Family Perspectives

Chicago Inclusion Town Halls

Creating a Beautiful Mess: Essential Play Experiences for a Joyous Childhood
Ann Gadzikowski Understanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and Teachers 3rd Edition, Angie Voss, OT-R, Available online

Transitions

Families experience many transitions in the early years. Transitioning from early intervention into early childhood services is one transition.  ISBE and DHS have created this tool to help families plan for this transition.  Also available in Spanish.

A new video has been produced to replace the previously available When I’m 3, where will I be? A Family’s Transistion DVD. Visit Illinois Child Find

Additional resources for the transition into early childhood are available at the ISBE website.

Early CHOICES has compiled this Livebinder of resources to help planning for the transition from early childhood to kindergarten.

Tools For Transition in Early Childhood, Beth S. Rous Ed.D., Rena A. Hallam Ph.D.

Planning for Inclusion

Planning for implementing inclusion is best done as a team with your child’s educational team.  In order to prepare for that planning we have some useful tools.

Person Centered Planning is key to create a vision and clear picture of dreams for your child’s future.  To learn more about Person Centered Planning visit the PACER Center or Inclusion Press.

Gathering basic information to share with the team can be helpful.  Student profiles such as Paula Kluth Strengths & Strategies Profile Or this Student Profile that allows for the parent to describe their child.

Families often ask what program elements should they look for when visiting programs to know if the program will be a good place for their child.  There is no one answer to this as families need to look for high quality early childhood programs.  A few tips for inclusive early programs are in this checklist.

For our youngest children natural environments are the best place to learn and grow.

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process is challenging and often confusing.  The Family Resource Center on Disabilities: Dissecting the IEP 6 Part Webinar Series on Demand is a series of webinars that delves into the process, step-by-step to help families understand the components of the IEP process.

From Parents to Partners, Second Edition: Building a Family-Centered Early Childhood Program, Janis Keyser

Come and Play: Sensory Integration Strategies for Children with Play Challenges, Aerial Cross