Social Work Commons^™

Evaluating Services For New Mainers Community, Hibo Omer

Student and Trainee Scholarship

Mission: Sandcastle Clinical & Education Services: we decided that children with special needs would no longer be separated and that our classrooms would be composed of a mixture of children. Sandcastle’s goal was and still is to this day that children graduating from our program at age five, who had special needs, would transition directly into a regular classroom and not be segregated from their peers. We are proud to have been on the cutting edge of inclusion, and proud to be educating children to be open minded, with open hearts.

Vision: Sandcastle was the first early childhood education program …

Educational Videos About Restraint And Seclusion, Jodie Hall

Poster Presentations

The Coalition for Restraint and Seclusion (C.A.R.S.) is a group of stakeholders whose mission is to prevent the overuse of restraints and seclusion within the educational setting. As part of my training with the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership in Education in Neurodevelopmental Related Disabilities Program (LEND), I have been working with C.A.R.S. to update their resources and parent education materials. We created a series of short informational videos which will be accessed via the internet, in order to provide materials which are easily digestible and accessible for parents. My poster will provide descriptions of the content included in each of the …

Combating Autism Reauthorization Act Of 2014, Kassandra Mores

Policy Analysis

On May 9, 2014, Representative Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Doyle (D-PA) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act (H.R. 4631) for five years. Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) are planning to introduce a Senate bill of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act. The Combating Autism Act of 2011, due to sunset September 30, 2014, provides federal funding for autism research, public education, and early detection and intervention in Maine. We are hoping that you will consider voting in support of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act.

Growing Ideas - Whack! Slam! Bang! - Aggression, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Aggressive behavior - hitting, pinching, biting, and other acts through which children may hurt themselves or others - is a way children communicate by using their bodies. Children behave aggressively for a variety of reasons.

Growing Ideas - Partnering With An Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and families, care and education professionals, and/or early care and education teachers. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and care and education professionals to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation approaches challenging situations with children from a problem solving perspective. ECMHC is not a therapeutic intervention: it occurs in the children's natural settings - child care, home, and school.

Growing Ideas - Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and family members, child care providers, early care and education teachers, and/ or child development professionals. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and caregivers to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. It supports building and maintaining healthy working relationships between care and education professionals and families.

Growing Ideas - Ouch! That Hurts! - Biting, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Children bite for a variety of reasons. Biting behavior provides clues to how children are feeling, their stage of development and what they need from their environment to be successful. Understanding what the young child needs is the first step in developing an effective response. For some children, biting may be related to their stage of development. Biting can be very common, for example, at the toddler stage. When young children lack skills and strategies to communicate their feelings and needs effectively, they may feel overwhelmed. Biting then becomes a child's way of expressing frustration.

Learning Ideas - Special Education Tips For Foster Parents Who Are Surrogate Parents, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Education

Surrogate parents are appointed to represent children with disabilities whenever the birth parents or guardian of a child with a disability cannot be identified, located, or when the child is in the custody of the state. They have all the rights of birth parents for educational matters, e.g. permission for evaluation and placement, release information and request for educational hearing. The primary responsibility of surrogate parents is to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with a free, appropriate public education. (Adapted from http://www.maine.gov/doe/special ed/programs/surrogate/index.html)