Congenital Heart Defect Week

Date: February 7- February 14, 2022

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week is observed each year during February 7-14 to promote awareness and education about congenital heart defects. The disorder affects approximately one in 100 births every year in the United states and are the most common type of birth defect. It is estimated that 1 million children and 1.4 million adults in the United States were living with a congenital heart defect.

The types of congenital heart defects include;

Signs and Symptoms

  • Blue-tinted nails or lips
  • Fast or troubled breathing
  • Tiredness when feeding
  • Sleepiness

Resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer on their website free brochures, factsheets, posters and other educational material:

Special Needs COVID-19 Resources and Information

Hi Everyone, Like most people in the world, the COVID-19 Virus has greatly impacted my own little universe. Living in the epicenter of the virus at last count, almost 4,000 people in my county have tested positive. I too seek ways to live a normal life in these trying times.  Its been very challenging to continue to write articles on special needs with so much is going on in the world.

Looking to see how I can help others during this time, I created COVID-19 virus page which I will continue to add more information as we learn more. I advise you to stay tune to both local news and get regular updates from the CDC as they update on a regular basis. If you are a reader from another County, please check on updates from your government on a regular basis.

Please all stay safe during these trying times, continue to help one another and we will come out from this better and stronger.

 

Articles on what you need to know about the COVID-19 Virus:

CDC

CNET.Com

RWJ Barnabas Health

Washington Post

UNICEF- What parents should know

CDC Resources

Cases in the United States

Community and Faith Based Leaders

How to prepare

Guidance for Schools and Childcare Programs

Travel

The following are free social stories on Teachers Pay Teachers Must have a log on account):

COVID-19 No Print Social Story

COVID 19 and Social distancing Story

COVID 19 Social Narrative

Social Narrative for Autism

The following links and information comes  from the U.S. Education Department. Check for updated information:

Additional Resources for Higher Education Institutions:

Schools should continue promoting everyday disease prevention strategies:

  • If you are sick, stay home from school.
  • Avoid close contact with those who are already sick.
  • Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with a tissue or the crook of your arm.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water.
  • Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth.
  • Consult this web page for further guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.

Schools can share relevant CDC fact sheets to help students, families, and staff understand COVID-19 along with steps they can take to protect themselves:

COVID-19 and Special Needs

Best practices in using telemedicine for ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus and Anxiety

How to help a child with autism adjust

Supporting families through COVID-19

Handwashing

CDC- Handwashing Training and Education-Includes lessons and activities for all ages including a 30-page PDF and age appropriate handwashing curriculum.

Free Printables– Activities from nourishinteractive.com, includes handwashing worksheets, lesson plans and a math sequencing worksheet that teaches the important steps to good handwashing techniques.

Kids Handwashing Coloring Page– Developed by Lancaster County Health Department including 2 coloring pages and instructions on how to wash your hands properly.

Teach-nology- A lesson plan for kids pre-school age which discusses germs and how germs make people sick.

Why We Wash Our Hands– From Florida Health Department for children ages 3-41/2. The lesson educates children on how to prevent common health problems by developing handwashing skills.

The following articles are links to articles specific to handwashing and the COVID-19 virus:

CDC- Handwashing and Prevention

Family Doctor

UNICEF

USAToday

The following are worksheets to keep your little ones busy during this time:

Identify Money Freebie

Free Printable Money WorkSheets

Free Skip Counting by 5″s Worksheet

 

Bullying and Special Needs Children

A survey conducted found that half of parents surveyed have a special needs child who had been bullied during school hours.

Warning Signs of Bullying

  1. Unexplained injuries
  2. Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics or jewelry
  3. Feeling sick or faking illness
  4. Changes in eating habits
  5. Difficulty sleeping
  6. Declining grades
  7. Self-destructive behavior
  8. Feelings of helplessness

A bullying guide for parents. Developed by the National Autistic Society in the U.K., offers tips and resources for parents.

Council for Exceptional Children. Q&A with Dr. Chad A. Rose on the Interpretation and Information regarding the Department of Education’s Letter Addressing Bullying Among Students with Disabilities

National Bullying Prevention Resources. Offers parents and educators bullying prevention resources including educational toolkits, awareness toolkits, contest ideas and promotional products

stopbullying.gov– A federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services. Provides resources on State laws and policies, training information and school bullying prevention tips.

Wrightslaw. A webpage offering information on laws and disability harassment including the legal obligation of the school.

Articles

8 ways to help your child with autism stop bullying at school

Bullying: Children and teenagers with autism spectrum disorder

Bullying among children and youth with disabilities and special needs

Bullying and students on the autistic spectrum

Signs of bullying in special needs children

How can I protect my autistic child from bullying?

How to deal with bullied children with disabilities

Why autistic kids make easy targets for school bullies

ADHD and Math Teaching Resources

Studies suggests that between 4-7% of students have experience difficulty in math compared to 26% of children with ADHD.

Click here to download a copy of the article

This may be the result of the working memory, problem solving skills and inattentive skills all characteristics of a student with ADHD

What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is defined as a learning disability specifically in math and numbers including the inability to understand the concept of numbers and applying math principles to solve problems. The following are signs and symptoms of dyscalculia:

  • Difficulty in counting backwards
  • Difficulty in recalling facts
  • Slow in performing calculations
  • Difficulty with subtractions
  • Difficulty using finger counting
  • Difficulty with the multiplication table
  • Poor mental math skills
  • Difficulty with understanding the concept of time
  • May show signs of anxiety when conducting math activities
  • May have a poor sense of direction (i.e. north, south, east, west)
Early signs of dyscalculia include:
  • Delays in learning how to count
  • Delays in recalling facts
  • Difficulty with time
  • Displays a poor memory
  • May lose track when counting
  • Difficulty sorting items by groups include color, shape, texture and size.

Accommodations

Students with diagnosed with ADHD qualify for accommodations in the classroom. Here are a few suggestions:

The ADHD magazine, ADDitude suggests the following accommodations to help students with ADHD and Dyscalculia:

  • Allow extra time on test
  • Provide frequent checks for accuracy during classroom activities
  • List clearly numbered steps/procedures for multi-step problems
  • Use individual dry-erase boards
  • Reduce the number of problems you assign

VeryWell suggests the following accommodations for students expressing difficulties in math:

  • Allow the student to use desk copies of math facts such as multiplication table factsheet
  • Allow the use of calculations in the classroom
  • Provide models of sample problems and allow the students to use these models as a reference
  • Decrease the number of math problems
  • Allow the students to use graph paper rather than notebook paper
  • Provide the student with review summaries to help prepare for tests
Resource Articles To Read

ADD/ADHD resources for teachers

ADHD and Math

Examples of Accommodations and Modifications

Help your ADHD child succeed in math

Helping the student with ADHD in the classroom strategies for teacher

How to teach math to ADHD children

Math assignment accommodations 

Teaching children with ADHD: Instructional strategies and practice

Teaching math to students with ADHD

Tips to sharpen your child’s math skills

Helpful Braille Resources You Should Know About

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. Below are resources on braille information.

 

Braille Resources for Special Education Teachers

Path of Literacy Website for students who are blind and visually impaired. Includes teaching strategies on tactile production various braille designs.

Teaching Students with Visual Impairments Provides resources necessary to teach visual impaired students including teaching strategies and professional development opportunities.

Teaching Strategies

Beginning braille skills

Instructional strategies for teaching braille literacy

Teaching beginning braille reading- Some teaching strategies.

Teaching braille to young children

The following organizations focus on braille resources and information that serves children and adults with visual impairments including developing teaching materials.

Braille Authority of North America he purpose of BANA is to promote and to facilitate the uses, teaching, and production of braille. Pursuant to this purpose, BANA will promulgate rules, make interpretations, and render opinions pertaining to braille codes and guidelines for the provisions of literary and technical materials and related forms and formats of embossed materials now in existence or to be developed in the future for the use of blind persons in North America.

Braille Institute   Is a non-profit organization that offers a broad range of services serving thousands of students of all ages to empower themselves to live more enriching lives with blindness and vision loss.

National Braille Association National Braille Association, founded in 1945, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing continuing education to those who prepare braille, and to providing braille materials to persons who are visually impaired.

The following laws and regulations authorize the provision of library services to people who are blind, visually impaired or have a physical disability:

Act of March 3, 1931 Authorization of the Library of Congress to provide books for the use of adult blind residents of the United States.

Public Law 89-522 Amends the Acts of March 3, 1981 and October 9, 1962 relating to the furnishing of books and other material to the blind.

U.S. Code Sec. 135a– Authorizes books and sound reproduction records for blind and others with physical disabilities.

Title 36, Code of federal Regulations, 701.10 Provides books in raised characters (braille) on sound reproduction recordings or in any form.

Workplace

The American Disability Act (ADA) requirements for effective communication in the workplace to provide accommodations for people with visual impairments are able to communicate with people effectively.

  • For people who are blind, have vision loss, or are deaf-blind, this includes providing a qualified reader; information in large print, Braille, or electronically for use with a computer screen-reading program; or an audio recording of printed information. A “qualified” reader means someone who is able to read effectively, accurately, and impartially, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
  • For people who are deaf, have hearing loss, or are deaf-blind, this includes providing a qualified note taker; a qualified sign language interpreter, oral interpreter, cued-speech interpreter, or tactile interpreter; real-time captioning; written materials; or a printed script of a stock speech (such as given on a museum or historic house tour). A “qualified” interpreter means someone who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively (i.e., understanding what the person with the disability is saying) and expressively (i.e., having the skill needed to convey information back to that person) using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
  • For people who have speech disabilities, this may include providing a qualified speech-to-speech translator (a person trained to recognize unclear speech and repeat it clearly) , especially if the person will be speaking at length, such as giving testimony in court, or just taking more time to communicate with someone who uses a communication board. In some situations, keeping paper and pencil on hand so the person can write out words that staff cannot understand or simply allowing more time to communicate with someone who uses a communication board or device may provide effective communication. Staff should always listen attentively and not be afraid or embarrassed to ask the person to repeat a word or phrase they do not understand.

In addition, aids and services include a wide variety of technologies including 1) assistive listening systems and devices; 2) open captioning, closed captioning, real-time captioning, and closed caption decoders and devices; 3) telephone handset amplifiers, hearing-aid compatible telephones, text telephones (TTYs) , videophones, captioned telephones, and other voice, text, and video-based telecommunications products; 4) videotext displays; 5) screen reader software, magnification software, and optical readers; 6) video description and secondary auditory programming (SAP) devices that pick up video-described audio feeds for television programs; 7) accessibility features in electronic documents and other electronic and information technology that is accessible (either independently or through assistive technology such as screen readers) .