Review
Winter 2013
Volume 4, I ssue 2
Inclusion Collaborative
Upcoming Trainings
Upcoming IC Trainings
Inclusion Symposium: Jan. 25, March 1, March 29, April 26
CSEFEL Teaching Pyramid, Modules 1, 2, 3: Feb. 1, March 15, April 5, May 3
Adaptations in Action: Adaption Bins for Children: Feb. 12
Art in Action: March 6
Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) Teaching Pyramid,
Modules 1, 2, 3 Participants will learn how to use positive feedback and encouragement, design environment and schedules, teach social/emotional skills, develop a behavioral support plan and learn prevention strategies. Participants will make six visual supports
to foster positive behavior. To register for this training, click here.
Inclusion Symposium: The Power and Impact of Inclusion for Children Birth-5
Are you ready to develop a strong inclusive program? It takes more than one person. Build your team of teachers, administrators, parents and therapists, and find out how your team can support inclusion together. The Inclusion Symposium will examine the best practices for including children with disabilities and special needs. This training will look at different models of inclusion, effective communication strategies that promote reflective practice and learning strategies that work with children who have challenging behaviors and developmental needs. If you need help building a team, call us at (408) 453-6756. To register for this training, click here.
Adaptations in Action: Adaption Bins for Children
Learn how to use the Adaptation Bins for Children (ABC) to make easy adaptations using everyday materials for ALL students, especially students with disabilities. Gain hands-on practice making adaptations with the 23 materials in the
Adaptation Bins for Children. © To register for this training, click here.
Home for the Holidays: 12 Tips
1. Preparation makes perfect. Use calendars or visual
schedules to mark the dates of holiday events; role play
what will happen; practice asking and answering
questions; create a social story about the event or
people you’ll be meeting.
2. Decorate carefully. Prepare children by showing pictures
from previous holidays. Involve children in the
decorating. Gradually decorate the house over days or
weeks to help children get used to the change.
3. If a child obsesses about a desired gift, limit the number
of times she can mention it. Give the child five cards and
exchange one card for five minutes of talking about the
desired gift. If you have no intention of purchasing the
item, let the child know that it isn’t an option.
4. Arrange a check-in signal. During social events, check in
with children from time to time, and arrange a special
signal to get each other’s attention if needed.
5. Teach children how to leave a situation. Have a calm
space set and teach children to go to the space when
they feel overwhelmed.
6. If you are traveling for the holidays, bring favorite food,
books or toys. Having familiar items can calm a stressful
situation. Also, prepare children through social stories.
7. Know how much noise and activity your children can
tolerate. There may be some situations, like shopping in
a crowded mall that you simply avoid.
8. Practice opening gifts and taking turns. Role play getting
a gift the child does not want in order to avoid
embarrassing moments.
9. Prepare family members and guests for your children.
Help them to understand if the child prefers to be
hugged or not; provide other suggestions to facilitate a
smooth holiday season.
10. Relax and read together. Read holiday stories, sing
Christmas carols, start a story-telling tradition or listen
to audio books.
11. Don’t forget your routine. Eating well and getting
enough rest are important all year round.
12. Take care of yourself. Don’t neglect your own needs as
you care for others during the holiday season.
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Teaching Resources
Preparing Children for the Holidays The holidays are an exciting but stressful time for children and families because typical routines are disrupted. To smooth the way for the holidays, teachers can help families prepare. 1. Provide examples of social stories about the holidays.
Originally created for children with autism, social stories
help all children become familiar with something new.
Social stories describe activities, routines
or situations with pictures, words and symbols. The
story describes the steps of the activity and the
appropriate responses. Positively Autism and SET have
social stories about what to expect from Christmas.
Positively Autism also has visual supports for “Jingle
Bells” and “The First Noel.” Santa America’s autism
resource pack includes a social story about visiting
Santa. Gateways and Suncastletech have some great
social stories and visual supports for Hanukkah. Since
the holidays often involve travel, Autism for Us has
pictures of transportation for families to prepare a child
for a holiday trip. Families can edit any of these stories
to suite their own traditions.
2. Remind parents about the importance of schedules.
Though it is tempting to abandon schedules when
school is out, kids benefit from consistent routines.
Parents can create daily or weekly visual schedules for
home to help children understand what to expect during
the holidays. CHART and My Name is Snickerdoodle
have daily and weekly home schedule examples.
3. Suggest that parents look at Parents Helping Parents
Thriving and Surviving the Holidays Powerpoint which
encourages realistic expectations.
4. Notify parents about respite events and community
center activities that could give them a break. Local
churches host free respite for families of children with
special needs. Families can use the free time to shop or
to take care of their own needs. Cathedral of Faith has
respite on Dec. 13, 6:30-9:30. Calvary Church has respite
on Dec. 14 from 10:00-2:00. Mayfair Community Center
offers Winter Fun for Children with Special Needs, Ages 6-12 on
Dec. 23. For more information, contact Liz Best.
Most of all, remind families to relax and have fun during the
holidays. It is more important to enjoy time together than to
rush through traditional holiday events.
Movies Are you looking forward to seeing the latest children’s movie, but afraid that your child will disrupt other theater goers? Are you concerned that the experience of going to the movies will be overwhelming for your child? AMC has teamed with Autism Speaks to offer sensory friendly viewings for families of children with special needs once a month. The auditoriums dedicated to the program have their lights up and the sound turned down. Audience members can bring their own snack and are allowed to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing! In the Bay Area, theaters that show sensory friendly films are the AMC Cupertino Square 16 in Cupertino and the AMC Mercado 20 in Sunnyvale. Check Sensory Friendly Films for information about the next showings.
Inclusion e-News Page 3 of 5
Community Activities
Baseball Sign Ups
For many kids, January is the time to sign up for Little League baseball. Little League is a strong American tradition that kids with disabilities sometimes miss out on. Many kids with disabilities will do just fine on a regular team with some support such as visual aids. To make sure that all kids have the opportunity to participate in baseball, however, Little League has a Challenger Division specifically for kids 5 -18 who have a physical or intellectual disability. The Challenger Division was founded in 1989 and includes more than 30,000 players worldwide. Challenger games can be played as t-ball games, coach pitch, player pitch or a combination of the three. The teams generally practice once a week and have one game on the weekends. The Challenger division encourages the use of “buddies” to assist the Challenger players on the field and encourage the players to make plays independently whenever possible. There is a small fee to defray costs of Challenger Baseball, but waivers are available and no child will be denied the opportunity to play. Don’t miss out. The Bay Area has a number of Challenger teams: Quito Little League, Moreland Little League, Cambrian Little League, Almaden Little League , Oakridge Little League, Sunnyvale Southern Little League, Palo Alto Little League , San Jose American Little League, Evergreen Little League and Los Gatos Little League. If your child’s regular or Challenger team would benefit from a social story that explains sportsmanship or baseball, contact the Warm Line.
Golden Bell Award
The California School Boards Association (CSBA) selected the Inclusion Collaborative as one of the 2013 recipients of the prestigious Golden Bell Award. This award recognizes public school programs that focus on meeting the needs of all students, are innovative and sustainable, and have made a demonstrated difference in the classroom. The Inclusion Collaborative’s entry, All Children Learning and Playing Together, highlighted its long-term objective of removing the many barriers that prevent children with disabilities from being included in high-quality learning environments. Since 2004, the Inclusion Collaborative has supported community programs, schools and districts in the creation and implementation of inclusion models and provided professional development and on-site coaching so that teachers and staff feel confident instructing in inclusive classrooms. An 11-member judging panel made up of experts from school districts and county offices of education reviewed all written entries and made initial recommendations for awards. Finalists were assessed through an on-site visit, evaluating the programs in action. Janice Battaglia, the Inclusion Collaborative Manager, along with board members, chief officers and directors, attended the 2013 CSBA’s Annual Education Conference in San Diego to receive the award. (Included in the photo below from left to right: standing-Cecilio Dimas, Melissa Christi, Janice Battaglia: sitting-Mary Ann Dewan, Angelica Ramsey, Grace Mah, Darcie Green and Lisa Kaufman)
Two Research Opportunities
The Stanford Brain Project is looking for children to
participate in research that will help us understand
different disabilities.
First, The Stanford Brain Development Project is
searching for children who are typically developing and
children (ages 7 – 12) with high functioning autism or
Asperger’s Syndrome for a study about how the brain
processes social, auditory and mathematical information.
Participants will come for 3-6 visits, including
assessments and an MRI scan, and will receive $50-$200
for their participation. For information, contact the Brain
Development Project.
Second, the Stanford Math Brain Project is looking
for 2nd and 3rd grade children with Math Difficulties
who do not have reading or attention difficulties.
This project will help researchers understand math
skill development and how the brain changes with
math learning.
Eligible participants will receive $200 in the first year
for completing educational testing, two MRI brain
scans, and tutoring. Participants will receive
individual tutoring on understanding basic number
skills. The tutoring involves a series of math games
for one hour, 3 days a week for 4 weeks, at Stanford
or at a public library. Participants will also get a
picture of their brain from the MRI scan. For more
information, contact the Brain Development Project.
Third, researchers are looking for children 18 months-6
years old for An Evaluation of a Developmentally-Based
Parent Training Program for Children With Autism in
order to assess the efficacy of a parent training program
in the treatment of social and communication deficits in
children with autism.
Disability in the News!
Page 4 of 5 Inclusion e-News
Parenting Programs in Santa Clara County Santa Clara County is fortunately to have a variety of parent trainings that vary in intensity and focus. Everyone can use a little help, so encourage parent to use these opportunities.
CSEFEL: Positive Behavior Supports for Families: The
Inclusion Collaborative is just finishing their first
CSEFEL parent training. The Center on the Social and
Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)
out of Vanderbilt University disseminates evidence-
based practices to early childhood programs. For
years, the Inclusion Collaborative has taught “CSEFEL
Supporting Positive Behaviors in the Classroom” to
preschool teachers. We now offer the parent training
to encourage teachers and parents to use similar
strategies to support positive behavior. This class not
only teaches parenting strategies but also includes
creating visual supports that can be used at home
immediately.
Parent Engagement Conference Series: The Santa
Clara County Office of Education offers parent
trainings through parent leaders in school districts.
The trainings engage parents in classrooms and
schools in order to foster academic development.
Triple P: Positive Parenting Program: First 5 of Santa
Clara has ensured that Triple P is available on some
level to all parents in Santa Clara County. Triple P
offers five levels of intervention for children 0-16,
a media awareness strategy to Level for high
need individual intervention. Triple P also offers
a program specifically for Children with Special
Needs called Stepping Stones.
For more information about any of these, contact
the Warm Line.
Books
The holidays are a good time to consider children’s books as gifts. If you are looking for well-written books about disabilities, you might consider the winners of the Schneider Family Book Awards, which honor authors or illustrators for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. In 2013, the award winners are:
For ages 0-8: Back to Front and Upside Down! written and illustrated by Claire Alexander. Stan is excited about making a birthday card for his principal until he discovers that he has to write a message. For him, letters come out back to front and upside down. Stan learns that asking for help, a little coaching, and a lot of practice make for success.
For ages 9-13: A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean. A year after her mother’s death, Cally has stopped speaking. When her family moves, Cally meets 11--year-old, Sam who is deaf and blind. Through her friendship with Sam and the mysterious appearance of a dog, Cally finds her voice. Cally and Sam demonstrate that communication can take a number of different formats.
For ages 14-18: Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis. Ben, who joined the army after high school, suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI), resulting in memory loss and other disabilities. His 15-year-old brother who has autism becomes a critical catalyst to Ben’s recovery.
Family Resources
Page 5 of 5 Inclusion e-News
Inclusion e-News is a quarterly newsletter of the Inclusion Collaborative, Santa Clara County Office of Education, 1290 Ridder Park Drive, MC 227, San Jose, CA 95131-2304 , Tel: (408) 453-6651, Fax: (408) 453-6596, www.inclusioncollaborative.org
County Board of Education: Leon F. Beauchman, Michael Chang, Joseph Di Salvo, Darcie Green, Julia Hover-Smoot, Grace H. Mah, Anna Song County Superintendent of Schools: Xavier De La Torre, Ed. D.
WARMENHOVEN INSTITUTE FOR
INCLUSION