Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By: Chelsea Emery, EC-SEAT Scholar Parent involvement in early intervention is very important. I love that I get to meet the parents of every child I work with. This allows me to understand the child better and better support them. As an educator I am trained and experienced in understanding the aspects of development. Parents are specialists of their child. Both of these aspects working together can create great success for the child. Working in early intervention we have the privilege in working in the child’s home with a parent. Working in a home environment is important to support the child with everyday tasks and achieve developmental milestones. Although we are there to work with the child it is important for the parent and educator to be mutually involved to understand how to support their child’s development and learning at home. Many times there are miscommunications between programs and parents. It is important for programs and schools to make sure goals and objectives are c...

By: Jessica Heald, special educator and doctoral candidate in Education: Curriculum and Instruction at UNH. Below are six images and simple sentences helping a toddler pet her dog gently. This digital social story can be printed as a small paper book or viewed on a tablet (phone or computer). It was created using Google Slides. See below the story for other apps, web tools, and resources for creating digital social stories.      Apps and web tools to create digital social stories like the one above. App Name Creator Details Social Stories Creator & Library for Preschool Touch Autism Trial free version, can only create 2 social stories Social Stories Creator for Educators Touch Autism Can use photos, audio & text, play stories offline and send as PDFs, blank book template, can make visual schedules, Pro Upgrade includes ...

Created by: Hannah Arnold and Angie Dalessio (EC-SEAT Scholars 2013-2015) during their internship year in Deerfield, NH Note: EC-SEAT scholar interns provide two professional development workshops for cooperating teachers and interdisciplinary teams (including families and paraprofessionals) as part of their early childhood education: special needs option graduate programs at the University of New Hampshire. This adjustable storage folder was a low-tech Assistive Technology solution created by Hannah and Angie with paraprofessionals in their early childhood classrooms. Student Reflection:  Hannah Arnold and I did a presentation at Deerfield Community School for paraprofessionals. This project was a collaborative effort with not only Hannah and myself, but it originally it started with Pat Rose, the Occupational Therapist and Bob Layton, who is part of the Technology department at Deerfield Community School. Included in this presentation you will find: Materials needed, an...

Shared Directly from YouTube: See details provided by the American Congress for Rehabilitation Medicine, see below, enjoy, and think about how you can incorporate music and movement into practice. From YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRoO-xESQ0c&feature=youtu.be Published on Jan 16, 2017 Unique educational session, “Music, Movement & the Mind in Rehabilitation” led by FACULTY: Ron Hirschberg, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School AND Brian Harris, MA, MT-BC, NMT/F, Neurologic Music Therapist, MedRhythms, Inc., Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital FEATURING musician Ben Folds: benfolds.com AND dancer Pamela Quinn: pamelaquinn.net Find out about & JOIN the ACRM Arts & Neuroscience Group: www.ACRM.org/arts Recorded at the 93rd Annual ACRM Conference November 4, 2016 at the HILTON CHICAGO SPECIAL THANKS HILTON CHICAGO Category Science & Technolo...

By: Katie McCormack , EC-SEAT Scholar Quick Response, “QR,” Codes are becoming more and more popular to provide access to additional information on the web such as a document or a YouTube clip. When a QR code is associated with a document or item, a student can scan the code with an electronic scanner or via an app on an iPad, phone or tablet. Using QR codes for students who experience low vision or blindness is especially helpful, as these codes provide instant information about documents and items. Rather than placing braille on a handout or item, which can be difficult and does not provide as much information, a QR code can provide instant access to a YouTube clip in which the activity, item or document is described in further detail. When scanning a QR code, you must orient the code in the correct position in order for the scanner to read the code. This can be extremely challenging for students who experience low vision or blindness, so it’s important to make QR codes accessible....