Children’s stress activation in integrated early childhood special education and its connections to special educational needs and temperament

The aim of this study was to examine how children’s stress activation is related to special educational needs (SEN) and temperament in early childhood special education (ECSE). The study had 76 participants from 17 integrated ECSE groups. At the beginning, the children were divided into four status groups as follows: children without SEN, children with language disorders, children with self-regulation difficulties, and children with severe disabilities. The children’s temperament was assessed by their parents. Stress activation was examined by collecting and studying saliva samples from the children on two consecutive days. The results showed no differences between stress activation in the children’s status groups, nor any connections between stress activation and temperament. The high quality of the ECSE groups might explain these results. Further research based on these findings is needed.