Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

Betsy Humphreys talks about her perspective on inclusive early childhood education. Watch and keep visiting our blog for more videos from professors and community members invested in early childhood. Perspectives on Leadership in Early Childhood Education - Part 1 from ec seat on Vimeo .

By: Angela Dalessio,  EC-SEAT Scholar and Graduate Student in Early Childhood Special Education Currently I am in a preschool classroom, and a situation has arisen that has caused the team to take a deeper look into what items can be seen as a choking hazard in our room.   We have a student who has multiple special needs, and has started to mouth different objects.  Some examples are play dough, and more recently a unifix cube.  The student managed to lodge the unifix cube at the back of his throat, which led to the Para professional to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him.  Due to this incident, our classroom has had to purchase a, "no choke tube," in order to measure different objects in our environment for safety precautions.  The tube is 2.25 inches long by 1.25 inches wide, which is approximately the size of a fully expanded throat of a child under three years old.  Many tips and facts can be found online about preventing choking.  ...

Daily, our office receives emails about current news and information about early childhood. Here is a sampling of some resources we found interesting this week: News: 1.) The Calcasiau Parish School Board has utilized a state grant to build an Assistive Technology lending library. Read about this  lending library here .   2.) The New School Leaders' Standards were released on Monday, September 15th. Read more about major changes in standards focused on the social side of learning.  Resources for Professional Development: 1.) Ashley Frame from EduPlanet21 sent out the following professional development video link introducing a Module Series on New Hampshire’s Educator Support Evaluation System. Four other modules are available on the NH Department of Education Vimeo site .  2.) The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning is hosting a webinar on September 22nd, 2014 about “Classroom-Based and Parent-Focused Interventions for Promoting Social and ...

Navigating the research and policies regarding learning outcomes, competencies, goals, standards from federal and state organizations can be quite overwhelming. The documentation exceeds the field of early childhood and special education to include public health, medicine and more. With good reason, many educators are wary of standards for their “one size fits all” notions, but standards are dynamic not static. They can empower children and educators and offer professional preparation “more valuable than a list of rules to follow,” (NAEYC, 2009, p. 2). The question remains, how do we work together effectively to implement standards and coordinate professional practices? The United States Office of Planning Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families (OPRE) released Conceptualizing and Measuring Collaboration in the Context of Early Childhood Care and Education offering some suggestions. Professionals working one-on-one, in classrooms, and in state-level agencies...