Hello, Early Learning Leaders!
Life changed quickly after President Trump declared a national emergency in March due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Schools and early care and education programs closed, work and school have moved into the homes of many families, and everyone’s social life became dramatically limited, even including visiting with friends and extended family members. During these uncertain times, we know that education leaders and early childhood professionals across the nation are working hard to continue to support families and young children while adapting to the new physical and virtual environments. At the U.S. Department of Education (ED), we have been busy addressing the needs of states, schools, and programs with the changing education environments. Please continue visiting ED’s COVID-19 Information and Resources page for COVID-19 related resources and updates.
In this edition, Early Learning celebrates the Autism Awareness Month. Resources to help build a better awareness of the signs, symptoms, and realities of autism are highlighted. For our Voices From the Field blog, we interviewed Alicia Brewer Curran, director of operations of the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) Autism Program in Columbia, Missouri. She talks about how she supports professionals and caregivers to improve their confidence in identifying and treating autism and expand their knowledge about treatments and solutions.
Thank you, as always, for reading Early Learning. We hope you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe!
Laurie VanderPloeg
Director
Office of Special Education Programs
Christopher Rinkus
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary
Discretionary Grants and Support Services
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC's) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network recently released data on 4-year-old and 8-year-old children. This is the first time CDC’s ADDM Network has simultaneously reported data on 4-year-old and 8-year-old children. These data were collected in 2016. Data reported on 8-year-old children give us a more complete picture of the number and characteristics of children identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), while data reported on 4-year-old children tell us more about trends in the early identification of ASD. Please visit CDC’s website to learn more about the findings from these reports.
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COVID-19 Resources for Birth to Five
The ED-funded Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center has developed a COVID-19 webpage that houses resources for states and local programs serving young children with disabilities and their families. The webpage also contains a number of resources on tele-intervention and distance learning. Check out the new video on using family guided routines based intervention for guiding home visits, whether in-person or delivered through video conferencing. The video also provides general considerations when delivering home visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The ED Games Expo “Goes Virtual” to Support Distance Learning
With the global outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of tens of thousands of schools across the United States, a group of government supported developers and researchers are now offering their learning games and technologies at no cost through the end of the school year for use in distance learning settings with internet access. The resources are appropriate for young children to postsecondary students as well as for personnel in education and special education across a wide range of educational topics, such as for early learning, STEM, reading and language learning, and social studies. Eighty-five learning games and technologies that were developed with funding across programs at the Department of Education and government are now available online at no cost until the end of the school year.
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Celebrating Autism Awareness Month!
We interviewed Alicia Brewer Curran, director of operations of the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) Autism Program in Columbia, Missouri. She talks about how she supports professionals and caregivers to improve their confidence in identifying and treating autism and expand their knowledge about treatments and solutions. We invite you to read the full interview on the Blog.
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Counting Young Children in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census helps determine which areas qualify for the critical resources that children and families will depend on for the next 10 years—basically an entire childhood! An estimated five percent of kids under the age of five were missed in the 2010 Census, which is about one million babies and young children, the largest undercount of any age group. We need your help closing this gap in the 2020 Census. You can take the census online, by phone, or by mail. Before you take the census, it might be helpful to read the “Who to Count” and “Counting Young Children” pages.
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Supporting Children with Autism through Uncertain Times
The ED-funded Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules (AFIRM) at the University of North Carolina Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute recently published Supporting Individuals with Autism through Uncertain Times. This toolkit provides seven strategies that are designed to meet the unique needs of individuals with autism during this period of uncertainty. In addition, examples and ready-made resources are included to help caregivers implement these strategies quickly and easily.
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Child Care During COVID-19: Guidance & Implementation from Experts
CDC has released Supplemental Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open. The April 13 webinar, Child Care During COVID-19: Guidance & Implementation from Experts, provides details for providers and programs that choose to remain open, focusing on social distancing strategies, cleaning and disinfection efforts, modifying drop-off and pick-up procedures, caring for infants and toddlers, healthy hand hygiene behavior, food preparation and meal service, vulnerable and high-risk groups, and how best to maintain adequate rations of staff-to-children to ensure safety. It also provides numerous links to resources that provide even greater detail, including information regarding children’s risks concerning COVID-19.
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Learning Remotely in the Age of COVID-19
The spread of COVID-19 has caused schools and districts across the country to shutter their doors. States, districts, and schools must suddenly and unexpectedly grapple with the new reality of providing quality education to every student remotely. The ED-funded Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory hosted an April 14 webinar, Learning Remotely in the Age of COVID-19: Lessons from Evidence and Concerns for Equity. The webinar provides information on evidence-based practices and approaches in supporting effective remote learning; shares a high-level framework to help inform decision-making by states, districts, and schools in responding to remote learning; and highlights approaches to addressing equity concerns that arise from school closures.
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Providing Distance Family Support
Are you providing early intervention or preschool services using distance technology? Do you have questions about how you can support families as they help their children with learning activities or conducting intervention within routines? On this April 17 webinar, Providing Distance Family Support: What do I say? How can I help?, faculty at the ED-funded National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations discuss challenges related to assisting families using distance learning. They also share ideas on checking in with families, how to respond to difficult questions, and resources that might be shared.
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Check out ED's Early Learning website for updates on all of ED's early learning activities, and to view the Early Learning newsletter archive.
OSERS is on Twitter with the latest tweets from special education and early intervention advocates, educators, families, and students. Be sure to follow @Ed_Sped_Rehab and tell your friends.
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