| September 30, 2011 - News,
Articles, Resources and More from PediaStaff |
 |
It's All About the Choices!
Hello and Welcome to our September Monthly Newsletter, chock full
of articles, news, and resources for pediatric and school-based
SLPs, OT, PTs, and School Psychologists. Have a great
weekend and enjoy!
News Items:
- Research: Increasing Investment In Early Childhood Development
Programs Is Highly Cost-Effective
- Combining CBT With Medication For Childhood OCD Improves Symptoms
- A Sensory Lab in the News
- Children with Autism Benefit from Early, Intensive Therapy
- Interview with Maurice Sendak: 'Children's Books Aren't Wild
Enough'
- New Brain Imaging Study Suggests Dyslexia Independent of IQ
- Discounts for Friends of PediaStaff on CEUs, Books and More!
Tips, Activities and Resources:
- Make a Plastic Face Toy from Recycled Materials
· Skills
and Relationship to School Performance
- Pinterest
Therapy Resource of the Week: Kids Learning Station / All Kids
Network
Articles and Blogs
- SLP Corner: Targeting Speech Sound Disorder Through Phonological
Awareness Intervention
- PT Corner: Musculoskeletal Disorders in Down Syndrome
- OT Corner: Choosing a Therapist for Hippotherapy
- Pediatric Therapy Corner: The Top 10 "Do's and Don'ts"
of Providing Therapy in the Home
- Focus on Bilingualism: Why Conceptual Scoring?
- Guest Blog: Achieving Everyday Milestones - Potty Training
- Guest Blog: Autism on the Playground: Lessons from the Parenthood
Episode
- Worth Repeating: The Developmental Stages of Humor
- Also Worth Repeating: Expert Offers Ways to Distinguish Between
Picky Eating and a Pediatric Feeding Disorder
Please note: Much of our content here is provided by wonderful
contributing authors and organizations. Please support our contributors
and visit their websites. Links and bios are featured on each article!
Have a great weekend and see you next month!
Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team
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The Career Center
The links to the right are "live" and reflect all
open jobs with PediaStaff. To further narrow your search
by state use the drop down menus on the search page to select
a specific state. If a particular search is returning
no hits it is  possible
that we do not currently have openings
for you in that state.
If any of your information (geographic, population or setting
preference) has changed since we've last spoken, please let
us know. See an opening that interests you?
Just apply to that job and one of our staff will contact you
right away.
Remember, one of the things that makes PediaStaff unique
is that we will actively "market" your skills
to prospective employers of pediatric and school based therapists,
so if you don't see a position that interests you make sure
you let us know what you are looking for. |
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Early
Childhood Programs in the News: Raising Investment
In Early Childhood Development Programs Is A Highly Cost-Effective
Strategy Research Shows |
[Source: Medical News Today]
According to new research, raising investment in early childhood
development programs is a highly cost-effective strategy,
potentially providing considerable returns, promoting long-term
growth and significantly reducing inequalities in low and
middle-income countries.
According to Patrice Engle from California Polytechnic State
University in California, USA, who is one of the lead authors
of a new Series on child development, published Online First
in The Lancet:
"The estimated benefit of investment in improving just
one component of early childhood development, preschool enrolment,
suggests that increasing preschool attendance to 25% could
generate US$10.6 billion while a 50% increase could generate
US$33.7 billion, with a benefit-to-cost ratio estimated to
range from 6.4 to 17.6 (depending on the projected percentage
of children attending preschool, 25% or 50%)"*.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Pediatric
Psychology in the News - Combining CBT With Medication
For Childhood OCD Improves Symptoms |
[Source: Medical News Today]
A report in the September 21 issue of JAMA suggests that,
children and teens who have obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD) who received some benefit from therapy with medication
had a considerably larger reduction in OCD symptoms when treatment
was combined with cognitive behavior therapy.
According to background data in the report:
"Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects up to 1 in 50
people, is evident across development, and is associated with
substantial dysfunction and psychiatric comorbidity. Randomized
controlled trial findings support the efficacy of pharmacotherapy
with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs), cognitive
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Sensory
Processing in the News: How a Sensory Lab Helps Elementary
Students Learn |
Thanks to our friends at Your
Therapy Source for the Heads up on this article!
[Source: mlive.com/Grand
Rapids Press]
Tiffany Warren sunk deep into a pit of colorful plastic balls
like a warm bubble bath. Across the room, a trio of boys jumped
on an inner-tube. Another fourth-grader swayed on a platform
swing.
To most, it looked like these Shawmut Hills Elementary students
were just having fun in a cool indoor playground. But they
weren't playing with toys - there were tools to enhance their
ability to learn.
The new Sensory Lab, courtesy of a $40,000 Meijer Good School
grant, contains specific types of equipment and material aimed
at sensory development. Typically, such labs or rooms are
associated with special needs students, but educators and
occupational therapists say they benefit all students.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on Our Blog |
Autism
in the News: Children With Autism Benefit from Early,
Intensive Therapy |
[Source: Science Daily]
A primary characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
is impairments in social-communication skills. Children and
adolescents with social-communication problems face difficulty
understanding, interacting and relating with others. University
of Missouri researchers found that children who receive more
intensive therapy to combat these impairments, especially
at early ages, achieve the best outcomes.
Data was collected from more than 1,000 children and adolescents
with ASD. The researchers measured fifteen social-communication
skills, including facial expressions, gestures, language comprehension,
sharing enjoyment and appropriate social responses.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Literacy
in the News: Interview with Maurice Sendak: 'Children's
Books Aren't Wild Enough' |
[Source: The Guardian]
Author of Where the Wild Things Are says he's observed 'a
going back to childhood innocence that I never quite believed
in'
Children's books today are too safe, according to Maurice
Sendak, author of the classic picture book about childhood
rebellion, Where the Wild Things Are.
Speaking to the New York Times, Sendak said that modern children's
books are not always "truthful or faithful to what's
going on with children".
"If there's anything missing that I've observed over
the decades it's that that drive has declined," said
the 83-year-old author, who admitted that he "hadn't
kept abreast" of children's books and didn't see that
many. "There's a certain passivity, a going back to childhood
innocence that I never quite believed in. We remembered childhood
as a very passionate, upsetting, silly, comic business."
Max, the wolf-suited star of Where the Wild Things Are, "was
a little beast, and we're all little beasts", Sendak
said.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Dyslexia
in the News: New Brain Imaging Study Suggests Dyslexia
Independent of IQ |
[Source: MIT News via Reading Rockets]
Brain-imaging study suggests that reading difficulties are
the same regardless of overall intelligence - and that more
children could benefit from support in school.
About 5 to 10 percent of American children are diagnosed as
dyslexic. Historically, the label has been assigned to kids
who are bright, even verbally articulate, but who struggle
with reading - in short, whose high IQs mismatch their low
reading scores. On the other hand, reading troubles in children
with low IQs have traditionally been considered a byproduct
of their general cognitive limitations, not a reading disorder
in particular.
Now, a new brain-imaging study challenges this understanding
of dyslexia. "We found that children who are poor readers
have the same brain difficulty in processing the sounds of
language whether they have a high or low IQ," says John
D. E. Gabrieli, MIT's Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences
and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience, who performed the
study with Fumiko Hoeft and colleagues at the Stanford University
School of Medicine; Charles Hulme at York University in the
U.K.; and Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, also at MIT. "Reading
difficulty is independent of other cognitive abilities."
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Teen
Psychology in the News: National Geographic Feature
Article on the Teenage Brain |
[Source: National Geographic]
Moody. Impulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way
they do? Viewed through the eyes of evolution, their most
exasperating traits may be the key to success as adults.
Although you know your teenager takes some chances, it can
be a shock to hear about them.
One fine May morning not long ago my oldest son, 17 at the
time, phoned to tell me that he had just spent a couple hours
at the state police barracks. Apparently he had been driving
"a little fast." What, I asked, was "a little
fast"? Turns out this product of my genes and loving
care, the boy-man I had swaddled, coddled, cooed at, and then
pushed and pulled to the brink of manhood, had been flying
down the highway at 113 miles an hour.
"That's more than a little fast," I said.
He agreed. In fact, he sounded somber and contrite. He did
not object when I told him he'd have to pay the fines and
probably for a lawyer. He did not argue when I pointed out
that if anything happens at that speed-a dog in the road,
a blown tire, a sneeze-he dies. He was in fact almost irritatingly
reasonable. He even proffered that the cop did the right thing
in stopping him, for, as he put it, "We can't all go
around doing 113."
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Special
Discount Just for Friends of PediaStaff : CEUs,
Books, DVDs and More! |
Jolene Fernald, PediaStaff's own SLP Clinical Coordinator
is doing a series of on-demand webinars on Selective Mutism
for OT-Advantage.
The first one is titled: "Assessment and Treatment
of Children with Selective Mutism," is self-paced, 2.5
hours, and is offered for .25 AOTA CEUs. The first
50 folks who redeem the coupon code below get a $20.00 discount
off the course which is regularly priced at $45.00.
A second course for parents, called "Selective Mutism:
Your Guide to Understanding a Child with SM," is also
available. A third will be offered later in the year
called: Documentation, Advocacy, and Communication for
Childhood Anxiety.
The second discount is from our friends at the Future
Horizons, online Autism Bookstore - a leader in books,
DVDs and conferences on Austism and Asperger's Syndrome.
All purchases that you make on their site with the special
PediaStaff coupon code will give you FREE Shipping and an
additional 15% off!
Access
the Coupon Codes for Both Promotions on our Blog |
Therapy
Activity/Resource of the Week: Make a Plastic Face
Toy from Recycled Materials |
It is easy to make a plastic face out of laundry detergent
bottles. Young children learn about facial features as they
attach eyes, nose and mouth with Velcro. Large holes at the
top help children develop eye-hand coordination as they make
hair. Earrings made out of shower curtain rings add the final
touch. Show your child or therapy client how much fun it is
to create something out of nothing!
Watch
a Video Demo of this Craft on our Blog |
Pinterest
Therapy Resource of the Week: Kids Learning Station
/ All Kids Network |
Thanks to our Pinterest
follower @nohomii
for the lead on our Pinterest
Resource of the Week, Kid's Learning Station and the All Kid's
Network!
The sites feature worksheets and activities for fine motor
work, word work, language, phonics, visual perception, sequencing,
sorting, matching, handwriting, pre-handwriting, themed and
holiday crafts, and more!
Check
out this Great Site Through a Link on our Blog |
Speech Language Pathology Corner: Targeting
Speech Sound Disorder Through Phonological Awareness Intervention |
By: Yvonne Wren, PhD, CertMRCSLT, Senior Research Speech
& Language Therapist, Frenchay Speech & Language Therapy
Research Unit, Bristol, UK.
Introduction
Many approaches to intervention exist for speech sound disorder
(SSD). One such approach is phonological awareness intervention.
This article describes what we mean by phonological awareness
and how it is used in intervention for children with SSD.
In addition it refers to the evidence which supports the use
of phonological awareness intervention with some types of
children with SSD and concludes with a case study of a child
who received input based phonological awareness intervention
using clinician controlled computer software.
What is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate
sounds in spoken words and is widely recognised as a key skill
required for developing literacy skills (Gillon, 2004; Wagner
& Torgeson, 1987;
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
PT Corner: Musculoskeletal Disorders
in Down Syndrome |
By: Len Leshin, MD, FAAP
Almost all of the conditions that effect the bones and joints
of people with Down syndrome arise from the abnormal collagen
found in Down syndrome. Collagen is the major protein that
makes up ligaments, tendons, cartilage, bone and the support
structure of the skin. One of the types of collagen (type
VI) is encoded by a gene found on the 21st chromosome. The
resulting effect in people with DS is increased laxity, or
looseness, of the ligaments that attach bone to bone and muscle
to bone. The combination of this ligamentous laxity and low
muscle tone contribute to orthopedic problems in people with
Down syndrome. While these conditions are more common in people
with DS than in the general population, it is worthwhile to
note that the majority of people with DS will not have any
of the disorders I'm discussing in this essay.
In this essay, I'll discuss conditions categorized by body
sections.
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
OT Corner: Choosing a Therapist
for Hippotherapy |
By: Barbara Smith, OTR/L
Hippotherapy is a treatment strategy that utilizes equine
movement and indeed the entire equine environment to achieve
functional outcomes such as increasing bilateral hand skills,
sitting balance or vocalizations. It is used by registered
occupational (OT), physical (PT) therapists and speech-language
pathologists (SLP) who may also have specific hippotherapy
credentials depending on any given facility's requirements.
Although hippotherapy is an increasingly popular area of specialization,
there are a limited number of facilities and experienced therapists
available.
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
Pediatric Therapy Corner: The Top
10 "Do's and Don'ts" of Providing Therapy in the
Home |
By: Jena H. Casbon, MS CCC-SLP and Sarah Castro, MSPT
For many speech, occupational and physical therapy providers,
conducting treatment sessions in patient's homes is part of
their daily routine. Whether you are an Early Intervention
or homecare provider or work in private practice, there are
unique opportunities and challenges that arise from working
in the home setting. Because most in home therapy providers
often work independently, there can be questions about what
to do (or not do) in various situations. While the clinical
aspects of working in the home setting are often clear cut,
some of the social aspects can be a bit unclear and ambiguous.
The following list of "do's and don'ts" to consider
is a collaboration between a Physical Therapist working in
Early Intervention and Speech-Language Pathologist working
in private practice.
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
Focus on Bilingualism: Why Conceptual
Scoring? |
By: Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Alejandro
Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Understanding the whole language system of children who understand
and speak two languages is a challenge for a number of reasons.
First, we cannot get the whole picture by looking at only
one language. Second, every bilingual has a unique profile
of proficiency levels in their two languages and strengths
in different topic areas. Third, the children who make up
the normative samples for English tests are overwhelmingly
if not completely monolingual. Conceptual scoring is an approach
that allows evaluators a view of the language system as a
whole, rather than two separate systems (Kester & Peña,
2002; Pearson, Fernandez, & Oller, 1992, 1993).
Why we cannot get the whole picture through one language
A number of studies have demonstrated that bilingual children
understand and use different vocabulary and concepts in each
language. This is a result of their different experiences
in their two languages. It
Read
the Rest of this Article Online on our Blog |
Guest Blogs This Week: Enabled
Kids, SLC Therapy |
Achieving Everyday Milestones - Potty Training:
By: Natan Gendelman
For any child, development is a gradual process that happens
step-by-step. Every action that a child learns builds on the
one before it, and a child will start to apply these skills
as he slowly interacts with his surroundings and discovers
the world around him. For a child with Down syndrome, this
is no exception since the severity of each child's condition
will vary from case to case.
What we need to keep in mind is that every child is unique,
with his own set of strengths and areas for improvement. Therefore,
what will play a key role in his development is our approach,
and our ability to recognize the potential of what a child
is able to achieve. By addressing his individual needs, we
can then successfully guide him to reach everyday milestones.
This is how we can help a child reach independent function,
and develop to the best of his abilities.
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
Autism on the Playground: Lessons from the Parenthood
Episode: By: Landria Seals Green, M.A.., CCC-SLP
This week was the season premiere of one of the shows I have
a like/love relationship with: Parenthood on ABC. My love
relationship is because its good TV. My like relationship
is because I can't stop being a therapist when I watch it.
So true to form, I must provide lessons and strategies for
playground success.
Truth be told it is a challenge for the person with social
language deficits (whether its ADD, ADHD, Autism, Aspergers)
to navigate the unwritten rules of the playground. More than
that, therapists/coaches/psychologists teaching social skills
groups must think about HOW they are teaching these skills.
As a parent reading this, you would probably be shocked at
how many hands do
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
Worth Repeating: The Developmental
Stages of Humor |
By: Danette Schott, M.A.
[Source: Social-Other-School]
Many children with special needs have problems with friendships.
The problems can surround not understanding nonverbal communication,
to not being able to identify emotions, to confusion over
humor and more. One thing we know for sure is that a life
without friendships and human connections is a very lonely
life.
Humor is something that can bring two people together. Laughter
signifies that people are having fun and is good for a healthy
relationship. Sharing jokes and funny stories provides a connection
between two people.
Read
the Full Text of This Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Also Worth Repeating: Expert Offers
Ways to Distinguish Between Picky Eating and a Pediatric Feeding
Disorder |
Source: Kennedy Krieger Institute and Newswise
Catering to a child who is a picky eater is like being a short-order
cook: chaotic. Dinnertime becomes a war zone, leading to hopeless
battles fought over vegetables and macaroni and cheese.
Picky eating is as normal as potty-training, a right of passage
in childhood development. Taste buds evolve and food preferences
expand in these early years. Even the best of parents can
have a difficult time getting their child to eat. In fact,
picky eating is one of the most common occurrences in children,
often outgrown as the child reaches adolescence. But if eating
behavior inhibits normal developmental and physical growth
processes, it could be something much more severe - a pediatric
feeding disorder.
"The difference between a fussy eater and a child with
a feeding disorder is the impact the eating behavior has on
a child's physical and mental health," Peter Girolami,
Ph.D., Clinical Director of the Pediatric Feeding Disorders
Program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland
- a leading program that was one the first of its kind in
the United States and the largest in the world to treat pediatric
feeding disorders.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
The
PediaStaff Website - is "Not Just for Job Searching
Anymore" |
If you haven't been to the our website lately you are in
for a treat. Not only have we completely redesigned
it and added a whole lot of great information about our company,
services and philosophy but we are stuffing it jam packed
with fantastic pediatric and school based therapy resources
for you and your staff to use everyday.
There you will find links to resources, organizations and
websites on topics in pediatric speech, occupational and physical
therapy including dozens of articles and videos. Topics
are organized by therapy discipline and include Stuttering,
Bilingualism, Autism, Down Syndrome, Pediatric Stroke,
Oral Motor Issues, Speech Language Delay and much more.
All articles and videos are resident on our site. No
abstracts, no fees.
We hope you enjoy it! It is still very much a work in
progress, but we think there is enough there to suggest that
you check it out at your earliest convenience.
Visit
our Resources Pages |
Subscribe To Our Newsletter Or Sign Up A
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| September 26, 2011 - Strategies
to Reduce Bullying and Social Aggression |
Michael Dreiblatt of Balance Educational Services,
LLC
Invites You To Join a Presentation On:
Strategies to Reduce Bullying and Social Aggression
90 MINUTE AUDIO CONFERENCE | November 2, 2011
1 pm ET / 12 pm CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT
Take advantage of this speaker invitation and save up to
$34!
Benefits
Increasingly, educators, health professionals, parents and lawmakers
realize the seriousness of bullying, cyber bullying and social aggression
in school. Certain state laws and regulations now hold schools personally
responsible for the effects of bullying, including cyber bullying.
Whether your school plans to implement one or more bullying prevention
strategies or a comprehensive bullying prevention or school improvement
initiative, there are several issues you need to know that can increase
your chances of success. This live audio conference is devoted to
learning new techniques and strategies that can dramatically reduce
the incidents of bullying, cyber bullying and social aggression
in your school right away.
Learning Objectives:
You will be able to identify the common traits of bulllies.
You will be able to recognize teasing vs. taunting.
You will be able to discuss strategies to stop bullying.
View
Complete Agenda
Who Should Attend
This live audio conference is designed for teachers, administrators,
counselors, psychologists, social workers, instructional aides,
law enforcement officials and parents.
Faculty
Michael Dreiblatt, Balance Educational Services, LLC
|
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Please provide the attendees name, company, address, phone number
and email address.
Your priority code is: 15888
Product ID: 388618
Discount code: F2716129
Cancellations: Substitute registrants can be named
at any time. A full refund, less a $20 service charge, will be given
if notification is given six or more business days in advance. Notification
of less than six business days will result in a credit that can
be applied to any Lorman products or services. If you do not cancel
or attend, you are responsible for the entire payment.
This audio conference will be recorded. Your registration constitutes
your consent to such recording.
Lorman Education Services | 2510 Alpine Rd. | Eau Claire, WI | 54703
Please mail registration and payments to: Dept 5382, PO Box 2933,
Milwaukee, WI 53201-2933.
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| September 26, 2011 - EdConnection
- Weekly Update from Stan W. Heffner, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Sept. 26, 2011 |
|
Sept. 26, 2011
Good afternoon:
I was gratified to learn last week that Ohio is one of 20 states
selected to help develop Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
for our nation’s students. ODE actively sought this national
leadership opportunity, bolstered by Ohio’s upgrade of science
standards that are distinguished for their focus on college and
career readiness. I thank all Ohio educators and content experts
who helped us revise the old standards and who will continue to
advise us as we help improve science standards and promote college
and career readiness nationally. I will keep you informed of our
NGSS work as it progresses.
Speaking of college and career readiness, a few days ago I made
a visit to Dayton Early College Academy (DECA). The school focuses
on preparing urban students for college, and it can boast that 100
percent of its students seek post-secondary degrees. As Ohio moves
into national leadership in science education and college and career
readiness, I am happy that schools like DECA maintain this critical
focus.
Last week President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan announced
methods that states could use to seek various waivers from provisions
of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Any requested waiver must
address state and local reforms related to improving students’
transitions from high school to college or career choices, developing
systems of differentiated accountability and evaluating teacher
and principal effectiveness. We will be studying the waiver criteria
that have just been announced, and I will continue to communicate
to you the waiver options we are considering.
Thanks for your hard work in service to Ohio’s children.
Make it a great week.
Sincerely,
Stan W. Heffner
Note: Below are news items of interest
to all superintendents and principals. Please share these items
as appropriate with other suggested educators who will benefit from
the information.
For school superintendents and treasurers
– American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds expire
this Friday.
For curriculum directors, administrators and teachers
– Ohio to help lead effort to write new national
science standards; Credit flexibility webinar for school counselors
scheduled for Oct. 4; Cyber safety topic of Oct. 5 webinar; Region
4 Comprehensive System of Learning Supports meeting rescheduled
for Oct. 7; Northeast Ohio town hall meeting to feature students
who have overcome bullying; Superintendent Heffner makes first school
visit of the year.
For school superintendents and treasurers
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds
expire this Friday
Fiscal year 2011 ARRA grants for Title I, Homeless, Neglected, Delinquent,
School Improvement Sub A, IDEA and ECSE programs expire on Sept.
30. These funds do not have carryover provisions, so districts must
have drawn down all designated grant funds from ODE by that date.
Sept. 30 also is the deadline for district fiscal officers to submit
fiscal year 2011 final expenditure reports. For answers to questions,
call ODE’s Office of Federal Programs at (614)
466-4161 and ask to speak with your district’s designated
representative.
For curriculum directors, administrators and teachers
Ohio to help lead effort to write new national science
standards
Ohio has been selected as one of 20 states to lead the development
of the national Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The standards
will define natural science and engineering content and practices
that students must learn from kindergarten through high school graduation.
The goal is to build a strong science foundation in the nation’s
students that leads to improved college and career readiness.
Ohio will work with other lead-state partners to guide the standards-writing
process, gather and deliver feedback from each other and address
common issues and challenges. For more information visit the Next
Generation Science Standards website at http://www.nextgenscience.org/.
Credit flexibility webinar for school counselors scheduled
for Oct. 4
Representatives of the Ohio School Counselors Association and ODE
will conduct a free webinar on credit flexibility on Tuesday, Oct.
4, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. The session is suitable for both experienced
and new school counselors responsible for communicating their schools’
credit flexibility policies to students and families.
Registration is available through STARS under the topic Credit
Flexibility. To register, visit education.ohio.gov
and select the SAFE sign-in link at the top of the page.
If you do not have a SAFE account, follow the instructions to obtain
one. If you have questions, please call 1 (877) 644-6338. For more
resources on credit flexibility, click here.
Cyber safety topic of Oct. 5 webinar
Representatives of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and
eTech Ohio will present a webinar at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, on
preventing cyber bullying. The session will offer important information
for school professionals, parents and community-support personnel
on keeping students safe. The session is one of a series of webinars
being offered this school year by the Ohio Anti-Harassment, Anti-Intimidation
and Anti-Bullying (Anti-HIB) Initiative, a partnership of state
agencies. It is free and open to the first 100 participants. Registration
begins at 2:30 p.m. To register, visit ODE’s Anti-HIB
webpage. A recorded version of the webinar will be posted on the
site by the end of that day. Please direct questions to Jill Jackson
at jill.jackson@ode.state.oh.us
or (614) 466-9540.
Region 4 Comprehensive System of Learning Supports
meeting rescheduled for Oct. 7
ODE’s final regional meeting to instruct principals, administrators
and community support staff on getting conditions right for student
learning has been rescheduled. The Ohio Region 4 session now will
take place Friday, Oct. 7, from 1:30–3:30 p.m. at the Lake
County Education Service Center.
Discussions will focus on Ohio’s Comprehensive System of
Learning Supports and helping schools create positive climates for
students, families and communities. Participants should bring data
about local risk factors affecting school climate and academic performance.
Local support providers will discuss community-based services and
how to foster collaboration with the education community. Attendance
is free, but registration
is required. For more information contact Jill Jackson at jill.jackson@ode.state.oh.us
or (614) 466-9540.
Northeast Ohio town hall meeting to feature students
who have overcome bullying
The U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department
of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will host a town hall
meeting on bullying in Cleveland Oct. 20. The event will feature
students who have overcome bullying, students working to end bullying
in their schools and experts offering advice on how to end the problem.
School administrators, teachers and middle- and high-school students
are encouraged to attend. The town hall meeting will be from 1 –
2 p.m. at the studios of WVIZ/Ideastream, 1375 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland.
The studio also is offering schools remote access to the session
as viewers only. Schools planning to send groups should RSVP by
Oct. 13 to Jena Suhadolnik, at (216)
622-3695 or jena.suhadolnik@usdoj.gov.
To register for remote connection, please contact John R. Ramicone
at (216) 916-6360 or jramicone@ideastream.org.
Remote viewers will connect at www.wviz.org/distance.
Superintendent
Heffner makes first school visit of the year |
|
State Superintendent Stan Heffner visits with students at
Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), a charter college prep
school that offers its students personalized curricula.
“Curriculum imparts knowledge and interests that form
the foundation of satisfying adult lives,” he said.
“It is rewarding to see young people understanding and
pursuing this.”
The grades-7-13 institution creates a culture of achievement
for students who will be the first in their families to attend
college. |
ODE is interested in your thoughts about how EdConnection
fulfills your information needs. Please send any comments or
suggestions to superintendent@ode.state.oh.us.
Follow our new Facebook page for Ohio families
by clicking here.
Follow ODE’s Twitter feed by clicking here. |
|
| September 26, 2011 - NEW
FILMS ON DVD FOR EDUCATORS AND GROUPS *** First Nations Films |
|
|
FIRST NATIONS FILMS |
FOR CLASSROOM, LIBRARY, EDUCATORS |
|
www.firstnationsfilms.com |
|
 --- --- --- ----
|
|
ORDER
NOW FOR CLASSROOM, EDUCATORS, LIBRARIES |
(all films distributed on DVD
with Public Performance Rights) |
FIRST NATIONS FILMS distributes and creates
award-winning television Aboriginal documentary films and
videos for, by and about First Nations
people. Our exclusive educational native programs are shared
with schools, universities, libraries, organizations and
other groups and institutions throughout the world. Please
visit our website for a complete list and video highlights
from each film. Buy online at the website.
|
|
|
|
FIRST
NATIONS FILMS -FOR, BY AND
ABOUT First Nations people - Sharing Our
Stories!.
Through our reputation for award-winning quality,
FIRST NATIONS FILMS programs are
cherished by colleges, universities, libraries and
educators around the world.
richard@firstnationsfilms.com
or
604-318-5418.
WEBSITE - Great info on all the films, previews to
watch and easy to use and order. catalogue
PLAYABLE VIDEOS ONLINE - Watch low rez previews of
most of the films on-line. catalogue |
PREVIEW FILM |
|
PREVIEW FILM |
|
|
|
ORDER FILMS ON DVD
In Search of the Hamat'sa (dance)
Dancing on the Moon (drama)
Life on the Reserve (real stories)
Deception of Freedom (law)
Sacred Buffalo People (culture)
Venado (Deer) (survival)
The Medicine Wheel (spirituality)
Whose Land is This? (settlement)
Making Treaties (land settlement)
Role Models (inspiration)
Beat of the Drum (native music)
Native Women: Politics (history)
Reclaiming Our Children (wellness)
Residential Schools (other side)
Living in Two Worlds (old and new)
Sleep dancer (a dramatic journey)
Vanishing Links (returning)
HIV - If There's a Will ..(hiv)
Indianer (honoring First Nations)
Echoes of the Sisters (cancer)
The Storytellers (truth and honor)
The Pipe Makers (making the pipe)
Medicine People (ceremonies) |
|
|
ORDER
NOW FOR CLASSROOM, EDUCATORS, LIBRARIES
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
richard@firstnationsfilms.com or 604-318-5418 www.firstnationsfilms.com
Subscribe
| Cancel
| Update | Website |
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|
| September 22, 2011 - Gongwer
Article- School Closure Exemption |
Just to keep you informed.
This article was listed on Gongwer this morning.
SAWYER OFFERS BILLS TO ELIMINATE DROPOUT SCHOOL CLOSURE EXEMPTION,
MAKE ASSESSMENTS PUBLIC RECORD
Dropout recovery schools that have been excused from the closure laws
applied to other charters would no longer have a free pass under legislation
introduced by Sen.
Tom Sawyer (D-Akron).
Sen. Sawyer announced last week legislation (SB
219) that he said would hold the community schools accountable for
poor performance. (See Gongwer
Ohio Report, September 14, 2011)
He also has offered a bill to make elementary-level assessments public
records to help teachers evaluate their work.
Although the Ohio School Boards Association welcomed the legislation,
a charter school advocacy group said the provision discourages the establishment
of dropout schools at a time when that population is growing.
Dropout recovery charter schools are presently exempted from permanent
closure based on persistently poor report card performance because the
population served by those schools is generally considered to be behind
in their studies after leaving their home school.
Charter schools are able to opt out of closure if a majority of their
students are enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program and
if they are granted a waiver by the Department of Education. More than
25% of community schools have such waivers.
"They're simply given a waiver and with that wavier some of them
do a decent job, many of them do a miserable job, and they are held free
from accountability in terms of potential closure and that's not good
for anybody," Sen. Sawyer said in an interview.
Ron Adler, president of the Ohio Coalition for Quality Education, said
the senator has dropout problems in his district.
"At a time when Ohio is having tremendous economic problems, I think
we should think about how to open up more dropout recovery schools not
how to close them," he said.
"To have thousands of young men and women drop out every year with
no job, no education and no money is not a good recipe for the state of
Ohio. I think a fair question is why do our closure laws not apply to
all public schools."
Sen. Sawyer said, however, "those standards exist in public school
drop out prevention programs, and they are almost uniformly vastly more
successful."
Damon Asbury, OSBA director of legislative services, said the current
law illustrates how these schools, which have typically low report card
scores, are treated differently than others with similar academic performance.
"I do think that's one of the things that the public schools particularly
are concerned with is that some of the charters, some of the community
schools, are not subject to some of the same assessment rules," he
said.
"To be sure, they're dealing with a difficult-to-work-with population
and so the criteria for evaluating their success might be different, but
there needs to be assessment of those schools and their operation and
their costs and their outcomes in some way, shape or form."
Sen. Sawyer said he is not looking to require dropout recovery schools
to be held to the same standard as other charters, which are forced to
close if they show several years of failing marks.
"I think they should be judged differently," he said. "Theirs
is a different task and it's a difficult one, but as it currently stands,
they're not held to much of a standard at all."
The legislation does not prescribe the criteria for closing a dropout
school, and Mr. Sawyer said he would leave that up to debate as the bill
goes through the committee process.
"I am not under any illusion that the exemption will be eliminated
in its entirety. I think there ought to be different standards, but I
don't presume to write what those standards ought to be," he said.
Sen. Sawyer predicted either the standards would be amended into the bill
through the hearing process or the legislation would direct ODE to develop
them.
Mr. Adler said high school dropouts are a national problem. "It's
costing cities, states, municipalities untold dollars either in the correctional
facilities or in welfare payments.
"I think this is not a time to figure out how quickly we can close
up these schools. ...I fear this might be a bill that is directed more
out of political punishment than it is to help schools and to help public
education."
Elementary Assessments: Sen. Sawyer also dropped a bill that would
make elementary-level achievement assessments public records.
"What happens today is that when you do assessments, that is to say
testing, a certain fraction of the instrument is accessible to the teacher
after the fact," he said estimating it was less than 50%.
"And we just generally frown upon that kind of thing in an era of
open records."
The sponsor said a portion of the tests are kept from teachers to avoid
giving away what questions are on the exams and therefore prevent having
to create new questions each year.
He said teachers could still be provided with more information without
creating that complication.
"(We) want to preserve the integrity of test instruments ... and
so it is a representative sample of the items on a test instrument that
you make available so you don't have to reconstruct from scratch a test
instrument every year," Sen. Sawyer said.
The purpose of the bill is to eliminate what now makes educators "blind"
to the work they are doing in preparing students for the tests, he said.
"So the teacher can tell where their students are succeeding and
where they're failing, and in that way teachers and curriculum specialists
and department heads and others, can make their everything from individual
lesson plans to curricula more robust," the Democrat said.
Mr. Asbury agreed that more information could be made available.
"If you want assessment to be of value from both a formative and
a summative approach then you need to have as much access to the data
as is reasonable," he said.
"I do understand that test developers want to be able to reduce their
expenses by not having to generate new questions, but I'm sure the item
pool is large enough that they can be selected so the (student is) not
doing the same items every year."
Sarah Rogers
Government Edge, Inc.
614-228-6722
|
| September 22, 2011 - House
Gives Bipartisan Stamp of Approval to Charter Bill |
September 13, 2011
by Alyson Klein
The U.S. House of Representatives took what has become a rare step today:
It passed an education bill with broad bipartisan support.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2011/09/but_behind_the_scenes_some.html
The U.S. House of Representatives took what has become a rare step today:
It passed an education bill with broad bipartisan support. The vote, on
charter school legislation, was an overwhelming vote
of 365 to 54 —but there was still a lot of drama behind the scenes.
The measure is one of a number of small, targeted bills the House will
consider in reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
aka the No Child Left Behind Act. It would allow states to tap federal
funds to replicate charter school models that a proven track record of
success.
In the past federal charter laws were "really focused on growing
new models, and that was very appropriate when the charter movement was
getting launched," said Alice Johnson Cain, the vice-president for
external relations at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
in Washington. "Twenty years in, we have a good sense of what the
effective schools are." She said the bill would encourage "replication
and expansion of models we know work."
The bill would also encourage charter schools and traditional public schools
to learn from each other. And it would help charters gain access to high-quality
facilities; advocates say charters are often stuck in some of the least
desirable buildings. It also would encourage states to work with charters
to help serve special populations, such as students in special education.
(For more, check out this fact
sheet from the House education committee.)
The floor speeches on the bill showed a lot of bipartisan love.
"Charter schools are a valuable part of our efforts to improve the
education available to our children," U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.,
the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said
during floor debate. "I am very pleased that members of the Education
and Workforce Committee have put their differences aside and worked through
a very bipartisan process to develop an exceptional piece of legislation."
"Both sides of the aisle have strong proponents of this legislation
and of the charter school movement in this country," U.S. Rep. George
Miller, the top Democrat on the committee, said in floor debate.
But, off stage, some education advocates were anxiously watching the vote
on an amendment, introduced by U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, which would
have suspended the requirement that charter schools disaggregate their
student data. For instance, charters would not have had to show how English-language
learners, students in special education, or racial minorities were performing
compared with the rest of the students at their schools.
The amendment was ultimately defeated on a vote
of 374 to 43.
The amendment might not sound like a big deal, since it only dealt with
charters, which are a relatively small percentage of public schools. But
advocates considered it a test of what the new, much more conservative
House thinks of the disaggregation of student data, which is at the heart
of NCLB's accountability system.
Kline and Miller were united in their opposition to King's amendment.
"The King amendment would strike critical language from the underlying
legislation, and could allow charter schools to mask the achievements
of subgroups of students in order to receive federal funding," said
Kline's spokeswoman, Alexandra Sollberger, in an e-mail.
Miller circulated a letter, urging his colleagues to reject the amendment,
calling the provision "a poison pill."
A number of education organizations that supported the bill also sent
a letter
opposing the amendment.
The House also rejected, on a
vote of 220 to 195, an amendment that would have given priority to
charters that want to become "greener" in doling out school
facilities money.
Office of Community Schools
|
| September 21, 2011 - CFL
presents Free Online Webcast - Teaching with Poverty in Mind |
|
Please join us for our Free
Online Workshop Series
 |
Best-selling author
Eric Jensen
presents
Teaching
with Poverty in Mind |
Thursday, October 6
4:00 p.m. EST
CFL is very pleased to present a 60-minute
live webcast with best-selling
author Eric Jensen, Teaching With
Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to
Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About
It. In this exclusive webcast, Eric
Jensen will share key insights from
his research, including:
- Why chronic exposure to
poverty has such an adverse effect on
kids in school
- What can be done at the
district level
- How to replicate effective
strategies at your school
Mr. Jensen is the first guest speaker in
our new series of Online Workshops, Educator
Excellence in the 21st-Century Classroom.
This series of complimentary webcasts is
presented by CFL to share some of the
latest, most important instructional strategies
with teachers, administrators and curriculum
directors.
This is a free webcast, but you must
register to attend. Registration
and details are available on our Web
site. |
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| September 19, 2011 |
|
Sept. 19, 2011
Good morning:
Every once in a while, a story comes along that reminds us all
why we have dedicated our professional careers to educating young
people. One of those stories was published last week by ESPN about
the inspiring marching band at our own Ohio State School for the
Blind. I hope you will take a few minutes to read the story by sports
columnist Rick Reilly and watch the accompanying video, which is
available here.
It is truly inspiring to watch these students showcase their immense
talent in spite of obstacles many of us cannot fathom.
Thanks for your hard work in service to Ohio’s children.
Make it a great week.
Sincerely,
Stan W. Heffner
Note: Below are news items of interest
to all superintendents and principals. Please share these items
as appropriate with other suggested educators who will benefit from
the information.
For school superintendents and treasurers –
Reminder to complete ARRA program submissions.
Good news for everyone – Congratulations
to National Blue Ribbon Schools from Ohio.
For school superintendents and treasurers
Reminder to complete ARRA program submissions
The deadline to submit quarterly data to meet the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 1512 reporting requirement was last
Friday, Sept. 16. All sub-recipients of ARRA funding or the
Education Jobs (EdJobs) funding are required to complete this reporting.
This includes sub-recipients of the Education Technology ARRA, the
Homeless Assistance ARRA, Title I-A ARRA, IDEA-Part B ARRA, IDEA-Part
B Preschool ARRA, and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund as well
as the Teacher Incentive Fund, the School Improvement Grant, Race
to the Top and EdJobs funding. The quarterly ARRA 1512 reporting
is still a requirement. Submissions are on a program by program
basis and are not considered submitted until approved by the Superintendent.
If the deadline was missed, please log in to the ARRA 1512 web system
found on the SAFE
home page as soon as possible and complete the program submissions
through the status of Superintendent Approved. Any
questions can be directed to Recovery@ode.state.oh.us.
Good news for everyone
Congratulations to National Blue Ribbon Schools from
Ohio
The National Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private
elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve at high
levels or where the achievement gap is narrowing. Last week,
the U.S. Department of Education named 18 National Blue Ribbon Schools
in Ohio. Of the 304 schools designated nationally, 255 are public
and 49 are private schools. In Ohio, 13 are public and six are private.
We salute these schools for their commitment to excellence.
All of these schools will be honored at a ceremony in Washington,
D.C., on Nov. 14 and 15. The principal and a teacher will
receive a Blue Ribbon School flag and plaque. Congratulations
to the following Ohio schools:
All Saints School
Cincinnati, OH
Principal: Mr. Daniel Stringer
Cardington-Lincoln Elementary School
Cardington, OH
Principal: Mr. Scott Hardwick
Citizens Academy
Cleveland, OH
Principal: Ms. Jennifer Taylor
Kensington Intermediate School
Rocky River, OH
Principal: Mr. Todd Murphy
Kings Mills Elementary School
Kings Mills, OH
Principal: Mrs. Peggy Phillips
Lake Elementary School
Harville, OH
Principal: Ms. Donna Bruner
Maplewood Elementary School
North Bloomfield, OH
Principal: Mr. Kevin O'Connell
Putman Elementary School
Blanchester, OH
Principal: Mr. Todd Bandow
Saint Angela Merici School
Fairview Park, OH
Principal: Mrs. Denise Modic Urban
Saint Barnabas Catholic School
Northfield, OH
Principal: Ms. Kimberly Browning
St. Columban School
Loveland, OH
Principal: Mrs. Joann Rhoten
St. Francis Xavier School
Medina, OH
Principal: Sister Sandra Bevec
St. Joan of Arc School
Chagrin Falls, OH
Principal: Mrs. Shelley DiBacco
South Range High School
Canfield, OH
Principal: Mr. Stephen Rohan
Springboro High School
Springboro, OH
Principal: Dr. Ron Malone
Timmons Elementary School
Chagrin Falls, OH
Principal: Mrs. Kathleen Poe
Union Elementary School
Upper Sandusky, OH
Principal: Ms. Laurie Vent
West Boulevard Elementary School
Youngstown, OH
Principal: Mr. Alphonse Cervello
A complete list of the National Blue Ribbon schools across the
country is available here.
ODE is interested in your thoughts about how EdConnection fulfills
your information needs. Please send any comments or suggestions
to superintendent@ode.state.oh.us.
Follow our new Facebook page for Ohio families
by clicking here.
Follow ODE’s Twitter feed by clicking here. |
|
| September 16, 2011 - News,
Articles, Resources and More from PediaStaff |
|
September 16, 2011
Issue 29, Volume 5 |
It's All About the Choices!
Greetings!
Hope everyone had a great week. For those of you
in a school setting, here's hoping you are settling
in and have a terrific year. Please enjoy our
weekly newsletter!
News Items:
- Early Motor Experiences Give Infants a Social Jump
Start
- Study: Is SpongeBob Too Much for Young Minds?
- Some Pediatric Therapy Humor!
- ADHD Doubles the Risk of Injury in Grade School
Kids
- First Biologically Distinct Subtypes of Brain Development
in Autism Uncovered
- Regular 'Green Time' Is Linked to Milder Symptoms
for Kids with ADHD
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
- Pinterest
Pinboard of the Week - Therapy Activities & Resources
with Autumn & Harvest Themes
- Therapy Activities for Constitution Week
- Teaching Skills to Fasten a Belt
- The Communication Matrix
Articles and Blogs
- Guest Blog: The Psychology of Color
- Guest Blog: The Process of Articulation Therapy
- Pediatric Therapy Corner: Treatment of Hypernasality
in Children with Down Syndrome
- Worth Repeating: Dysphagia Services in Schools
- Also Worth Repeating: 56 Interesting Facts about
Left-Handedness & Left-Handed People
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our
openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered
our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below
to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered
to your Feed Reader! Don't have an RSS Feed
Reader set up? Sign up at
Feed
My Inbox and have any feed you like delivered
to your email inbox!
Have a great weekend and Take Care!
Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team
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Early
Motor Development in the
News:
Early Motor Experiences
Give Infants a Social Jump Start |
[Source: Science Daily.com]
In a new study published September
9 in the journal Developmental
Science, researchers from the
Kennedy Krieger Institute and
Vanderbilt University found that
early motor experiences can shape
infants' preferences for objects
and faces. The study findings
demonstrate that providing infants
with "sticky mittens"
to manipulate toys increases their
subsequent interest in faces,
suggesting advanced social development.
This study supports a growing
body of evidence that early motor
development and self-produced
motor experiences contribute to
infants' understanding of the
social world around them. Conversely,
this implies that when motor skills
are delayed or impaired - as in
autism - future social interactions
and development could be negatively
impacted.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
Attention in the News:
Study: Is SpongeBob
Too Much for Young Minds? |
Editor's Note:
The sample size in the following
study was quite small. That said,
that the implications are cause
for some concern or at least should
give pause.
[Source: US News and World Report
/ Health Day]
Fast-paced TV shows like "SpongeBob
SquarePants" seem to negatively
affect children's concentration
levels shortly after watching
it, while slower-paced shows don't,
a new study suggests.
"We found that young children
who had just watched 'SpongeBob
SquarePants' were handicapped
in what you could say is their
readiness for learning,"
said lead researcher Angeline
S. Lillard, a University of Virginia
psychologist.
"This included their ability
to think and concentrate,"
she said.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
Brighten Your Day With
a Smile: Pediatric
Therapy Cartoon Humor |
[Source: /Shine/Yahoo Parenting/Cathy
Thorne/Everyday People]
As seen on the Shine website
September 14, 2011
Although it was written from
the "Mom's point of view"
This cartoon is going viral through
the pediatric OT community!
Check
Out the Cartoon by Cathy Thorne
on our Blog |
ADHD in the News:
ADHD Doubles the Risk of Injury
in Grade School Kids |
[Source: Medical News Today]
Injury kills more 11-year-olds
in the United States than all
other causes combined, and a new
study from University of Alabama
at Birmingham reveals ADHD almost
doubles the risk of serious injury
among this age group.
"We found that children with
more ADHD symptoms, those in the
90th percentile, are nearly twice
as likely to get hurt as those
with symptoms in the 10th percentile,"
says David Schwebel, Ph.D., director
of the UAB Youth Safety Laboratory
and lead author. Boys, he said,
are nearly twice as likely to
be injured as girls.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
Autism in the News:
First Biologically
Distinct Subtypes of Brain Development
in Autism Uncovered |
[Source: Medical News Today]
It was announce on September
14, 2011, that the world's biggest
and most comprehensive investigation
of children with autism has uncovered
the first biologically distinct
subtypes of brain development
in the condition.
The discoveries are similar to
those of the first biological
subtypes of cancer in the 1960s,
which provided access to a better
understanding of causes and effective
treatments, cure and prevention,
in addition to huge changes in
public health polices, such as
bans on smoking and asbestos.
Over 200 biological subtypes of
cancer have since been identified,
such as breast cancer, lung cancer,
skin cancer, colorectal cancer
and prostate cancer. Like cancer,
genetics, the immune system and
the environment are believed to
be factors in causes of autism.
Read
the Rest of This Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
ADHD in the News: Regular
'Green Time' Is Linked to Milder
Symptoms for Kids with ADHD |
[Source: Science Daily]
A study of more than 400 children
diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder has found
a link between the children's
routine play settings and the
severity of their symptoms, researchers
report. Those who regularly play
in outdoor settings with lots
of green (grass and trees, for
example) have milder ADHD symptoms
than those who play indoors or
in built outdoor environments,
the researchers found. The association
holds even when the researchers
controlled for income and other
variables.
The study appears in the journal
Applied Psychology: Health and
Well-Being.
Read
the Rest of This Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
Pinterest Resource
of the Week: Therapy
Activities and Resources with
Autumn and Harvest Themes |
This week's Pinterest
Pin of the Week isn't a pin, rather
it's an entire pinboard of activities,
crafts and ideas to do with your
therapy kiddos during the autumn
and harvest season. The board
is growing daily so check back
often! Working ahead?
Check out our Halloween and Thanksgiving
Activities through the link below
as well!
Visit
our Fall & Harvest Themed
Therapy Activities Pinboard Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Therapy Ideas of the
Week: Great Ideas
for Constitution Week |
Next Week is National Constitution
Week! Engage your
kiddos during therapy with some
activities to celebrate this most
important document!
- Use the following Constitution
Day Writing Prompts to stimulate
conversation about "rights"
and how the Constitution protects
American citizens.
- Practice Fluency by printing
off and reciting the Preamble
to the Constitution;
- Practice Handwriting by Copying
the Preamble to the Constitution
or Tracing the Preamble to the
Constitution using these worksheets
generated by PediaStaff using
WorksheetWorks.
- Practice Fine Motor / Handwriting
Skills by Writing with a Feather
Find
More Ideas and Links to All of
the Activities on our Blog |
Therapy Activity of
the Week: Teaching
Skills to Fasten a Belt |
Here is a great idea from our
friend Barbara Smith, the "Recycling
Occupational Therapist"
I have been been trying to think
of an activity that would teach
the motor skills used to open
and/or close a belt. The following
idea finally came to me while
swimming laps. The pieces are
made out of detergent bottles,
so totally free and I didn't even
have to use Velcro as I thought
I might.
First I made a round cut around
a large bottle.
Then I continued trimming to
make the round shape shown in
the picture with the blue round
piece.
Cut two slits for insertion. Trim
the inserting end so that the
part inserted is a bit more narrow
than the rest. This will make
it easier to see which part gets
inserted. Detergent and dishwasher
bottles are easy to suspend and
incorporate into fine motor activities.
This
Check
out this Activity with Photos
on our Blog |
Therapist Resource
of the Week
: The
Communication Matrix: Free Online
Assessment Instrument |
The Communication Matrix is
an assessment tool designed to
pinpoint exactly how an individual
is communicating and to provide
a framework for determining logical
communication goals.
It was first published in 1990
and was revised in 1996 and 2004
by Dr. Charity Rowland of Oregon
Health & Science University.
It was designed primarily for
speech-language pathologists and
educators to use to document the
expressive communication skills
of children who have severe or
multiple disabilities, including
children with sensory, motor and
cognitive impairments.
The original version for professionals
is still available in print for
purchase in both English and Spanish
at www.designtolearn.com.
It uses a concise format that
is designed for rapid administration
by persons familiar with the assessment.
The online version is free with
registration.
Check
out the Communication Matrix Through
a link on our Blog |
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Guest
Blogs This Week: Full
Spectrum, Mommy Speech Therapy |
The Psychology of Color - By:
Pamela Ullmann, ATR-BC, LCAT
Some believe that color is a very powerful
force in our lives and can have subtle effects
on our bodies and minds. Interior designers
and artists have used color to dramatically
affect moods and feelings with their work.
Institutions such as hospitals often use soft
blues to decorate the rooms; creating a calming
environment. However, your feelings about
color can also be very personal and can be
rooted in your own experience or culture.
But there are certian characteristics and
qualities of colors that can be useful when
working with sensory sensitive children.
Color therapy or "chromotherapy"
was practiced by ancient cultures including
Egyptian and Chinese. They used color to heal
and today in holistic or alternative settings,
practitioners include it as well. Here are
some interesting characteristics:
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post on our Blog |
The Process of Articulation Therapy
- by Heidi Hanks
For those of you that have read some of my
previous posts on how to teach specific sounds
you may have noticed a pattern. That's because
when teaching kids how to say sounds there
IS a general pattern I follow even though
each specific sound changes. I wanted to outline
this for you because if you understand this
pattern, it will make teaching the sounds
so much easier!
Before I get into the details of this process,
please understand that there are many other
factors that affect speech intelligibility
such as hearing loss, apraxia, oral motor
deficits, sensory issues, and phonological
processes to name a few, but I will not be
addressing any of these here. This post is
intended to simply explain the basic structure
of articulation therapy and how you can work
with your child on their sounds.
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post on our Blog |
|
Pediatric Therapy Corner:
Treatment of Hypernasality in Children with
Down Syndrome |
by: Bridget A. Russell, Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP
Abstract:
Adenoidectomy has been reported to be a causal
factor of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI)
and associated hypernasal speech in patients
with and without palatal and oral-pharyngeal
defects. Children with Down Syndrome (DS)
often have tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
to treat otologic, upper airway and sinonasal
disease. Secondary to their altered head and
neck structures, there is an increased possibility
for VPI. Treating hypernasality may require
surgical intervention including sphincter
pharyngoplasty or pharyngeal flap, prosthetic
devices or behavioral speech therapy to improve
velar contact with posterior and lateral pharyngeal
walls. Specific speech treatment regimens
may include direct articulation-phonological
therapy, biofeedback and muscle training.
Combined surgical intervention and speech
therapy may also be implemented. The following
discussion addresses previous and current
surgical, physical and behavioral treatment
regimens to improve hypernasality in patients
with VPI.
Read
the Rest of This Article on our Blog |
Worth Repeating
- Dysphagia Services in Schools |
[Source ASHA]
Contains Practice Policies and Guidelines
for:
- Guidelines for Speech-Language Pathologists
Providing Swallowing and Feeding Services
in Schools
- Technical Report: Roles of Speech-Language
Pathologists in Swallowing and Feeding Disorders
- Position Statement: Roles of Speech-Language
Pathologists in Swallowing and Feeding Disorders
- Knowledge and Skills Needed by Speech-Language
Pathologists Providing Services to Individuals
With Swallowing and/or Feeding Disorders
- Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language
Pathologists in Schools
Read
This Article Through a Link on our Blog |
Also Worth Repeating
- 56 Interesting Facts about Left-Handedness
& Left-Handed People |
Editor's Note:
Here's something fun to share with your handwriting
kiddos or maybe even as a conversation starter
in speech therapy!
[Source: RandomHistory.com]
- Between 10-12% of people on earth are
"lefties." Women are more likely
to be right-handed than men by about 4 percentage
points.
.
- August 13th is "Left-Hander's Day."
Launched in 1992, this yearly event celebrates
left-handedness and raises awareness of
the difficulties and frustrations left-handers
experience every day in a world designed
for right-handers.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link on
our Blog |
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views and advice expressed in articles, videos
and other pieces published in this newsletter
are not necessarily the views and advice of
PediaStaff or its employees but rather that
of the author. PediaStaff is not endorsing
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|
| September 16, 2011 - Former
Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff Joins BAEO |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
BAEO |
|
|
|
Former Colorado State Senate President Peter
Groff Joins BAEO
Will spearhead outreach to elected officials and oversee
diversity initiatives
Washington, DC - Sep 16, 2011
Kenneth Campbell, president of the Black Alliance for Educational
Options (BAEO), is pleased to announce that former Obama Administration
official and respected education reform activist Peter Groff
has joined BAEO as a Senior Advisor on Legislative Outreach
and Diversity, where he will oversee legislative outreach
efforts with black elected officials and build stronger coalitions
with traditional civil rights organizations on issues related
to education reform.
Groff is a longtime veteran of the parental school choice
and education reform movements, most recently serving as President
and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Before joining the Alliance, he served nine years in the Colorado
State Legislature, first in the House, then in the Senate,
where he served as the State's first Black Senate president.
During his tenure in the Colorado State Senate, he was known
as the "conscience of the Senate," and successfully
sponsored landmark education reform legislation, including
bills that led to the creation a statewide charter school
authorizer and the Innovative school concept.
While serving in the Colorado Senate, Groff also served as
Executive Director of the Center for African-American Policy
at the University of Denver and taught public policy at the
University's school of Public Policy.
"Joining BAEO at this time will allow me to focus on
what I consider to be a critical barrier to education reform
- the fact that Black families are not keeping up with the
pace of reform or even realizing the extent to which they
are being left behind," said Groff. "At BAEO I believe
I will have the chance to focus intently on engaging the Black
community at all levels on this k-12 education crisis."
Campbell added: "An organization is only as effective
as the people who work for it. Peter Groff is one of the best
in the business. There is no doubt that changing perceptions
about education reform in the Black community is of paramount
importance, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have working
on that issue than Peter. He brings to BAEO his invaluable
legislative experience and his even more invaluable passion
for what we do. We are thrilled to have him onboard."
About BAEO
The Black Alliance for Educational Option's mission is
to increase access to high-quality educational options for
Black children by actively supporting parental choice policies
and programs that empower low-income and working-class Black
families. BAEO has been a part of successful choice efforts
in Milwaukee, WI, New Orleans, LA and Washington, D.C. among
others. The alliance has been a champion for parental choice
for more than 12 years.
Website: http://www.baeo.org
|
|
|
|
| September 16, 2011 - (OEC-LS)
Jon Peterson Scholarship Rules Public Comment,OEDS Reminder,SPP APR Brochure,VSA
Ohio,Building Blocks Family Event |
|
Office for Exceptional Children (September
2011)
|
Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Rules Available for Public
Comment
On June 30, 2011, Governor Kasich signed the state budget into law
and finalized the creation of the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship
Program. Named for special education advocate and former Representative
Jon Peterson, the program will build on the success of the Autism
Scholarship Program by providing a scholarship to any student with
special needs who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The program will be administered by ODE and is expected to begin
in the 2012-13 school year.
Click here
to view the draft rules for public comment.
The comment period for draft rules for the Jon Peterson Special
Needs Scholarship Program is ten days. Feedback and comments may
be entered in the form linked to below until September 26,
2011. If you have comments on multiple sections, please sub mit
them separately using the dropdown menu.
Click here
to access the comment form.
Reminder: OEDS - Special Education Contact
The Office for Exceptional maintains a list of special education
contacts for LEAs by extracting the information from the Ohio Educational
Directory System (OEDS).
To assist us in providing timely and accurate information to each
LEA, the role, “special education contact,” is in OEDS.
Each LEA must identify the "special education contact"
for the LEA in OEDS. Although this person is most likely to be considered
to be a district’s “special education director, his/her
title may not be "special education director." Each LEA
should identify the "point person" for the special education
program in each district. The OEDs Organization Administrator at
the LEA must add information about its special education contact,
either adding a role to person who already is reported in OEDS or
adding the person and the role to OEDS. Information regarding adding
roles can be found on page 75 of the OEDS-R
Desk Guide.
OSEP Document Explains State Performance Plan and Annual Performance
Report
OSEP has developed a document for the general public, including
parents, to explain the SPP/APR process. Here is a link to the website
where you can download the document: http://therightidea.tadnet.org/assets/708.
Very Special Arts (VSA) Ohio
Adaptation, Integration and the Arts (AIA)
VSA Ohio is pleased to present this arts-integrated residency program
in the 2011 - 2012 school year. Funded by the Ohio Department of
Education, AIA provides opportunities for complete and accessible
education opportunities to classrooms inclusive of students with
and without disabilities. Teaching artists will work with educators
to integrate the arts into other subject areas to enhance teaching
and learning. Applications for Classroom participation and
Teaching Artists to support the program are now being accepted.
All applications should be returned to VSA Ohio via mail or email.
For more information or a Word version of the application contact
Erin Hoppe.
Call
for Classrooms - deadline October 1
To be considered for this creative (and free) learning opportunity
in your public school, complete the application by clicking the
link above.
Dancing
with Difference: A Professional Development Seminar for Educators
and Dancers
Thursday, September 29, 3:00 - 7:00 pm
During this participatory workshop, we will explore movement experiences
that are accessible to students with a range of physical and cognitive
abilities. Drawing on her training in Contact Improvisation, Body-Mind
Centering and other somatic techniques, facilitator Ann Cooper Albright
will introduce participants to both the ideas and skills that will
enable them to engage student learning through the immediacy of
the body. This workshop will also include information about the
Ohio Department of Education's Ohio Fine Arts Academic Content Standards
for Dance and strategies for integration and inclusion of all learners.
Presented in partnership with OhioDance
and sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education.
Location: Vern Riffe Center for Government at the Arts, 77 S. High
Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Click the link above to download the registration form; send information
to VSAO (space is limited).
Building Blocks for a Brighter Future--September 24, 2011
The fifth annual Building Blocks for a Brighter Future is a half
day of workshops and activities for families with blind or visually
impaired children. The American Council of the Blind of Ohio
and The Ohio Lions Foundation invite you to come to the Ohio State
School for the Blind, 5220 N. High St. in Columbus on September
24, 2011. Sign-in and exhibits begin at 12:30 p.m. The
program begins at 1:00 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.
Keynote speakers are Tiffany Wild, Ph.D. from the Ohio State
University, and Tara McCarthy, TVI. Colleen Miller, formerly State
Coordinator, OCECD, will explain how to navigate the educational
system for children with disabilities. Kay Clarke, TVI and Orientation
and Mobility Specialist, will present her popular session, “Little
Movers and Shakers.” All afternoon, there will be hands-on
demonstrations of technology available for your children with OSSB’s
Dan Kelley, TVI, James Duffield, TVI, and ACB-Ohio board members,
Nolan Crabb and Irwin Hott. The day will conclude as Lauri Kaplan,
Parent Mentor at OSSB, facilitates a networking session for parents
and grandparents only.
The children will enjoy an afternoon of games and activities, while
the parents share and learn. Lunch will not be provided, but
there will be a snack mid-afternoon. The fee is just $10 per family,
which includes a gift from the National Braille Press worth $10
for each visually impaired child.
Pre-registration is required by September 19. If you have questions
or concerns, call American Council of the Blind of Ohio Executive
Director Mary Hiland toll free at 1-800-835-2226
or e-mail at mary.hiland@wowway.com.
Mail registration and check payable to ACB-Ohio to:
ACB-Ohio
P. O. Box 307128
Columbus, Ohio 43230. |
|
| September 15, 2011 - (OEC-LS)
Jon Peterson Scholarship Rules Public Comment,OEDS Reminder,SPP APR Brochure,VSA
Ohio,Building Blocks Family Event |
|
Office for Exceptional Children (September
2011)
|
Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Rules Available for Public
Comment
On June 30, 2011, Governor Kasich signed the state budget into law
and finalized the creation of the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship
Program. Named for special education advocate and former Representative
Jon Peterson, the program will build on the success of the Autism
Scholarship Program by providing a scholarship to any student with
special needs who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The program will be administered by ODE and is expected to begin
in the 2012-13 school year.
Click here
to view the draft rules for public comment.
The comment period for draft rules for the Jon Peterson Special
Needs Scholarship Program is ten days. Feedback and comments may
be entered in the form linked to below until September 26,
2011. If you have comments on multiple sections, please sub mit
them separately using the dropdown menu.
Click here
to access the comment form.
Reminder: OEDS - Special Education Contact
The Office for Exceptional maintains a list of special education
contacts for LEAs by extracting the information from the Ohio Educational
Directory System (OEDS).
To assist us in providing timely and accurate information to each
LEA, the role, “special education contact,” is in OEDS.
Each LEA must identify the "special education contact"
for the LEA in OEDS. Although this person is most likely to be considered
to be a district’s “special education director, his/her
title may not be "special education director." Each LEA
should identify the "point person" for the special education
program in each district. The OEDs Organization Administrator at
the LEA must add information about its special education contact,
either adding a role to person who already is reported in OEDS or
adding the person and the role to OEDS. Information regarding adding
roles can be found on page 75 of the OEDS-R
Desk Guide.
OSEP Document Explains State Performance Plan and Annual Performance
Report
OSEP has developed a document for the general public, including
parents, to explain the SPP/APR process. Here is a link to the website
where you can download the document: http://therightidea.tadnet.org/assets/708.
Very Special Arts (VSA) Ohio
Adaptation, Integration and the Arts (AIA)
VSA Ohio is pleased to present this arts-integrated residency program
in the 2011 - 2012 school year. Funded by the Ohio Department of
Education, AIA provides opportunities for complete and accessible
education opportunities to classrooms inclusive of students with
and without disabilities. Teaching artists will work with educators
to integrate the arts into other subject areas to enhance teaching
and learning. Applications for Classroom participation and
Teaching Artists to support the program are now being accepted.
All applications should be returned to VSA Ohio via mail or email.
For more information or a Word version of the application contact
Erin Hoppe.
Call
for Classrooms - deadline October 1
To be considered for this creative (and free) learning opportunity
in your public school, complete the application by clicking the
link above.
Dancing
with Difference: A Professional Development Seminar for Educators
and Dancers
Thursday, September 29, 3:00 - 7:00 pm
During this participatory workshop, we will explore movement experiences
that are accessible to students with a range of physical and cognitive
abilities. Drawing on her training in Contact Improvisation, Body-Mind
Centering and other somatic techniques, facilitator Ann Cooper Albright
will introduce participants to both the ideas and skills that will
enable them to engage student learning through the immediacy of
the body. This workshop will also include information about the
Ohio Department of Education's Ohio Fine Arts Academic Content Standards
for Dance and strategies for integration and inclusion of all learners.
Presented in partnership with OhioDance
and sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education.
Location: Vern Riffe Center for Government at the Arts, 77 S. High
Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Click the link above to download the registration form; send information
to VSAO (space is limited).
Building Blocks for a Brighter Future--September 24, 2011
The fifth annual Building Blocks for a Brighter Future is a half
day of workshops and activities for families with blind or visually
impaired children. The American Council of the Blind of Ohio
and The Ohio Lions Foundation invite you to come to the Ohio State
School for the Blind, 5220 N. High St. in Columbus on September
24, 2011. Sign-in and exhibits begin at 12:30 p.m. The
program begins at 1:00 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.
Keynote speakers are Tiffany Wild, Ph.D. from the Ohio State
University, and Tara McCarthy, TVI. Colleen Miller, formerly State
Coordinator, OCECD, will explain how to navigate the educational
system for children with disabilities. Kay Clarke, TVI and Orientation
and Mobility Specialist, will present her popular session, “Little
Movers and Shakers.” All afternoon, there will be hands-on
demonstrations of technology available for your children with OSSB’s
Dan Kelley, TVI, James Duffield, TVI, and ACB-Ohio board members,
Nolan Crabb and Irwin Hott. The day will conclude as Lauri Kaplan,
Parent Mentor at OSSB, facilitates a networking session for parents
and grandparents only.
The children will enjoy an afternoon of games and activities, while
the parents share and learn. Lunch will not be provided, but
there will be a snack mid-afternoon. The fee is just $10 per family,
which includes a gift from the National Braille Press worth $10
for each visually impaired child.
Pre-registration is required by September 19. If you have questions
or concerns, call American Council of the Blind of Ohio Executive
Director Mary Hiland toll free at 1-800-835-2226
or e-mail at mary.hiland@wowway.com.
Mail registration and check payable to ACB-Ohio to:
ACB-Ohio
P. O. Box 307128
Columbus, Ohio 43230. |
|
| September 14, 2011 - American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds Expire September 30, 2011 |
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act Funds Expire September 30, 2011 Urgent Reminder! American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds expire on Sept. 30, 2011. ODE has extended
the obligation period to Sept. 30, 2011. Revisions can be made in the
CCIP until September 15, 2011 (after this time all changes made should
be entered into the History Log for verification). The liquidation period
and Final Expenditure Report (FER) will still have a deadline of Sept.
30, 2011. ARRA grants that expire are ARRA Title I, ARRA Homeless, ARRA
Neglected, ARRA Delinquent, ARRA School Improvement Sub A, ARRA IDEA,
ARRA ECSE. KEY POINTS - FY11 ARRA funds do not have carryover provisions.
- FY11 ARRA application obligation period has been extended from June
30 to Sept. 30, 2011. - All FY11 ARRA obligations must be liquidated by
Sept. 30, 2011. - FY11 ARRA FER due Sept. 30, 2011.
PLEASE NOTE: This message and any response to it may constitute a public
record, and therefore may be available upon request in accordance with
Ohio public records law. (ORC 149.43) |
| September 13, 2011 - Ready
for teacher evaluations? New PD helps districts meet federal guidelines |
|
Improve teacher effectiveness
and student learning with Online Full-Circle PD
Professional Development from The Center for Learning
helps districts meet tough new federal guidelines
for improved teacher effectiveness--and also
qualifies for Race to the Top and Title I
funding.
Unlike other online PD programs, our Full-Circle
PD completes the learning cycle by including the
instructional PD coursework,
practical classroom application, and ongoing collaboration--
all of which works together to effect real
change.
- Pedagogy from today's leading
authors and researchers is delievered to teachers
in a flexible, convenient online format
- Digital Lesson Plans enable teachers
to carry the instructional strategies into the
classroom. These proven lessons promote 21st-century
skills, hone critical thinking, and encourage
higher order learning
- Ongoing collaboration with other
teachers enables sharing of insights, techniques,
and classroom strategies
More information about
our Full-Circle PD is
available on our Web
site.
Or, please feel free
to call or e-mail Bonnie
Williams,
800-767-9090
ext. 3604 to request a brochure. |
|
|
|
|
|
FREE
Webcast Series
CFL presents
Eric Jensen, author ofTeaching
with Poverty in Mind in a live 60
minute webcast.
More
info
For more info:
Call or e-mail
Bonnie
Williams
800-767-9090
ext. 3604
|
|
|
|
|
|
| September 12, 2011 - EdConnection
- Weekly Update from Stan W. Heffner, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Sept. 12, 2011 |
|
Sept. 12, 2011
Good morning:
The State Board of Education meets today and tomorrow in Columbus.
During the meeting today, State Board members will acknowledge a
distinguished group of education administrators as selected by the
Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), Ohio Association
of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA) and the Ohio Association
of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA). These individuals include:
· BASA Superintendent
of the Year – Philip Price, Mayfield Heights City School District
(Cuyahoga County);
· OASSA
Secondary Principal of the Year – Roger Howard, Independence
High School (Cuyahoga County);
· Distinguished
Principals of the Year:
o OAESA Distinguished Elementary Principal of
the Year – Teresa Anderson, High Street Primary School (Piqua,
Miami County)
o OAESA Distinguished Middle School Principal
of the Year – Heidi Kegley, Willis Intermediate School (Delaware,
Delaware County)
· BASA Betsy
Cowles Award – Deborah S. Delisle; and
· OASSA
Middle School Principal of the Year – Matthew Lutz, formerly
Walnut Springs Middle School (Westerville, Franklin County), currently
Executive Director of Education for the Mid-Ohio Educational Service
Center (MOESC).
Congratulations to all of these outstanding educators for their
tireless work on behalf of Ohio’s students. Make it a great
week.
Sincerely,
Stan W. Heffner
Note: Below are news items of interest
to all superintendents and principals. Please share these items
as appropriate with other suggested educators who will benefit from
the information.
For school superintendents and treasurers –
Re-enter ARRA system data; Budget bill requires ranking by expenditure
per student; Instructions to access Performance Index scores and
other data;
For curriculum directors, administrators and teachers
– Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 to Oct.
15; ODE seeks regional facilitators for physical education
evaluation rollout; Two community schools to be honored at Ohio
Schools of Character Summit; Wear your bike helmet to school on
Sept. 21;
Good news for everyone –
Ohio graduate finds success in the arts.
For school superintendents and treasurers
Re-enter ARRA system data
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
1512 Quarterly Reporting web system was temporarily offline Friday
afternoon, but is back online and available for use. Any data
entered after 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, is no longer available and
needs to be re-entered. Likewise, any status changes
made after that time are no longer in effect and will need to be
updated. All sub recipients of ARRA funding or EdJobs funding
are requested to log back into the system and ensure the programs'
data reflects the input since Thursday at 8 p.m. We apologize
for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your cooperation.
Please be reminded that the deadline to submit quarterly data is
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. Any questions or concerns you have pertaining
to this can be directed to recovery@ode.state.oh.us.
Budget bill requires ranking by expenditure per student
Among the many provisions of House Bill 153 is a new requirement
for ODE to rank school districts based on their expenditures. The
data for the rankings will be similar to that used for the iLRC
reports showing expenditures per pupil, as well as expenditure type,
such as instructional and administrative. ODE is required to divide
each type of public school (traditional school district, joint vocational
district and community school) into groups based primarily on enrollment.
Within each group, districts will be placed in rank order. The top
and bottom 20 percent in expenditure-per-pupil also will be identified.
There will be multiple opportunities for input into the ranking
standards, including small group meetings, open forums and online.
The standards will be presented to the State Board of Education
by Dec. 31, 2011, and the Board must approve them by June 30, 2012.
Significant decisions will include specific groupings of districts,
exclusions from operating expenditures, designation of instructional
vs. non-instructional expenditures, inclusion of any data not required
by law, and communication of results. Look for notices of opportunities
for input. In the meantime, you may offer comments or suggestions
to Eric Bode at eric.bode@ode.state.oh.us.
Instructions to access Performance Index scores and
other data
LEA Performance Index (PI) scores can be accessed through the Interactive
Local Report Card (iLRC), available here.
Select the ‘Power User Reports’ option and click on
the ‘Begin’ link at the bottom of the page. The series
of folders on this webpage contain a wealth of data on education
in Ohio. Information on ratings, including the overall LEA PI score
can be accessed by selecting the ‘Ratings’ folder. This
folder contains a number of reports. For example, to see the
PI score for schools, click on the ‘Building Rating’
report. The ‘Performance Index’ folder contains detailed
data on PI scores. For questions, please contact ODE at iLRC@ode.state.oh.us.
For school curriculum directors, administrators and
teachers
Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 to Oct. 15
This week begins National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from
Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The month is set aside to recognize the contributions
of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic
heritage and culture.
Nine Hispanic Americans, including ODE’s Raúl Soto,
will receive the Governor’s
Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award this month. Soto, a native
Puerto Rican, and an associate director in the Office of Career-Technical
Education, will receive the award on Oct. 7 at an event sponsored
by the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs. He has served
for nearly 10 years as liaison between the commission and ODE in
support of Ohio’s Hispanic and Latino students. He oversees
the implementation of Ohio’s five-year strategic career-technical
education plan for the administration of Carl D. Perkins federal
funds.
Soto also conducts strategic planning, fiscal and compliance activities
to ensure that Ohio offers high school students high-quality career-technical
education opportunities. For the last seven years, he also has served
as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at Ohio Dominican University.
For suggestions on planning classroom-related activities to celebrate
Hispanic Heritage Month, please click here.
ODE seeks regional facilitators for physical education
evaluation rollout
ODE is accepting applications until Oct. 3 to fill 12 content facilitator
positions to support the physical
education evaluation rollout. Facilitators will provide training
to help educators understand how to use the evaluation instrument.
Educators will be required to use the evaluation instrument beginning
with the 2012-2013 school year. Facilitators will be trained this
November and will begin work during the winter of 2012. Facilitators
should have a master’s degree in education and five years
of classroom teaching experience (K-12 or higher education). A
laptop, projector and PowerPoint presentation software are also
required. Each facilitator will receive stipends for the November
training and each regional training session conducted. For more
information or to apply, click here
or contact Lisa Lyle Henry at lisa.henry@ode.state.oh.us
or (614) 728-7732.
Two community schools to be honored at Ohio Schools
of Character Summit
The Ohio Schools of Character Summit will be held Oct. 12 at the
Vineyard Columbus. The conference will focus on integrating comprehensive
character education and social-emotional learning to improve
school climate and student achievement. Breakout sessions will feature
award-winning practices for all grade levels and guidance on applying
for the Ohio School of Character Award.
Imagine Bella Academy of Cleveland and Imagine Klepinger Road Community
School of Dayton will be recognized as national Promising Practice
Award recipients at the Summit. The schools were selected by the
Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C. The Summit
is sponsored by Ohio Partners in Character Education and the Better
Business Bureau Center for Character Ethics, in cooperation with
the Ohio Department of Education. For details or to register,
visit www.charactereducationohio.org.
Direct questions to (614) 893-9971.
Wear your bike helmet to school on Sept. 21
To help prevent injuries and save lives, the Ohio Chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (Ohio AAP) will kick off a statewide
campaign to encourage children to wear bike helmets on Sept. 21.
Governor Kasich also has declared this day as “Wear your bike
helmet to work/school day.” In 2010, 51,000 cyclists
were injured by not wearing a bike helmet. Ohio AAP says that by
using bicycle helmets, children ages 4 to 15 could prevent between
135 and 155 deaths and up to 45,000 head injuries annually. For
more information, click here,
or visit the “Put a Lid On It” Facebook page here.
Good news for everyone
Ohio graduate finds success in the arts
As part of national Arts in Education Week (Sept. 11-17), the Ohio
Department of Education is featuring a recent high school and college
graduate who has a career that employs academic and technical knowledge
with other 2lst century skills such as creativity, innovation and
problem-solving. To learn what it’s like to be an artist in
2011, and how Ohio educators contribute to that success, check out
the story
of Eric Coolidge, formerly with Solon and Orange high schools
(part of the Mayfield Excel Technical Education Career Consortium).
For information about national Art in Education Week, click here.
For more information about Ohio Career and Technical Education Arts
and Communication programs, click here.
And for information about Ohio Fine Arts education programs through
the Ohio Department of Education, click here.
Please take a moment to acknowledge the artistic accomplishments
of all students, especially during this week.
ODE is interested in your thoughts about how EdConnection fulfills
your information needs. Please send any comments or suggestions
to superintendent@ode.state.oh.us.
Follow our new Facebook page for Ohio families
by clicking here.
Follow ODE’s Twitter feed by clicking here. |
|
| September 9, 2011 -2011
Special Education Conference Handouts Available for Download |
|
Office for Exceptional Children
(September 2011) |
2011 Special Education Conference Handouts
Available for Download
The handouts that have been turned in by Conference presenters
to date are available for download at http://www.edresourcesohio.org/handouts.
Handouts not provided prior to the Conference will be posted
on this website after the conclusion of the Conference.
Paper handouts will not be available at the Conference.
However, flash drives loaded with Conference handouts will
be available for purchase at the Conference.
Remember that the Conference begins at the Columbus Convention
Center at 8:30 AM Monday, September 19, 2011 with a presentation
by Stan Heffner, Superintendent, Ohio Department of Education.
Registration begins at 7:30 AM.
Our Conference is dedicated to the memory of Kathe Shelby, Director,
Office for Exceptional Children, who passed away in August. |
|
|
|
| September 9, 2011 - News,
Articles, Resources and More from PediaStaff |
|
September 9, 2011
Issue 28, Volume 5 |
It's All About the Choices!
Greetings!
Hello there and Happy Friday! Here is our
weekly newsletter offering for you. Enjoy and
have a great weekend!
News Items:
- Brain Scans Show Distinct Traits in Kids with Autism
- Infants Trained to Concentrate Show Added Benefits
- More Young Adults and Teens Being Treated for Stroke
- Apple Filing May Signal Focus On Disability Market
- Family Meals Help Children to Be Less Fussy About
Food
- Feel Good Story of the Week: Teenager Gets Helping
Hand With Bionic Arm
- Poorer Movement Skills at Seven Months in Children
at Risk of Autism, Study Finds
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
- Pinterest
Therapy Resource of the Week - 'Sensory World' Interactive
Website
- New Book Series to Teach Articulation and Readings
- Single Word Test of Consonant Clusters
Articles and Blogs
- Guest Blog: Back to School Screenings and Evaluations
- Guest Blog: No Ordinary 4-Year Old
- Pediatric Therapy Corner: Writing a Successful Letter
of Medical Necessity for Assistive Technology
- Worth Repeating: Autism in the Black
Community: Why African Americans Should Hear the Cry
for Help
- Also Worth Repeating: Hippotherapy Helps Children
with Autism Develop Fine-Motor Skills
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our
openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered
our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below
to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered
to your Feed Reader! Don't have an RSS Feed
Reader set up? Sign up at
Feed
My Inbox and have any feed you like delivered
to your email inbox!
Have a great weekend and Take Care!
Heidi Kay, Newsletter Editor |
|
|
|
The Career Center
The links to the right are "live"
and reflect the most recent
SLP, OT, PT and related assistant jobs, and
ALL our Bilingual and School
Psychology Jobs.
To further narrow your search by state,
setting, bilingual, or term, use the
check boxes drop down menus.
If a particular search is returning
no hits it is possible that we do
not currently have new openings for
you with that selection criteria.
To see ALL our openings
click HERE
and further narrow your
search. |
|
| |
| |
Autism
in the News:
Brain
Scans Show Distinct
Traits in Kids With
Autism: Study |
[Source: HealthDay/Yahoo
News]
Researchers using
scanning technology
say they discovered
physical differences
in the brains of
older children with
autism compared
to those of kids
without autism.
"We could
discriminate between
typically developing
and autistic children
with 92 percent
accuracy,"
based on the volume
of gray matter in
one part of the
brain, Lucina Uddin,
first author of
a new study and
instructor in psychiatry
and behavioral sciences
at Stanford University
School of Medicine,
said in a university
news release.
However, there
are some limitations
to the study. The
researchers only
looked at kids aged
8 to 18, and they
didn't capture images
of the children's
brains before they
were diagnosed with
autism. And the
findings don't appear
to have an immediate
effect on how children
with autism are
diagnosed or treated.
Read
the Rest of this
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Attention
in the News:
Infants
Trained To Concentrate
Show Added Benefits |
[Source: Medical
News Today/Journal
of Current Biology]
Although parents
may have a hard
time believing it,
even infants can
be trained to improve
their concentration
skills. What's more,
training babies
in this way leads
to improvements
on other, unrelated
tasks.
The findings reported
online on September
1 in Current Biology,
a Cell Press publication,
are in contrast
to reports in adults
showing that training
at one task generally
doesn't translate
into improved performance
on other, substantially
different tasks.
They also may have
important implications
for improving success
in school, particularly
for those children
at risk of poor
outcomes, the researchers
say.
Read
the Rest of this
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Childhood
Stroke in the News:
More Young
Adults And Teens
Being Treated For
Stroke |
[Source: Medical
News Today, Annals
of Neurology]
According to an
investigation conducted
by scientists at
the Centers for
Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC),
between 1995 and
2008, ischemic stroke
hospitalization
rates rose up to
37% in adolescents
and young adults
aged between 15
to 44 years. The
findings, reported
in Annals of Neurology,
a journal of the
American Neurological
Association and
the Child Neurology
Society, reveal
a rise in the rates
of hypertension,
diabetes, obesity,
lipid disorders
and tobacco use
among individuals
in this age group
during the 14-year
investigation period.
In the U.S. stroke
is the third leading
cause of death,
The American Heart
Association reports.
87% of all cases
are connected to
ischemic stroke,
in which blood flow
to the brain is
blocked by blood
clots, or there
is a build-up of
fatty deposits called
plaque (atherosclerosis)
inside blood vessels.
Previous investigations
state stroke in
adolescents and
young adults makes
up for 5% to 10%
of all stroke cases,
as well as being
one of the top ten
causes of death
in childhood.
Read
the Rest of this
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Assistive
Technology in the
News:
Apple Filing May
Signal Focus On
Disability Market |
[Source: Disability
Scoop]
Apple appears to
be taking steps
to make its popular
tablet and smartphone
devices more user-friendly
for people with
disabilities who
are unable to use
touch screens.
In a filing with
the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office
made public this
month, the technology
giant said it is
seeking to patent
a method for connecting
its products to
accessories that
could act in place
of the touch screen.
Read
the Rest of this
Article and the
Filing Through a
Link on our Blog |
Picky
Eaters in the News: Family
Meals Help Children
to Be Less Fussy
About Food |
[Source: Science
Daily]
A study has found
that eating together
as a family may
encourage children
to be more open
to trying new types
of food. This finding
will be presented
at the Developmental
Psychology Section
Annual Conference
to be held at Northumbria
University, Newcastle
upon Tyne from 7-9
September.
Faye Powell, from
Loughborough University
and member of the
British Psychological
Society, observed
over 75 families
during mealtimes
to determine the
factors linked with
the development
of fussy eating
behavior among children.
Read
the Rest of This
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Feel
Good Story of the
Week: Teenager
Gets Helping Hand
With Bionic Arm |
[Source: Sky
News UK]
A British teenager
has fulfilled his
dream of being the
proud owner of his
very own Mercedes
- in the form of
a bionic arm.
Matthew James, 14,
was born missing
his left hand and
had adjusted to
life with a simple
open-and-close grip
prosthetic limb.
But after learning
about the new electronic
hand, called the
i-LIMB Pulse, the
determined student
from Wokingham,
Berkshire, knew
he had to have it.
Knowing he could
not afford the £35,000
device, the Formula
One fan wrote a
letter to the Mercedes
GP Petronas racing
team for help.
Read
the Rest of this
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Autism
Detection in the
News: Poorer
Movement Skills
at Seven Months
in Children at Risk
of Autism, Study
Finds |
[Source: Science
Daily]
Poorer movement
skills detected
as early as 7 months
old are observed
in children at a
higher risk of developing
Autistic Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) than
children in the
general population.
These are the findings
of a study being
presented on 7th
September 2011 at
the British Psychological
Society's Developmental
Section Conference
in Newcastle.
The study was carried
out by a team led
by Dr. Elisabeth
Hill at Goldsmiths
(University of London),
Dr. Hayley Leonard
(Goldsmiths) and
the British Autism
Study of Infant
Siblings (BASIS)
based at Birkbeck
University of London.
The researchers
examined infants
with a diagnosed
older sibling with
ASD. Siblings are
known to share a
higher risk of developing
the disorder.
Read
the Rest of This
Article Through
a Link on our Blog
|
Pinterest
Therapy Resource
of the Week:
'Sensory
World' Interactive
Website |
I learned about
this fantastic (and
free) website through
Pinterest. I must
have seen it on
five pinboards yesterday
as it's making the
rounds.
This site is can
be used through
a speech-language
lens (conversation
starter, vocabulary
etc) or for occupational
therapy (activities
for daily living,
and of course sensory
exploration)! The
"Sensory World"
includes a house,
garden and more.
The 'design your
own' sensory house
aspect is fantastic,
but the site is
also so much more
- especially in
the area of activities
and skills for daily
living! In each
room, the user can
explore sensory,
hygiene and safety
topics. They can
plan out menus and
manage money.
Check
out this site through
a Link on our Blog
|
Therapist
Resource of the
Week
: New
Book Series to Teach
Articulation and
Reading |
by: Shery Artemenko
At my latest visit
to our public library,
I started my hunt
at the "New
Books" section
as usual. I came
upon a new series
of books that are
designed by Child's
World to assist
children in phonics
development. Of
course, I looked
at them for assisting
children in articulation
development because
each story features
a different sound/letter
such as "Pam's
Trip to the Park"
or "Ben, Billy
and the Birdhouse."
Carefully written
to control word
count, sentence
length, and vocabulary,
the books have entertaining
stories about packing
a lunch for the
park and visiting
the petting zoo
or building a birdhouse
from a box of wood
with best friend
Billy.
Learn
More about These
Books on our Blog
|
Therapy
Resource of the
Week: Single
Word Test of Consonant
Clusters |
Thanks to our
Twitter friend @hheaman
of Heaman
Communication Services
for recommending
this great resource!
Source: Sharynne
McLeod & Linda
Hand, University
of Sydney
This task was designed
to assess productions
of consonant clusters
in a single word
context. It
is suitable for
use with children
aged 3;0 years and
older. It also may
be suitable for
the
assessment of consonant
clusters in adults.
The task contains
seventy two words
which
comprise two examples
of each word-initial
and word-final consonant
cluster commonly
used
by Australian adults.
Two words containing
each cluster are
elicited in order
to determine
consistency of production.
Check
out this Resource
Through a Link on
our Blog |
|
|
|
Guest
Blogs This Week: 2
Gals, Inspiring Potential
|
Back to School Screenings
and Evaluations - By: Leah
Musgrave and Dean Trout
Last Monday, I talked about
the importance of doing a complete
oral exam and focused on nasality
screening. Today I want to talk
about and open a discussion
on the importance of doing those
diadochokinetic rates.
How many times have you been
tempted to just skip over those
because the child does not "appear"
to have motor sequencing issues?
Or, as one SLP said to me, "He
does not have his back sounds
(/k/-/g/) so we can't do that."
With eyebrows raised in astonishment
I say, "What? Oh but yes
you can!" There are ways
to screen for motor sequencing
issues without back or even
front sounds.
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post
on our Blog |
No Ordinary 4-Year
Old - by Lauren Edwards PT,
DPT
Working on the inpatient unit
of the International Center
for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy
Krieger Institute, I've had
the opportunity to work with
so many incredible patients
and families. I am often the
first therapist the family has
met since their child (or young
adult) was first diagnosed with
a spinal cord injury. In this
role, I get the opportunity
to help turn a challenging and
traumatic situation into one
of hope and recovery. It's a
privilege to work with these
families during this emotional
time of transition.
This past May, I met the Jermano
family, to whom I would like
to dedicate this blog. Their
quest to create a fulfilling
life for their daughter Mia,
along with their continuous
hope for her recovery, is truly
an inspiration to my work.
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post
on our Blog |
|
Pediatric Therapy
Corner: Writing
a Successful Letter of Medical
Necessity for Assistive Technology |
By: EasyStand
A letter of medical
necessity (LMN) or letter of
justification (LOJ) is a detailed
prescription that a therapist
or physician writes to be submitted
to the insurance provider. The
letter should be client specific
and not just a list of the medical
benefits. Here is a checklist
that Altimate Medical (Makers
of EasyStand standing frames)
has compiled to help you get
started.
Detail the client: Who is this
person medically, functionally,
and socially
- Include client name, date
of birth, diagnosis, onset,
height, weight, primary funding.
- Provide a brief, but complete
description of your client's
level of function (i.e. ambulation,
transfers, ADL's, living environment,
mobility, school/employment,
transportation).
- Describe your client's medical
issues that will be affected
by the assisitive technology
(reflexes, range of motion,
systemic functions, loss of
bone density, etc).
Read
the Rest of This Article on
our Blog |
Worth Repeating
- Autism in the Black Community:
Why African Americans Should
Hear the Cry for Help |
By Tarice L.S. Gray
Six years ago Camille Proctor
got a surprise. She was pregnant
with her second child. At the
time, her oldest was almost
20 and the rigors of mothering
an infant were pleasant but
distant memories. Still, she
gave birth to a baby boy nine
months later, and a little more
than a year after that, Proctor
noticed something else surprising
about her son. She said she
saw, "little nuisances
that kind of told me that something
may not be right."
Proctor's suspicions were confirmed
when a developmental pediatrician
diagnosed her son, Ari Joseph,
as autistic. Proctor immediately
went to work. She had worked
successfully as a marketing
professional in Michigan and
then in Atlanta, GA., where
she currently lives, but found
a new calling as an autism advocate.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
Also Worth Repeating
- Hippotherapy Helps Children
with Autism Develop Fine-Motor
Skills |
by Barbara Smith,
OTR/L
Horses have traditionally been
used as treatment tools by physical
therapists with the goals of
improving a child's balance,
strength and coordination. This
specialty area is called "Hippotherapy"
and is done as a child rides
or performs various motor tasks
such as turning around to face
backwards or kneeling while
the horse is walking. Occupational
therapists also do hippotherapy
to work on these skills. However,
therapeutic objectives may center
around helping children with
autism and other developmental
disabilities improve sensory
processing and develop fine-motor
skills.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through
a Link on our Blog |
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From a Friend? Sign
Up For Your Copy of This Newsletter! |
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and school-based therapy tips,
resources, articles, and news
delivered to your computer once
a week? Sign up here for our
newsletter!
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up HERE |
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Please Note:
The views and advice expressed
in articles, videos and other pieces
published in this newsletter are not
necessarily the views and advice of
PediaStaff or its employees but rather
that of the author. PediaStaff
is not endorsing or implying agreement
with the views or advice contained therein,
rather presenting them for the independent
analysis and information of its readers. |
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Would you like pediatric and school-based therapy tips,
resources, articles, and news delivered to your computer
once a week? Sign up here for our newsletter!
Sign
up HERE |
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|
| September 6, 2011 - EdConnection
- Weekly Update from Stan W. Heffner, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Sept. 6, 2011 |
|
Sept. 6, 2011
Good morning:
I hope the year has started off well for each of you. As
we begin a new school year, I understand the many demands for your
time and attention. We’ve designed the weekly EdConnection
letter to give you updates and links so you can quickly access information
or forward to the appropriate staff member. At ODE, we are
continually looking for new and better ways to enhance our communication
and outreach and be a stronger resource to you.
Please note a few pending deadlines in this update, including the
Sept. 9 deadline to complete the survey for consideration to participate
in the pilot for the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System. Schools selected
for the pilot will be notified by email by Sept. 13. Complete
details can be found below.
Thanks for your hard work in service to Ohio’s children.
Make it a great week.
Sincerely,
Stan W. Heffner
Note: Below are news items of interest
to all superintendents and principals. Please share these items
as appropriate with other suggested educators who will benefit from
the information.
For school superintendents and treasurers –
Deadline Sept. 9 for Ohio Teacher Evaluation System Pilot; Arne
Duncan to visit Cleveland on Wednesday for community conversation;
Fostering Connections Act provides stability for youth in foster
care; Follow-up to Supplemental Education Services Letter;
For curriculum directors, administrators and teachers
– Ohio Resident Educator Program Update; Preschool
Special Education unit funding application ready for entries; National
Teacher Town Hall scheduled for Sept. 25; High school teams
can compete in U.S. Cyber Challenge;
Good news for everyone –
Eastland Career Center commemorates Sept. 11.
For school superintendents and treasurers
Deadline Sept. 9 for Ohio Teacher Evaluation System
Pilot
ODE will work with Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
statewide to pilot the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) beginning
with the 2011-2012 school year. Evaluators and teachers using the
components will inform changes to the model and provide assistance
in developing revised training for the model in 2012-2013. LEAs
interested in participating in this pilot should complete the online
survey no later than 5 p.m. on Sept. 9. Schools selected for
the pilot will be notified by email by Sept. 13. For details on
the pilot project, click here
and scroll to the link entitled “Ohio Teacher Evaluation System
Pilot 2011-2012.” Please send questions to: evaluation@ode.state.oh.us.
Arne Duncan to visit Cleveland on Wednesday for community
conversation
The U.S. Department of Education and the White House
Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships will host a
community forum, tomorrow at East Tech High School in Cleveland.
The theme is Connecting Cleveland’s Communities and Classrooms.
The first session, at 1 p.m., will feature a discussion between
Joshua DuBois, Special Assistant to the President and Executive
Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood
Partnerships, and representatives from community service, health
and human services, agriculture, labor, justice and education organizations.
At 2:30 p.m., a second session will showcase community partnerships
in education. Panelists will include U.S. Education Secretary Arne
Duncan, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community
Service Robert Velasco and Joshua DuBois. I will be meeting briefly
with Secretary Duncan following this event.
Registration and check-in for both sessions is at 12:30 p.m. The
event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so advance
registration is encouraged. Attendees may register for one or both
sessions. The school is located at 2439 East 55th St. in Cleveland.
Please register here
to attend. If you have questions, please contact edpartners@ed.gov.
Fostering Connections Act provides stability for youth
in foster care
When a child is in foster care, multiple disruptions may occur which
adversely impact learning.
The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 made important changes to
federal child welfare policy, including new options for states to
receive federal reimbursement to support students in foster care.
The law specifically requires that child welfare agencies coordinate
with LEAs to ensure that children can remain in their current school
and stay connected with teachers, families and friends to help the
student continue progress in school.
Child welfare agencies are also urged to collaborate with LEAs
on policies and procedures to ensure that foster children remain
in and receive transportation to their school of origin in cases
where that is in the best interest of the student. Federal Title
IV-E funds and other resources are available for this purpose. The
many provisions of the act are described here,
and a timeline of when provisions became effective can be found
here.
Federal guidance on the Fostering Connections Act is available here.
The complete letter to chief state school officers is available
here.
Follow-up to Supplemental Education Services Letter
Early last week, ODE emailed a letter to districts and community
schools required to offer Supplemental Education Services pursuant
to the No Child Left Behind Act. The Auditor of State’s Office
and ODE have become increasingly aware that providers may be offering
services in unsafe locations or billing districts for services that
have not been performed. Districts and community schools are the
first line of defense against fraud and abuse, and they should exercise
appropriate monitoring to address these problems.
It is imperative that a district file a complaint with ODE immediately
when these situations arise. ODE must receive a complaint in order
to investigate the situation and take appropriate action, which
could include removal from the state-approved
list.
In addition, ODE will conduct an overhaul of its oversight of this
program. Look for an announcement of changes in the next few
weeks. Meanwhile, please contact the ODE Office of Federal
Programs at (614)
466-4161 with any questions you might have or for additional
information.
For school curriculum directors, administrators and
teachers
Ohio Resident Educator Program Update
Recently, ODE notified Resident Educator (RE) program coordinators
that registration for Resident Educators will be open from Sept.1
through Nov.15, 2011. If your program coordinator did not receive
an email, please ensure that he/she is assigned the role of “Coordinator-Resident
Educator Program” in the Ohio Educational Directory System
(OEDS).
To be registered for the RE Program, teachers must hold a resident
educator license, alternative resident educator license or a one-year
out-of-state license. Please note that any individual who currently
holds a valid two-year provisional license, but needs to obtain
a four-year Resident Educator license, is eligible for a license
fee adjustment.
Additionally, new resource documents, including a Principal Orientation
PowerPoint, are available on the Resident
Educator Web page. Submit inquiries about the Ohio Resident
Educator Program to REProgram@ode.state.oh.us
Preschool Special Education unit funding application
ready for entries
Last week,ODE notified preschool supervisors of districts/educational
entities that the FY 2012 Preschool Unit Funding Application is
now ready for data entry. The deadline to enter information for
funding is Sept. 30. The application must be completed by
a person with the role Data Entry – Early Childhood Education.
After the person has completed the application, it must first be
approved by the treasurer, then the superintendent by the Sept.
30 deadline.
The FY 2012 help document is accessible by typing Preschool
Units Help in the search box on the top right hand side of
the ODE home page. On the page that opens choose the first link
in the list. Please refer to it for step-by-step directions for
completing the application. If your data entry person requires further
assistance, please contact Ellen Gow at 614-728-9435
or via email at ellen.gow@ode.state.oh.us.
National Teacher Town Hall scheduled for Sept. 25
Teachers from around the country are invited to take
part in the second annual Teacher Town Hall on Sunday, Sept. 25.
Moderated by NBC news anchor Brian Williams, the live chat will
feature hundreds of teachers live from Rockefeller Plaza in New
York City, along with an online forum for thousands of participants
from around the country. Register now at www.EducationNation.com
to take part in this national event, which will be broadcast live
on MSNBC at noon Eastern Time. Other sponsors include the Bill &
Melinda Gates foundation and Scholastic magazine.
High school teams can compete in U.S. Cyber Challenge
Two national competitions sponsored by the U.S. Cyber Challenge
(USCC) can help students prepare for careers in the high-demand
field of cyber security.
In the high school competition, students learn about networking,
operating systems and system administration. Online tutorials, video
education materials and quizzes are available for each of these
topics. Educators and group leaders of after-school programs will
find more information and online registration details here.
The top performing students in each registered school or group,
the top three students in each state and the top five performers
nationally will be recognized. The registration deadline is Sept.
30.
In addition, a college-aged student can enter a separate competition,
called CyberPatriot
IV. The entry deadline is Oct. 8 deadline.
Good news for everyone
Eastland Career Center commemorates Sept. 11
Eastland Career Center in Groveport will conduct a school-wide commemoration
to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. At 8:45 a.m. on
Sept. 9, all of the students and staff will exit their classrooms
and line the hallways of the main square of the building. A student
color guard will then parade through the main square playing “Fanfare
for the Common Man.”
The school also will have a 9/11 Remembrance Wall, where students
and staff can share personal sentiments. During lunch periods, a
display flag will serve as a way to post memories, poems or other
words students wish to share to honor those lost that day. In addition,
there will be a banner in the cafeteria hallway, where students
can post their artifacts and add to the Remembrance Wall.
I encourage all schools and districts to host a Sept. 11 commemoration.
ODE is interested in your thoughts about how EdConnection fulfills
your information needs. Please send any comments or suggestions
to superintendent@ode.state.oh.us.
Follow our new Facebook page for Ohio families
by clicking here.
Follow ODE’s Twitter feed by clicking here. |
|
| September 3, 2011 -(OEC-LS)
Ohio Educational Interpreter Guidelines Updated, Tuition Reimbursement Opportunity
for SLP/AUD |
|
Office for Exceptional Children
(September 2011) |
Ohio Educational Interpreter Guidelines
Updated
For some Ohio students who are deaf or hearing impaired,
access to the general curriculum involves the services of
a qualified sign language educational interpreter. To assist
educational teams in providing appropriate educational interpreting
services to these children, the Ohio Department of Education
(ODE) published Ohio Guidelines for Educational Interpreters
in October, 2000.
Since 2000, there have been many changes in education and
interpreting that impact the work of interpreters in public
school settings. In cooperation with the ODE, the Interpreting
and Sign Language Resources (ISLR) Advisory Committee revised
the Guidelines to reflect these changes. The newly updated
publication was reviewed by consultants at ODE and Ohio educators.
Ohio Guidelines for Edcuational Interpreters is now
available on the ODE
website, Edresourcesohio.org
and the Ohio
School for the Deaf Center for Outreach Services.
We are confident that this newly revised Ohio Guidelines for
Educational Interpreters provides the current information
you need to serve your hearing impaired students.
$5,000 Tuition Reimbursement Employment Incentive Opportunity
for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Do you know of a first-year speech-language pathologist or
audiologist working in an Ohio school district? Speech-language
pathologists (SLPs) or audiologists graduating in 2011 from
Ohio universities are invited to request tuition reimbursement
of $5,000. This scholarship is funded by the Ohio Department
of Education through the OMNIE (Ohio Master's Network Initiative
In Education program and is intended to address the statewide
shortage of speech-language pathologists and audiologists
in Ohio school districts.
Applicants must have completed a school-based practicum (student
teaching), and must obtain full-time employment in an Ohio
school district for the 2011-2012 academic year no later than
Nov. 1, 2011. Stipend for part-time employment will be pro-rated.
Visit www.omnie.org,
on the left side is a menu, look under "For SLP/AUD Students"
and click on the link "$5000 Scholarship" for an
application.
Employees contracted by private agencies or those who have
received financial compensation through the OMNIE SLP intern
graduate program option are not eligible for the $5,000 tuition
reimbursement incentive.
If you have questions regarding OMNIE please contact Nada Allender
at nada@ameritech.net. |
|
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|
| September 2, 2011 - News,
Articles, Resources and More from PediaStaff |
|
September 2, 2011
Issue 27, Volume 5 |
It's All About the Choices!
Greetings!
Happy Friday. We hope everyone had a great summer.
I believe the upper midwesterners are the last to go
back to school this coming Tuesday!
Enjoy our weekly offering, and have a safe and relaxing
Labor Day Holiday!
News Items:
- Bilingual Babies' Vocabulary Linked to Early Brain
Development
- New Batman Comic Features Autism
- Restricting Kids Free Play May Cause Harm
- Vaccines Cleared Again As Autism Culprit
- Inattention, Not Hyperactivity, Associated With
Educational Failure
- Older Fathers Run A Greater Risk Of Having Children
With Brain Disorders
- Scottish Researchers Using Ultrasound for Speech
Therapy
- Study Points to a Cause-Effect Relationship Between
Breastfeeding and Brainpower
- Discovery Suggests Way to Block Fetal Brain Damage
Produced by Oxygen Deprivation
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
- Pinterest
Idea of the Week - Angry Birds' Outdoor Game (Great
for Pediatric PT)
- Therapist Resource of the Week: Games for Chidren
with Autism
- 2011 Toys-R-Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Children
Articles and Blogs
- Guest Blog: Red Flags for Autism in Toddlers
- Guest Blog: Handwriting: Starting with Basic
Strokes and Shapes
- Pediatric Therapy Corner: Fine Motor Skills: The
Key to a Lifetime of Educational Success
- Worth Repeating: What Works for Early Language and
Literacy Development - Lessons from Experimental
Evaluations of Programs and Intervention Strategies
- Also Worth Repeating: The Sense of Touch
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our
openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered
our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below
to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered
to your Feed Reader! Don't have an RSS Feed
Reader set up? Sign up at
Feed
My Inbox and have any feed you like delivered
to your email inbox!
Have a great weekend and Take Care!
Heidi Kay, Newsletter Editor
|
|
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|
The Career Center
The links to the right are "live"
and reflect the most recent
SLP, OT, PT and related assistant jobs, and
ALL our Bilingual and School
Psychology Jobs.
To further narrow your search by state,
setting, bilingual, or term, use the
check boxes drop down menus.
If a particular search is returning
no hits it is possible that we do
not currently have new openings for
you with that selection criteria.
To see ALL our openings
click HERE
and further narrow your
search. |
Bilingualism
in the News:
Bilingual
Babies' Vocabulary Linked
to Early Brain Differentiation |
[Source Science Daily.com]
Babies and children are
whizzes at learning a second
language, but that ability
begins to fade as early
as their first birthdays.
Researchers at the University
of Washington's Institute
for Learning & Brain
Sciences are investigating
the brain mechanisms that
contribute to infants' prowess
at learning languages, with
the hope that the findings
could boost bilingualism
in adults, too.
In a new study, the researchers
report that the brains of
babies raised in bilingual
households show a longer
period of being flexible
to different languages,
especially if they hear
a lot of language at home.
The researchers also show
that the relative amount
of each language - English
and Spanish - babies were
exposed to affected their
vocabulary as toddlers.
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Autism in the
News:
New Batman
Comic Features Autism |
[Source: Autism Key,
Disability Scoop, NorthJersey.com]
A story about a boy with
autism and his love of comic
books is gracing the pages
of a new Batman book from
DC Comics.
A comic book writer in
New Jersey named Joe Caramagna
tumbled into this affinity
by reading comic book message
boards. Inspired by the
notion that comics could
make a difference in the
life of a child with autism,
he has written a new issue
of DC's "Batman 80-Page
Giant 2011" that features
a young boy with autism
as its protagonist. Reasoning
that comics could unlock
a child's imagination and
creativity, he named his
new work "One Lock,
Many Keys."
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Value of Play
in the News: Restricting
Kids Free Play May Cause
Harm |
[Source: Medical News
Today]
Parents who hover over their
children, undermining their
chances of engaging in unstructured
play, could be doing them
more harm than good, Peter
Gray writes in the American
Journal of Play. Gray and
a team of experts have written
a series of articles on
how free play has become
nearly extinct, and its
impact on children and society.
Guest Editor Peter Gray,
a research professor of
psychology at Boston College,
said: "Remarkably,
over the last 50 years,
opportunities for children
to play freely have declined
continuously and dramatically
in the United States and
other developed nations;
and that decline continues,
with serious negative consequences
for children's physical,
mental, and social development."
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Autism &
Vaccines in the News:
Institute of Medicine Clears
Vaccines As Autism Culprit |
[Source: Disability Scoop]
In the first comprehensive
review of vaccine safety
since 1994, yet another
body of medical researchers
is affirming that there
is no link between vaccines
and autism.
The finding comes in a
report released Thursday
from the Institute of Medicine,
part of the National Academy
of Sciences, that was produced
at the federal government's
request.
For the review, a committee
of experts analyzed over
1,000 research articles
focusing on eight vaccines
and their relation to 158
possible reactions. Overall,
they found that side effects
from immunizations are generally
limited and temporary.
"Vaccines are not
free from side effects,
or 'adverse effects,' but
most are very rare or very
mild," the group said.
The report indicates 14
cases where evidence suggests
that vaccines could cause
health problems such as
seizures, severe allergic
reactions and brain swelling.
Read
the Rest of this Article
and an Article from the
New York Times Through a
Link on our Blog |
ADHD in the News:
Inattention,
Not Hyperactivity, Associated
With Educational Failure |
[Source: Science Daily.com]
New research from the University
of Montreal shows that inattention,
rather than hyperactivity,
is the most important indicator
when it comes to finishing
a high school education.
"Children with attention
problems need preventative
intervention early in their
development," explained
lead author Dr. Jean-Baptiste
Pingault, who is also affiliated
with Sainte-Justine Mother
and Child University Hospital.
The researchers came to
their conclusion after looking
at data collected from the
parents and teachers of
2000 children over a period
of almost twenty years.
Read
the Rest of This Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Genetic Research
in the News: Older
Fathers Run A Greater Risk
Of Having Children With
Brain Disorders |
[Source: Medical News
Today]
According to the latest
issue of Translational Psychiatry,
scientists at the Queensland
Brain Institute (QBI) have
discovered a genetic change
that could explain the reason
for children of older fathers
being more susceptible to
developing schizophrenia
or autism.
Researchers compared the
offspring of 3 month-old
male mice with those fathered
by older mice (14 to 16
months) using genome-wide
micro-array screening technology,
and discovered that offspring
of older parents had an
increased amount of new
copy number variants (CNVs)
in their DNA. CNVs are able
to delete or repeat entire
'paragraphs' of genetic
code compared to some genetic
changes that involve just
one 'letter' changes.
Read
the Rest of This Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Technology in
the News: Scottish
Researchers Using Ultrasound
for Speech Therapy |
[Source: The Scotsman]
Scottish researchers are
using ultrasound technology
to help treat children with
speech problems. Queen
Margaret University (QMU)
in Edinburgh and Edinburgh
University have developed
an innovative technique
to allow youngsters who
have problems forming words
to see on a computer screen
how their tongue is moving.
Researchers can then use
this information to help
teach children how to make
the right shapes they need
to pronounce words.
The researchers now hope
to create even clearer images
of the tongue using information
taken from MRI scans, making
it easier for youngsters
to see how they can improve
their speech.
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Brain Development
in the News: Study
Points to a Cause-Effect
Relationship Between Breastfeeding
and Brainpower |
[Source: Reuters Health]
In a new study from the
UK, kids who were breastfed
as babies had higher scores
on tests of vocabulary and
reasoning at age five than
those who weren't breastfed.
Breastfeeding seemed to
make the biggest difference
for babies who were born
early and therefore had
more catching up to do in
their brain development.
Though the practice has
been tied to a range of
health benefits early in
life, such as lower infection
risks, researchers aren't
quite sure what about breastfeeding
might boost brainpower.
But they have a few theories.
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
|
Fetal Development
in the News: Discovery
Suggests Way to Block Fetal
Brain Damage Produced by
Oxygen Deprivation |
Examining brain damage
that occurs when fetuses
in the womb are deprived
of oxygen, researchers at
The Scripps Research Institute
have discovered that damage
does not occur randomly
but is linked to the specific
action of a naturally occurring
fatty molecule called LPA,
acting through a receptor
that transfers information
into young brain cells.
This observation made in
mice suggests that LPA may
also be linked to the damage
caused by oxygen deprivation
in human fetuses. If that
proves to be the case, the
research may help scientists
and physicians better understand
and find new ways to address
the numerous developmental
disorders that can arise
when fetuses are deprived
of oxygen in the womb -
including mental retardation,
epilepsy, schizophrenia,
autism, cerebral palsy and
a range of other physical
and mental problems.
Read
the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog |
Pinterest Therapy
Activity of the Week: 'Angry
Birds' Outdoor Game (Great
for Pediatric PT) |
I love it when super
hot toys and games can be
adapted for therapy! Last
year it was Silly Bands,
and this year Angry Birds!
Our friend Margaret at Your
Therapy Source
found this wonderful idea
for an Angry Birds outdoor
game on Pinterest, and I
absolutely had to share
it as the Pinterest Therapy
Idea of the Week!
Too
Much Fun! Check out this
Game Through a Link on our
Blog |
Therapist Resource
of the Week
: Whiz
Kids - Games for Chidren
with Autism |
Whiz Kid Games is a British
resource of repetitive,
well-paced and language-based
games designed for kids
with autism, but adaptable
to other populations of
students. Games such as
"A Day at the Market"
teach about scripting, sequencing,
and schema, as well as being
a context for vocabulary
and sentence development.
Check
Out This Site Through a
Link on our Blog |
Therapist Resource
of the Week:
2011 Toys
R Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled
Children |
While some cynics might
look at the "Toys-R-Us
Toy Guide for Differently-Abled
Kids," as a thinly
veiled attempt to get parents/therapists
to shop at the toy-giant,
we believe the guide is
quite beneficial due to
the wide availability, and
reasonable prices of the
brands that Toys-R-Us sells.
This is the second year
we have featured the guide
in our newsletter.
View/Download
the Guide Through a Link
on our Blog |
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Guest
Blogs This Week: Child
Talk, Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Tips |
Red Flags for Autism in Toddlers
- By: Becca Jarzynski, MS, CCC-SLP
One of my passions as a pediatric speech-language
therapist is helping parents understand
the early signs and symptoms of autism.
Autism is a complex disorder that requires
systematic and often intense treatment,
but there is much hope for children
who receive this diagnosis, especially
if they are diagnosed a young age and
receive treatment early. Early diagnosis,
though, depends on a keen understanding
of the early signs and symptoms of autism
in toddlers.
Parents are often told to talk to their
pediatrician about autism if their child
has not spoken a single word by 15 months,
or is not using 50 words and short phrases
by 24 months. This is good advice, because
delays in verbal communication are part
of the diagnosis of an autism spectrum
disorder (except in the case of Asperger's
Syndrome, but I'll chat about that in
another post). However, (note the italics
because this is a *really important*
however), just because a child is a
late talker, one can not assume that
the child has autism. Not by a long
shot. Many, many children have language
delays without having a diagnosis of
autism. A delay in language is
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post on our Blog
|
Handwriting: Starting with
Basic Strokes and Shapes - by Dr. Anne
Zachry
I shared in my previous post that there
are certain strokes and shapes that
a child should be able to form before
beginning the process of learning to
write the letters of the alphabet. You
can think of these as the "building
blocks" to learning letter formations.
The important thing to remember is that
it's not necessary to have your child
sit down with a piece of paper and a
pencil when it's time to work on writing
skills. In fact, that is probably the
last thing that you should do! It's
best to begin teaching these strokes
using large and medium motor skills
and slowly transition to the fine motor
approach of using paper and a writing
utensil. If you're wondering what I
mean by large and medium motor skills...I'm
going to tell you!
Read
the Rest of this Guest Post on our Blog
|
|
Pediatric Therapy Corner:
Fine Motor Skills: The Key to a Lifetime
of Educational Success |
By: Megan Eldridge, OTR/L
People often bring children
to me to get help for "handwriting"
but they really need much more.
When a child struggles with handwriting,
it is usually a symptom of an underlying
problem. The first task is to evaluate
the child individually to find the cause.
Poor handwriting may be the symptom
of a larger problem
There are two major areas that need
evaluation when children are struggling
with handwriting:
- Fine-motor skills
- Visual-motor skills
These two components are vital to the
long-term success of children in school
and are critical for more than just
handwriting.
Read
the Rest of This Article on our Blog
|
Worth Repeating
- What Works for Early Language and
Literacy Development: Lessons
from Experimental Evaluations of Programs
and Intervention Strategies |
by: Alison Chrisler, M.A.
and Thomson Ling, Ph.D., ChildTrends.org
Editor's Note:
Special Thanks to the people at Bilinguistics
for the heads-up on this very important
article.
Overview: Early
childhood represents a critical period
in the development of young children's
language and literacy skills. Children's
experiences both inside the home and
in early care and education settings
play a significant role in the development
of their emerging language and literacy
skills.
Early childhood interventions and curricula
have been designed to promote children's
development in language and literacy.
Results from experimental evaluations
of approaches have suggested that children's
literacy skills can be influenced by
effective early childhood programs.
Read
the Rest of this Article Through a Link
on our Blog |
Also Worth Repeating
- The Sense of Touch |
By: Debbie Woodward
The sense of touch or tactile system
is the most primal of all of the senses
as it's the first sensory system to
develop in the womb. It's also the largest
sensory system in the body. Often times
children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction
will have symptoms related to their
sense of touch. In order understand
the symptoms and and to better relate
to your child's sensory experiences,
it is key to have an over all understanding
of the tactile system itself.
The skin is the largest sensory organ
in the human body but there are also
many tactile receptors in the lining
of the mouth, throat and digestive system.
These receptors pick up various touch
sensations and transport them via nerve
fibers that are specific only to the
tactile system. These sensory signals
travel along pathways in the central
nervous system until they reach the
brain where they are then are then processed.
Any neurological miscommunication or
"wiring malfunction" along
this intricate sensory network will
result in a confusing sensory experience.
Read
the Rest of this Article on our Blog
|
Did You Get This From a Friend?
Sign Up For Your Copy
of This Newsletter! |
Would you like pediatric and school-based
therapy tips, resources, articles, and
news delivered to your computer once
a week? Sign up here for our newsletter!
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this newsletter, there is a link located
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note that once you've opted out, we
will be unable to send you any future
correspondence via newsletter. |
Please Note:
The views and advice expressed
in articles, videos and other pieces
published in this newsletter are not
necessarily the views and advice of
PediaStaff or its employees but rather
that of the author. PediaStaff
is not endorsing or implying agreement
with the views or advice contained therein,
rather presenting them for the independent
analysis and information of its readers. |
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Did You Get This From a Friend? Sign
Up For Your Copy of This Newsletter! |
Would you like pediatric and school-based therapy tips,
resources, articles, and news delivered to your computer
once a week? Sign up here for our newsletter!
Sign
up HERE |
|
|
| September 2, 2011 - Cincinnati:
Autism Conference with Temple Grandin on Sept. 23rd |
|
|
 
Autism and Asperger
Syndrome Conference
Friday, September 23, 2011
Cincinnati, OH
Speaker Line-Up
"The Way I See It" with Temple
Grandin, Ph.D.
Dr. Temple Grandin has served as inspiration and
role model to hundreds of thousands of families
and persons with autism. In this unique presentation,
Temple eloquently and candidly describes the challenges
she has faced and offers no-nonsense ideas on
how others dealing with autism can meet these
obstacles and improve the quality of their lives.
Backed by her personal experience and evidence-based
research, Temple shares her valuable insights
on a wide variety of topics, and offers useful
do's and don'ts.
By attending, participants can:
-Modify the learning environment to accommodate
sensory challenges
-Recognize and accommodate neurological differences
in home or classroom setting
-Distinguish between voluntary behaviors and involuntary
behaviors
-Responsibly utilize alternative and/or conventional
medicine
-Assist individuals develop their talents into
career path
"Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships,"
with Sean Barron
Sean Barron is a very interesting and intelligent
young man who has faced the challenge of autism.
He and his mother wrote an insightful book on
their lives together. There's a Boy in Here has
won many accolades for offering the unique perspectives
of two people who look at the same world, but
see and feel entirely different things.
Mr. Barron has progressed to the point that it
is difficult to even realize that he once was
truly impacted by autism /Asperger's Syndrome.
He is now a freelance writer, lives independently,
and co-authored Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships
with Dr. Temple Grandin. Sean is a graduate of
Youngstown State University, and works as a reporter
for the Youngstown Vindicator. He's pursuing a
second degree in journalism.
By attending, participants can understand:
-How autism affects social awareness, social thinking,
and social understanding
-The 10 unwritten rules of social relationships
-The difference between situation-based and people-based
social rules
-Behavior and self-control strategies
-Effective strategies Sean's parents and
educators taught him about social conventions
such as honesty, manners, and dealing with making
mistakes
-The social challenges of friendships and relationships
"Behavioral Intervention for
Young Learners from Early Intervention to the
Elementary Years," with James Ball,
Ed.D., BCBA-D
Dr. James Ball, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst,
has been in the autism field for over twenty years
providing educational, residential, and employment
services to children and adults affected by autism.
As President/CEO of JB Autism Consulting, he provides
private consultation to organizations, schools,
and families regarding staff training, parent
training, home support services, classroom design/support,
and behavior management/assessment.
By attending participants can:
-Identify seven effective strategies for the perfect
EI (Early Intervention) program
-Develop an Individualized Family Service Plan
(IFSP)
-List the must-have components of an EI program
-Integrate social skills instruction into a curriculum
Conference Location:
Northern Kentucky Convention Center
One West Rivercenter Blvd
Covington, KY 41011
Directions
Conference Fees:
Please click
here to see the conference pricing chart.
A discounted rate is given to those who
register online using the code SPEC1 with
a credit card.
For more information on conference schedule, prices,
parking and CEUs (ASHA, Social Workers, APA),
please visit the web page.
Visit
web page for more details and registration
|
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|
| September 1, 2011 - (OEC-LS)
Ohio Educational Interpreter Guidelines Updated, Tuition Reimbursement Opportunity
for SLP/AUD |
|
Office for Exceptional Children
(September 2011) |
Ohio Educational Interpreter Guidelines
Updated
For some Ohio students who are deaf or hearing impaired,
access to the general curriculum involves the services of
a qualified sign language educational interpreter. To assist
educational teams in providing appropriate educational interpreting
services to these children, the Ohio Department of Education
(ODE) published Ohio Guidelines for Educational Interpreters
in October, 2000.
Since 2000, there have been many changes in education and
interpreting that impact the work of interpreters in public
school settings. In cooperation with the ODE, the Interpreting
and Sign Language Resources (ISLR) Advisory Committee revised
the Guidelines to reflect these changes. The newly updated
publication was reviewed by consultants at ODE and Ohio educators.
Ohio Guidelines for Edcuational Interpreters is now
available on the ODE
website, Edresourcesohio.org
and the Ohio
School for the Deaf Center for Outreach Services.
We are confident that this newly revised Ohio Guidelines for
Educational Interpreters provides the current information
you need to serve your hearing impaired students.
$5,000 Tuition Reimbursement Employment Incentive Opportunity
for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Do you know of a first-year speech-language pathologist or
audiologist working in an Ohio school district? Speech-language
pathologists (SLPs) or audiologists graduating in 2011 from
Ohio universities are invited to request tuition reimbursement
of $5,000. This scholarship is funded by the Ohio Department
of Education through the OMNIE (Ohio Master's Network Initiative
In Education program and is intended to address the statewide
shortage of speech-language pathologists and audiologists
in Ohio school districts.
Applicants must have completed a school-based practicum (student
teaching), and must obtain full-time employment in an Ohio
school district for the 2011-2012 academic year no later than
Nov. 1, 2011. Stipend for part-time employment will be pro-rated.
Visit www.omnie.org,
on the left side is a menu, look under "For SLP/AUD Students"
and click on the link "$5000 Scholarship" for an
application.
Employees contracted by private agencies or those who have
received financial compensation through the OMNIE SLP intern
graduate program option are not eligible for the $5,000 tuition
reimbursement incentive.
If you have questions regarding OMNIE please contact Nada Allender
at nada@ameritech.net. |
|
|
|
| September 1, 2011 |
| Keep watching for updates |
