FASD Support and Resources in Alberta

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome affects many families within our schools. It is often a tough area to delve into with families especially in the early years. http://fasd.typepad.com/ provides support and resources that are available within Alberta and online. Some of the resources include Aboriginal Supports related to FASD, rural and small town resources and supports, and transition planning for students with FASD.

-The FASD Learning Series is a set of video presentations that are free and are targeted at health care professionals, teachers, parents and other professional supports. These videos emphasize the importance of trust, communication and effective strategies when working with children and families affected by FASD.

-The Bissell Center (Edmonton): This center, located in the heart of Edmonton supports and enhances the community’s 'capacity to understand and prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and support the well-being of individuals and families affected by FASD'.

The Future of Education.

'We cannot shape the future, but we can shape our students to be prepared for the future'

Alberta's Approach to Collaborative Practices:

An initiative through the Government of Alberta, Alberta's approach to collaborative practices uses the wraparound principles:

-Collaboration

-Shared Leadership, Team-Based, Persistent, Connections

-Voice and Choice, Natural Supports and Cultural Responsiveness

It's aim is to provide ongoing support and development to education professionals, parents and students. What is really useful about this initiative is its Collaborative Conversation Guide. It includes guides to support conversation within the school system, between consultants, parents and administrators. There are videos and print outs that outline a focused and organized way to collaborate. An excellent and free resource!

Transcending Barriers and Creating Opportunities: Building Collaboration Between Schools and parents of english language learners

This is a wonderful article about the challenges and overcoming barriers of multicultural environments. Our schools are becoming more and more complex and diverse every year. We are seeing an increase in English Language Learners and they deserve (along with their families) support. This article discusses many issues that we as educators often don't see; immigration isolation, struggle to gain status, etc.

Alberta Children and Youth Initiative (ACYI): Transition Planning

The AYCI has an excellent document on preparing for and initiating in Transition Planning for students with disabilities. It guides parents and teachers through a 6 stage plan and has an extensive list of supports within the document. Transition Planning is sometimes difficult as it is hard to think ahead 1, 2 and even 3 years. Knowing where to start, and documenting all progress is key in transition planning. Share this document with parents and fellow educators!

Standards for Special Education (Alberta)

I have attached this document as it continues to be an excellent resource for educators, parents and support staff. The 4 Elements (Access, Appropriateness, Accountability and Appeals) are outlined and are important to understand as Special Educators. Using this document as a liason between families is very helpful.

Understanding and Supporting HEALTHY Mental Health

What is mental health? Is it striking balance within your life? Is it the lack of a mental health illness? A state of well-being? If we don't know, how can we expect ourstudents and children to?

Mental Health illnesses are becoming more and more prominent in our schools today, students are being diagnosed with childhood depression, moderate to severe anxiety, and even school phobias. I have outlined a few resources that are helpful for teachers and parents in playing an essential role of supporting their children's lifestyle choices, help teachers recognize signs of mental health issues, and resources for communicating and collaborating among school learning teams.

Mental Health Capacity Building for Children, Youth and Families in Schools:

This initiative couldn't have come at a better time. The Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) for Children, Youth and Families in Schools is a unique initiative in that mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention services are integrated into and provided in a school-based setting. There are currently thirty-nine project sites implemented across Alberta.

I have linked to the fact sheet so that you can check to see if you school district is currently involved in the initiative. If not, the initiative is heading in the direction to hit all school systems in Alberta. In the mean time, please check out these other resources:

Child & Adolescent Behavior Toolkit:

This is an excellent resource for educators and health care professionals, although it does come at a cost. It is a software program that you will need to have a username and password to access. There are 2 different toolkits:

-CBT (child behavior toolkit) infancy to 12 years

-ABT 12-18 years

* There is also an Autism behavior toolkit which is not yet available within Alberta (send your feedback and experiences in to help make it available!)

Bounce Back Books

"Resiliency allows us to bounce back from setbacks and cope with adversity; to react positively and adapt well to change when things go poorly."

These books were developed in partnership with Alberta Health Services and Early Childhood Experts to support mental health with interactive and engaging learning activities that develop childhood resiliency skills. There are 3 books within the series that target children from birth to 9 years. THese books are available for FREE in PDF format at

http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/1652.asp.

Use these books with parents to help create a healthy connection between home and school support.

Pathways:

promotes resilience and life skills in families and school communities! Recommended by a Guest Speaker, Jodi Mckay, this resource is an excellent choice for schools in promoting healthy minds and awareness within their students.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S 4 Life Program

Friends is an acronym designed to help children deal effectively with difficult or stressful situations. This resource can be shared between parents and educators to establish balance in effectively developing mentally healthy children. The aim of this resource is to help create children who can remember these steps in stressful situations. Incorporating this as a goal for an IPP or less formally at home are both effective ways to use it.

Consultation and Collaboration with Technology!

Twitter:

An excellent interactive network where Educators can share, learn and connect with one another. I was very hesitant about creating a Twitter account as I was not familiar with this type of 'short' (limited to approx 75 words per post) RSS feed but am very glad I decided to dive into the professional world of Twitter.

Google Resources:

Sharing Documents electronically is efficient and effective. I have used Google-Docs to collaborate on group projects and anticipate using this in my professional career in sharing lesson plans, documenting meeting notes, etc. There is nothing worse than leaving a meeting with everyone thinking/concluding something different!

1. Google Docs

2. Google Apps

Video Conferencing

Alberta has been a leader in the area of video conferencing and continues

to be today. Video conferencing simply uses interactive devices such as a laptop computer with a camera and a microphone and vice versa on the other side. Used for collaboration between remote areas, conferences internationally and even for whole class instruction. Alberta Education provides support for teachers in integrating video conferencing.

Voice Thread

A great resource to support collaboration within schools, within districts and even within Alberta! Voice Thread enables group conversations around images, documents and videos. Don't limit voice thread to your professional life only, Voice Thread can be used to share things with parents, and is easy enough that students can create their own projects using voice thread.

For some examples of student projects, check out these Voice Threads.

Education, Education! Interacting and Collaborating

Who would be better than students themselves to speak out about issues that are important to them?

The government of Alberta created The Speak Out website as a place for students, parents and anyone involved in Education to voice their opinions. Do we need more mental health awareness in our schools? Are schools a safe place for students with disabilities? Let the people who make decisions about education know!

This resource is an excellent way to show our students they play a vital role in their education. Parents are invited to use this tool as well!

Alberta Mentorship Program

AMP offers some amazing supports for children and youth, as well as their families. There is something very special about youth helping youth, AMP has captured this and offers a variety of different programs as well as opportunities to be a mentor.

"You don't need superhuman qualities to be a mentor, just HUMAN ones."

Supporting Special Education with Technology

Technology seems to be all the rage in todays classrooms. From Smart Boards to IPads to Dragon Speech to Text, integrating technology is well on the rise, but it is not without its challenges. Learning how to use technology and how to apply it effectively in our classrooms or with individual students is often time consuming and difficult if we do not have the proper support or training. Here a few resources to help guide you through the intricate 'web' of technology.

I-CAN Center for Assistive Technology: Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, AB)

An amazing part of Alberta's Special Education circle is the I-Can center located in the basement of the Glenrose Hospital. I have taken one inservice here and I would highly recommend passing the word around to fellow educators. The I-CAN Center helps people find effective tools and strategies, and helps clients, their families, and community members learn how to use the tools in their daily lives. Regardless if you have some technology in your classroom, the staff at the I-CAN Center have a wealth of knowledge in working with childrenand adults with Special Needs.

I first came across S.E.T (Special Education Technology) when I was searching for applications of Assistive Technology in the area if Dyslexia. Although this site is targeted at British Columbian School Districts, much of the information and resources within the SET website are relevant universally.

Reaching their True Potential: An article documenting the many successes of using technology (particularly the SmartBoard) with students with exceptional learning needs. In my first practicum in Special Education classroom, my Mentor teacher encouraged me to use the technology we had in our classroom as much as I could. The results were extraordinary. I had many hurdles to overcome to get these results and I felt a connection with this article as it outlines how each student truly does have the potential and the opportunity to be successful. Share this article with teachers who may be hesitant to integrate technology into their special education classrooms or with parents who are questioning the use of Smartboards.

Learning about Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities are one of the most prevalent types of special needs in our classrooms today. Everyone can benefit from taking the time to learn about learning disabilities, whether you are a special educator or not. Take a look at these resources:

The Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta - is a non-profit organization that provides information, resources and programs to children and adults with learning disabilities. This organization is taking big steps to increasing public awareness of learning disabilities, something that is extremely important within today's classrooms, elementary to senior high. I have linked to the organizations website, but within Alberta they have 4 locations that can provide support and also conduct professional development sessions.

Alberta Education's Unlocking Potential: Key Components of Programming for Students with Learning Disabilities. This guide, found by navigating through the Alberta Education website, is a FANTASTIC resource for teachers and parents. It really emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration (which is key!) and includes a chapter solely on transition

planning. This resource can be shared with parents as well!

One of the most important aspects about working with students and children with learning disabilities is teaching them self-advocacy skills. I found this neat self-advocacy manual: Uncovering the Mysteries of your Learning Disability, that is kid-friendly and teaches them, via Sherlock Holmes Investigation, about learning disabilities, accommodations, and self-advocacy. Kids can read this at home with their parents and can be used in conjuction with parent-teacher strategy collaboration.

ADHD:

I have decided to include a section on ADHD within the Learning Disabilities portion as these two special needs often co-exist with eachother.

In an article from the Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning

Disabilities and ADHD: Overlapping Spectrum Disorders, its is noted that 'learning and attention problems are on a continuum, are interrelated, and usually coexist' (Mayes, p.1).

The Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada is an organization dedicated to supporting children and adults with ADHD. In Canadian classrooms, its estimated that 1 in 3 children has ADHD. As educators, its important to know how ADHD manifests itself in students. This website I've included as contact information for CADDAC also includes many useful resources for parents and teachers, as well as recent ADHD studies.

20 Tips to Teach Kids who Have ADHD:

Teachers make a difference; an article that dishes out some excellent pointers for educators that are simple and most of which work universally with the rest of your students (Yay for UDL!)

I found this article on Education world, which has an amazing repertoire of resources for just about every aspect of education for Teachers, parents and students!

Teaching Gifted Students

We can't forget about the other end of the special needs spectrum: Gifted Childred! These kids certainly need and deserve special attention. Here are a few resources that I found to support teachers and parents:

Gifted Education - A Resource Guide for Teachers

This guide is designed by British Columbia's ministry of Education as a support for teachers with gifted students. It covers everything from identification to strategies to thinking processes. I highly recommend it as it is so thorough.

Hoagies Gifted Education Page is an entire website dedicated to supporting educators, parents who have gifted children. What is really helpful about this site, is its section on supporting gifted students (recognized or unrecognized) who may be at risk, English Language learners or who have Learning Disability as well as being gifted.

Here is an article, specifically for educators who work with students who are gifted and talented. Effective Practices in Special Programs is an Alberta Education resource that outlines effective learning through Authentic Product Real Investigation Learning (APRIL). A type of project-based teaching, students are active, engaged and hands-on!

Autism Spectrum Disorder: A few excellent resources!

Children's Autism Services of Edmonton is a local, non-profit oranization aimed to support families and children with ASD. This organization provides treatment and strategies for children at every age and supports families in helping them cope and prepare for the future.

I'm sure many of you have heard or seen of Autism Speaks, based out of the United States, did you know they have a Canadian site as well? I have used this website many times as I have worked with a few families who have children with ASD. Autism Speaks Canada is an excellent resource for parents with children who think they may have ASD, or

have recently been diagnosed. Autism Speaks includes videos on talking to parents about autism, educating other students and strategies for working with students with ASD.

Here is a link to a brochure -an example of one of the many great resources found online. It outlines childhood development with simple indicators that can help give parents and early childhood educators a general idea of the changes you can expect as they grow.

Click here to look at the Early Childhood Milestone Map.

Similar to Autism is Aspergers Syndrome, another type of Pervasive Development Disorder, that effects a persons social functioning. For example, they may not be able to recognize social cues very well, such as body language or personal space. In working with families who had children with Aspergers I found this article from Canadian living on Aspergers very helpful: http://www.canadianliving.com/family/parenting/aspergers_disorder_tips_for_parents_and_teachers.php

Don't forget: If you know one child with Autism. You know ONE child with Autism. Don't assume that because you have taught or know a child with Autism that you know everything about it. It is a very unique and varying spectrum disorder. :)

Welcome!

Hello to all aspiring educators, new to the field educators and experienced ones alike. Welcome to my blog, Creatively Resourceful. Working in Special Education is challenging and takes creativity, patience and most importantly passion. I hope my blog can help you if you are stuck, help you be proactive or just help you learn what's out there. I've tried to gather as many Canadian resources as possible and more specifically Alberta resources.

Let me know what you think and if you find some good resources to add!

-J