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Relationships TOC All Together Now! is published three times per year. Letters, contributions, subscription requests, or reprint requests should be sent to All Together Now! 521 South Greensboro Street, Suite 100 Carrboro NC 27510 919.966.0059 • FAX 919.843.5784 email Molly_Weston@unc.edu www.fpg.unc.edu/~atn 27,000 copies of All Together Now! were printed at a cost of 42¢ each. 3 Concept Building Relationships with Families by Sandy Steele and Pat Wesley 6 Policy Update Supporting Families by Irene Nathan Zipper, MSW, PhD 8 Family Focus What It Means to Me: Leadership by Karen Barbour 10 Books Reviews by Molly Weston 12 Trainings Calendar of Training Events 14 Ask PFI Building Relationships with Home Visits by Pat Wesley 16 Feature Program Good Relationships in the Workplace by Molly Weston 20 Research Early Identification of Infants with Autism by Grace Baranek, PhD & Jennifer C. Neitzel, MEd 23 KidSeen&Heard KidSpeak 24 Programs Reaching the 5 Stars The latest programs to receive 5 stars Editor’s Notes After the hot summer, I hope you’re enjoying crisp fall days now. I’m always glad to put the heat behind me and pull out sweaters and boots for the coming season.While putting things behind us, we’re finishing our theme on relationships and we’ve crammed this issue with lots of articles focusing on this topic. I hope you’ll find them interesting and useful. Partnerships for Inclusion (PFI) has been short staffed for the last several months, but we hope to be able to introduce new inclusion specialists to you soon. We miss Jane Scanlon in the west and Kay Dixon in the east, but they’re both still working with young children in those regions. PFI staff members are working on several new products that we’ll announce soon.We’re not ready to talk about them yet, but one will be something dear to my heart and it involves my favorite activity—reading. I hope you’ll send in some sayings for KidSpeak. That column has garnered more comments than any in a long time—but you readers aren’t doing your share. Send me something, folks! Remember, if your selection is printed, you’ll receive a book reviewed in that issue of ATN! As they used to say on the radio,“keep those cards and letters coming in.” Till next time. —Molly A publication of Partnerships for Inclusion Pat Wesley, Director Editor Molly Weston Designer Gina Harrison Photographer Don Trull Proofreaders Dave Sanel Sabrina Tyndall Editorial Board & Contributing Agencies Norman Allard Head Start Chapel Hill Training Outreach Kathy Baars NC Public Schools Early Childhood/Exceptional Children Susan Byerly Cumberland County Schools Deborah Carroll Early Intervention Branch Karen Chester NC Interagency Coordinating Council for Children Ages Birth to Five with Special Needs Karen Ferguson NC Division of Child Development Gina Harrison FPG Child Development Institute Katherine Laveck NC Division of Early Childhood, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children Ron Moore Head Start Duncan Munn Early Intervention Branch Karen Ponder NC Partnership for Children Pat Wesley FPG Child Development Institute All of us find it hard to work with some people some time. Although professionals and families know the value of positive relationships in promoting children’s development and learning, no one said collaboration would be easy! Sometimes families of very young chil-dren offer particular challenges because they are so vested in having the best for their child. When a child has a special need, often additional challenges arise. For early childhood professionals, having a good relationship with families is key in promoting children’s development and learning. Meaningful and productive rela-tionships between parents and profession-als are based on two key ingredients. First, professionals and families must believe that parents have important information to share about their children. In other words, family-school collaboration is an attitude, not a single activity (Christenson, 1999). Second, they must avoid laying blame for challenges that arise and practice shared problem-solving that emphasizes the strengths and resources of the child, family, and program. Children are served best when providers and families communicate,plan, and solve problems together.Each family’s needs are different; however, what works for one family does not necessarily work for all. Sometimes in our work with young chil-dren we get to know a family with whom our tried-and-true communication skills just aren’t effective. Conversations are stressful and relationships are strained. There can be many reasons for this, from having different expectations for the child to very different interpersonal styles. As PFI inclusion professionals and parents of children with special needs, we have had opportunities to work with many people and to see these interactions through the eyes of both a professional and a family member. Here are some tips for turning a challenging relationship with a family into a productive one. What’s going on? It is always helpful to try to understand why people may not respond to you in a respectful or collaborative manner. Some possible reasons include: Poor communication This is the most frequent problem we see in working with families. Families may feel they don’t have a voice in decision making and are being told what to do and not to do Building relationships with Families by Sandy Steele & Pat Wesley Sandy is an Eastern Regional inclusion specialist with PFI. She and her family live in Greenville. Pat is the director of PFI. She and her family live in Chatham County. Concept ALLTOGETHERNOW! 3 regarding their child. They may feel that opportunities to meet with professionals are rushed or infrequent. Perhaps providers with good intentions contact resources for the family before asking their permission.Perhaps parents receive phone calls or notes from providers only when there is a concern about the child. If fami-lies are not asked for input about program policies and practices, they may feel that services are not truly responsive to them, that they and their child are expected to fit the mold of the program. Negative assumptions Sometimes we negatively stereotype fami-lies based on their neighborhood, socio-economic status, marital status, religious beliefs, sexual preference, or ethnicity. For example, a teacher may make assump-tions about children early in the year based on what school bus they take to school.While we all probably have found ourselves at some point judging the book by the cover, negative attitudes come across to families loud and clear. Us vs. them Some professionals see themselves as the expert on children—the ones who know what’s best for each child—leaving the family feeling a sense of competition with the professional. It takes time to see the whole picture of the child at home and at school and wisdom to understand that the family knows their child best and may have insight about the child’s experiences at school.Asking families to share this insight not only makes them feel more involved, but it often provides you with methods that make your interactions with both the child and the family more positive. Degrees of participation Most programs have set expectations for family participation.Contact with parents often is organized around individual family conferences, group meetings, or parent volunteerism in the classroom. For some families these options work well all of the time; for other families they work well only some of the time. Still other families may prefer ways to participate in their child’s program that do not include any of these opportunities. Some families may work very hard just getting their child to your program each day. Relationships with families are enhanced when professionals understand that life circumstances affect the way an individual family is able to participate in their child’s program during any given year. A one-size-fits-all parent program will not address the needs of all families. Asking families how they would like to participate may very well gain volunteers for things you may never think to ask. Overwhelmed! Families who have very young children, children with special needs or who care for ill or aging family members may feel over-whelmed from their day-to-day stresses. 4 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Are families welcomed as warmly as children? Feelings of guilt, anger, hopelessness, fear, and fatigue are common. Exclusion A common fear across families is that someone will exclude or make fun of their child. Starting school or changing class-rooms or programs can be times of extreme stress for families. Making it better The following list includes strategies to foster positive relationships with families: w Retool your listening skills. More than 90% of communication is listening— and that doesn’t mean just waiting your turn to talk! Ask meaningful questions. Rephrase what the family has said in your own words to ensure that you’ve understood them correctly. Try to understand the other person’s point of view, to see the world through their eyes and experiences. Keep in mind that parents may vent their feelings and frus-trations and need only a listening ear without advice. w Keep an open mind. We all come from different cultures, beliefs, and parenting practices. Take a hard look at any assumptions you may have formed about families based on stereotypes or biases. Try many different approaches to get to know and form positive relation-ships with families.Don’t give up! w Reframe your thinking. If you have had a challenging relationship with a certain family, practice thinking about them in a positive way. As you sit in the car at their house prior to a home visit, identify one positive outcome that you feel you can count on during the visit. List in your mind the ways they have supported their child���s development and learning.Remind yourself that few people start the morning planning to create tension in their rela- ALLTOGETHERNOW! 5 tionships, and set your own course for making this visit a success. w Keep your eye on the prize. Never forget that you are in the early childhood field because you want to make a difference in the lives of children.Keep the resiliency of children in mind as you consider your own skills and patience in working with others. w Identify your own buttons. How do you typically react to situations that you find challenging? What about those reactions makes the situation better or worse? Share your most challenging relation-ships with a colleague or friend and discuss new ideas for reacting when old buttons are pushed! w Be prepared to step back from a relation-ship to think things through.Do not feel that issues must be resolved during every meeting. Feel comfortable in stat-ing that you need time to reflect. Ask if another meeting time can be arranged in the near future. w Look closely at your program. How are families welcomed into the program in general? What opportunities do parents have for sharing their experiences and expectations with you, spending time with you and the child together, provid-ing input about program policies and practices, staying informed about their child’s activities? w Work with families to set mutual goals for their child, to establish effective strategies to meet the goals, and to agree on ways to measure and report progress. Be sure to ask them what a typical day with their child is like at home and find out what the family enjoys doing together. w Expand your knowledge about commu-nity resources so that you can provide current and relevant information to families when asked. Working with all families to build true partnerships takes time and possibly means trying new approaches. The end result will benefit everyone involved— especially the children. ATN! Set your course for making each home visit a success. Citation Christenson, S.L. (1999). Families and schools: Rights, responsibilities, resources, and relationships. In R.C. Pianta & M.J. Cox (Eds.), The transition to kindergarten: Research, policy, training and practice. (143–178). Baltimore, MD: Brookes. 6 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 “Family Support” has many meanings—from emergency assistance to the concept of family-centered practice.At the Family Support Network of North Carolina (FSN-NC), family support means the support of other families in similar situations—families who have been there, who understand what a family is experi-encing, and who have worked within the service system. Building on state and national policy to increase families’ access to resources, FSN-NC offers a comprehensive program for families with children who have or are at risk for disabilities. Learning that a child may have a disability can be a devastating and lonely experience. Service providers can help families address the challenges of parenting a child with special needs, but their services can be hard to access and can seem intimidating. Parents who themselves have children with special needs are in a unique position to address other families’needs for social and emotional support and for information.An experienced family can help others to navi-gate the complex service system and can share the most practical advice. Support makes it easier for families to experience the joy and satisfaction that can come from parenting a child with special needs. This family-to-family support is available through the local FSN-NC programs, along with training, information and referral services. Local programs FSN-NC is made up of 18 community-based family support organizations that cover 56 counties across the state. These programs are housed in local or regional hospitals, in regional Developmental Evaluation Centers, in local Arcs, with local Smart Start Partnerships, and solo organizations. Each local organization has a program coordinator. Most also have additional staff. Programs are funded with both public and private funds. While local FSN-NC organizations vary somewhat, most engage in similar activi-ties. These include parent-to-parent match-ing whereby family members with concerns about their child and/or family are matched with other family members with similar concerns who have been trained to provide guidance and support. Many offer support groups and workshops Supporting Families by Irene Nathan Zipper, MSW, PhD Irene is the new director of the Family Support Network of North Carolina. She lives and works in Chapel Hill. Policy for family members and for service providers. They make presentations to increase public awareness of disability issues. Many of the program coordinators are family members with children with disabilities who have made use of the serv-ice system. They are strongly committed to effective support for families and believe that this support is best provided by others who have had similar experiences. Eight FSN-NC programs participate in the Foster Families Project in which local programs provide training to enhance the ability of foster families to serve chil-dren with special needs and those who are at risk. Information The Central Directory of Resources is a free source of information for family members and service providers.Callers can get infor-mation about specific disabilities and about the local resources and organizations that serve children and their families.Through a toll-free phone line, 800.852.0042, and a web site, www.fsnnc.org, information is available to family members, service providers, students, and others across the state. Callers can speak with a resource specialist about a child’s particular issues, find help with advocacy, and get informa-tion about services available in their own community. FSN-NC also sends written information and lends materials from the FSN-NC Outreach Library. The Central Directory of Resources has a Spanish-speaking resource specialist who is part of the Hispanic Initiative, which was recently established to ensure that complete and accurate information is available for Hispanic families across the state. All of these services are offered without charge. Training An array of training activities is provided by FSN-NC. University students can learn about community-based support through classroom and practicum activities. Early childhood intervention practitioners can participate in the NC Mentor Program, through which experienced professionals are paired with those who are new to early childhood intervention. Through this ongoing, supportive, mentoring relation- ALLTOGETHERNOW! 7 ship, new service providers can enhance their skills and knowledge about early intervention. They may also be connected with family members with children with special needs. In this way, they can learn directly from families about their experi-ences raising their child and accessing the service system.With this information, they can be more effective as they work with other families in the system. Together, all of these programs are known as Family Support Network of North Carolina. The central office of FSN-NC is a department of the UNC-CH School of Medi-cine, operating in collaboration with the Clinical Center for Development and Learning. In addition to facilitating the activities of the local programs, the central office supports the development of new programs,maintains the Central Directory of Resources, and carries out and coordi-nates educational activities.Through these programs, FSN-NC serves thousands of families and service providers across North Carolina each year.ATN! Family Support Network of North Carolina The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cuddled and to dazzle you with a smile. But I had a sense that something was askew when at 20 months he did not respond to directive language. For exam-ple, he would spill his Goldfish and I would model picking them up while saying “Help mommy pick up.” It seemed to go right over his head. During bath time, I’d ask the typical “Where’s baby’s belly?” or “Where’s mama’s nose?” Noth-ing! Friends discounted my concern by saying “Oh he’s just being stubborn.”But I trusted my gut and we took him to the Wake County Developmental Evaluation Center (DEC). Early intervention This is where my connection to leadership and early intervention started. Before we arrived at the DEC, I did a lengthy phone interview with a speech and language pathologist there. She asked me what seemed like a hundred questions about what Joshua was doing.At the end I asked her to please give me her best-guess esti-mate of what could be going on with Joshua. She qualified her response and by Karen Barbour Karen is actively involved with many early intervention activities in Wake County, having served on the state Smart Start Early Childhood Advisory committee and the Wake County First in Families manage-ment team. What it means to me Leadership FamilyFocus 8 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Before I discuss what leadership means to me, let me give you some context and background. I am the mother of two wonderful boys, Jeremiah, six, and Joshua, four. Six years ago my husband Ray Gonzales and I moved to Cary from the Boston area with two-month-old Jere-miah. Ray was starting a new job as a mechanical engineer. I grew up in New Hampshire and I have a BA in psychology from UNH. Before becoming a mother I had my own massage therapy practice for five years, and before that I worked with special deaf populations in group homes and in a state institution. I am fluent in American Sign Language, having grown up with a deaf younger sister. I would say that I grew up with a sensitivity and an awareness of difference. As an adult I definitely value diversity in people. Early signals My youngest son was diagnosed with autism when he was two. He was an incredibly joyful baby who loved to be ALLTOGETHERNOW! 9 said that it really was not appropriate to give a diagnosis over the phone and that a whole team would be evaluating Joshua when he came in. When I pushed, she finally said many of the things I was describing fit with a diagnosis of autism. For the first time—the words Joshua and autism together. My wheels started spin-ning. I got out my old psychology books; they were not much help. Unfortunately my husband was in Switzerland on busi-ness. I talked to him daily but it wasn’t like I had full access to my sounding board.We also didn’t have internet access at that time. I called the speech patholo-gist back and told her I was falling apart. She listened and hooked me up with early interventionist Mary Ann Olsen. Mary Ann was like our angel, our cham-pion, our support. Through our journey together she listened to our concerns, fears, and observations. She held our hands through a very anxiety-filled time. She gave us very sound advice— “connect with other parents as they will be your best resource of information.” She respected our parenting styles and she made us feel confident in ourselves. She made us feel that we could handle whatever came our way. Beginning leadership Mary Ann empowered me personally to find and cultivate the leader within me. She told me of the opportunity to attend the Parent Leadership Development training through the FPG Child Develop-ment Institute. I am very grateful for that experience. Through this training I have been able to learn more about myself (my strengths and weaknesses), improve my communication skills, and do more of what I love—network and be an asset to other parents and professionals. So what does leadership mean to me? I believe it is definitely different for every individual. For me leadership means believing in myself, trusting my gut and knowing that I am the expert on my child. It is about finding my own voice and getting that voice heard. There have been countless professionals with whom I have come in contact as I advocate for my son and support his learning, growth, and inclusion in the community. The best ones are knowledgeable in their fields, truly caring and genuine, open and want-ing to help, and,hopefully,willing to learn as much from us as we learn from them. Leadership is also a process for me.With each new experience I am fine tuning myself. I value my mentors who have done the hard work before me. I also under-stand that not all families come from the same place even though they face many of the same challenges having a child or chil-dren with disabilities. I do value diversity and hope I will be able to help other fami-lies. I know I am a voice for those who do not have a strong voice, but I know I do not speak for all people.My child is young but, hopefully, I can help him find his own voice. I do have the wisdom to know that only he can speak for himself. ATN! Josh enjoys roller skating, horseback riding, and playing dress-up. 10 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 No Ordinary Olive by Roberta Baker illustrated by Debbie Tilley Little, Brown ISBN 316-0733609 When Olive was born, it was immedi-ately clear that she was different from other children. Olive’s parents were delighted, and they celebrated the unique qualities in their child.Unfortu-nately, Ms. Fishbone, her teacher, and Mr.Weepole, the principal at the Stick-ler Street School wanted all students to conform to standards. Luckily for Olive, she gets support from some unsus-pected sources. Children will love Olive’s absurdities; adults may learn something about being different! Bored! Bored! Bored! by Jill Newton Bloomsbury Children’s Books ISBN 1-58234-760-3 Every creature in the sea is busy— raking, pruning, planting—but gardening just doesn’t interest Claude the shark. In fact, the whole project bores him to tears until the workers hold a party to celebrate their work and they don’t invite him. Rather than giving in to hurt feelings, Claude sees a way to be involved with his friends while doing his own thing. Everybody’s delighted with Claude’s effort, and Claude finds a way to contribute with-out being bored. It’s Snowing! by Olivier Dunrea Farrar Straus Giroux ISBN 9-780374-399924 Celebrate life with Mama as she intro-duces Baby to his first snowfall. Sparse text evocatively sets the stage for the peasant family’s tale of living life to the fullest and enjoying the moment. Exquisite watercolors detail the family’s hovel and the incredible winter land-scape. Get ready for a winter treat! Raymond’s Perfect Present by Therese On Louie illustrated by Suling Wang Lee & Lowe Books ISBN 1-58430-055-8 When Raymond’s mother comes home from the hospital, he spends a lot of time looking out the window of their apartment. Seeing the joy on the face of a girl who receives a bouquet, he decides to buy flowers for his mother. Unfortunately, his savings aren’t enough to buy them at the florist, so, he buys packets of seeds, and with help from his neighbors he plants a window garden for his mother.Another hospital stay for his mom coincides with the blooming season, but an unexpected bonus gives both Raymond and his mother an even better surprise. books ALLTOGETHERNOW! 11 Musical Beds by Mara Bergman illustrated by Marjolein Pottie Margaret K. McElderry Books ISBN 0-689-84463-8 Family stories are sure to pop out when you read this delightful story about bedtime. One patient dad hears all the stories about why a child can’t sleep as he kisses each child in turn and puts them back to bed. Naturally, none of them stay in place, and when the exhausted man is ready to call it a day, he has to look long and hard to find an unoccupied spot.Chil-dren will love learning they’re not the only ones who hear things, see things, and get thirsty at bedtime! Making Toys for Infants & Toddlers ISBN 0-87659-249-3 Making Toys for Preschool Children by Linda G.Miller & Mary Jo Gibbs Gryphon House ISBN 0-87659-275-2 Subtitled “Using Ordinary Stuff for Extra-ordinary Play,” these books will help stretch your budget while reusing, recy-cling, and re-creating. Consider: a tissue box stage for finger puppets, a jack-in-the-box from a dryer vent hose, cereal box books, animal tails, corrugated paint rollers. Quick directions for toys and tools made from items destined for the trash or recycling center will soon have you look-ing at everything and thinking,“Now how can I use that in my classroom?” by Molly Weston To check out books reviewed in All Together Now! contact Clara Hunt NC Early Intervention Library 517 West Fleming Dr., NC School for the Deaf Morganton NC 28655 828.432.5970 email ncei.library@ncmail.net The Ticky- Tacky Doll by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Harvey Stevenson Harcourt ISBN 0-15-201078-5 Leaving behind the doll made from her grandmother’s scrap basket was the hard-est part of starting to school for one little girl. In fact, the separation from her friend kept her from paying attention to every-thing— from lunch to numbers. Fortu-nately, the grandmother knew a thing or two about loneliness, and she found a way to help the little girl work around the rules which declared that toys must stay home. This is a wonderful story about multi-generational love and understanding. Hide Clyde! by Russell Benfanti ipicturebooks ISBN 1-59019-047-5 Chameleons are supposed to take on the color of their surroundings, right? Well, Clyde just can’t make it happen, until one day when he enjoys an exhilarating expe-rience and, suddenly, he can blend with the best. The rhyming story lends itself to a rap rhythm that children will enjoy so much they won’t even recognize that they’re learning about sounds. Don your shades and groove with Clyde! Mark your calendar! Children’s Book Week is November 18–24. 12 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 October 23-24 Orientation to Early Intervention Winston-Salem Clara Hunt, 828-432-5970 October 23 s Creating a Caring Community TPB13 October 24 s The NC Museum of Natural Sciences as a Resource for Early Childhood Professionals TOB14 s Using Sign Language to Enrich Literacy & Language With 3–5 Year Olds TPB15 v Touchpoints: Enhancing the Parent/Child Relationship October 25 Biases, Stereotypes and Cross Cultural Conflicts in Health Care Asheville Mountain AHEC, 828-257-4475 October 28-29 Parent Leadership Development Retreat Black Mountain Gretchen Loftis, 919-966-5799 October 30 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB16 October 31 Me, Write a Grant? You’ve Got to Be Kidding! Kinston Sandra Hardison/Judy Whitlev 252.208.3808 October 31–November 1 Learning to Use and Using to Learn Raleigh www.pat.org or 919.872.2298 December 10 Using Humor as a Therapeutic Tool Asheville Mountain AHEC, 828.257.4475 December 11 Update on Psychopharmacology in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 Learning to Use and Using to Learn Raleigh www.pat.org or 919.872.2298 November 1 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB17 November 1–2 Child Care Quality: Next Steps Greensboro Cheryl Sarratt, 336.334.3601 November 6–8 NACCRRA Regional Conference Greensboro Angela Bogle 919.202.4893, abogle@dockpoint.net Barbara Coyle 919.933.5090, bcoyle@alltel.net November 7 v Sibling Rivalry & Relationships November 7–8 Needs, Dreams and IFSPs Kinston Clara Hunt, 828.432.5970 November 8 Autism in Toddlers & Preschoolers: Implications for Communication Intervention Greensboro Greensboro AHEC 336.832.8025 November 12 Working with Latino Clients and their Families Greenville Mental Health Education 252.816.5228 s The Kids Are Here! What Do I Plan? TPB18 November 13 Strengthening Parent and Child Relationships Fayetteville Southern Regional AHEC 910.678.7293 November 14 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB19 s Reflections on Curriculum for Toddlers & 2s TPB20 v Effective Teacher/Child Communication November 18–24 Children’s Book Week November 20–21 Needs, Dreams & IFSPs Burlington Clara Hunt 828.432.5970 November 21 School Age Children with Special Needs Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 v Parenting & Teaching Young Children with Autism November 25 The Young Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder Practical Strategies & Community Connections Wilmington Eastern AHEC, 252.816.5228 December 2–3 Leo M. Croghan Conference Raleigh NC Wake AHEC 866.641.1814 or 919.350.8547 December 3 s Setting Up Learning Environments for Toddlers & Twos TPB21 December 4 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB22 s Learning to Read & Write: Pre-K Emergent Literacy TPB23 December 5 s Coaching Social Skills TPB24 December 10–12 Improving the Quality of Early Childhood Programs: PFI’s Model of On-Site Consultation Chapel Hill Sabrina Tyndall 919.966.7174 December 11 Update on Psychopharmacology in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 December 12 v Social & Emotional Kindergarten Readiness trainings ALLTOGETHERNOW! 13 v Cary, Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood 919.677.1400 s Raleigh, Project Enlightenment 919.856.7774 • Training events are subject to change. • Call the contact number before attending any training events. • To add your event to this calendar, contact Molly Weston 919.843.5784 FAX 919.966.0862 molly_weston@unc.edu February TBA Orientation to Early Intervention Southern Pines Rita Jenks 910.486.1605 February 6 s Spirited Child: Teaching Social Skills TPB35 February 10–11 Orientation to Early Intervention Aberdeen Rita Jenks 910.486.1605, ext.252 February 13 s The Spirited Child: Bridging the Gap Between Home & School TPB36 February 4–6 & March 4–5 Trauma & Loss in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 February 6 v The Impact of Divorce & Other Losses on a Child February 11 s Finger Play Fantasy for Toddlers & 2s TPB40 February 17 Coming Together Conference 2003 Wilmington Sheryl Ewing 910.792.6133 Feb. 19, 26, & March 5 s Exploring Sensory Integration TPB41 Feb. 20 & 27 s Tricks of the Trade: Making Learning Centers Exciting TPB42 February 21 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB43 Feb. 25 & March 4 s Art as a Process, Not As A Product TPB44 February 27 s Puppet Pals TPB45 v Supporting the Adopted Child December 13 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB25 January 9 s Reading Aloud with 3- & 4-Year-Olds TPB26 v Helping a Child Develop a Healthy Conscience January 14 s Sharing Music & Movement with 3-, 4-, & 5-Year- Olds TPB27 s Sharing Music & Movement with Toddlers & 2s TPB38 January 15 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB29 January 15, 22, & 29 s Teaching 3-, 4-, & 5-Year-Olds with Challenging Behaviors TPB30 January 16 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB31 s The Spirited Child: Understanding the Spirited Child TPB32 January 16 v Recognizing & Responding to Child Maltreatment January 18 v Does This Child Have AD/HD? What Then? January 21 Evaluation of Young Children with Complicated Developmental Disabilities Greensboro AHEC 336.832.8025 s What’s New in Early Childhood? TPB37 Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17, & 24 s Let’s Build on WORD TW38 January 23 s Spirited Child: Dealing with Strong Emotions TPB33 v Why & How Preschool Children Play January 30 s Spirited Child: Strategies for Promoting Positive Behavior TPB34 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB39 Useful Web Sites Charlotte AHEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cltahec.org Division TEACCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.teacch.com Early Childhood Link at UNC . . . . . . . . . . .www.cdl.unc.edu/link/trainmenu.htm Early Childhood Low Incidence NetworK (LINK) . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ec-link.org Exceptional Children's Assistance Center . . . . . . . . .www.ecac-parentcenter.org Family Support Network of North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fsnnc.med.unc.edu North Carolina Partnership for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ncsmartstart.org Parent Training & Information Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ecac-parentcenter.org/ Smart Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.calsplus.net/ncpc TelAbility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.TelAbility.org US Consumer Products Safety Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cpsc.gov Wake AHEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.wakeahec.org March 6 s Managing Toddlers & 3s without Saying No or Stop TPB46 v Helping Children Develop Healthy Self-Esteem March 13 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB47 Mar. 25,Apr. 1 & 8 s Beyond Story Stretchers TOB48 March 26 s Issues & Solutions for Preschool & K Classrooms which Include Spanish-Speaking Children TSB49 March 27 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB50 v Childhood Bereavement April 2 s Circle Time: Come Join in…for Teachers of 3-, 4-, & 5-year-olds TSB51 April 3 s Using the Discovery Room at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences TOB52 April 10 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB53 v Fears & Phobias in Young Children April 24 v Helping Step-Families Come Together s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB54 s Nature for Little Hands: Using the School Grounds for Nature Discoveries TSB55 April 26 v Approaching Discipline & Aggression Constructively May 1 v How to Raise Boys to be Sensitive & Girls to be Strong May 14 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB56 14 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Home visits are a powerful tool for building positive relationships among parents, teachers, and children. Home visits allow teachers to get a feel for the child’s life outside school and to meet with parents in surroundings that are comfort-able to the family. The informal personal contact with the teacher may help parents feel more comfortable sharing informa-tion about their child than if the meeting were to take place in a school. Some parents may worry about the purpose of a home visit. They may feel that the teacher wants to judge the quality of their home, learn details of their family life, or assess their parenting abilities. Some parents, for other reasons such as their cultural preferences, may prefer to meet the teacher in a community setting that is not the home or school—maybe a park or community center. When planning a home visit, a teacher can help relieve parents’ stress by assuring them that the purpose of the visit is to get to know the child and family better. It is critical to provide other options for meeting with the family and to try to find out the family’s candid feelings about having a home visit. Below are some simple guidelines for plan-ning and conducting home visits. Home visiting guidelines w Plan the home visit at the family’s convenience and be clear about your purpose. Tell them you are looking forward to having their child in your class and that you view the home visit as one way to help the child get to know you. If you are seeing a child who receives special services, consider whether it would be beneficial to pair your visit with that of a therapist or early intervention professional who may be seeing the child in the home and who is already familiar to the family. w Send a postcard confirming the time and date of the visit and providing a way for the family to contact you, should they need to cancel. w Make sure you know your facts before you arrive. Do you know the name the AskPFI Building relationships with Home Visits by Pat Wesley Pat is director of Partnerships for Inclusion. She has worked in the early childhood field for 25 years. She and her family live in Chatham County. Classroom teaching doesn’t seem to be enough any more.Now I’m being told that it’s impor-tant to make home visits! Why should I have to add this chore to my workload? What good will it do anyway? How can I be sure the visit will be appreciated? Smooth Moves Information on home visits was taken from Smooth Moves to Kinder-garten by Patricia W.Wesley, published by Chapel Hill Training- Outreach Project, Inc., 2001.You may want to consult Smooth Moves for more information on overcom-ing challenges in relationships between schools and families. Smooth Moves also provides infor-mation about many aspects of tran-sition, sending and receiving agen-cies, and kindergarten readiness. Copies of the book are available from Chapel Hill Outreach for $19.95. Contact Pam Singletary at 919.490.5577, ext. 242 for more information. ALLTOGETHERNOW! 15 child prefers to be called? Do you know the parents’ names? Do you have clear directions to the home and a phone number for the family, if one is available? w Decide in advance what information you want to share with the family during the visit and bring any necessary writ-ten materials. wWhen you arrive, let the family direct you by inviting you in and indicating where they would like the visit to take place. Some families may prefer to meet on a porch or in the yard. Thank the family for letting you stop by. Tell them how much you value this opportunity and let them know you will be staying only 30 minutes or so. w Be friendly and at ease, but professional. Dress casually, but neatly. If you are inclined to do so, accept any offer the family makes of food or drink. Doing so may go a long way to making the meet-ing feel less formal. w Take some items from your program to show the child. For example, you may want to take a classroom scrapbook, an audio tape of a music activity from the year before, or materials with which to make a nametag for the child, inviting the child’s help to do so. w Do not ask to see the child’s room. If the child invites you to see his or her room, check with the parents to make sure that’s all right with them. If they agree, you may want to say,“Why don’t we all go see your room together.” w Be sure to provide many opportunities for the family and child to ask questions. Because this is a visit to get to know them, be aware of how much you are talking versus listening! w Stay flexible! Realize that even though you hope to spend time with the child on the visit, the child may have other ideas. Recognize that simply by your presence in the home, you have taken a giant first step in building a relationship with the child—one the child is sure to notice. w Do not make judgments about the family. Try to keep in mind that families are systems with their own unique composition, family roles, and ways of functioning. It is especially important to respect differences between a family’s values and customs and those of the home visitor. w Before you leave, let the family know again how to contact you.You may want to give them written information about your program, for example a classroom schedule or school calendar. Making the effort to reach out to families in surroundings comfortable to them will afford you a chance to “walk a mile in their shoes.” And, it might well be the first step to a good relationship that will point a child toward success in school. ATN! During a home visit be prepared to answer questions that pareents may have about their child’s day ATN! 16 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 by Molly Weston Molly is editor of ATN! She lives with her husband and Old English Sheep-dog in Apex and works from PFI’s Carrboro office. Feature anybody I’d rather leave her with. The experience has turned into so much more than I expected—it’s even better for her than if she had stayed home with me.” The family-centered philosophy at SAS allows employees to share programs with their children during the business day.We met John later during the day as he was leaving, “I’ve been watching Tony’s Tumbling,”an extra activity Maggie enjoys. The heavily subsidized child care programs are available to any SAS employee, no matter their position; however, as with most excellent programs, there are waiting lists, and all children cannot be accommodated. John explained, “Few children leave the program. When Maggie moved to preschool, two-thirds of her friends moved with her.” Teachers move with kids Not only do children’s friends move from class to class, the teachers do too! Karen Vettel, director of the program said, “An important part of our program here is that our teachers move with the children from the infant room through the one-year and two-year-old rooms when possible. Then, usually they go back for a new rotation Early in its life as an organiza-tion, management at SAS Institute in Cary realized that some of their brightest and best employees were having babies and staying at home to look after them. To meet the challenge of losing outstanding workers, even temporarily, child care had to be addressed. In the early 1980s, SAS first implemented on-site child care. Now, in addition to two Montessori centers on the campus, two Bright Horizons Family Solutions centers serving SAS are just across the street.We visited one of them. Quality on-site child care programs are now what Beth Ayres calls “my favorite benefit.” Beth had just arrived with two-year- old Emma; and John Lewis, with three-year-old Maggie. Both were enthusi-astic about their children’s care. John said, “I’ve noticed that Maggie’s language skills are very good. I think her experiences in child care make her very comfortable with language. That makes a big difference.” Beth was equally enthusiastic. “I took 12 weeks off after Emma was born and I thought it would be enough, but it wasn’t. I came here and stayed with her for a day before I brought her in for real. It is such a comfortable environment. There isn’t Good relationships in the Workplace ALLTOGETHERNOW! 17 beginning again in the infant room. Occa-sionally, however, a teacher will stay with a group all the way through preschool. “I’m totally committed to having the teach-ers move with the children.We know this is what’s best with care for children—to form bonds with their caregiver.The relationship with the teacher and child and family is crit-ical. We like to keep that bond going the first three years of their lives. When we have done that,when the children go to preschool they are comfortable moving with their peers and are ready to form new bonds. “Our teachers bond with children and families so incredibly well. This center has been nurturing these bonds by moving teachers with children since it opened.We hire teachers with the expectation that they will do that and they come in really excited about the concept. In fact, when we inter-view for teachers, if they are not interested in moving with the children,we refer them to other Bright Horizons in the area,” Karen continued. John picked up the thread,“Miss Nancy got married last year, and all the kids went to the wedding. They were all talking about Miss Nancy’s big white dress.” Garden and playgrounds As in many high quality programs, infant and toddler classrooms border the play-ground for the little folks. The infant rooms were warm and inviting, stimulat-ing and restful, with happy babies. It was the playground, however, that marked the difference from the ordinary. “When I came this was just a grassy area,” Karen said, pointing to a low fenced area. “I hired a landscaper to make it a sensory garden for our infants.We’ve incorporated things so that they can crawl and discover—thyme, rosemary, lamb’s ear, all safe plants.” Traditional slate stepping stones are joined by glass brick and cement shapes embedded with marbles for more discovery options.Cannas,wind-mill palms, ajuga, and tall grasses with fuzzy plumes add color and more textures and shapes.Two low adirondack chairs are positioned in front of cheerful wind socks so providers can sit comfortably while pointing out interesting sights to babies. The toddler playground is covered by sand surrounded by wide concrete walks for riding toys and running. Teachers, almost like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, are active participants in play. “Today we are airplanes,” Miss Michelle announced as she slowly ran at the front of a group of “biplanes.” Another teacher, Miss April, worked with one child as they marched near the planes. Before the friendly skies tired completely, Miss Maureen brought out a large bottle of bubble soap, and the group shifted. Bubble blowing seems to be a favorite activity everywhere! Outdoor playground structures were larger and more complicated as we moved into the preschool playground. One side was covered with sand, the other with mulch. One end boasted a shaded area with picnic tables. On this hot, post-Labor day visit, spray bottles were tremendously popular with the preschool group—teach-ers and kids alike! Water and disposable cups stood ready for rehydration. Big Mike While on the preschool playground, our eyes were drawn to a young man who looked as if he would be more at home surrounded by defensive linemen than laughing children. Mike Whiting is a support, or floating, teacher who works in all classrooms. He explained, “When I was in high school, I needed one more class, and my guidance counselor recommended Exploring the infant garden with a baby is one of the highlights of Karen Vettel’s day. a course called ‘Peppy.’ Through this course, I worked in an elementary school three days a week and spent the other two days planning what I’d do. I liked it, so I later started working at a YMCA preschool camp. I had a friend working here at Bright Horizons two years ago and she told me to check it out. I really like it. I took some early childhood classes at Wake Tech and I plan to go back to school. I definitely want to keep working with children. If we made more money I would probably stay here my whole life!” Most of the kids call him “Big Mike”; some call him Magic Mike.“Oh, I do a few magic tricks once in a while.” Teachers Not only are children happy at Bright Horizons, teachers are treated well, too. Karen explained, “Most work an eight-hour day, on rotating hours to accommo-date the program’s being open from 8:00 to 6:00. Some teachers have reduced schedules to accommodate going back to school and having families. Everyone gets a full lunch hour. “We have a very low teacher turnover. One teacher has been with Bright Horizons for 10 years, but at this program only about eight months. She adopted a baby with special needs, and the child is here in the program. Typically people will move within the large program to climb the ladder for a promotion or for convenience.” Bright Horizons is the largest corporately-sponsored child care program in the US. It’s the only child care program in the Fortune 500. Bright Horizons forms part-nerships with corporations such as SAS, Glaxo, Nortel, and Universal Studios who are willing to subsidize child care programs for their employees to ensure that it is a high quality program.” Family-friendly program The program is fully inclusive, and every SAS employee is eligible for the program—from lawn maintenance and cafeteria workers to top executives. Thera-pists are welcome in the program and their work can be integrated or pull-out— whatever the child needs at that time. Announcement sheets on classroom doors offer special activities that can include parents. Computertots, Tony’s Tumbling, and Spanish are but a few. “Parents are invited to come for any of the classes,” Karen said, “but the Spanish teacher encourages parents to join the classes so that the children can practice at home.” A music teacher works with all classes in the program, and a drama teacher is an extra for the preschoolers. Bright Horizons Family Solutions 101 Endeavor Way Cary 27513 919.677.9213 Susan Kilbourne,Area Manager skilbourne@brighthorizons.com Karen Vettel, Director sas@brighthorizons.com SAS subsidizes the child care costs from 60–75% (as with most programs, infant care is more expensive at Bright Horizons than is preschool care). 140–160 children 40 teachers, including full- and part-time support teachers who cover absences whenever the regular classroom teacher is out, whether for personal leave or planning time. 5 administrators (director; and 4 program coordinators, one for each age group, shared by both Bright Horizons; and an adminis-trative assistant) 13 classrooms 3 infants 3 toddlers 3 two-year olds 4 preschool 18 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Big Mike is totally comfortable with little folks! and, in always-growing Cary, to see and ask questions about community change. Classroom environment Motivating children to want to learn is an important element in all the classrooms. Notwithstanding the blocks and books and well-stocked interest areas, teachers are always actively involved with what the chil-dren are doing and learning.At circle time, the emphasis is not on sitting in a ring and paying attention, but in participating. During a song fest in a preschool room of three- and four-year-olds, Miss Sue sat with several children gathered around her, all of them singing and making the proper hand motions. To her left, one child was sitting at a table drawing with crayons, but singing along with the group, never miss-ing a word.Another child sat at a computer, head bobbing in rhythm to the songs. Two more children worked with blocks with Miss Kamala, all the while listening to and learning the songs. It’s not a great leap to conclude that having excellent subsidized child care close at hand makes SAS parents happier in their jobs. After all, providing for the good of their families is why most people work in the first place. Oh, for the day when every work environment in North Carolina can afford this excellent benefit! ALLTOGETHERNOW! 19 Even the cubbies are a little bit special. Boxes at the top are for a change of cloth-ing; those near the floor are for special blankets or stuffed animals from home that make nap time special. Shelves running above the cubbies have labeled loose leaf notebooks—the children’s jour-nals stand ready for parent perusal at any convenient moment. Karen obviously appreciates parents. “We have very good parent involvement. They’re welcome to come anytime— there’s coming and going all during the day. Sometimes a parent will take a child back to SAS to eat lunch in the cafeteria. That’s always a big treat!” With so much coming and going, security could be a concern, but that’s also addressed. A computer kiosk opposite the reception desk at the front allows parents and staff members to log in and out upon arriving and leaving. A non-connected keyboard allows interested children to mimic the procedure. Although there are schedules for play-ground and meal times, individual teach-ers have flexibility to change things during the day.One empty classroom had a sign on the doorknob that read, not “gone fishin’,” but “We are on a walk.” Nature walks around the campus are frequent and offer opportunities to explore the environment ATN! A handy computer where family and staff log in and log out makes visiting easy. The open door policy makes it easy for parents to interact with children in the classroom. 20 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Recent estimates indicate that between 60,000 and 115,000 children under the age of 15 years in the United States have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Three core-defining features mark autism in older children: impairments in socialization, impair-ments in communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.Despite parental concerns about their child’s unusual development prior to 18 months of age in the majority of these cases, few children received a definitive diagnosis from a physician or psychologist until close to three years of age. The huge gap between the time that parents first suspect a problem and the time that a diagnosis is made interferes with the family’s ability to obtain early intervention and support services. Researchers Howlin and Moore surveyed 1300 parents of children with autism and published their results in the journal Autism. They reported that fewer than 10% of families surveyed received a defin-itive diagnosis when they first sought medical assistance, while another 10% were told either to return if their worries persisted or that their child would “grow out of it.”The overwhelming remainder of families (80%) were referred to another professional for a second evaluation. Of these, 40% were given a formal diagnosis, while 25% were told “not to worry,” and 25% were referred to a third or fourth professional for yet another evaluation. The delay in diagnosing children with autism is due primarily to concerns about stigmatizing a child or applying an incor-rect label; however, it is also a fact that early symptoms of autism are elusive and may appear clearer in hindsight to parents and professionals. Early indicators Several studies by Drs. Simon Baron- Cohen, Tony Charman, and other researchers in England have confirmed specific indicators of autism as early as 18 months of age. These studies utilized an instrument called the “CHAT” (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) that combines parent reports and play observations in order to test babies at a general health screening. Children were tested at 18 months and were followed to six years of age to see which indicators were most reli-able predictors for a diagnosis of autism. Research by Grace T. Baranek, PhD, OTR/L & Jennifer C. Neitzel, M.Ed Grace is an assistant professor in the Divi-sion of Occupational Science, Department of Allied Health Sciences, at UNC-Chapel Hill and serves as the principal investigator for the Infant Behavior Project. Jennifer is a research assistant for the project and is completing her doctorate in early childhood, families, and literacy at UNC. Early Identification of Infants with Autism These researchers found that symptoms related to “joint attention” were most useful in identifying autism. That is, chil-dren with autism were more likely to have difficulty directing their attention for social purposes or for sharing enjoyment with people (e.g., showing objects to other people, pointing to events of interest, or following a person���s gaze toward an object). They were also less likely to demonstrate pretend play (e.g., feeding a doll, pouring a cup of tea) that often requires knowledge of social routines. Items such as these are very helpful in screening children for autism at 18 months of age and many new tools are being devel-oped that will include such items to help diagnose autism. Some children with autism are still missed during these screenings because they may pass these items, but later show a loss of previously existing skills. Likewise, infants below the age of 12 months are not expected to have such advanced skills and, thus, some of these items are not useful for identifying autism in very young infants. Conse-quently, the quest for finding early, reliable, and alternative symptoms of autism at various points in infancy continues. New method Recently, studies using a method called “retrospective video analysis” have shown promise in identifying the earliest symp-toms of autism during infancy.This type of method allows researchers to view chil-dren’s natural behaviors by watching home movies taken by parents prior to a time that they were aware of their child’s diagnosis. This method is more objective than relying on parents’ recollections that are often hazy after the passage of many months or years. Drs. Grace Baranek, Linda Watson, and Elisabeth Crais, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are using this scientific video method in their current research as part of the “Infant Behavior Project.” This project was funded by the Cure Autism Now Foundation to study the early developmental changes of infants with autism from nine months through 18 months. These individual video record-ings of children were taken by parents during genuine family routines. The researchers are analyzing children’s play patterns, gestures, body movements, social interactions, and reactions to sensory experiences as they occur naturally in the home movies. For example, while By watching home videos, researchers can often identify early symptoms of autism in very young children. ALLTOGETHERNOW! 21 viewing the videos, researchers study an infant’s response to being touched while the mother bathes or feeds him. Or, researchers study how the child uses toys while playing.These behavioral patterns of infants with autism are then compared to those of children who are typically devel-oping and those who have developmental disabilities other than autism. Such comparisons are needed to sort out which behaviors are unique to children with autism so that better screening tools can be developed and used in physician’s offices or early intervention settings. Changes over time Drs. Baranek, Watson and Crais believe that symptoms of autism change dramati-cally over time. Some of the earliest symp-toms of autism, such as difficulties responding to environmental stimuli, create challenges for infants to engage with people and objects in meaningful ways. Thus, unusual attention to events or lack of responsiveness early in life may create a developmental path that leads to some of the better-known core symptoms of autism seen in older children. The results of the first study published by Dr. Baranek in 1999 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, indicated that children with autism were indeed less responsive than other children at nine to 12 months of age.These children had more difficulty responding to their names and required that their parents cue them more often (e.g., repeat the child’s name several times) in order to engage them success-fully in interactions. Likewise, the babies with autism tended to withdraw from touch, place objects into their mouths more frequently, and orient less to novel visual events in their environment than other groups of children. Help is available The Infant Behavior Project is continuing to collect and analyze home videos of infants.This project’s three aims include: w to determine additional behaviors that might supplement already known symp-toms of autism during infancy, w to examine how symptoms relate to each other and change over time from nine to 18 months of age, and w to develop a screening tool for autism that can be used by physicians and early inter-ventionists at 12 months of age. As important as this research is, it has been difficult for the researchers to recruit enough families of children with autism and other types of developmental delays between the ages of two and six years to participate. Thus, passing on information about the study is very helpful to the research team. Participants needed To participate in this study, families must have home movies of their child that were taken during the ages of nine through 18 months. For more information about this study, contact The Infant Behavior Project by telephone at 919.843.5774, by email at ibproject@med.unc.edu, or by visiting www.unc.edu/depts/ibp. The earlier we have effective screening tools for very young infants to identify autism, the sooner children can begin receiving early intervention services. Research has shown that intensive early intervention services provide the best treatment for and prognosis of autism. It is therefore extremely important that every individual who works with or comes into contact with young children be aware of potential warning signs of developmental delay and autism specifically. Some red flag indicators listed in the sidebar at left provide a guide for recognizing some possible signs associated with autism and can help identify those children who need referral for evaluation at a local Develop-mental Evaluation Center (DEC). Teachers, psychologists, therapists and other early childhood professionals can also use screening tools (websites listed in sidebar at left) that have been developed specifically for young children with autism if they suspect a problem.These tools allow identification of children who might be at risk and need a more focused diagnostic evaluation for autism or related disorders. Other standardized tools that might be helpful for identifying generalized develop-mental delays in young children include the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), the BRIGANCE Screens, the Child Development Inventories, and the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS). Red Flags for Further Evaluation At 6 months: No big smiles/joyful expressions. At 9-12 months: No back/forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or facial expressions; lack of attention to the care-giver’s voice, doesn’t turn when you call name, with-draws from touch. At 12 months: No babbling; no pointing, showing or other gestures; no sharing a focus of interest with others such as following an adult’s gaze toward an object. At 16 months:All the above listed at 12 months, plus no single words. At 24 months:All of the above at 12 months, plus no 2-word spontaneous phrases; no social or pretend play. At ANY age: loss of language or social skills. Websites with Screening Tools Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) www.nas.org.uk/profess/ chat.html Modified-Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) (expanded American version for children at 18-24 months) http://firstsigns.org/down-loads/ Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds (STAT) by Dr. Wendy Stone (24-36 months) http://vanderbilt.edu/ kennedy/topics/autism. html Infant Behavior Project www.unc.edu/depts/ibp The authors acknowledge CURE AUTISM NOW FOUNDATION for their support. 22 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 ATN! ALLTOGETHERNOW! 23 KidSeen&Heard KidSpeak Win a Children’s Book! All of the stories in this issue’s KidSpeak are from folks at the FPG Child Develop-ment Institute. If you’d like to share a story or photo with the readers of All Together Now!, send your selections (200 words or fewer, please) to MollyWeston, Editor All Together Now! 521 S. Greensboro St., Suite 100 Carrboro NC 27510 molly_weston@unc.edu If your story or photo is used in ATN! you’ll receive a copy of one of the books reviewed in that issue. Topic for the next issue: Overheard in Child Care. After hearing some very unharmonic sounds from our piano, my husband looked inquiringly at our four-year-old. She beamed up at him and explained, "Look, Daddy. I pushed all the buttons." Rebecca Kameny Joe (almost 3), Kate (6 months), and I were listening and singing along to a tape of kids' music. After we finished "Home on the Range," Joe asked "What were the deer and envelopes doing?" Noreen Yazejian Three-year-old Johnny was having a speech evaluation session to look at his articulation difficulties and determine if he needed therapy. The therapist said, "if you sing you are a singer... So, if you win you are a…" Johnny looked really puzzled and did not answer, so the therapist repeated herself—slower and louder, "IF YOU SING YOU ARE A SINGER ... SO, IF YOU WIN YOU ARE A..." Johnny beamed and said "champion!" Mary Ruth Coleman My first year teaching my students loved to earn free time to draw on the dry erase boards. One afternoon a student eagerly bellowed out, "Miss Fox, Miss Fox, I drew a picture of you and I even drew your nipples!" My jaw dropped as I spun on my heels to see the student holding up the dry erase board with a picture of my face and dimples on each side of my smile. Dana Fox One day during Christmas my grandma came in to play special music for us. Afterward she sat with the children during lunch. Grandma asked Tierney, age four, “Did you clean your plate?”Tier-ney replied, "No, we just throw them in the trash!" Sherri Marlette The next Satchmo! Asheboro B. Y. Annex Head Start Black Mountain The Rose Garden Chapel Hill Christine Wang Child Care Home Charlotte Blythe Elementary ASEP High Point Linda Hughes Day Care Home Raleigh Early Preschool & Learning Jackie's Li'l Keikis Home Day Care Rocky Mount Art of Day Care Home Snow Hill T J's Day Care Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit No. 177 Chapel Hill NC 27599-1100 Addressee: Please share ATN! with your colleagues. Reaching the5Stars 521 S. Greensboro Street • Ste. 100 Carrboro NC 27510-2341 New 5-Star Programs Programs awarded since last ATN! publication or not previously listed. ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED We need your help! Over the past seven years, our ATN! mailing list has more than doubled. While this is good news, we need to be very diligent about removing duplicate names and addresses. We do everything we can to catch these duplicates, but we need your help. If you are receiving multiple copies of ATN!, please let us know. You can call Molly Weston at 919.966.0059 or e-mail me at Molly_Weston@unc.edu or simply send the address label back to us at ATN!, 521 S. Greensboro St., STE 100, Carrboro, NC 27510 or FAX us at 919.843.5784. Thanks for your efforts.
Object Description
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Title | All together now! |
Other Title | ATN! |
Date | 2002 |
Description | Vol. 8, no. 3 (fall 2002) |
Digital Characteristics-A | 615 KB; 24 p. |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_serial_alltogethernow2002fall.pdf |
Pres Local File Path-M | \Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_borndigital\images_master\ |
Full Text | Relationships TOC All Together Now! is published three times per year. Letters, contributions, subscription requests, or reprint requests should be sent to All Together Now! 521 South Greensboro Street, Suite 100 Carrboro NC 27510 919.966.0059 • FAX 919.843.5784 email Molly_Weston@unc.edu www.fpg.unc.edu/~atn 27,000 copies of All Together Now! were printed at a cost of 42¢ each. 3 Concept Building Relationships with Families by Sandy Steele and Pat Wesley 6 Policy Update Supporting Families by Irene Nathan Zipper, MSW, PhD 8 Family Focus What It Means to Me: Leadership by Karen Barbour 10 Books Reviews by Molly Weston 12 Trainings Calendar of Training Events 14 Ask PFI Building Relationships with Home Visits by Pat Wesley 16 Feature Program Good Relationships in the Workplace by Molly Weston 20 Research Early Identification of Infants with Autism by Grace Baranek, PhD & Jennifer C. Neitzel, MEd 23 KidSeen&Heard KidSpeak 24 Programs Reaching the 5 Stars The latest programs to receive 5 stars Editor’s Notes After the hot summer, I hope you’re enjoying crisp fall days now. I’m always glad to put the heat behind me and pull out sweaters and boots for the coming season.While putting things behind us, we’re finishing our theme on relationships and we’ve crammed this issue with lots of articles focusing on this topic. I hope you’ll find them interesting and useful. Partnerships for Inclusion (PFI) has been short staffed for the last several months, but we hope to be able to introduce new inclusion specialists to you soon. We miss Jane Scanlon in the west and Kay Dixon in the east, but they’re both still working with young children in those regions. PFI staff members are working on several new products that we’ll announce soon.We’re not ready to talk about them yet, but one will be something dear to my heart and it involves my favorite activity—reading. I hope you’ll send in some sayings for KidSpeak. That column has garnered more comments than any in a long time—but you readers aren’t doing your share. Send me something, folks! Remember, if your selection is printed, you’ll receive a book reviewed in that issue of ATN! As they used to say on the radio,“keep those cards and letters coming in.” Till next time. —Molly A publication of Partnerships for Inclusion Pat Wesley, Director Editor Molly Weston Designer Gina Harrison Photographer Don Trull Proofreaders Dave Sanel Sabrina Tyndall Editorial Board & Contributing Agencies Norman Allard Head Start Chapel Hill Training Outreach Kathy Baars NC Public Schools Early Childhood/Exceptional Children Susan Byerly Cumberland County Schools Deborah Carroll Early Intervention Branch Karen Chester NC Interagency Coordinating Council for Children Ages Birth to Five with Special Needs Karen Ferguson NC Division of Child Development Gina Harrison FPG Child Development Institute Katherine Laveck NC Division of Early Childhood, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children Ron Moore Head Start Duncan Munn Early Intervention Branch Karen Ponder NC Partnership for Children Pat Wesley FPG Child Development Institute All of us find it hard to work with some people some time. Although professionals and families know the value of positive relationships in promoting children’s development and learning, no one said collaboration would be easy! Sometimes families of very young chil-dren offer particular challenges because they are so vested in having the best for their child. When a child has a special need, often additional challenges arise. For early childhood professionals, having a good relationship with families is key in promoting children’s development and learning. Meaningful and productive rela-tionships between parents and profession-als are based on two key ingredients. First, professionals and families must believe that parents have important information to share about their children. In other words, family-school collaboration is an attitude, not a single activity (Christenson, 1999). Second, they must avoid laying blame for challenges that arise and practice shared problem-solving that emphasizes the strengths and resources of the child, family, and program. Children are served best when providers and families communicate,plan, and solve problems together.Each family’s needs are different; however, what works for one family does not necessarily work for all. Sometimes in our work with young chil-dren we get to know a family with whom our tried-and-true communication skills just aren’t effective. Conversations are stressful and relationships are strained. There can be many reasons for this, from having different expectations for the child to very different interpersonal styles. As PFI inclusion professionals and parents of children with special needs, we have had opportunities to work with many people and to see these interactions through the eyes of both a professional and a family member. Here are some tips for turning a challenging relationship with a family into a productive one. What’s going on? It is always helpful to try to understand why people may not respond to you in a respectful or collaborative manner. Some possible reasons include: Poor communication This is the most frequent problem we see in working with families. Families may feel they don’t have a voice in decision making and are being told what to do and not to do Building relationships with Families by Sandy Steele & Pat Wesley Sandy is an Eastern Regional inclusion specialist with PFI. She and her family live in Greenville. Pat is the director of PFI. She and her family live in Chatham County. Concept ALLTOGETHERNOW! 3 regarding their child. They may feel that opportunities to meet with professionals are rushed or infrequent. Perhaps providers with good intentions contact resources for the family before asking their permission.Perhaps parents receive phone calls or notes from providers only when there is a concern about the child. If fami-lies are not asked for input about program policies and practices, they may feel that services are not truly responsive to them, that they and their child are expected to fit the mold of the program. Negative assumptions Sometimes we negatively stereotype fami-lies based on their neighborhood, socio-economic status, marital status, religious beliefs, sexual preference, or ethnicity. For example, a teacher may make assump-tions about children early in the year based on what school bus they take to school.While we all probably have found ourselves at some point judging the book by the cover, negative attitudes come across to families loud and clear. Us vs. them Some professionals see themselves as the expert on children—the ones who know what’s best for each child—leaving the family feeling a sense of competition with the professional. It takes time to see the whole picture of the child at home and at school and wisdom to understand that the family knows their child best and may have insight about the child’s experiences at school.Asking families to share this insight not only makes them feel more involved, but it often provides you with methods that make your interactions with both the child and the family more positive. Degrees of participation Most programs have set expectations for family participation.Contact with parents often is organized around individual family conferences, group meetings, or parent volunteerism in the classroom. For some families these options work well all of the time; for other families they work well only some of the time. Still other families may prefer ways to participate in their child’s program that do not include any of these opportunities. Some families may work very hard just getting their child to your program each day. Relationships with families are enhanced when professionals understand that life circumstances affect the way an individual family is able to participate in their child’s program during any given year. A one-size-fits-all parent program will not address the needs of all families. Asking families how they would like to participate may very well gain volunteers for things you may never think to ask. Overwhelmed! Families who have very young children, children with special needs or who care for ill or aging family members may feel over-whelmed from their day-to-day stresses. 4 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Are families welcomed as warmly as children? Feelings of guilt, anger, hopelessness, fear, and fatigue are common. Exclusion A common fear across families is that someone will exclude or make fun of their child. Starting school or changing class-rooms or programs can be times of extreme stress for families. Making it better The following list includes strategies to foster positive relationships with families: w Retool your listening skills. More than 90% of communication is listening— and that doesn’t mean just waiting your turn to talk! Ask meaningful questions. Rephrase what the family has said in your own words to ensure that you’ve understood them correctly. Try to understand the other person’s point of view, to see the world through their eyes and experiences. Keep in mind that parents may vent their feelings and frus-trations and need only a listening ear without advice. w Keep an open mind. We all come from different cultures, beliefs, and parenting practices. Take a hard look at any assumptions you may have formed about families based on stereotypes or biases. Try many different approaches to get to know and form positive relation-ships with families.Don’t give up! w Reframe your thinking. If you have had a challenging relationship with a certain family, practice thinking about them in a positive way. As you sit in the car at their house prior to a home visit, identify one positive outcome that you feel you can count on during the visit. List in your mind the ways they have supported their child���s development and learning.Remind yourself that few people start the morning planning to create tension in their rela- ALLTOGETHERNOW! 5 tionships, and set your own course for making this visit a success. w Keep your eye on the prize. Never forget that you are in the early childhood field because you want to make a difference in the lives of children.Keep the resiliency of children in mind as you consider your own skills and patience in working with others. w Identify your own buttons. How do you typically react to situations that you find challenging? What about those reactions makes the situation better or worse? Share your most challenging relation-ships with a colleague or friend and discuss new ideas for reacting when old buttons are pushed! w Be prepared to step back from a relation-ship to think things through.Do not feel that issues must be resolved during every meeting. Feel comfortable in stat-ing that you need time to reflect. Ask if another meeting time can be arranged in the near future. w Look closely at your program. How are families welcomed into the program in general? What opportunities do parents have for sharing their experiences and expectations with you, spending time with you and the child together, provid-ing input about program policies and practices, staying informed about their child’s activities? w Work with families to set mutual goals for their child, to establish effective strategies to meet the goals, and to agree on ways to measure and report progress. Be sure to ask them what a typical day with their child is like at home and find out what the family enjoys doing together. w Expand your knowledge about commu-nity resources so that you can provide current and relevant information to families when asked. Working with all families to build true partnerships takes time and possibly means trying new approaches. The end result will benefit everyone involved— especially the children. ATN! Set your course for making each home visit a success. Citation Christenson, S.L. (1999). Families and schools: Rights, responsibilities, resources, and relationships. In R.C. Pianta & M.J. Cox (Eds.), The transition to kindergarten: Research, policy, training and practice. (143–178). Baltimore, MD: Brookes. 6 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 “Family Support” has many meanings—from emergency assistance to the concept of family-centered practice.At the Family Support Network of North Carolina (FSN-NC), family support means the support of other families in similar situations—families who have been there, who understand what a family is experi-encing, and who have worked within the service system. Building on state and national policy to increase families’ access to resources, FSN-NC offers a comprehensive program for families with children who have or are at risk for disabilities. Learning that a child may have a disability can be a devastating and lonely experience. Service providers can help families address the challenges of parenting a child with special needs, but their services can be hard to access and can seem intimidating. Parents who themselves have children with special needs are in a unique position to address other families’needs for social and emotional support and for information.An experienced family can help others to navi-gate the complex service system and can share the most practical advice. Support makes it easier for families to experience the joy and satisfaction that can come from parenting a child with special needs. This family-to-family support is available through the local FSN-NC programs, along with training, information and referral services. Local programs FSN-NC is made up of 18 community-based family support organizations that cover 56 counties across the state. These programs are housed in local or regional hospitals, in regional Developmental Evaluation Centers, in local Arcs, with local Smart Start Partnerships, and solo organizations. Each local organization has a program coordinator. Most also have additional staff. Programs are funded with both public and private funds. While local FSN-NC organizations vary somewhat, most engage in similar activi-ties. These include parent-to-parent match-ing whereby family members with concerns about their child and/or family are matched with other family members with similar concerns who have been trained to provide guidance and support. Many offer support groups and workshops Supporting Families by Irene Nathan Zipper, MSW, PhD Irene is the new director of the Family Support Network of North Carolina. She lives and works in Chapel Hill. Policy for family members and for service providers. They make presentations to increase public awareness of disability issues. Many of the program coordinators are family members with children with disabilities who have made use of the serv-ice system. They are strongly committed to effective support for families and believe that this support is best provided by others who have had similar experiences. Eight FSN-NC programs participate in the Foster Families Project in which local programs provide training to enhance the ability of foster families to serve chil-dren with special needs and those who are at risk. Information The Central Directory of Resources is a free source of information for family members and service providers.Callers can get infor-mation about specific disabilities and about the local resources and organizations that serve children and their families.Through a toll-free phone line, 800.852.0042, and a web site, www.fsnnc.org, information is available to family members, service providers, students, and others across the state. Callers can speak with a resource specialist about a child’s particular issues, find help with advocacy, and get informa-tion about services available in their own community. FSN-NC also sends written information and lends materials from the FSN-NC Outreach Library. The Central Directory of Resources has a Spanish-speaking resource specialist who is part of the Hispanic Initiative, which was recently established to ensure that complete and accurate information is available for Hispanic families across the state. All of these services are offered without charge. Training An array of training activities is provided by FSN-NC. University students can learn about community-based support through classroom and practicum activities. Early childhood intervention practitioners can participate in the NC Mentor Program, through which experienced professionals are paired with those who are new to early childhood intervention. Through this ongoing, supportive, mentoring relation- ALLTOGETHERNOW! 7 ship, new service providers can enhance their skills and knowledge about early intervention. They may also be connected with family members with children with special needs. In this way, they can learn directly from families about their experi-ences raising their child and accessing the service system.With this information, they can be more effective as they work with other families in the system. Together, all of these programs are known as Family Support Network of North Carolina. The central office of FSN-NC is a department of the UNC-CH School of Medi-cine, operating in collaboration with the Clinical Center for Development and Learning. In addition to facilitating the activities of the local programs, the central office supports the development of new programs,maintains the Central Directory of Resources, and carries out and coordi-nates educational activities.Through these programs, FSN-NC serves thousands of families and service providers across North Carolina each year.ATN! Family Support Network of North Carolina The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cuddled and to dazzle you with a smile. But I had a sense that something was askew when at 20 months he did not respond to directive language. For exam-ple, he would spill his Goldfish and I would model picking them up while saying “Help mommy pick up.” It seemed to go right over his head. During bath time, I’d ask the typical “Where’s baby’s belly?” or “Where’s mama’s nose?” Noth-ing! Friends discounted my concern by saying “Oh he’s just being stubborn.”But I trusted my gut and we took him to the Wake County Developmental Evaluation Center (DEC). Early intervention This is where my connection to leadership and early intervention started. Before we arrived at the DEC, I did a lengthy phone interview with a speech and language pathologist there. She asked me what seemed like a hundred questions about what Joshua was doing.At the end I asked her to please give me her best-guess esti-mate of what could be going on with Joshua. She qualified her response and by Karen Barbour Karen is actively involved with many early intervention activities in Wake County, having served on the state Smart Start Early Childhood Advisory committee and the Wake County First in Families manage-ment team. What it means to me Leadership FamilyFocus 8 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Before I discuss what leadership means to me, let me give you some context and background. I am the mother of two wonderful boys, Jeremiah, six, and Joshua, four. Six years ago my husband Ray Gonzales and I moved to Cary from the Boston area with two-month-old Jere-miah. Ray was starting a new job as a mechanical engineer. I grew up in New Hampshire and I have a BA in psychology from UNH. Before becoming a mother I had my own massage therapy practice for five years, and before that I worked with special deaf populations in group homes and in a state institution. I am fluent in American Sign Language, having grown up with a deaf younger sister. I would say that I grew up with a sensitivity and an awareness of difference. As an adult I definitely value diversity in people. Early signals My youngest son was diagnosed with autism when he was two. He was an incredibly joyful baby who loved to be ALLTOGETHERNOW! 9 said that it really was not appropriate to give a diagnosis over the phone and that a whole team would be evaluating Joshua when he came in. When I pushed, she finally said many of the things I was describing fit with a diagnosis of autism. For the first time—the words Joshua and autism together. My wheels started spin-ning. I got out my old psychology books; they were not much help. Unfortunately my husband was in Switzerland on busi-ness. I talked to him daily but it wasn’t like I had full access to my sounding board.We also didn’t have internet access at that time. I called the speech patholo-gist back and told her I was falling apart. She listened and hooked me up with early interventionist Mary Ann Olsen. Mary Ann was like our angel, our cham-pion, our support. Through our journey together she listened to our concerns, fears, and observations. She held our hands through a very anxiety-filled time. She gave us very sound advice— “connect with other parents as they will be your best resource of information.” She respected our parenting styles and she made us feel confident in ourselves. She made us feel that we could handle whatever came our way. Beginning leadership Mary Ann empowered me personally to find and cultivate the leader within me. She told me of the opportunity to attend the Parent Leadership Development training through the FPG Child Develop-ment Institute. I am very grateful for that experience. Through this training I have been able to learn more about myself (my strengths and weaknesses), improve my communication skills, and do more of what I love—network and be an asset to other parents and professionals. So what does leadership mean to me? I believe it is definitely different for every individual. For me leadership means believing in myself, trusting my gut and knowing that I am the expert on my child. It is about finding my own voice and getting that voice heard. There have been countless professionals with whom I have come in contact as I advocate for my son and support his learning, growth, and inclusion in the community. The best ones are knowledgeable in their fields, truly caring and genuine, open and want-ing to help, and,hopefully,willing to learn as much from us as we learn from them. Leadership is also a process for me.With each new experience I am fine tuning myself. I value my mentors who have done the hard work before me. I also under-stand that not all families come from the same place even though they face many of the same challenges having a child or chil-dren with disabilities. I do value diversity and hope I will be able to help other fami-lies. I know I am a voice for those who do not have a strong voice, but I know I do not speak for all people.My child is young but, hopefully, I can help him find his own voice. I do have the wisdom to know that only he can speak for himself. ATN! Josh enjoys roller skating, horseback riding, and playing dress-up. 10 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 No Ordinary Olive by Roberta Baker illustrated by Debbie Tilley Little, Brown ISBN 316-0733609 When Olive was born, it was immedi-ately clear that she was different from other children. Olive’s parents were delighted, and they celebrated the unique qualities in their child.Unfortu-nately, Ms. Fishbone, her teacher, and Mr.Weepole, the principal at the Stick-ler Street School wanted all students to conform to standards. Luckily for Olive, she gets support from some unsus-pected sources. Children will love Olive’s absurdities; adults may learn something about being different! Bored! Bored! Bored! by Jill Newton Bloomsbury Children’s Books ISBN 1-58234-760-3 Every creature in the sea is busy— raking, pruning, planting—but gardening just doesn’t interest Claude the shark. In fact, the whole project bores him to tears until the workers hold a party to celebrate their work and they don’t invite him. Rather than giving in to hurt feelings, Claude sees a way to be involved with his friends while doing his own thing. Everybody’s delighted with Claude’s effort, and Claude finds a way to contribute with-out being bored. It’s Snowing! by Olivier Dunrea Farrar Straus Giroux ISBN 9-780374-399924 Celebrate life with Mama as she intro-duces Baby to his first snowfall. Sparse text evocatively sets the stage for the peasant family’s tale of living life to the fullest and enjoying the moment. Exquisite watercolors detail the family’s hovel and the incredible winter land-scape. Get ready for a winter treat! Raymond’s Perfect Present by Therese On Louie illustrated by Suling Wang Lee & Lowe Books ISBN 1-58430-055-8 When Raymond’s mother comes home from the hospital, he spends a lot of time looking out the window of their apartment. Seeing the joy on the face of a girl who receives a bouquet, he decides to buy flowers for his mother. Unfortunately, his savings aren’t enough to buy them at the florist, so, he buys packets of seeds, and with help from his neighbors he plants a window garden for his mother.Another hospital stay for his mom coincides with the blooming season, but an unexpected bonus gives both Raymond and his mother an even better surprise. books ALLTOGETHERNOW! 11 Musical Beds by Mara Bergman illustrated by Marjolein Pottie Margaret K. McElderry Books ISBN 0-689-84463-8 Family stories are sure to pop out when you read this delightful story about bedtime. One patient dad hears all the stories about why a child can’t sleep as he kisses each child in turn and puts them back to bed. Naturally, none of them stay in place, and when the exhausted man is ready to call it a day, he has to look long and hard to find an unoccupied spot.Chil-dren will love learning they’re not the only ones who hear things, see things, and get thirsty at bedtime! Making Toys for Infants & Toddlers ISBN 0-87659-249-3 Making Toys for Preschool Children by Linda G.Miller & Mary Jo Gibbs Gryphon House ISBN 0-87659-275-2 Subtitled “Using Ordinary Stuff for Extra-ordinary Play,” these books will help stretch your budget while reusing, recy-cling, and re-creating. Consider: a tissue box stage for finger puppets, a jack-in-the-box from a dryer vent hose, cereal box books, animal tails, corrugated paint rollers. Quick directions for toys and tools made from items destined for the trash or recycling center will soon have you look-ing at everything and thinking,“Now how can I use that in my classroom?” by Molly Weston To check out books reviewed in All Together Now! contact Clara Hunt NC Early Intervention Library 517 West Fleming Dr., NC School for the Deaf Morganton NC 28655 828.432.5970 email ncei.library@ncmail.net The Ticky- Tacky Doll by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Harvey Stevenson Harcourt ISBN 0-15-201078-5 Leaving behind the doll made from her grandmother’s scrap basket was the hard-est part of starting to school for one little girl. In fact, the separation from her friend kept her from paying attention to every-thing— from lunch to numbers. Fortu-nately, the grandmother knew a thing or two about loneliness, and she found a way to help the little girl work around the rules which declared that toys must stay home. This is a wonderful story about multi-generational love and understanding. Hide Clyde! by Russell Benfanti ipicturebooks ISBN 1-59019-047-5 Chameleons are supposed to take on the color of their surroundings, right? Well, Clyde just can’t make it happen, until one day when he enjoys an exhilarating expe-rience and, suddenly, he can blend with the best. The rhyming story lends itself to a rap rhythm that children will enjoy so much they won’t even recognize that they’re learning about sounds. Don your shades and groove with Clyde! Mark your calendar! Children’s Book Week is November 18–24. 12 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 October 23-24 Orientation to Early Intervention Winston-Salem Clara Hunt, 828-432-5970 October 23 s Creating a Caring Community TPB13 October 24 s The NC Museum of Natural Sciences as a Resource for Early Childhood Professionals TOB14 s Using Sign Language to Enrich Literacy & Language With 3–5 Year Olds TPB15 v Touchpoints: Enhancing the Parent/Child Relationship October 25 Biases, Stereotypes and Cross Cultural Conflicts in Health Care Asheville Mountain AHEC, 828-257-4475 October 28-29 Parent Leadership Development Retreat Black Mountain Gretchen Loftis, 919-966-5799 October 30 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB16 October 31 Me, Write a Grant? You’ve Got to Be Kidding! Kinston Sandra Hardison/Judy Whitlev 252.208.3808 October 31–November 1 Learning to Use and Using to Learn Raleigh www.pat.org or 919.872.2298 December 10 Using Humor as a Therapeutic Tool Asheville Mountain AHEC, 828.257.4475 December 11 Update on Psychopharmacology in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 Learning to Use and Using to Learn Raleigh www.pat.org or 919.872.2298 November 1 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB17 November 1–2 Child Care Quality: Next Steps Greensboro Cheryl Sarratt, 336.334.3601 November 6–8 NACCRRA Regional Conference Greensboro Angela Bogle 919.202.4893, abogle@dockpoint.net Barbara Coyle 919.933.5090, bcoyle@alltel.net November 7 v Sibling Rivalry & Relationships November 7–8 Needs, Dreams and IFSPs Kinston Clara Hunt, 828.432.5970 November 8 Autism in Toddlers & Preschoolers: Implications for Communication Intervention Greensboro Greensboro AHEC 336.832.8025 November 12 Working with Latino Clients and their Families Greenville Mental Health Education 252.816.5228 s The Kids Are Here! What Do I Plan? TPB18 November 13 Strengthening Parent and Child Relationships Fayetteville Southern Regional AHEC 910.678.7293 November 14 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB19 s Reflections on Curriculum for Toddlers & 2s TPB20 v Effective Teacher/Child Communication November 18–24 Children’s Book Week November 20–21 Needs, Dreams & IFSPs Burlington Clara Hunt 828.432.5970 November 21 School Age Children with Special Needs Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 v Parenting & Teaching Young Children with Autism November 25 The Young Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder Practical Strategies & Community Connections Wilmington Eastern AHEC, 252.816.5228 December 2–3 Leo M. Croghan Conference Raleigh NC Wake AHEC 866.641.1814 or 919.350.8547 December 3 s Setting Up Learning Environments for Toddlers & Twos TPB21 December 4 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB22 s Learning to Read & Write: Pre-K Emergent Literacy TPB23 December 5 s Coaching Social Skills TPB24 December 10–12 Improving the Quality of Early Childhood Programs: PFI’s Model of On-Site Consultation Chapel Hill Sabrina Tyndall 919.966.7174 December 11 Update on Psychopharmacology in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 December 12 v Social & Emotional Kindergarten Readiness trainings ALLTOGETHERNOW! 13 v Cary, Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood 919.677.1400 s Raleigh, Project Enlightenment 919.856.7774 • Training events are subject to change. • Call the contact number before attending any training events. • To add your event to this calendar, contact Molly Weston 919.843.5784 FAX 919.966.0862 molly_weston@unc.edu February TBA Orientation to Early Intervention Southern Pines Rita Jenks 910.486.1605 February 6 s Spirited Child: Teaching Social Skills TPB35 February 10–11 Orientation to Early Intervention Aberdeen Rita Jenks 910.486.1605, ext.252 February 13 s The Spirited Child: Bridging the Gap Between Home & School TPB36 February 4–6 & March 4–5 Trauma & Loss in Children Fayetteville LaLisa Hewitt Robinson 910.678.7293 February 6 v The Impact of Divorce & Other Losses on a Child February 11 s Finger Play Fantasy for Toddlers & 2s TPB40 February 17 Coming Together Conference 2003 Wilmington Sheryl Ewing 910.792.6133 Feb. 19, 26, & March 5 s Exploring Sensory Integration TPB41 Feb. 20 & 27 s Tricks of the Trade: Making Learning Centers Exciting TPB42 February 21 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB43 Feb. 25 & March 4 s Art as a Process, Not As A Product TPB44 February 27 s Puppet Pals TPB45 v Supporting the Adopted Child December 13 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB25 January 9 s Reading Aloud with 3- & 4-Year-Olds TPB26 v Helping a Child Develop a Healthy Conscience January 14 s Sharing Music & Movement with 3-, 4-, & 5-Year- Olds TPB27 s Sharing Music & Movement with Toddlers & 2s TPB38 January 15 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB29 January 15, 22, & 29 s Teaching 3-, 4-, & 5-Year-Olds with Challenging Behaviors TPB30 January 16 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB31 s The Spirited Child: Understanding the Spirited Child TPB32 January 16 v Recognizing & Responding to Child Maltreatment January 18 v Does This Child Have AD/HD? What Then? January 21 Evaluation of Young Children with Complicated Developmental Disabilities Greensboro AHEC 336.832.8025 s What’s New in Early Childhood? TPB37 Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17, & 24 s Let’s Build on WORD TW38 January 23 s Spirited Child: Dealing with Strong Emotions TPB33 v Why & How Preschool Children Play January 30 s Spirited Child: Strategies for Promoting Positive Behavior TPB34 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB39 Useful Web Sites Charlotte AHEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cltahec.org Division TEACCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.teacch.com Early Childhood Link at UNC . . . . . . . . . . .www.cdl.unc.edu/link/trainmenu.htm Early Childhood Low Incidence NetworK (LINK) . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ec-link.org Exceptional Children's Assistance Center . . . . . . . . .www.ecac-parentcenter.org Family Support Network of North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fsnnc.med.unc.edu North Carolina Partnership for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ncsmartstart.org Parent Training & Information Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ecac-parentcenter.org/ Smart Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.calsplus.net/ncpc TelAbility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.TelAbility.org US Consumer Products Safety Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cpsc.gov Wake AHEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.wakeahec.org March 6 s Managing Toddlers & 3s without Saying No or Stop TPB46 v Helping Children Develop Healthy Self-Esteem March 13 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB47 Mar. 25,Apr. 1 & 8 s Beyond Story Stretchers TOB48 March 26 s Issues & Solutions for Preschool & K Classrooms which Include Spanish-Speaking Children TSB49 March 27 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB50 v Childhood Bereavement April 2 s Circle Time: Come Join in…for Teachers of 3-, 4-, & 5-year-olds TSB51 April 3 s Using the Discovery Room at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences TOB52 April 10 s A Guided Observation of the Demonstration Preschool at Project Enlightenment TDB53 v Fears & Phobias in Young Children April 24 v Helping Step-Families Come Together s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB54 s Nature for Little Hands: Using the School Grounds for Nature Discoveries TSB55 April 26 v Approaching Discipline & Aggression Constructively May 1 v How to Raise Boys to be Sensitive & Girls to be Strong May 14 s A Guided Observation of Infants & Toddlers TOB56 14 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Home visits are a powerful tool for building positive relationships among parents, teachers, and children. Home visits allow teachers to get a feel for the child’s life outside school and to meet with parents in surroundings that are comfort-able to the family. The informal personal contact with the teacher may help parents feel more comfortable sharing informa-tion about their child than if the meeting were to take place in a school. Some parents may worry about the purpose of a home visit. They may feel that the teacher wants to judge the quality of their home, learn details of their family life, or assess their parenting abilities. Some parents, for other reasons such as their cultural preferences, may prefer to meet the teacher in a community setting that is not the home or school—maybe a park or community center. When planning a home visit, a teacher can help relieve parents’ stress by assuring them that the purpose of the visit is to get to know the child and family better. It is critical to provide other options for meeting with the family and to try to find out the family’s candid feelings about having a home visit. Below are some simple guidelines for plan-ning and conducting home visits. Home visiting guidelines w Plan the home visit at the family’s convenience and be clear about your purpose. Tell them you are looking forward to having their child in your class and that you view the home visit as one way to help the child get to know you. If you are seeing a child who receives special services, consider whether it would be beneficial to pair your visit with that of a therapist or early intervention professional who may be seeing the child in the home and who is already familiar to the family. w Send a postcard confirming the time and date of the visit and providing a way for the family to contact you, should they need to cancel. w Make sure you know your facts before you arrive. Do you know the name the AskPFI Building relationships with Home Visits by Pat Wesley Pat is director of Partnerships for Inclusion. She has worked in the early childhood field for 25 years. She and her family live in Chatham County. Classroom teaching doesn’t seem to be enough any more.Now I’m being told that it’s impor-tant to make home visits! Why should I have to add this chore to my workload? What good will it do anyway? How can I be sure the visit will be appreciated? Smooth Moves Information on home visits was taken from Smooth Moves to Kinder-garten by Patricia W.Wesley, published by Chapel Hill Training- Outreach Project, Inc., 2001.You may want to consult Smooth Moves for more information on overcom-ing challenges in relationships between schools and families. Smooth Moves also provides infor-mation about many aspects of tran-sition, sending and receiving agen-cies, and kindergarten readiness. Copies of the book are available from Chapel Hill Outreach for $19.95. Contact Pam Singletary at 919.490.5577, ext. 242 for more information. ALLTOGETHERNOW! 15 child prefers to be called? Do you know the parents’ names? Do you have clear directions to the home and a phone number for the family, if one is available? w Decide in advance what information you want to share with the family during the visit and bring any necessary writ-ten materials. wWhen you arrive, let the family direct you by inviting you in and indicating where they would like the visit to take place. Some families may prefer to meet on a porch or in the yard. Thank the family for letting you stop by. Tell them how much you value this opportunity and let them know you will be staying only 30 minutes or so. w Be friendly and at ease, but professional. Dress casually, but neatly. If you are inclined to do so, accept any offer the family makes of food or drink. Doing so may go a long way to making the meet-ing feel less formal. w Take some items from your program to show the child. For example, you may want to take a classroom scrapbook, an audio tape of a music activity from the year before, or materials with which to make a nametag for the child, inviting the child’s help to do so. w Do not ask to see the child’s room. If the child invites you to see his or her room, check with the parents to make sure that’s all right with them. If they agree, you may want to say,“Why don’t we all go see your room together.” w Be sure to provide many opportunities for the family and child to ask questions. Because this is a visit to get to know them, be aware of how much you are talking versus listening! w Stay flexible! Realize that even though you hope to spend time with the child on the visit, the child may have other ideas. Recognize that simply by your presence in the home, you have taken a giant first step in building a relationship with the child—one the child is sure to notice. w Do not make judgments about the family. Try to keep in mind that families are systems with their own unique composition, family roles, and ways of functioning. It is especially important to respect differences between a family’s values and customs and those of the home visitor. w Before you leave, let the family know again how to contact you.You may want to give them written information about your program, for example a classroom schedule or school calendar. Making the effort to reach out to families in surroundings comfortable to them will afford you a chance to “walk a mile in their shoes.” And, it might well be the first step to a good relationship that will point a child toward success in school. ATN! During a home visit be prepared to answer questions that pareents may have about their child’s day ATN! 16 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 by Molly Weston Molly is editor of ATN! She lives with her husband and Old English Sheep-dog in Apex and works from PFI’s Carrboro office. Feature anybody I’d rather leave her with. The experience has turned into so much more than I expected—it’s even better for her than if she had stayed home with me.” The family-centered philosophy at SAS allows employees to share programs with their children during the business day.We met John later during the day as he was leaving, “I’ve been watching Tony’s Tumbling,”an extra activity Maggie enjoys. The heavily subsidized child care programs are available to any SAS employee, no matter their position; however, as with most excellent programs, there are waiting lists, and all children cannot be accommodated. John explained, “Few children leave the program. When Maggie moved to preschool, two-thirds of her friends moved with her.” Teachers move with kids Not only do children’s friends move from class to class, the teachers do too! Karen Vettel, director of the program said, “An important part of our program here is that our teachers move with the children from the infant room through the one-year and two-year-old rooms when possible. Then, usually they go back for a new rotation Early in its life as an organiza-tion, management at SAS Institute in Cary realized that some of their brightest and best employees were having babies and staying at home to look after them. To meet the challenge of losing outstanding workers, even temporarily, child care had to be addressed. In the early 1980s, SAS first implemented on-site child care. Now, in addition to two Montessori centers on the campus, two Bright Horizons Family Solutions centers serving SAS are just across the street.We visited one of them. Quality on-site child care programs are now what Beth Ayres calls “my favorite benefit.” Beth had just arrived with two-year- old Emma; and John Lewis, with three-year-old Maggie. Both were enthusi-astic about their children’s care. John said, “I’ve noticed that Maggie’s language skills are very good. I think her experiences in child care make her very comfortable with language. That makes a big difference.” Beth was equally enthusiastic. “I took 12 weeks off after Emma was born and I thought it would be enough, but it wasn’t. I came here and stayed with her for a day before I brought her in for real. It is such a comfortable environment. There isn’t Good relationships in the Workplace ALLTOGETHERNOW! 17 beginning again in the infant room. Occa-sionally, however, a teacher will stay with a group all the way through preschool. “I’m totally committed to having the teach-ers move with the children.We know this is what’s best with care for children—to form bonds with their caregiver.The relationship with the teacher and child and family is crit-ical. We like to keep that bond going the first three years of their lives. When we have done that,when the children go to preschool they are comfortable moving with their peers and are ready to form new bonds. “Our teachers bond with children and families so incredibly well. This center has been nurturing these bonds by moving teachers with children since it opened.We hire teachers with the expectation that they will do that and they come in really excited about the concept. In fact, when we inter-view for teachers, if they are not interested in moving with the children,we refer them to other Bright Horizons in the area,” Karen continued. John picked up the thread,“Miss Nancy got married last year, and all the kids went to the wedding. They were all talking about Miss Nancy’s big white dress.” Garden and playgrounds As in many high quality programs, infant and toddler classrooms border the play-ground for the little folks. The infant rooms were warm and inviting, stimulat-ing and restful, with happy babies. It was the playground, however, that marked the difference from the ordinary. “When I came this was just a grassy area,” Karen said, pointing to a low fenced area. “I hired a landscaper to make it a sensory garden for our infants.We’ve incorporated things so that they can crawl and discover—thyme, rosemary, lamb’s ear, all safe plants.” Traditional slate stepping stones are joined by glass brick and cement shapes embedded with marbles for more discovery options.Cannas,wind-mill palms, ajuga, and tall grasses with fuzzy plumes add color and more textures and shapes.Two low adirondack chairs are positioned in front of cheerful wind socks so providers can sit comfortably while pointing out interesting sights to babies. The toddler playground is covered by sand surrounded by wide concrete walks for riding toys and running. Teachers, almost like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, are active participants in play. “Today we are airplanes,” Miss Michelle announced as she slowly ran at the front of a group of “biplanes.” Another teacher, Miss April, worked with one child as they marched near the planes. Before the friendly skies tired completely, Miss Maureen brought out a large bottle of bubble soap, and the group shifted. Bubble blowing seems to be a favorite activity everywhere! Outdoor playground structures were larger and more complicated as we moved into the preschool playground. One side was covered with sand, the other with mulch. One end boasted a shaded area with picnic tables. On this hot, post-Labor day visit, spray bottles were tremendously popular with the preschool group—teach-ers and kids alike! Water and disposable cups stood ready for rehydration. Big Mike While on the preschool playground, our eyes were drawn to a young man who looked as if he would be more at home surrounded by defensive linemen than laughing children. Mike Whiting is a support, or floating, teacher who works in all classrooms. He explained, “When I was in high school, I needed one more class, and my guidance counselor recommended Exploring the infant garden with a baby is one of the highlights of Karen Vettel’s day. a course called ‘Peppy.’ Through this course, I worked in an elementary school three days a week and spent the other two days planning what I’d do. I liked it, so I later started working at a YMCA preschool camp. I had a friend working here at Bright Horizons two years ago and she told me to check it out. I really like it. I took some early childhood classes at Wake Tech and I plan to go back to school. I definitely want to keep working with children. If we made more money I would probably stay here my whole life!” Most of the kids call him “Big Mike”; some call him Magic Mike.“Oh, I do a few magic tricks once in a while.” Teachers Not only are children happy at Bright Horizons, teachers are treated well, too. Karen explained, “Most work an eight-hour day, on rotating hours to accommo-date the program’s being open from 8:00 to 6:00. Some teachers have reduced schedules to accommodate going back to school and having families. Everyone gets a full lunch hour. “We have a very low teacher turnover. One teacher has been with Bright Horizons for 10 years, but at this program only about eight months. She adopted a baby with special needs, and the child is here in the program. Typically people will move within the large program to climb the ladder for a promotion or for convenience.” Bright Horizons is the largest corporately-sponsored child care program in the US. It’s the only child care program in the Fortune 500. Bright Horizons forms part-nerships with corporations such as SAS, Glaxo, Nortel, and Universal Studios who are willing to subsidize child care programs for their employees to ensure that it is a high quality program.” Family-friendly program The program is fully inclusive, and every SAS employee is eligible for the program—from lawn maintenance and cafeteria workers to top executives. Thera-pists are welcome in the program and their work can be integrated or pull-out— whatever the child needs at that time. Announcement sheets on classroom doors offer special activities that can include parents. Computertots, Tony’s Tumbling, and Spanish are but a few. “Parents are invited to come for any of the classes,” Karen said, “but the Spanish teacher encourages parents to join the classes so that the children can practice at home.” A music teacher works with all classes in the program, and a drama teacher is an extra for the preschoolers. Bright Horizons Family Solutions 101 Endeavor Way Cary 27513 919.677.9213 Susan Kilbourne,Area Manager skilbourne@brighthorizons.com Karen Vettel, Director sas@brighthorizons.com SAS subsidizes the child care costs from 60–75% (as with most programs, infant care is more expensive at Bright Horizons than is preschool care). 140–160 children 40 teachers, including full- and part-time support teachers who cover absences whenever the regular classroom teacher is out, whether for personal leave or planning time. 5 administrators (director; and 4 program coordinators, one for each age group, shared by both Bright Horizons; and an adminis-trative assistant) 13 classrooms 3 infants 3 toddlers 3 two-year olds 4 preschool 18 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Big Mike is totally comfortable with little folks! and, in always-growing Cary, to see and ask questions about community change. Classroom environment Motivating children to want to learn is an important element in all the classrooms. Notwithstanding the blocks and books and well-stocked interest areas, teachers are always actively involved with what the chil-dren are doing and learning.At circle time, the emphasis is not on sitting in a ring and paying attention, but in participating. During a song fest in a preschool room of three- and four-year-olds, Miss Sue sat with several children gathered around her, all of them singing and making the proper hand motions. To her left, one child was sitting at a table drawing with crayons, but singing along with the group, never miss-ing a word.Another child sat at a computer, head bobbing in rhythm to the songs. Two more children worked with blocks with Miss Kamala, all the while listening to and learning the songs. It’s not a great leap to conclude that having excellent subsidized child care close at hand makes SAS parents happier in their jobs. After all, providing for the good of their families is why most people work in the first place. Oh, for the day when every work environment in North Carolina can afford this excellent benefit! ALLTOGETHERNOW! 19 Even the cubbies are a little bit special. Boxes at the top are for a change of cloth-ing; those near the floor are for special blankets or stuffed animals from home that make nap time special. Shelves running above the cubbies have labeled loose leaf notebooks—the children’s jour-nals stand ready for parent perusal at any convenient moment. Karen obviously appreciates parents. “We have very good parent involvement. They’re welcome to come anytime— there’s coming and going all during the day. Sometimes a parent will take a child back to SAS to eat lunch in the cafeteria. That’s always a big treat!” With so much coming and going, security could be a concern, but that’s also addressed. A computer kiosk opposite the reception desk at the front allows parents and staff members to log in and out upon arriving and leaving. A non-connected keyboard allows interested children to mimic the procedure. Although there are schedules for play-ground and meal times, individual teach-ers have flexibility to change things during the day.One empty classroom had a sign on the doorknob that read, not “gone fishin’,” but “We are on a walk.” Nature walks around the campus are frequent and offer opportunities to explore the environment ATN! A handy computer where family and staff log in and log out makes visiting easy. The open door policy makes it easy for parents to interact with children in the classroom. 20 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 Recent estimates indicate that between 60,000 and 115,000 children under the age of 15 years in the United States have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Three core-defining features mark autism in older children: impairments in socialization, impair-ments in communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.Despite parental concerns about their child’s unusual development prior to 18 months of age in the majority of these cases, few children received a definitive diagnosis from a physician or psychologist until close to three years of age. The huge gap between the time that parents first suspect a problem and the time that a diagnosis is made interferes with the family’s ability to obtain early intervention and support services. Researchers Howlin and Moore surveyed 1300 parents of children with autism and published their results in the journal Autism. They reported that fewer than 10% of families surveyed received a defin-itive diagnosis when they first sought medical assistance, while another 10% were told either to return if their worries persisted or that their child would “grow out of it.”The overwhelming remainder of families (80%) were referred to another professional for a second evaluation. Of these, 40% were given a formal diagnosis, while 25% were told “not to worry,” and 25% were referred to a third or fourth professional for yet another evaluation. The delay in diagnosing children with autism is due primarily to concerns about stigmatizing a child or applying an incor-rect label; however, it is also a fact that early symptoms of autism are elusive and may appear clearer in hindsight to parents and professionals. Early indicators Several studies by Drs. Simon Baron- Cohen, Tony Charman, and other researchers in England have confirmed specific indicators of autism as early as 18 months of age. These studies utilized an instrument called the “CHAT” (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) that combines parent reports and play observations in order to test babies at a general health screening. Children were tested at 18 months and were followed to six years of age to see which indicators were most reli-able predictors for a diagnosis of autism. Research by Grace T. Baranek, PhD, OTR/L & Jennifer C. Neitzel, M.Ed Grace is an assistant professor in the Divi-sion of Occupational Science, Department of Allied Health Sciences, at UNC-Chapel Hill and serves as the principal investigator for the Infant Behavior Project. Jennifer is a research assistant for the project and is completing her doctorate in early childhood, families, and literacy at UNC. Early Identification of Infants with Autism These researchers found that symptoms related to “joint attention” were most useful in identifying autism. That is, chil-dren with autism were more likely to have difficulty directing their attention for social purposes or for sharing enjoyment with people (e.g., showing objects to other people, pointing to events of interest, or following a person���s gaze toward an object). They were also less likely to demonstrate pretend play (e.g., feeding a doll, pouring a cup of tea) that often requires knowledge of social routines. Items such as these are very helpful in screening children for autism at 18 months of age and many new tools are being devel-oped that will include such items to help diagnose autism. Some children with autism are still missed during these screenings because they may pass these items, but later show a loss of previously existing skills. Likewise, infants below the age of 12 months are not expected to have such advanced skills and, thus, some of these items are not useful for identifying autism in very young infants. Conse-quently, the quest for finding early, reliable, and alternative symptoms of autism at various points in infancy continues. New method Recently, studies using a method called “retrospective video analysis” have shown promise in identifying the earliest symp-toms of autism during infancy.This type of method allows researchers to view chil-dren’s natural behaviors by watching home movies taken by parents prior to a time that they were aware of their child’s diagnosis. This method is more objective than relying on parents’ recollections that are often hazy after the passage of many months or years. Drs. Grace Baranek, Linda Watson, and Elisabeth Crais, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are using this scientific video method in their current research as part of the “Infant Behavior Project.” This project was funded by the Cure Autism Now Foundation to study the early developmental changes of infants with autism from nine months through 18 months. These individual video record-ings of children were taken by parents during genuine family routines. The researchers are analyzing children’s play patterns, gestures, body movements, social interactions, and reactions to sensory experiences as they occur naturally in the home movies. For example, while By watching home videos, researchers can often identify early symptoms of autism in very young children. ALLTOGETHERNOW! 21 viewing the videos, researchers study an infant’s response to being touched while the mother bathes or feeds him. Or, researchers study how the child uses toys while playing.These behavioral patterns of infants with autism are then compared to those of children who are typically devel-oping and those who have developmental disabilities other than autism. Such comparisons are needed to sort out which behaviors are unique to children with autism so that better screening tools can be developed and used in physician’s offices or early intervention settings. Changes over time Drs. Baranek, Watson and Crais believe that symptoms of autism change dramati-cally over time. Some of the earliest symp-toms of autism, such as difficulties responding to environmental stimuli, create challenges for infants to engage with people and objects in meaningful ways. Thus, unusual attention to events or lack of responsiveness early in life may create a developmental path that leads to some of the better-known core symptoms of autism seen in older children. The results of the first study published by Dr. Baranek in 1999 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, indicated that children with autism were indeed less responsive than other children at nine to 12 months of age.These children had more difficulty responding to their names and required that their parents cue them more often (e.g., repeat the child’s name several times) in order to engage them success-fully in interactions. Likewise, the babies with autism tended to withdraw from touch, place objects into their mouths more frequently, and orient less to novel visual events in their environment than other groups of children. Help is available The Infant Behavior Project is continuing to collect and analyze home videos of infants.This project’s three aims include: w to determine additional behaviors that might supplement already known symp-toms of autism during infancy, w to examine how symptoms relate to each other and change over time from nine to 18 months of age, and w to develop a screening tool for autism that can be used by physicians and early inter-ventionists at 12 months of age. As important as this research is, it has been difficult for the researchers to recruit enough families of children with autism and other types of developmental delays between the ages of two and six years to participate. Thus, passing on information about the study is very helpful to the research team. Participants needed To participate in this study, families must have home movies of their child that were taken during the ages of nine through 18 months. For more information about this study, contact The Infant Behavior Project by telephone at 919.843.5774, by email at ibproject@med.unc.edu, or by visiting www.unc.edu/depts/ibp. The earlier we have effective screening tools for very young infants to identify autism, the sooner children can begin receiving early intervention services. Research has shown that intensive early intervention services provide the best treatment for and prognosis of autism. It is therefore extremely important that every individual who works with or comes into contact with young children be aware of potential warning signs of developmental delay and autism specifically. Some red flag indicators listed in the sidebar at left provide a guide for recognizing some possible signs associated with autism and can help identify those children who need referral for evaluation at a local Develop-mental Evaluation Center (DEC). Teachers, psychologists, therapists and other early childhood professionals can also use screening tools (websites listed in sidebar at left) that have been developed specifically for young children with autism if they suspect a problem.These tools allow identification of children who might be at risk and need a more focused diagnostic evaluation for autism or related disorders. Other standardized tools that might be helpful for identifying generalized develop-mental delays in young children include the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), the BRIGANCE Screens, the Child Development Inventories, and the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS). Red Flags for Further Evaluation At 6 months: No big smiles/joyful expressions. At 9-12 months: No back/forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or facial expressions; lack of attention to the care-giver’s voice, doesn’t turn when you call name, with-draws from touch. At 12 months: No babbling; no pointing, showing or other gestures; no sharing a focus of interest with others such as following an adult’s gaze toward an object. At 16 months:All the above listed at 12 months, plus no single words. At 24 months:All of the above at 12 months, plus no 2-word spontaneous phrases; no social or pretend play. At ANY age: loss of language or social skills. Websites with Screening Tools Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) www.nas.org.uk/profess/ chat.html Modified-Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) (expanded American version for children at 18-24 months) http://firstsigns.org/down-loads/ Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds (STAT) by Dr. Wendy Stone (24-36 months) http://vanderbilt.edu/ kennedy/topics/autism. html Infant Behavior Project www.unc.edu/depts/ibp The authors acknowledge CURE AUTISM NOW FOUNDATION for their support. 22 Vol. 8, No. 3 • Fall 2002 ATN! ALLTOGETHERNOW! 23 KidSeen&Heard KidSpeak Win a Children’s Book! All of the stories in this issue’s KidSpeak are from folks at the FPG Child Develop-ment Institute. If you’d like to share a story or photo with the readers of All Together Now!, send your selections (200 words or fewer, please) to MollyWeston, Editor All Together Now! 521 S. Greensboro St., Suite 100 Carrboro NC 27510 molly_weston@unc.edu If your story or photo is used in ATN! you’ll receive a copy of one of the books reviewed in that issue. Topic for the next issue: Overheard in Child Care. After hearing some very unharmonic sounds from our piano, my husband looked inquiringly at our four-year-old. She beamed up at him and explained, "Look, Daddy. I pushed all the buttons." Rebecca Kameny Joe (almost 3), Kate (6 months), and I were listening and singing along to a tape of kids' music. After we finished "Home on the Range," Joe asked "What were the deer and envelopes doing?" Noreen Yazejian Three-year-old Johnny was having a speech evaluation session to look at his articulation difficulties and determine if he needed therapy. The therapist said, "if you sing you are a singer... So, if you win you are a…" Johnny looked really puzzled and did not answer, so the therapist repeated herself—slower and louder, "IF YOU SING YOU ARE A SINGER ... SO, IF YOU WIN YOU ARE A..." Johnny beamed and said "champion!" Mary Ruth Coleman My first year teaching my students loved to earn free time to draw on the dry erase boards. One afternoon a student eagerly bellowed out, "Miss Fox, Miss Fox, I drew a picture of you and I even drew your nipples!" My jaw dropped as I spun on my heels to see the student holding up the dry erase board with a picture of my face and dimples on each side of my smile. Dana Fox One day during Christmas my grandma came in to play special music for us. Afterward she sat with the children during lunch. Grandma asked Tierney, age four, “Did you clean your plate?”Tier-ney replied, "No, we just throw them in the trash!" Sherri Marlette The next Satchmo! Asheboro B. Y. Annex Head Start Black Mountain The Rose Garden Chapel Hill Christine Wang Child Care Home Charlotte Blythe Elementary ASEP High Point Linda Hughes Day Care Home Raleigh Early Preschool & Learning Jackie's Li'l Keikis Home Day Care Rocky Mount Art of Day Care Home Snow Hill T J's Day Care Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit No. 177 Chapel Hill NC 27599-1100 Addressee: Please share ATN! with your colleagues. Reaching the5Stars 521 S. Greensboro Street • Ste. 100 Carrboro NC 27510-2341 New 5-Star Programs Programs awarded since last ATN! publication or not previously listed. ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED We need your help! Over the past seven years, our ATN! mailing list has more than doubled. While this is good news, we need to be very diligent about removing duplicate names and addresses. We do everything we can to catch these duplicates, but we need your help. If you are receiving multiple copies of ATN!, please let us know. You can call Molly Weston at 919.966.0059 or e-mail me at Molly_Weston@unc.edu or simply send the address label back to us at ATN!, 521 S. Greensboro St., STE 100, Carrboro, NC 27510 or FAX us at 919.843.5784. Thanks for your efforts. |
OCLC number | 33387525 |