Special Student Services

Special Student Services:

Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education

February 2016

Monthly Board Report

For more information, please contact Nancy M. Ford at

Strategic Direction: Ensure all customers (e.g. component districts, students and staff) receive timely, responsive, professional service and expertise of the highest quality.

Update:

• It’s hard to believe that it’s already that time of year, but the Tillamook ECSE staff is in the midst of meeting with school districts to review kids who will be transitioning to kindergarten this fall. All of these transition meetings will be completed by February 12th.
• Tillamook Countyis currently processing 16 new students, either as new referrals or as move-ins. The county has had 6 new referrals in EI alone since the beginning of January.
• Currently there are 157 children with Individual Family Service Plans (IFPS) receiving services in Community Action Organization Head Start classrooms. In January, Head Start opened 3 additional class sessions. On February 12th, NWRESD speech pathologists will be doing a presentation to Head Start teachers on how to target speech and language goals during classroom routines.
• It is the season of kindergarten transition activities for Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE.) The Tualatin Early Childhood Center (TECC) hosted special education teams from both Tigard-Tualatin and Sherwood School Districts during the week of 1/25/16. Teams shared information about 100 ECSE students that will be transitioning to kindergarten in September of 2016. The process went smoothly and appreciation was expressed by district representatives.The Columbia County EI/ECSE census count continues to steadily increase.
• The census count shows the number of children in EI is 18% higher than last year at this time while the number of children in ECSE is 8% higher. Overall, our program shows a 12% increase in the number of children being served in EI/ECSE in Columbia County. Approximately 30% of the EI/ECSE referrals come from Physicians. Staff will be presenting information about EI/ECSE and community connections to the Oregon Health Science University resident physicians at their monthly conference in Scappoose.

Strategic Direction: Deliver customer-approved specialized products and services with an economic advantage.

Update:

• The Clatsop County EI/ECSE Autism Identification Team is working in collaboration with OHSU’s TeleHealth department to provide the medical evaluation portion for our “education + medical” evaluation team. The county is piloting the use of an iPad with a secure video-conferencing application for the doctor at OHSU to conduct the parent interview and observe administration of the evaluation. Mock evaluations are scheduled for February 9th and 17th with the first evaluation scheduled for the 24th.
• In partnership with TTSD and Sherwood School Districts, TECC provided an evening parent training on kindergarten transition on January 26th. Approximately 25 parents were in attendance.
• The Early Intervention Advisory Council sponsored a parent training presented by Families and Communities Together (FACT) on February 2nd entitled, IEP/IFSP. Approximately 25 parents were in attendance. Parents were actively engaged in the presentation and expressed positive comments at the conclusion about how the information would assist them in preparing for the kindergarten transition.
• TECC is in the midst of a Social Communication Parent Training series that is running from January 12ththrough March 18th. The series consists of five evening training sessions and five individual coaching sessions. There are nine families participating with 11 children. This series is presented one time per year at each of the EI/ECSE center sites. This series provides parents/families with essential skills in interacting with their children with autism spectrum disorder.

Strategic Direction: Actively study current and emerging trends to develop marketable products and services that further our mission.

Update:

• Oregon Department of Education requires annual training on physical restraint and de-escalation of challenging behaviors to maintain safety. All new Clatsop EI/ECSE staff had the initial training last fall. All Clatsop EI/ECSE staff participated in the annual refresher training on January 29th. Colleen Nolan, school psychologist with the regional EI/ECSE program, provided the training.
• The SAIL team is focusing on increased fidelity in the implementation of PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) for their student learning growth goal. All children enrolled in the sample have made progress in using this system to communicate wants and needs by exchanging icons with communication partners. Children are also learning to take responsibility for their PECS books by independently carrying them with them across the school day.
• The Osmo for iPad was gifted to the ECSE classroom in St. Helens from Kimberly Bayley-Tweed, who is a former EI/ECSE parent and also serves on the Columbia County Early Childhood Advisory. This learning program is a great way to get children engaged in hands on learning activities. It is an i-pad application and manipulatives that integrate visual and hands on learning when the child recreates the image seen on the screen and then down on the table using a reflecting devise to access their accuracy. The kit includes tangrams for pre-numeracy and geometry skills, letter sets for early literacy skills and numbers dice cards for additional numeracy skills. The program has a wide range of options based on the child’s skill level, which is perfect for individualized goals for each student.

Strategic Direction: Foster and promote a proactive and inclusive culture both within and beyond the region.

Update:

• Hillsboro Early Childhood Center is working with the Hillsboro Park and Recreation District to create some classes for the ECSE preschoolers. The intent is to help them design some classes that would be appropriate for children who may not be able to access the regular classes due to their disabilities. Information is also being provided to parents to let them know about existing classes currently available for preschoolers.

Osmo for iPad