eNotes
November 3, 2020Updates from the ECTA Center
Recommendations for Re-Opening Face-to-Face Sessions for Inclusionary Preschools and Early Care Centers
This resource will help program administrators and classroom practitioners design educational environments as they re-open. The strategies presented are evidence-based practices that have been effective across time; the data are irrefutable. Even in these challenging circumstances, these strategies will assist all staff to make decisions to better serve children and families, as well as mitigate teacher burnout and support staff retention. The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center and National Center of Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) remain committed to supporting early childhood programs to successfully serve children with disabilities and their families, as well as children who have not been identified with disabilities and their families, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Determining A Child's Eligibility for Early Intervention Services Remotely
This resource includes guidance, considerations, and resources for state staff and local practitioners who are determining Part C eligibility remotely. As a result of COVID-19, many states are having to determine a child's eligibility for Part C services remotely using a variety of approaches such as teleconference, videoconference, and sharing information and video synchronously and asynchronously. Therefore, effective state policies, procedures, and practices are important to appropriately identify children eligible for Part C services.
The resource also includes three tables of assessment tools with potential for remote administration.
Reafirmando las practicas clave de la atencion temprana durante una pandemia
Reaffirming Key Early Childhood Practices During a Pandemic is now available in Spanish. The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center hosted a series of discussions last Spring-Summer with teachers, providers, administrators, and families from across the country and gathered supporting research. In listening to their stories, it became apparent that these times are not about new practices. Rather, they are about expanding strategies to emphasize many practices that have already proven to be effective.
News from the Field
Making Special Education Work for Your Child During COVID-19
Parents and educators of children with disabilities are encouraged to approach the challenge of education during COVID-19 with creativity, flexibility, and collaboration. One suggestion offered is to put schooling in perspective. "We should also strive to prioritize the things that children require even more than schooling: physical and emotional safety, a responsive adult, and unconditional love and acceptance."
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Implementation Tip Sheet
This tip sheet from the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) provides checklists and screening algorithms for the birth to 6-month period to ensure that screening, surveillance, referral, and intervention can occur at appropriate times for optimal development. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing face a potential developmental emergency if they do not receive fully accessible language exposure during the critical period of development, ages birth to 5 years. This compels pediatric health professionals to ensure an infant or child receives hearing confirmation as quickly as possible followed by appropriate and timely intervention.