Help Me Grow for Educators and Child Care Providers

 

 

For Early Care and Education Providers

Help Me Grow SF Inclusion Specialists work with early care and education providers to support children at their sites to implement a whole classroom, inclusive approach to early intervention. This collaborative planning process leads to the review and confirmation of screening results and the subsequent drafting and implementation of child support plans and other interventions at a classroom level.

HMG Inclusion Specialists also make connections to other Help Me Grow team members for additional family support, referral navigation, and linkage to longer-term early intervention service pathways.

The HMG Developmental Screening Manager provides training and support for universal developmental screening practices, such as the ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE, to help ensure that all young children in early care and educational settings have timely access to screenings before kindergarten.

The HMG Family Engagement Manager provides training and support towards building relationships with families, communicating developmental concerns and providing assistance regarding overall family support as needed.

Trainings:

• First 5 SF Trainings

• Help Me Grow Trainings

• WestEd Trainings

Resources
http://www.sfinclusion.org/resources

•  ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

  • Assistive Technology Resources
    This list of resources includes resources to guide you to the evidence for using assistive technology in early childhood settings, as well as books, videos and other resources to guide you.

  • Assistive Technology 101
    This fact sheet is a good introduction to assistive technology, including the definition, benefits and selection of assistive technology. It was developed by the Center on Technology and Disability.
    Also available in Spanish.

  • Assistive Technology and the IEP
    This fact sheet outlines the process for identifying, prioritizing and experimenting with assistive technology devices identified during the development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a child with a disability. It was developed by the Center on Technology and Disability.

  • ATIA Resources Funding Guide
    This guide has numerous resource links to funding options for assistive technology. It was developed by the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA).

  • Augmentation and Alternative Communication Strategy Poster
    This one page “dos and don’ts” guide is a easy to use reminder poster for educators and families who are supporting AAC users. This poster was created by Lauren Enders.

  • Go Baby, Go Video – One Man Helped Disabled Kids With Power Wheels
    Check out this video for inspiration from an innovative engineer who created accessible motorized play cars that are motivating, social, and fun!

  • Resource Guide for Teachers and Administrators About Assistive Technology
    This guide reviews different types of assistive technology and includes a resource list to help schools acquire assistive technology devices. It was developed by the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Institute.

  • Special Education Guide to Assistive Technology
    This comprehensive guide provides an overview of assistive technology devices and services, including choosing, using and repairing assistive technology devices and services. It was developed by the Montana Division of Special Education.

• CHILD DEVELOPMENT & DISABILITIES

  • Apps for Helping Autistic Kids Socially and Academically
    This article from the San Jose Mercury News lists recommended mobile apps to assist children with autism.

  • Cerebral Palsy Guide
    This website helps parents understand their child’s diagnosis by giving them information on cerebral palsy causes, symptoms and treatments that are available.

  • Disability Fact Sheets
    The Center for Parent Information and Resources website offers fact sheets many different disabilities. It’s a great resource for learning more about a specific disability for anyone who is living or working with a child who has a disability.
    Also available in Spanish.

  • Map to Early Start
    This parent-friendly tip sheet can be used by parents and professionals who have developmental questions and concerns for children between the ages of birth and three years of age and who are interested in learning more about how to navigate the referral to Golden Gate Regional Center for early intervention services.
    Also available in Spanish and Chinese.

  • Meeting the Sensory Needs of Young Children
    The charts on pages 40 and 42 of this article from Young Children identify sensory processing patterns and common characteristics of these patterns, as well as classroom strategies to address children’s sensory processing differences.

  • People First Language
    These articles from Disability is Natural provide examples of respectful language that puts the person before the difference/disability.

  • Toilet Training Workshop for Children with Special Needs
    This packet from Gateway Learning Group, Inc. can be used to help with toilet training children with special needs.

  • Track Your Child’s Developmental Milestones
    This colorful brochure from the CDC can be used track a child’s progress in reaching important developmental milestones through age five.
    Also available in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole.

  • What to Expect & When to Seek Help
    This tool from Bright Futures at Georgetown University helps families and providers identify developmental concerns in children age one to four and provides a framework to begin a conversation on how best to support their social-emotional development.
    Also available in Spanish.

• CURRICULUM

  • California Preschool Curriculum Framework – Volume 1 and Volume 2
    These books by the California Department of Education present strategies and information to enrich learning and development opportunities for all preschool children. Volume 1 focuses on social-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development, and mathematics. Volume 2 focuses on visual and performing arts, physical development, and health.

  • Environmental Adaptations Checklist
    This checklist includes procedures for determining the types of environmental adaptations (for example, physical or social adaptations.) that can be used to promote child participation in learning activities.

  • Developmentally Appropriate Practices
    This position statement by the National Association for the Education of Young Children provides a framework for the best practices in early childhood education that promote optimal learning and development.
    Also available in Spanish and Chinese.

  • Scaffolding Children’s Learning
    This tip sheet from the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NCECDTL) provides strategies and examples for teachers to provide effective support and feedback to the children they work with.

  • Universal Design for Learning Checklist
    This checklist (in English, Spanish and Chinese) helps teachers to create universally designed lessons.  

• ENVIRONMENT

  • How Can You Create a Learning Environment that Respects Diversity?
    This article outlines the importance of setting up an inclusive and diverse environment in an early childhood program and provides guidelines on recommended images that promote this goal. It was created by the Anti-Defamation League.

  • Steps for Adapting Materials for Use by All Children
    This chart provides examples of Universal Design as applied to different classroom objects and examples of how to modify those materials to include all children. It was created by Kristen Haugen.

  • Universal Design for Play Tool
    This tool can be used by child care providers with children from birth to three years old to help them select toys that are inclusive. The tool can be used by children with and without disabilities.

  • Zoning to Maximize Learning
    This tip sheet provides strategies to be used in classrooms to organize teachers and classroom environments.

• HEALTH & SAFETY

  • All resources in this section were created by the California Childcare Health Program.

    • Medication Administration Form
      This permission form can by used by child care providers to obtain authorization to administer medicine to a child in their care and to outline the program’s policy on administering medicine to children in their program. Also available in Spanish.

    • Nutrition & Feeding Care Plan
      This form can be used by child care providers to collect information on the diet and feeding needs of a child in their care.

    • Special Health Care Plan
      This form can be used by child care providers to create a health care plan that addresses the health care concerns of a child in a child care program.
      Also available in Spanish.

• INCLUSION

  • An Administrator’s Guide to Preschool Inclusion
    The purpose of this guide is to address some of the issues raised by the administrators of inclusive preschool settings. We discuss the barriers and roadblocks these administrators encountered as well as strategies they used as they set up inclusive programs and then worked to keep them going successfully.

  • California M.A.P. to Inclusion & Belonging
    The Making Access Possible website is a project operating under the Center for Child and Family Studies at WestEd. The MAP Project supports the inclusion of children with disabilities and other special needs in child care, after school and community settings.

  • Creating Inclusive Environments for Children
    This bilingual (English/Spanish) article from Connecticut Birth To Three outlines the steps to design, support and evaluate inclusive environments.

  • Overview of the DEC Recommended Practices
    This resource provides an overview of the research-backed recommended practices developed by the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) to provide guidance to parents and providers on improving outcomes for the children with disabilities.

  • Parent Checklist to Evaluate their Child’s Program
    This checklist can be used by parents to evaluate how their child’s program meets their child’s needs. This checklist incorporates many of the best practices in early intervention and early childhood special education outlined in the DEC Recommended Practices.

  • Quality Inclusive Early Childhood Programs: 10 Things to Look For
    This list helps parents identify what to look for as they seek quality inclusive early childhood programs for their child.

  • Quality Inclusive Childcare Checklist
    This checklist can be used to evaluate the quality and level of inclusion of a child care program. It was developed by the California Childcare Health Program.

• LAWS

  • 15 Minute Inclusion – IEP Basics
    University of Washington’s Head Start Program has several videos, resources and guides to help parents, administrators and teachers understand the IEP process.

  • Admissions Policies and Practices that Build Inclusive Child Care Communities
    This website gives providers tips on the importance of creating an admissions policy, ideas on what an inclusive policy and practice might include and a review of the law relating to policies. It was created by the University of Maine.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Questions & Answers
    This reference guide provides an overview for child care providers on the ADA and how the law affects their program. It was created by the Child Care Law Center. Also available in Spanish and Chinese.

  • Assistive Technology Laws
    This fact sheet offers brief summaries of laws that impact the provision of assistive technology and special education services. It was developed by the Family Center on Technology and Disability.

  • Early Intervention (Part C of IDEA)
    This article provides resources and links on federal law (Part C of IDEA) relating to early intervention services for infants and toddlers.

  • IDEA – Least Restrictive Environment Requirements
    This is the Federal Department of Education’s policy paper explaining how the Least Restrictive Environment requirements of IDEA apply to preschool children.

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
    An overview for child care providers on the IDEA and how the law affects their program.

  • Nebraska IEP Technical Assistance Guide
    This guidebook helps families and provides information on how to navigate the IEP process by reviewing the requirements of the law, and deciding how each requirement can best be implemented. It was created by the Nebraska Department of Education.

  • Policy Advisory: The Law on Inclusive Education
    This handout provides an overview of the rights of children, parents and teachers related to inclusion.

• PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES

  • Child Support Plan Templates: Child Support Plan and Child Support Plan with Daily Schedule
    These family-friendly support plan templates are used at our sites and help providers to map how an individual child’s goals can be practiced throughout the day.

  • Communicating with Families in Inclusive Preschool Settings
    This tip sheet provides strategies for success in developing positive ongoing relationships with families. Also available in Spanish and Chinese.

  • Engaging Families in Early Childhood Education
    This article from the RTI Action Network explains why engaging parents in early childhood settings in important and provides tips for providers on how to increase parent participation, interest and involvement.

  • Preschool Development & Routine Questionnaire for Families
    This form can be used by preschool providers to get to know the children in their program by having the families of the children complete this questionnaire when they join the preschool. It was created by the California Childcare Health Program.

• POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS

  • Banking Time Techniques Handout
    This handout lists Banking Time techniques that can be used by teachers to build supportive relationships with children. Banking Time is composed of 10-15 minute one-on-one play sessions between a teacher and child that take place 2-3 times a week.

  • Book Nook: Hands Are Not for Hitting
    This resource from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) provides an overview of the book Hands Are Not for Hitting and outlines fun classroom activities that can be used while reading this book to prevent hitting.

  • Book Nook: Quiet LOUD
    This resource from CSEFEL provides an overview of the book Quiet LOUD and outlines fun classroom activities that can be used while reading this book to work on transitions between being quiet and loud.

  • Example Behavior Support Plan – Ashley
    This is an example of a completed behavior support plan for a child that has trouble with social interaction. It outlines the problem, prevention strategies, skills to teach and the response.

  • “Good Job” Alternatives
    This article from Teaching Young Children magazine provides suggestions to give preschoolers specific, detailed information that recognizes their achievements and encourages learning.

  • Instead of ______, try telling them what to do
    This handout provides alternative phrases to use with children to encourage positive behaviors. It recommends telling children what to do instead of what not to do.

  • The ‘Make a Plan’ Plan
    This article from Teaching Young Children magazine outlines a guidance technique that helps teachers combat challenging behaviors called “Make a Plan” plan. It is a strategy for helping a teacher and a child find the solution to a problem together.

  • OUCH! That hurts! – Biting
    This handout from the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies provides information on the causes of biting behavior can tips for preventing and responding to it.

  • Positive Behavior Support
    This document outlines the positive behavior support process which can be used by providers to address problem behaviors that range from aggression to social withdrawal. It was created by the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations.

  • Rough Play: One of the Most Challenging Behaviors
    This article explores the importance of rough play in children’s development.

  • Supporting Positive Behavior
    This tip sheet from Kids Included Together (KIT) provides 10 tips on encouraging positive behavior in early education settings.

  • Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behaviors
    This guide was developed by the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. The guide gives teachers practical strategies to create a plan to support young children who are having challenging behavior.

• SCREENING & ASSESSMENT

  • Ages and Stages Website
    This website is a great place to start when beginning to implement the ASQ and/or the ASQ:SE. It also has an age calculator, so that you can be assured that you are using the appropriate age interval.

  • Birth to Five; Watch Me Thrive! Website
    This website contains resources on screening and assessment. Is a coordinated federal effort to encourage healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for children, and support for the families and providers who care for them.

  • The Child Find Mandate: What Does it Mean for You?
    This article from the Wrightslaw website explains the Child Find mandate, including who is covered by the mandate, the importance of the mandate and suggested methods and implementation of the mandate.

  • List of Developmental Screening Tools
    This table compares developmental screening tools for children and includes the description, age range, number of questions, administration time, scoring method and where to obtain them. It was created by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  • Understanding & Choosing Assessments & Developmental Screeners for Children 3-5
    This report reviews the quality of assessment tools and can be used by early education providers to help them select developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate screening tools for the populations they serve. It was created by the Administration for Children and Families.
    

• SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  • Backpack Connection Series
    This series of handouts was developed by the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations to provide a way for teachers and parents/caregivers to work together to help young children develop social-emotional skills and reduce challenging behavior

  • Buddy Stations and Buddy Readings
    This document provides details of two activities to help children connect and socialize around new friends and activities and favorite books.

  • Building Positive Relationships with Young Children
    This handout provides practical strategies for families and providers to build positive relationships with children. It was produced by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL).

  • Changes Are Okay Social Story
    This Powerpoint social story can be used to help children better understand social cues and develop social skills and “changes in routine”, something that is particularly hard for people with autism.

  • CSEFEL Pyramid Model – Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Young Children
    This presentation from CSEFEL provides a background on the CSEFEL Pyramid Model, including reviewing the training modules and offering practical materials.

  • Helping Young Children Control Anger and Handle Disappointment
    This handout from CSEFEL provides practical techniques for providers to help children develop emotional regulation.

  • How to explain Jails and Prisons to Children – A Caregiver’s Guide
    This booklet from Friends Outside helps caregivers explain to children and families what its like to have a loved one who is incarcerated.

  • Inventory of Practices for Promoting Children’s Social Emotional Competence
    This handout from CSEFEL helps providers to identify training needs and plan a course of action to build positive relationships, create supportive environments, develop social emotional teaching strategies, and plan individualized intensive interventions.

  • Social and Emotional Development in Young Children – The CSEFEL Pyramid Model
    This document provides an overview of the CSEFEL Pyramid Model and provides information on each of the five parts of the pyramid.

  • Social Emotional Teaching Strategies: Practice Implementation Checklist
    This checklist from lists ways to help children build friendship skills, emotional literacy and problem solving skills.

  • Teaching Pyramid Materials
    These downloadable materials for use in classrooms and with families will help sites to implement the Teaching Pyramid model. Some materials are also available in Spanish and Chinese.

  • The Teaching Pyramid
    This handout from CSEFEL outlines how the teaching pyramid can be used to support social competence and prevent challenging behavior in young children.

• SPEECH & LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

  • Language and Speech Milestone
    This handout from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association provides simple examples of what typical communication development looks like for children aged 0-5. Also available in Spanish.

  • More than Baby Talk
    This guide is a project of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute that describes ten practices early childhood teachers can use to foster language and communication skills among infants and toddlers.

  • Simple Sign Language Sheet
    This document from the Inclusion Collaborative has photos of simple sign language that can be used as an alternative communication method to help children comprehend vocabulary and directions.

  • Tips to Support Children with Speech and Language Needs
    This handout lists strategies to help children with speech challenges develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

  • Ways to Ask Children Questions
    This handout from the Office of Head Start provides 4 simple strategies and examples for extending conversations and questions with children in the classroom.

• TEAMING & COLLABORATION

  • Communication Strategies to Build Collaboration
    This handout from the Connect Module on Collaboration emphasizes the importance of effective communication as a foundation for collaboration.

  • Developing and Evaluating Interagency Collaboration
    This handbook discusses the definition, history and purpose of interagency collaboration, as well as outlining the steps to developing collaboration and exemplary practices in interagency collaboration. It was produced by the California Department of Education.

• TRANSITIONS

  • Preparing for Transition from Early Intervention to an Individualized Education Program
    This informational sheet provides guidance to parents on what to expect during the transition from family-focused Early Intervention services to child-focused special education services. It was created by the Pacer Center.

  • Terrific Transitions for the Preschool Classroom
    This article presents transition ideas that preschool providers can use to reduce the number of interruptions and encourage activities to flow from one to another with ease. It was published in Early Childhood News.

  • Transition Activities for Toddlers
    This article discusses how to create fun transition time routines.