Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By: Caitlin Henchey, EC-SEAT Scholar, NH Early Childhood Special Educator Eligibility for special education and service in early childhood birth to age 6.  With 167 school districts making up the state, New Hampshire is addressing early childhood special education as fragmented segments instead of a united front.  In the field of Early Childhood Education and Care, there is a disconnect. This disconnect becomes evident at a child’s third birthday. Previous to this Birthday, a child is considered a part of early supports and services. After, they are grouped under the umbrella of early education through the NH Department of Education. One place where this disconnect shows itself is the determination of whether a specific child is in need of intervention or special education services, and how that service should be offered to the family. There is extremely limited consistency in the eligibility determination process for special education and related services for children...

By:  Assistive Technology in New Hampshire (ATinNH) "The AT Makers for All Conference & Expo will help grow the collaboration of AT makers and users and explore solutions to everyday problems that are fast, affordable, customized and satisfying!" Image from "AT Makers for All" Website Save the Date and learn more about this conference on September 29th, 2018  Visit the landing page, which will become a website with information for participants, sponsors, and presenters, etc: https://iod.unh.edu/atmakers  Follow the event on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ATMakersNH/ .  Learn more about other Maker's Fairs. The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) held one earlier this year. The event's facebook page has more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATMakers/ Also, explore ATinNH webinars coming up soon: March 7th - Introduction to the Principles of Digital Accessibility March 14th - Accessible Document Cr...

By: Kerri Hughes , EC-SEAT Scholar In my experience, social and emotional learning (SEL) has been an emphasis in public schools. Teachers and administrators’ accountability of student success on statewide assessments encourages teachers to instruct a large amount of academic content to students. SEL is pushed aside to make way for academic performance, leaving behind many students who have social and emotional needs. Google images Overview A variety of research supports SEL in kindergarten (Catalano, et al., 2003; Payton, et al., 2008; Sklad, et al., 2012). Social and emotional instruction for young children can improve children’s social skills, emotional well-being, and academic achievement (Catalano, et al., 2003; Payton, et al., 2008; Sklad, et al., 2012). Supporting students social and emotionally at a young age can help facilitate academic and social success which creates a better quality of life and decreases the likelihood of behavior difficulties (Payton, et al., 2008...