Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By: Lori Vigeant, EC-SEAT Scholar and New Hampshire Early Childhood Special Educator There are so many social skills apps out there. I chose a couple that were free and appropriate for preschool. Check them out! Model Me Going Places This is a free social app for young children. It has essentially social stories that the child can explore with real photos demonstrating behaviors and actions appropriate for each situation. You can visit the park, restaurant or go to the doctor. Social stories are a meaningful way to teach behavior for different situations or settings. I use these in my preschool classroom a lot, but I really like the real pictures rather than drawings. I will definitely use this app in my classroom!  What Face  This is another free app to help students read non-verbal communication through different facial expressions. I have used photos of facial expressions in my classroom and get a lot of verbal response from my preschooler...

By: Alexa Splagounias, EC-SEAT Scholar Providing proper training and education to preservice teachers in their teacher preparation programs then they will enter the field feeling well prepared to support the needs of all students in the classroom, which will in turn lead to teachers having more positive views on inclusion and improved student learning outcomes. Introduction Inclusion of children with special needs into the general education classroom is becoming more and more prevalent. Roughly sixty percent of students with disabilities spend more than eighty percent of their day in general education classrooms. Further, roughly ninety- six percent of general education teachers have students with special needs in their classroom. Despite the increased prevalence of inclusion within schools and policies to support that, our teacher preparation programs are not reflective of these changes. The school system is ever changing and it is important that our policies and teacher pre...

By: Alexa Splagounias, EC-SEAT Scholar Speech to Text- Voice to Text I explored a speech to text app called Speechto Text- Voice to Text. This app can be used on iPhones and iPads. The cost of this app is free to download. This voice to text app provides continuous speech recognition that allows the user to create long essays, posts, or notes using only the user’s own voice. It also: Transcribes videos and voice memos into text.  Allows for speech typing and taking notes. It helps someone who experiences a physical disability because if they are unable to grip a writing utensil or are unable to use their arms, this app would allow them to still be able to type without having to actually move their body at all. Trying Out the App When I found this app, I had in mind a high school student I met who experiences a physical disability and is in a wheelchair. He is a quadriplegic and is paralyzed from the chest down, so he is unable to walk or use his arms, but he is a...

Shared: Alexa Splagounias, EC-SEAT Scholar, Intern Little Harbour Elementary School, Portsmouth, NH Visit -  https://specialeducation.tech.blog/2019/04/21/hello/   I created a blog about the importance of training preservice teachers in their teacher preparation programs to support children with special needs in the classroom. I have included research I collected, feedback I received from current teachers in the field, and helpful resources. My hope is to create a forum where teachers can collaborate to share their thoughts, as well as resources to support children with special needs in the classroom.

By: Lori Vigeant – NH Early Childhood Educator, Nashua School District and Kim Chouinard – NH Early Childhood Educator, Merrimack School District, EC-SEAT Scholars FACTS TO KNOW Did you know that in the United States 1 in 4 children live with at least one parent who speaks a language other than English?  They will help make up a large portion of America’s diverse workforce when they grow up.  Did you know that research shows that bilingual children demonstrate more advanced executive function skills ?   When their language is supported and they are able to become proficient in both languages.  Are we properly supporting them in the early years of development and throughout their education?  Help support our dual language learners grow up to meet their true potential ! It is important to encourage parents to continue home language development . Maintenance of home language development has important cultural value in f...