This article is written to explore the elements needed when collaborative classroom skills meet and intertwine in the regular design of educational programs and other services related to children with special needs in the early childhood education environment. Learning methods will be defined. The importance of a range of modalities in the way children learn will be covered, with particular attention given to the needs of a child with special needs in the classroom. The question of why changes in curriculum, environment, and staff are necessary when dealing with a student with special needs in a typical classroom will also be addressed. Sometimes called “learning modalities,” operating in a classroom in “teaching modalities” is a method of approaching education from multiple angles in order to provide a well-formed learning experience for each student. A learning modality refers to how a student focuses, processes, and retains information or skills (Hutinger, 2001). Although renowned education scholar Howard Gardner (Hermanns, 2010) hypothesized that there are many more intelligences from which conclusions can be drawn about how children learn, for the purposes of this article, three main modalities will be addressed: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. de Sa & Ballard, 1998). As part of the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), a written action plan to support the growth and development of a child aged 0 to 3 and his or her family, or the Individual Education Plan (IEP ), a plan for the child entering the school system, the child's specific needs will be documented and goals established. In some cases, the child's modality may begin to be recognized and established...... middle of paper ...... North Carolina, . (2011). What is autism?. Retrieved from http://www.autismsociety-nc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=341&Itemid=675de Sa, V. and Ballard, D. (1998). Category learning using multimodal detection. Neural Companion, 10(5), retrieved from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/089976698300017368?journalCode=necoEmma, ​​​​S. (June 8, 2010). Learn differently. Illawarra Mercury. p. 31. Taken from EBSCOhost. Hermanns, K. (December 9, 2010). Good Study Habits: Activating Multiple Intelligences [Web Log Post]. Retrieved from http://info.knowledgepointslearning.com/bid/56203/Good-Study-Skills-Habits-Activating-Multiple-IntelligencesHutinger, P. (November 2001). Learning modalities: pathways to effective learning. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/articles/learningmodalities.html