Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By: Carrie Portrie , EC-SEAT project coordinator As election day draws nearer, I find myself searching and wanting to know more about where candidates stand on early childhood issues and policies. Below is a short list of resources linking us to useful information for thinking about policy, advocacy, and practice. The Division for Early Childhood  (DEC) - website for policy and advocacy resources and the 2016 Election.   The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)  -  effective advocacy resources  and public policy.  The Administration for Children and Families Head Start Website -  list of child advocacy/children's issues in child development. Annie E. Casey Foundation  and Kids Count Data Center Zero to Three Advocacy Action Center  or Zero to Three Advocacy  and Find your elected officials PBS Newshour - Early Childhood Education  Education Week - Early Childhood  Child's World America and  The Raising of America documentary series  a

Re-published (with permission - Creative Commons ) from an article written by Open Society Foundations; Link to the organization and October 2015 article https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/value-inclusive-education Around the world, children are excluded from schools where they belong because of disability, race, language, religion, gender, and poverty. But every child has the right to be supported by their parents and community to grow, learn, and develop in the early years, and, upon reaching school age, to go to school and be welcomed and included by teachers and peers alike. When all children, regardless of their differences, are educated together, everyone benefits—this is the cornerstone of inclusive education. What is inclusive education? Inclusive education means different and diverse students learning side by side in the same classroom. They enjoy field trips and after-school activities together. They participate in student government together. And the

By: Chelsea Emery , EC-SEAT scholar  Following Ezra  is an eye-opening book written from a father’s perspective. Tom Fields-Meyer is Abba, the father. He describes his view of the world while raising his son Ezra who has autism. His story explains how Ezra sees life from a different level, and how he does his best to understand and know the unique and extraordinary things about his son. The author writes about events from the past ten years of their lives. He wrote this book with the intention to understand his son and hope to relate to other families who have children with Autism. He breaks down each aspect of Ezra’s autism and really explains what makes him so wonderful and unique. Ezra grew up in a Jewish family with a Rabbi for a mother and two siblings. The authors describes challenges faced by his family that in the end made their relationship stronger with Ezra. The stories about Ezra include the road to his Bat Mitzvah, his tantrums, his exploration of