SNOW!

PLEASE label your children's snow clothing!!!!!

Pizza Pizza

Hello Families,

Next week we will be making pizza for snack!  This is a fun activity for you to also do a home with your little ones! Stretching the dough is a fun sensory activity.  Deciding on which toppings and talking about the different smells and tastes provide great language modeling.  There is room for conversation about colors, patterns and plenty of opportunity for counting!  Pizza as an educational experience...who knew!  You could even go all out and make one that looks like this!

We will be reading several books about pizza including Pete's A Pizza and Hi Pizza Man, which is a very silly and fun book!

Happy Pizza Making!

The Importance of Early Intervention

This wonderful essay was written by a parent in our program.  If you would like more information about services for children ages 0-3 in our community please contact Jennifer Knowles at jknowles@mtsd-vt.org or call 802-316-6181.  If you would like more information about special education services for children ages 3-5 please contact your child's teacher.  Thank you!  And Thank You to Nell for sharing her story.

Why Early Intervention is so Important!

By: Nell Solleder, a parent of a special needs child.

Long ago, when I was in school back in the 1980’s, exceptional children had their own classroom. From what I remember, these children were not integrated into the general classroom setting. I never had the opportunity to learn about the many disabilities and disorders in my community. Let alone, have the opportunity to socialize and become friends with children who have special needs. They were separated into their own classrooms and had their own recess schedules. Looking back, these children were excluded from the general education classroom setting and I believe this may be one of the reasons why “labeling” children with disabilities could have a stigmatizing affect upon today’s parents. Children back then were also not as accepting as children are today.

In today’s world, so much has changed with the Individuals with Disabilities ACT. Special needs children are entitled to an “inclusive” and “least restrictive” education in the general classroom setting. Today, with special needs children being included, all the children in the general education setting have the opportunity to be exposed to the diversity of our society. They all have the opportunity to interact and learn about each other. I believe that “inclusive” education will someday minimize the negative stigma associated with “labeling” children for disabilities. Times were much different 30 years ago.

As a mother of a 3 year old child who is on the Autism Spectrum, I had the opportunity to experience Early Intervention first hand. Early Intervention has taught me, as a parent of a special needs child, how to communicate with my son with various communication methods like sign language and PECS. I have learned how to manage various behavioral issues related to the lack of communication and the autism spectrum disorder. I certainly have learned a lot about my son’s disability through Early Intervention program and the resources they provided. I have seen remarkable results with this amazing journey with my son. The fantastic Early Intervention team and my son have inspired me to go back to college to become an Early Childhood Special Education teacher. This is how strongly I feel about Early Intervention. I am a believer and I have witnessed amazing results. It’s very rewarding to see a child overcome their challenges.

When my son was first diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, there was a possibility that he might not speak. He had only two words in his vocabulary at the of 18 months. Many people even told me to wait and not worry about this (boy am I glad that I never took this advice). I strongly believe that our lives would be very different if Early Intervention was never introduced to my son. My son’s vocabulary and communication would be very limited, there would be no understanding, there would be a lot of frustration and many tantrums. I wouldn’t even know how to manage my son’s behaviors or how to communicate with my son! This would be a very stressful for our family. My son would also be very behind in his knowledge and skills by the time he would start Kindergarten. This would be a huge setback for him! Not only would he have to learn all the new education associated with kindergarten, he would also have to learn all the skills and vocabulary to help him communicate and function in Kindergarten. There would be a lot of catching up to do.

Ages 0-3 is a critical time for cognitive development in a child (and is also a very crucial period for Early Intervention). Cognitive development slows down as the child gets older and it becomes more challenging for a child to acquire new skills and knowledge. Especially when they are behind! To all the parents out there, if you choose to not have Early Intervention services provided for your child due to the fear of labeling, think about the challenges your child will encounter as they grow older. Imagine what life will be like for your child when they are behind in skills, cognitive development, and language. It will be a much more difficult road ahead for your child and your family.

Early Intervention will provide services and resources to help you with issues related to the disability. Early Intervention will provide the education your child needs to help with their disability and help them be more successful in school. With the fantastic help of our early intervention team, my son has certainly come along way. He has gone from saying 2 words to speaking in descriptive and complete sentences! My worries of him not speaking are long gone. Research has proven that early intervention can help reduce the symptoms of the disability. There is even a possibility that the symptoms may completely go away depending on the severity. Early Intervention will help your child become caught up on their fine and gross motor skills, cognitive development, and language. Your child will be ready to start kindergarten and will have a better chance of succeeding in school. With general education being inclusive, children today are a lot more accepting of others than children who went to school over 30 years ago. Set the labels aside and do what’s best for your child, It’s your child’s future. Early intervention is a great approach to help your child with their disability or disorder, and gives your child the opportunity they deserve to succeed in school.

Exploring Sounds and Lights

This week in preschool we are exploring lights and sounds!