Category Archives: Early Intervention

Early Intervention-Resources and Information

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Early intervention services are provided through the IDEA Act-  a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services.

Early interventions are covered under the IDEA Act and is defined to meet the developmental needs of an infant or toddler with a disability and the needs of the family to assist appropriately in the infants or toddler’s development as identified by the IFSP team in any one or more of the following areas:

  1. Physical Development
  2. Cognitive Development
  3. Communication Development
  4. Social or Emotional Development
  5. Adaptive Development 

IDEA Part C regulations also include intervention services that fall  under the law including:

  1. Assistive technology
  2. Audiology service
  3. Family Training
  4. Health services
  5. Medical Services
  6. Nursing Services
  7. Nutritional
  8. Occupational Therapy
  9. Physical therapy
  10. Psychological Services
  11. Service Coordinator
  12. Sign Language
  13. Social Work
  14. Special Instructions
  15. Speech-language pathology
  16. Transportation and related costs
  17. Vision services

The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) provides information on family rights, procedural safeguards and complaint resolution

For Military families with children with disabilities, click here to locate the Parent Training Information Center in Your state. There is also a Military Parent Technical Assistance Center

Additional Resources for Military Personnel

National Military Family Association

Resources Especially for Military Families

Resources for Military Families of Children with Disabilities

Locating Early Intervention Centers In Your Area

ECTA maintains a list of websites here.

For more information including resources, worksheets, and activities, please visit my Pinterest Board

20 Task Box Resources To Use In Your Classroom or Home

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Task boxes (also known as work boxes) are structured work systems created by Division TEACCH t the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. This system allows the student to work independently on a task for a specific time in a supportive environment.  Task boxes are now used for students with a variety of disabilities including students required pervasive levels of support.

 

There are 3 types of task boxes: stacking- Helps with eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills; sorting- may break activities by size, color, texture, shape and flavor and fine motor- strengthens the smaller movement in the wrists, hands and fingers.

The following sites include information on how to set up a task box system in your classroom or in your home.

How I Set Up My Task Box System ( Delightfully Dedicated)

How to Set Up An Independent Workbox (Breezy Special Ed)

How to Start a Task Box System (Autism Adventures)

Task Box Set Up- (Autism Adventures)

Websites that will give you ideas on creating task boxes, and the material needed.

Autism Classroom Workbox System (Teaching Special Thinkers)

Fine Motor Morning Work Bins (Differentiated Kindergarten)

Assembly Work Task (Autism Classroom News and Resources)

Free Math Printable Task Box for Special Education ( My Creative Inclusion)

Higher Level Academics in Task Boxes (Mrs. P’s Specialties)

How I Use Workboxes in My Classroom (Creating and Teaching)

Pre-Vocational Work Boxes (SPED Adventures)

Quick and Easy Task Box Ideas (Little Miss Kim’s Class)

Task Boxes: A Hands On Approach to Life Skills (Therablog)

Task Boxes for Autistic Children (Love to Know)

Structured Work Boxes (University of Mary Washington)

Ways to Up the Ante in Your Work Task System (The Autism Vault)

Winter Task Boxes (You Aut-aKnow)

Work Boxes in Autism Classrooms (Noodle Nook)

Work Box Task Ideas (The Autism Helper)

Work Task (Breezy Special Ed)

 

Resources on Teaching Scissor Skills

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One of the ways to improve fine motor skills is helping children and adults develop cutting skills also help with pre-writing skills and pencil control. Below are resources that will help in developing and teaching scissor skills.

Cutting Skill Development

2 years- snips with scissors

2.5 years- Cuts across a 6-inch piece of paper

3.5 years- Cuts along a 6-inch line

4.5 years- Cuts out a circle

6-7 years- Cuts a variety of shapes and pictures.

Resources on Teaching Scissor Skills

5 easy ways to introduce scissor skills

How to teach a child to use scissors

How to use scissors

Scissor cutting skills: Why they are important

Teaching kids how to use scissors

Teaching preschoolers to use scissors

The importance of teaching your child how to use scissors

Tips for teaching scissor cutting skills

Practice Scissor Skills- The following links below include practicing cutting straight lines, curved lines and circles, zig-zag lines and mixed lines.

10-page scissor skills packet (Mama’s Learning Corner)- geared towards preschoolers and kindergartners.

12 free shapes and cutting page (www.mpmideas.com)- geared towards preschool aged children

Construction truck scissor cutting practice sheets (MO & MH)- Kids will practice cutting lines.

Cut, copy and glue for spring (Your Therapy Source)- Free 3-page packet in black and white. Includes a butterfly, ice cream cone and a snail.

Free cutting and coloring pack (Tot Schooling)- Cutting pack features straight, diagonal, curved and zig zag lines.

House scissor practice (Teaching Station)- Download free worksheets. Includes shapes of circles, squares, triangles, and rectangulars.

Printable preschool cutting busy box (Fun with Mama)- post includes ways to teach kids how to use scissors and develop cutting skills

Rocket scissor practice (Teaching Station)- Kids will practice cutting and pasting shapes to make a rocket.

Snake spiral worksheet (www.education.com)- Kids can both color and cut out the spiral design.

Trolls, hair-cutting (Tot Schooling Net)- Several different levels of difficulties.

4 Tips On Task Initiation For Children and Adults

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Task Initiation is often a challenge for children and adults with an executive functioning disorder. For a child, it may be lack of initiative in doing homework while for an adult, it may include forgetting or putting off paying bills. Children and adults with task initiation issues generally have a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, Intellectual disability or a learning disorder.

Click here to download a printed version of the article

Signs of a task initiation impaired executive functioning skill would be someone having difficulty in getting started on a task and keeping the effort needed in order to complete the task. A child or an adult require external cues in order to complete the task. Also, it will require understanding what is expected and understanding the task. Here are a few strategies:

  1. Limit Distractions. In the classroom any type of added sensory input can defer the student from getting started in their school work.
  2. Create a List. Visual support will help to increase getting the work done for a school-age child, you may want to create a to-do list which the steps are broken down into smaller steps. When a person with an executive function is given a task, it may be overwhelming, making it more difficult to get started.
  3. Use Cues. A clock or a timer will help the child or adult stay on time and understanding the amount of time it will take to complete a task
  4. Break task down. Create where the work is done in chunks so that the work will not be as overwhelming for the student.

Braille Teaching Resources

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January is Braille Literacy Month.  Invented by Louis Braille, at the age of 15 years old while attending the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. Braille lost his sight during a childhood accident at the age of 4. Braille is not a language, rather it is a code that uses symbols formed within units of space that consists of six raised dots , 2 across and 3 down.

The following sites describe Braille:

Braille: Deciphering the code

Braille: What is it?

What is Braille

Louis Braille

The following links below include resources on teaching braille:

 

braille-teaching-resources

 

Braille Teaching Resources

  1. A kitchen curriculum for the parents of visually impaired children. A functional skills curriculum for visual impaired children from infants to 12 on up.
  2. 3 tips for teaching young children with a visual impairment how to become strong readers. Kristen Smith describes ways to prepare young children for reading including creating story boxes, and using all the senses.
  3. 5 ways to teach your blind child how to use an iPad. This article includes a few demonstration via videos and an infographic.
  4. 10 strategies for teaching math to children with visual impairments. Hillary Kleck shares ten strategies for teaching math to children who are blind or visually impaired.
  5. Creating a theme for your braille classroom. Liz Eagan shares tips and suggestions on creating a braille station in the classroom.
  6. Fun ways to teach braille to partially sighted students. Game activities for students that are partially sighted braille readers.
  7. Tips for promoting braille in the classroom. A number of suggestions that give students the opportunity to explore and understand braille
  8. Ten tips to help you teach yourself braille. Wonder Baby’s article includes a braille cheat sheet and a downloadable Braille alphabet and numbers sheet.
  9. Teaching Braille Writing. Tracy Fitch outlines 5 ways to help new learners on using a braille writer.
  10. Tracking activities for pre-braille learners. Resources including a variety of tactile material that can be glued to index cards or braille paper

10 Speech Therapy Blogs You Should Be Reading

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Speech therapy is a key component in the life of a child with a disability. When it comes to speech therapy, there are so many blogs that provide an abundance of resources for other speech therapist, teachers and parents. Finding the right ones however can be a challenge.

speechblog2

The following blogs provide tons of information, resources and tips on speech language topics. Here are 10 speech therapy blogs worth checking out (in no particular order).

Beautiful Speech Life– Creates and develops therapy materials for fellow SLP’s and teachers. This website provides freebies, language materials and quick therapy tips.

Nicole Allison Speech Peeps– This website offers speech language resources on a variety of topics and an evidence-based intervention series.

PediaStaff– A resourceful blog providing informative news information and article blogs from speech language websites.

Simply Speech– A site with freebies and great blog ideas and activities

Speech 2 U- Provides resources, freebies and therapy topics on communication, social language, social language, organization, plus more!

Speechy Musing– Provides speech therapy resources on a variety of topics. Age range includes, birth to 3, elementary school and middle school on the subject of articulation, language and AAC; The site also includes a blog for fellow speech therapist.

Sublime Speech– Provides therapy to children with severe and profound disabilities. Website includes information on apps, articulation, language, materials and social skills

Teach Speech 365. Includes freebies, giveaways and therapy topics.

The Dabbling Speechie– A website for speech and language pathologist and parents offering a variety of resources on articulation, language and social skills.

The Speech Room News– Specializing in pediatric speech and language therapy, Jenna’s site provides resources for speech language pathologists and educators. The website includes free resources, and treatment topics on articulation, social language, preschool and more.

 

Happy Holidays!

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS2015

Special Needs Resource Blog will take a break during the holidays and will return Monday, January 4, 2016 with new information, tools and resources to post including more downloadable free tools and templates Monday thru Thursday. I am excited and look forward to sharing more resources with you in the new year.
Thanks to all of you for following my blog this year. Wishing you and your families joy and peace all through the holidays and throughout the new year. May the spirit of the holidays be with you throughout the new year.  🙂   🙂

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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thanksgiving

Dyspraxia Resources

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October is Dyspraxia Month. Developmental Dyspraxia also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) , is a neurological disorder that affects fine and gross motor skills and organization. A child may have difficulty in sing scissors, riding a bike or learning and recalling information.

 

dyspraxia

Medical Sites- The following sites include information on causes, treatment, test and diagnoses of Dyspraxia:

Medical News Today
NCBI Resources
Understood
WebMD
Wikipedia

Organizations

Dyspraxia Foundation, UK
Dyspraxia Foundation, USA

 

YouTube Videos

Developmental Disability Awareness Month

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March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month.

Facts
  • In 2010, 5.2 percent of school-aged children were reported to have a disability
  • 15.2 million Adults (6.3 percent experience some kind of cognitive disability.
  • According to the CDC, one in six or about 15 percent of children aged 3 through 17 years have one or more developmental disabilities.

 

The Term “developmental disability” means a severe, chronic disability of an individual that:
  1. Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairment.
  2. Is manifested before the individual attains age 22
  3. Is likely to continue indefinitely.
  4. Results in substantial functional limitations in 3 or more of the following areas of major life activity:
          1. Self-care
          2. Receptive and expressive language
          3. Learning
          4. Mobility
          5. Self Direction
          6. Capacity for independent living
          7. Economic self-sufficiency
          8. Reflects the individual’s need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or genetic services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
Infants and children- An individual from birth to age 9, inclusive who has substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition, may be considered to have a developmental disability without meeting 3 or more of the criteria described in clause 4.

CDC- Learn the Signs. Act early

History of the developmental Disabilities Act

Test how much you know about developmental disabilities.

Click on the link below an print out the word search.

developmental disability game pic

disability test