kindergarten. Children who cannot be educated in an integration group may be placed in a special needs group.

Groups for children with special needs in kindergartens:

• remedial group – for children with speech disorders and disabilities and specific developmental disorders;
• group for children with physical disabilities – for children with physical special needs;
• group for children with visual disabilities – for visually impaired children;
• group for children with hearing disabilities – for hearing-impaired children; - development group – for children with moderate, severe, and profound intellectual disabilities;
• group for children with pervasive developmental disorders – for children with autism spectrum disorders;
• group for children with multiple disabilities – for children with two or more disabilities, one of which is usually a mobility disability.

Children with special needs are admitted to a kindergarten’s integration or special needs group on the basis of a written application from their parent and a recommendation of an extracurricular counselling team. The application must be submitted to the local government, who is responsible for creating possibilities for children to develop and grow in the kindergarten of their residence. In the absence of suitable options, the local government will co-operate with other local governments, if necessary.