Friday Feature: A History of EI/ECSE in the United States: A Personal Perspective

It's been a while since we've done a #FridayFeature -- here's an article hot off the (cyber)press:

A History of EI/ECSE in the United States: A Personal Perspective
by Diane Bricker, Huichao Xie, Sharon Bohjanen

An interesting read on the evolution of the Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education field... Download the PDF here.

Bricker et al (2018) wrote: "service delivery has been predominately a “patchwork” of separate and nonaffiliated offerings across communities" (p. 12).

Questions to think about:

• Does this "patchwork" of separate/fragmented services ring true in your EI community? What have some of your experiences and challenges been like?
• What needs to change? What are your ideas for implementing coordinated, comprehensive, and cohesive services for young children and families?
• What can YOU do as an EI practitioner or program to move towards more cohesive services? 

Social-Emotional Toolkit from Brookes Publishing

While we Early Interventionists have been letting go of our "toy bags", it doesn't mean we can't have resources in our toolkits!

Here's a new resource on social and emotional development from Brookes Publishing:

"Early identification of social-emotional challenges can make a huge difference in the life of a young child. With this free toolkit, you’ll get more than 25 pages of resources that help you conduct successful screening with ASQ®:SE-2, the trusted, widely used social-emotional screener for children from 1 month to 6 years.
Use these tip sheets, parent handouts, and activities to effectively implement ASQ:SE-2, involve families in the screening process, and boost a child’s social-emotional development between screenings. Whether you’re new to social-emotional screening or looking to enhance your current system, these resources will help you make the most of ASQ:SE-2—and ensure that the children in your program have the best chance at success in school and life."

Get your FREE Social-Emotional Toolkit from Brookes Publishing HERE.

Coffee Break Webinars for Better Hearing and Speech Month

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!

By far, in my experience most of the children with whom I worked in Part C were referred because of a speech concern. Is this similar to what you are experiencing?

In celebration of Better Hearing and Speech Month, the Office of Head Start's Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative is joining the the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to host a coffee break webinar series to celebrate this year’s theme “Communication for All.” Throughout the month of May, ASHA partners with national and local stakeholders to engage in a multifaceted public education campaign to raise awareness about the critical need to intervene early when young children are identified with communication disorders. 

The Coffee Break Webinars will focus on raising awareness about the importance of frequent hearing screenings, language development, and family engagement.

There is no pre-registration to join the webinars. Click on the links below when you are ready to join.

Monday, May 7, 2018, 2:00-2:15 p.m. EDT:
What You Need to Know About Quality Hearing Screening for Children Birth to Five Years of Age
Will Eiserman, Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative

Click HERE to join the webinar.


Thursday, May 10, 2018, 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. EDT:
Family Engagement: Living It Out in the Real World
Janet DesGeorges, Co-founder and Executive Director of Hands & Voices

Click HERE to join the webinar.


Monday, May 14, 2018, 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. EDT:
Unplug and Engage: Creating Language Rich Everyday Routines at Home
Juliann Woods, Ph.D., Professor and Researcher at Florida State University School of Communication Science and Disorders

Click HERE to join the webinar.


Thursday, May 17, 2017, 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. EDT:
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Strategies to Promote Children’s Language Development
Rosa Milagros Santos, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Special Education the University of Illinois

Click HERE to join the webinar.

Additional resources on collaborating with child care programs

Thank you to everyone who joined us at today's "What's On Your Mind?" web discussion on collaborating with families and child care providers! We enjoyed hearing everyone's ideas. Please contact us or comment below if you have ideas for a future web discussion topic, or if you'd like to share feedback/additional thoughts on today's discussion.

And in case you missed it, the recording will be archived on the DEC website (EI SIG page) soon!
Special thanks to Lynn Barts for sharing insights and experiences from her work in the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois. Be sure to visit their page for helpful videos and resources at https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/6039/230963

What's On Your Mind?

Do you frequently conduct visits with children in child care settings? What are your experiences working in this other natural environment?

Join us as we pilot an informal, interactive hour-long web discussion called "What's On Your Mind" focused on information-sharing and brainstorming among interested Early Intervention (EI) Special Interest Group members. Our first web discussion will focus on the partnership between families, child care providers, and early interventionists throughout the EI process, including discussion of successful strategies as well as challenges that exist within the partnership. 

To inform our conversation, Michelle and Nicole will share key insights from a relevant article, and Lynn Barts from Illinois will share one state’s experiences with forging partnerships within the child care context. Please review the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices prior to the discussion. We hope you will save the date and join us!

What’s On Your Mind: How Do You Partner With Families and Child Care Providers? 
Tuesday, April 17th, 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Register HERE.

Improved Collaboration Between IDEA Part C and Child Welfare

Do you work with children who are also served by Child Welfare agencies? What have your experiences been collaborating with the child welfare system?

Here is a FREE webinar from the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Protection & Well-Being Special Interest Group, in collaboration with the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center:

"Promising Referral Practices: Improved Collaboration between IDEA Part C and Child Welfare"

March 7, 2018 - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Register HERE. 

New Learning Decks!

TOMORROW: Storybook Reading is Fun: Teaching Parents to Facilitate Social-Communication Skills for Their Children with Disabilities

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EST

COMING SOON: Grandparents Matter: Strategies for Involving Grandparents in ECSE Settings

Thursday, March 15th, 2018, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST

Hop over to the DEC website to register!