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Description: Milestones matter! Track your child’s milestones from age 2 months to 5 years with CDC’s easy-to-use illustrated checklists; get tips from CDC for encouraging your child’s development; and find out what to do if you are ever concerned about how your child is developing. From birth to age 5, your child should reach milestones in how he or she plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves. Photos and videos in this app illustrate each milestone and make tracking them for your child easy...
Description: Position Statement: Facilitated Communication It is the position of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) that Facilitated Communication (FC) is a discredited technique that should not be used. There is no scientific evidence of the validity of FC, and there is extensive scientific evidence—produced over several decades and across several countries—that messages are authored by the "facilitator" rather than the person with a disability. Furthermore, there is...
Description: A cell phone contract is an agreement that outlines what families will do to make sure kids take care of their cell phone and use it responsibly — like not texting while driving. Another goal is to help kids speak up if they see or receive anything on their phone that makes them feel uncomfortable. These contracts include steps that kids promise to take. They also include steps that parents or caregivers promise to take. A cell phone contract can also help set limits on how much...
Description: Bus drivers and transportation staff work directly with students with autism and are responsible for their and others' safety during the routes. Drivers and assistants are the first faces students see in the morning and the last ones in the afternoon. They are critical liaisons between home and school and often have more interaction with parents than other school staff. Beyond simply driving, transportation staff are in charge of managing behavior, implementing accommodations, and collaborating...
Description: Medicaid at a Glance, Virginia Medicaid - The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) plays an essential role in the Commonwealth’s health care system by offering lifesaving coverage to one in five Virginians, including more than 500,000 newly eligible adults who gained access to care when the program expanded in 2019.
Description: We are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting foster, kinship, and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and other special needs. We serve families, educators and child welfare professionals in the Northern Virginia area. Formed Families Forward’s mission is to improve developmental, educational, social, emotional and post-secondary outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and other special needs through provision of information, training and support...
Description: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The new law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students...
Description: Parents of children with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities are accustomed to paying close attention to their child's physical, cognitive, and emotional development. This proactive approach should also include their child's sexual development, which for many parents may not seem as obvious or urgent, especially to those with young children. Drawing on her unique background as both a sexual educator and mother of a child with Down syndrome, the author blends factual...
Description: The Profile of a Virginia Graduate describes the knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes that students must attain to be successful in college and/or the work force and to be “life ready.” In developing the profile, the Board of Education determined that a life-ready Virginia graduate must: Achieve and apply appropriate academic and technical knowledge (content knowledge); Demonstrate productive workplace skills, qualities, and behaviors (workplace skills); Build...
Description: Khan Academy provides: Personalized learning - Students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. Trusted content - Created by experts, Khan Academy’s library of trusted, standards-aligned practice and lessons covers math K-12 through early college, grammar, science, history, AP®, SAT®, and more. It’s all free for learners and teachers. Tools to empower teachers - With Khan Academy, teachers can identify...
Description: What do High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) look like in practice? The HLP Video Series supports teacher educators and new teachers with concrete, easy-to-access examples of HLPs in action, in real classrooms with real students. The videos and supporting resources are easily and freely accessible online, offering a practical, real-world illustration of HLPs by teachers intentionally and explicitly using the practice to meet the specific needs of students in their classrooms. HLP videos highlight...
Description: Every year, 1.2 million children under 6 years old experience homelessness in the United States. Many of these children are in early childhood education programs. Explore this tip sheet to learn how homelessness impacts various areas of health and wellness. Discover ways to identify and assess the needs of families experiencing homelessness and connect them to medical and dental homes. Also, find resources and supports to connect families to health and wellness providers. When working with...
Description: CTRI- Free Resources include: Stress Reduction Exercises 1-Minute Video Insight Printable Handouts
Description: The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to...
Description: As part of its barrier-busting mission, CAST offers a number of robust (and free) learning tools. These tools—many designed and tested as part of CAST’s research projects—help educators, developers, families, and other individuals experience the power of flexible learning environments. Clusive®?: An Accessible, Digital Reading Platfort Corgi: Co-organize Your Learning Biofab Explorer TIES Lessons for All: The 5-15-45 Tool CAST Figuration®? Learning Designed™ UDL...
Description: When a child is using your computer, normal safeguards and security practices may not be sufficient. Children present additional challenges because of their natural characteristics: innocence, curiosity, desire for independence, and fear of punishment. You need to consider these characteristics when determining how to protect your data and the child. You may think that because the child is only playing a game, or researching a term paper, or typing a homework assignment, he or she can't cause...
Description: All travelers will get more out of their trip by being able to speak a few words of the local language, but for people with a disability it’s often vital to be able to explain your particular needs. Since standard phrasebooks are unlikely to contain the language you need to talk about needs around disability we’ve gathered together some disability-specific words and phrases and translated them into as many different languages as we practically could. Although things are slowly...
Description: Partnership for People with Disabilities (VCU) - More than 50 million Americans currently live with some form of disability. In Virginia, this means that one of every five citizens will have a disability or know someone who does. Everything we do at the Partnership is focused on supporting people with disabilities and their families to be fully participating members of their community. Our work focuses on the four major areas of emphasis of early childhood, education, health, and community...
Description: Learn about programs that help you pay for college. Find ESL classes to study English as a second language. Learn about applying for, financing, and attending college or university in the U.S. Local public libraries not only lend books. They help children learn to read, and adults learn English or find a job. Federal libraries gather and preserve special collections.
Description: Sign It! is an innovative new online curriculum for learning American Sign Language (ASL). The instruction is done by professional actors (both deaf and hearing) who are fluent in ASL and is highly interactive, entertaining, and engaging. You can complete the lessons at your own pace. Built-in quizzes provide feedback about how well you are learning the material, and there is ample opportunity for practice. You'll see video vignettes showing conversational ASL, interviews with deaf celebrities,...
Description: E-cigarettes are increasingly popular among adolescents, and currently there are limited options for education and prevention curriculum specifically targeted at E-cigarettes. While the purchase of E-cigarettes by minors is prohibited, the use of E-cigarettes among youth and adolescents is on the rise. This is particularly concerning as the liquid in E-cigarettes contains nicotine, and the chemicals in nicotine liquids are not currently regulated for safety standards, with unknown health...
Description: Scientists and parents know that young children’s brain development is critically important—and researchers learn more every day. Children experience their most profound cognitive, social, and emotional growth in the first eight years of life. Children’s Institute has put together a series to share educational resources and the latest news from experts about young children’s growing brains and how their caregivers can support and nurture this growth. In this series,...
Description: A growing body of research has made it increasingly apparent that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a critical public health issue. ACEs are potentially traumatic experiences and events, ranging from abuse and neglect to living with an adult with a mental illness. They can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood or later in life.1 However, more important than exposure to any specific event of this type is the accumulation of multiple adversities during...
Description: Researching and selecting a college that fits your needs can be daunting, but that challenge can be even greater when you’re a student with disabilities. However, that doesn’t mean your options are limited. As technology has advanced, so has accessibility for all students. Learning disabilities are defined as conditions that give rise to difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down’s Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity...
Description: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.
Description: What is Restorative Practices? All humans are hardwired to connect. Just as we need food, shelter and clothing, human beings also need strong and meaningful relationships to thrive. Restorative practices is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. Restorative practices is being applied in the following settings: K-12 and Higher Education Community Health Organizational Leadership Criminal Justice...
Description: Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to...
Description: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. CDC works to understand ACEs and prevent them.
Description: SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) improves treatment and services for children, adolescents, and families who have experienced traumatic events.
Description: The Heart of Learning: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success is a handbook for teachers written and compiled by OSPI and Western Washington University staff. It contains valuable information that will be helpful to you on a daily basis as you work with students whose learning has been adversely impacted by trauma in their lives. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Trauma, Compassion, and Resiliency: Background and Definitions Chapter 2: Self-Care: An Ethical Obligation for Those Who Care...
Description: Helping Traumatized Children Learn - The Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative’s (TLPI) mission is to ensure that children traumatized by exposure to family violence and other adverse childhood experiences succeed in school. To accomplish this mission, TLPI engages in a host of advocacy strategies including: providing support to schools to become trauma sensitive environments; research and report writing; legislative and administrative advocacy for laws, regulations and...
Description: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC) Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, NCTSN) Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence (Activities Guide) Handbook: The Heart of Learning: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success (Compassionate Schools: The Heart of Learning and Teaching) Helping Traumatized Children Learn How childhood trauma affects health...
Description: Families are the enduring presence in the lives of young children with disabilities. This volume contains activities to support early care and education staff and families in developing positive relationships that support collaboration and family leadership. Session 1: Creating Bright Futures (Building Relationships with Families) Session 2: Listening to Families Session 3: When Concerns Arise: Learning from Families' Experiences Session 4: Getting...
Description: The Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: Training Guide is designed to strengthen the inclusion of young children with disabilities and their families in programs serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The guide features four modules, each containing a facilitator’s guide, training scripts, handouts, and videos. The modules are: Including Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Building Relationships with Families Collaboration and Teaming Preschool Inclusion Series The training...
Description: Google Maps has launched a new feature that shows the wheelchair accessible routes around public transit in major cities around the world. To access the “wheelchair accessible” routes, type your desired destination into Google Maps. Tap “Directions” then select the public transportation icon. Then tap “Options” and under the Routes section, you’ll find “wheelchair accessible” as a route type. When you select this option, Google Maps will show...
Description: A Place To Be helps people with disabilities, medical and mental health struggles face, navigate and overcome life's challenges using the clinically-based practices of music therapy. Our Board-Certified therapists create individualized plans to help our clients achieve therapeutic goals and discover unrealized potential in a supportive, engaging and fun environment. A Place To Be is more than just our programs. We are a community dedicated to the values of inclusivity, respect, acceptance, love...
Description: VDSS is one of the largest Commonwealth agencies, partnering with 120 local departments of social services, along with faith-based and non-profit organizations, to promote the well-being of children and families statewide. We proudly serve alongside 1,650 (state) and 8,500 (local) human services professionals throughout the Social Services System, who ensure that thousands of Virginia's most vulnerable citizens have access to the best services and benefits available to them.
Description: On January 25, 2018, the Board of Education approved the proposed Guidelines for the Prevention of Suspension and Expulsion of Young Children: Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings. The Department of Education has posted links to the Guidelines for the Prevention of Suspension and Expulsion of Young Children: Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings on the Early Childhhood Curriculum & Instruction webpage. These...
Description: This practice guide presents three evidence-based recommendations for helping students in grades 6–12 develop effective writing skills. Each recommendation includes specific, actionable guidance for educators on implementing practices in their classrooms. The guide also summarizes and rates the evidence supporting each recommendation, describes examples to use in class, and offers the panel’s advice on how to overcome potential implementation obstacles. This guide is geared towards...
Description: This practice guide provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared toward teachers, literacy coaches, and other educators who want to improve the writing of their elementary students.
Description: Make Beliefs Comix - Students can build their own comic strips on the website, with ample scaffolding. Previously available for six languages, the site has added functionality so that users can write text for balloons in ANY language. This site includes resources for creating comic strips, printables, writing tools as well as resources for Teachers, Parents, ESOL/Literacy, Special Needs, Apps, E-Books & More.
Description: All kids feel anxious from time to time. But kids with learning and attention issues are more likely to struggle with anxiety. How can you tell whether your child's level of anxiety is typical and appropriate? Learn when it's something to be worried about or a side effect of a medication like Ritalin. Then, read what one mother learned when her son got a 504 plan—beginning with the fact that there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Description: For parents, daycare providers, and early educators, new research describes a simple and powerful way to build children’s brains: talk with them, early and often. A study in Psychological Science shows how conversation — the interplay between a parent or caregiver and a child — ignites the language centers in a child’s brain. It’s the first study to show a relationship between the words children hear at home and the growth of their neural processing capacities...
Description: Where will a student with a disability receive his or her special education and related services? IDEA requires placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for each child, a setting that is based on the child’s IEP. Use the options and paths below to find out more about: who decides placement; how they decide it; what LRE is and why it’s a foundation element in IDEA and in deciding a child’s placement; and how placement can be affected if a child...
Description: School presents a unique challenge for children with behavior issues. Teachers need tools to use to help provide support and guidance. Administrators need methods for creating a positive learning atmosphere within the entire school. Parents need information on how to work with school staff to address their child’s behavior challenges in the school setting. We’ve included resources below that, hopefully, will give teachers, schools, and families the tools they need to create safe and...
Description: In any family, each sibling is unique, important, and special. So are the relationships they have with each other. Brothers and sisters influence each other and play important roles in each other’s lives. Indeed, sibling relationships make up a child’s first social network and are the basis for his or her interactions with people outside the family. Brothers and sisters are playmates first; as they mature, they take on new roles with each other. Over the years, they may be many...
Description: Evaluation is an essential beginning step in the special education process for a child with a disability. Before a child can receive special education and related services for the first time, a full and individual initial evaluation of the child must be conducted to see if the child has a disability and is eligible for special education. Informed parent consent must be obtained before this evaluation may be conducted. The evaluation process is guided by requirements in Part B of our...
Description: This webpage connects you quickly with brief, but detailed fact sheets on specific disabilities. Each fact sheet defines the disability, describes its characteristics, offers tips for parents and teachers, and connects you with related information and organizations with special expertise in that disability. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Autism Spectrum Disorders, Blindness/ Visual Impairment, Cerebral Palsy, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness and Hearing Loss, Developmental Delay, Down...
Description: The birth of a child is an exciting, life-changing event. A beautiful new baby comes to your house, family, and neighborhood. It is a time for celebration. But what happens when this new child has a disability? What if there are health problems? What if, as time goes by, it seems as if the child isn’t learning and progressing as quickly or easily as other children? What do you do? CPIR offers a suite of resource pages that can help you find answers and people who can...
Description: Early intervention is full of terms that people constantly use in writing and in conversation, and it’s important to know what those terms mean. We are pleased to provide this handy reference to early intervention terminology, and hopes it helps our readers quickly connect with the meaning of pivotal words and phrases in the field.