Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

Guest Post by: Kelsey S. Hall, SLP and Teacher of the Deaf Do you use a computer or tablet device?   Have you ever listened to an audiobook while taking a long drive in your car?   What about enlarging the print on your computer to make it easier to read?   How about your smart phone - have you ever used the voice-to-text option to help you make a list or remember a specific errand?   In our day-to-day lives, each of us rely on assistive technology (AT) to effectively and efficiently navigate the complexities of our world.   In my writing this blog post on a tablet device, and your reading it on a similar device, we are both making use of AT.   The purpose of AT is to support individuals of all abilities in being independent and productive across various aspects of life. This includes, but is not limited to, education, employment, and tasks of daily living. Unfortunately, many individuals I speak with assume AT is specifically used for individ...

The ECTA Center has a few upcoming free webinars highly relevant to early childhood special education. These webinars are not only available live, but they are also available in the ECTA center's webinar archive . First on the list is the Part C finance  2014 series. It contains four parts for early interventionalists. It is encouraged by the ECTA Center and its collaborators the ITCA Fiscal Initiative and the Regional Resource Center Program (RRCP)  for Part C coordinators attending the webinars to listern with a team in order to build "fiscal knowledge and capacity within their state." Understanding Part C financing within states is an important part of leadership and advocacy in early intervention and early childhood. Follow this link to access this four part series promoting technical assistance: http://ectacenter.org/~calls/2014/financepartc/financepartc.asp Additionally, The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) released their current recommended practices . On ...