Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

EC-SEAT Scholar graduate Chelsea Emery, M.Ed shared an update about her work at Fisk Elementary School in Salem, NH. Watch the video to learn more about their work including children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in school and the classroom. YouTube Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2blHllwF1FI School Website - http://sau57.org/fisk

By:  Lauren Pasquazzi, EC-SEAT Scholar There is a student in our classroom that has some delays in certain areas of development. One developmental domain that is a challenge for him is cognitive skills. When we do activities that involve numbers, this student has trouble remembering and will confuse the numbers. I have observed that this child is a sensory learner. He gravitates towards any of the sensory play centers and enjoys using his hands. I decided to try the iPad with this student. I downloaded some math apps and first showed the student how to use them. The iPad was a success! The student was engaged and getting the right answers when using the apps. Every week we have been using the iPad at a certain part of the day to help this child. We have seen a lot of progress. A couple apps we used: I chose Monkey Math by THUP Games . This is an app that helps to strengthen math skills by counting strategies and number recognition. Here is a video showing the app. Mon...

Written by: Lauren Pasquazzi, Early Childhood Educator and EC-SEAT scholar  This summer I took an Assistive Technology class with Dr. Therese Willkomm. I was able to understand how to work with many different materials to help people with disabilities. In the class, we had to do a project where we create an assistive technology for someone with a disability. I worked with my brother for this project. I created a way for my brother to write without becoming frustrated because the pencil was too small for him to grip. I took Instamorph and was able to form it around the pencil so that my brother felt comfortable. From this project, I learned about working with someone and making sure that the assistive technology is the right fit. Instead of just assuming that this is what my brother wanted, we discussed options together and tried different ways to hold the pencil with the Instamorph . At the end, not only did I feel accomplished, but I think my brother did too because he ...

Websites reviewed by:  Sophia Fowler , EC-SEAT Scholar inov8 educational consulting  -  inov8 is not a flashy web site thus did not have some of the appeal as the others I explored; however I was amazed at the resource once I started clicking and looking around. I really liked how each section was set up into chapters. At the end of each chapter there were responses and feedback/questions, such as similar apps to the ones described or recommendations of ways to use the apps listed. What I didn't like was this is not a web site to g o to for quick references. It's in depth, time consuming and slightly confusing to navigate. Appadvice.com  -  Is a great techie web site. I liked how they rated paid and free apps for both the cell phone and iPad, but no android contribution. This is definitely a drawback if you are trying to get a parent interested in an app for their child and they have an android while the consultant/therapist is using an iOS device. The ot...

Reviewed by: Maggierose Smith , EC-SEAT scholar 1. I reviewed the Complete Guide to Educational and Special Needs Apps ( oneplaceforspecialneeds.com ). Upon first glance, I enjoyed the site because of the coloration and white space it offers. Many times sites with vast amounts of information can be overwhelming, but the organization with the titles in blue and the information in black helps me better process the information. I also enjoy that it is organized by disability, type of activity and alphabetically, making it easy   to find apps that particular students may find beneficial. The search tool was extremely beneficial as it weeded through the apps for me, leaving a more succinct list to go through before choosing one. These aspects make the site very user friendly. I thought it was really cool how the search tool narrowed down apps based on a variety of criteria, making it easy to match student’s capabilities to the appropriate app. I do think it would be useful to have ...

Reviews by:  Janet Skillin , EC-SEAT Scholar One Place for Special Needs, AAC Tech Connect, Switch Accessible Apps, and Text Based Apps. http://www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com This site is a guide to over 300,000 app choices and has been created by a special needs parent. I really like that it is by someone who has experienced first hand as a parent the need for "Quick" resources for our children as we spend so much time researching, and advocating for our children. It would be nice to update this page by assessing the sites and asigning maybe a "star" rating from people who use the different apps. I could very easily spend "days" looking at all of these. It is nice to have a "guide" to begin my search. http://www.aactechconnect.com/ I personally didn't really care for this site. It is not very user-friendly. I didn't like that you cant just navigate it without doing a free trial. I prefer to be able to search around a...

Have you every heard of World Usability Day?  See the posting from the New England Event site: New England is cool, crisp and colorful in the Fall and Keene, New Hampshire, in the heart of New England, is the location for the 2014 World Usability Day New England event. Usabilit y, accessibility and assistive technology allow persons of all abilities to engage in learning, employment and enjoying life to the fullest. The #WUDNE2014 event aims to bring together some of the brightest minds in these three fields, for a day of learning, experiencing and networking. From accessible website design and compliance, to the latest assistive technology for education and employment, as well as accessible design in the home and community, the best of the best will be sharing their expertise! The  event will be held on  Thursday November 13, 2014  from 9AM to 3:30PM on the campus of Keene State College. We are in the process of finalizing this event, so check this site of...

By: Hannah Arnold, EC-SEAT Scholar and Preschool Teacher How we respond to children has a lot to do with how they respond to us. Treating children with respect and dignity goes a long way towards increasing positive behaviors in your classroom. We can treat children with respect and dignity through our everyday interactions and responsive language. Responsive language shows children that we believe in them by using direct language, which reinforces positive behavior. Responsive language is a part of having a responsive classroom that fosters social and academic learning throughout the day. Using responsive language with children of all ages may seem like a gigantic step and can seem a bit overwhelming if you are new to the idea. However there are small steps you can take towards becoming more responsive. At first this type of language is very conscious and planned out. As you become more comfortable it almost becomes second nature. When first starting the use of responsive I fou...