Early Childhood Direction Center

Keep Your Child Within Arm’s Reach:

A child with special needs makes it difficult to

remain safe around any type of water. If your

child has a cognitive disorder, they are often

drawn to water and have a difficult time un-

derstanding that it can be dangerous. These

children and children who are unable to swim

independently must have their parents or

caregiver always within an arm’s reach, even

though they are always wearing their life jack-

et. This applies to any body of water, whether

that’s a neighbor’s pool, lake, community pool,

beach, bathtub, toilet, hot tub, and open water

of any kind. Staying within arm’s reach of

your child when they are in water is very im-

portant.

Safety Precautions in the Home:

To make the home environment as safe as pos-

sible, make sure to drain water immediately

after a bath, install locks on toilet lids, and

immediately empty all buckets, wading pools,

and other containers after each use. Also ex-

plain basic water safety practices to your child

on a regular basis and remind them never to

go near or in the water without an adult.

Take Adaptive Aquatic Classes:

One way to help your child feel more comforta-

ble around water and learn how to swim is by

taking adaptive aquatic classes as a family.

These classes can be especially useful for chil-

dren with cognitive disorders and will teach

the parents or caregiver how to work one-on-

one with the child, helping them to adjust to

water and learn important swimming skills

and general water safety principles. You can

sign up for classes through your local parks

and recreation division or at your local YMCA.

For more safety information go to www.safekids.org

Summer Edition, 2014 135 East Frederick Street, Binghamton, NY 13904 - 607.724.2111 - ecdc@stic-cil.org

Water safety is important

for any family, but this is

especially true for families

of children with special

needs. Children with

disabilities face many

challenges when it comes to water safety.

It is very important that parents and caregiv-

ers be extra-vigilant during this time of year.

Here are some important steps to insure chil-

dren with special needs are safe around water:

Finding the Right Life Jacket:

If you are the parent of a child with special

needs, fun in the water starts with finding the

right life jacket. They must al-

ways wear a life jacket when

playing near a pool, lake, river,

or any body of water. Getting

out of a wheel chair for water

therapy is both a good time and

good for the child’s health. It is

important that the life jacket

be supportive and comfortable for the child.

There are multiple designs for children with

unique needs. Finding the right life jacket may

include an adaptive life jacket or a standard

type 1 or type 2 life jacket.

According to statistics, drowning is the

leading cause of death for children with

autism, with many of these incidents occur-

ring during wandering-related episodes.

Page 2 Mid-South Early Childhood Direction Center

This memorandum is to inform you of

the changes in the New York State

(NYS) Procedural Safeguards Notice:

Rights for Parents of Children with Dis-

abilities, Ages 3-21 to reflect the recent

amendment to section 4402 of New York

State Education Law by Chapter 56 of

the Laws of 2014, relating to parental

consent for initial provision of extended

school year services. Chapter 56 re-

peals the requirement for parental con-

sent prior to the initial provision of spe-

cial education services and programs

during the months of July and August.

The amendment was effective March

31, 2014.

The procedural safeguards notice must

be provided to parents of a student with

a disability, at a minimum of one time

per year and also upon:

initial referral or parental request for

evaluation;

request by a parent;

the first filing of a due process com-

plaint notice to request mediation or

an impartial due process hearing;

a decision to impose a suspension or

removal that constitutes a disciplinary

change in placement; and

receipt of a parent’s first State com-

plaint in a school year.

School districts are required to use this

revised notice effective immediately.

The specific change is highlighted on

page 4 of the Notice. Please also note

that the contact information for the Spe-

cial Education Quality Assurance

(SEQA) Regional Offices on the final

page has been updated. Districts are

encouraged to develop their own cover

letter to parents to accompany the re-

quired notice and may add an addendum

of local district policies but may not

change the content of the State-

mandated procedural safeguards notice.

This notice and updated versions will be

available through the State Education

Department’s (SED) web site at

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/for

msnotices/.

For additional information regarding

requirements related to parental con-

sent for the use of public benefits or in-

surance to pay for services under IDEA,

see SED’s March & July 2013 field

memorandums at

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/pub

lications/datelist.html.

Questions relating to the IDEA require-

ments for parental consent may be di-

rected to the Special Education Policy

Unit at 518-473-2878 or

speced@mail.nysed.gov or the SEQA Of-

fice in your region:

Central Regional Office - (315) 428-4556

Eastern Regional Office - (518) 486-6366

Western Regional Office - (585) 344-2002

To ensure dissemination to appropriate

individuals within a school district, I

ask Superintendents to please share

this memorandum with individuals

such as Direc-

tors of Special

Education,

School Psy-

chologists,

Committee on

Special Educa-

tion and Com-

mittee on Pre-

school Special Education Chairpersons,

Guidance Counselors and Directors of

Pupil Personnel and Parent Teacher

Associations.

ew York State Ed Department Update:

Summer Edition

Proposed Amendent of Section 200.5(b)(1) of the Regulations of the Commis-sioner of Education Relating to Parental Consent for Initial Provision of Special Education Services in a 12-Month Spe-cial Service and/or Program

The New York State Education Depart-

ment’s (NYSED) P-12: Office of Special

Education is seeking public comment on

the proposed amendment of section

200.5 of the Regulations of the Commis-

sioner of Education relating to parental

consent for initial provision of special

education services and programs during

the months of July and August (i.e., 12-

month special service and/or program).

The proposed amendment conforms the

Regulations of the Commissioner of Ed-

ucation to Chapter 56 of the Laws of

2014, which became effective March 31,

2014. Chapter 56 amended Education

Law section 4402(2)(a) to repeal the re-

quirement for parental consent prior to

the initial provision of special education

services and programs to a student with

a disability during the months of July

and August.

A Notice of Proposed Rule Making will

be published in the State Register on

May 7, 2014. It is anticipated that the

proposed amendment will be submitted

to the Board of Regents for action at the

July 2014 meeting with a proposed ef-

fective date of July 30, 2014.

Written comments on the proposed

amendment will be accepted for 45 days

after its May 7, 2014 publication in the

New York State Register (comments

must be received on or before June 23,

2014) and may be submitted to:

We request that written public com-

ment regarding the proposed amend-

ment be provided using the Public Com-

ment Submission Sheet.

James P. DeLorenzo,

Assistant Commissioner,

P-12: Office of Special Education, 89

Washington Avenue

Room 309 EB

Albany, NY 12234

Attention: Proposed Amendment –

Section 200.5

Email:

spedpubliccomment@mail.nysed.gov

Facsimile: (518) 473-5387).

ew York State Ed Department Update:

Page 3 Mid-South Early Childhood Direction Center Summer Edition

Page 4 Mid-South Early Childhood Direction Center Summer Edition

Positive Strategies for Managing & Preventing Out-of-Control Behavior

Keynote Speaker: Jed Baker, Ph.D.

Date: Friday, September 19, 2014

Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Registration begins at 8:30 AM

Lunch: Noon - 1:00 PM (on your own)

Location: Walton Theatre

31 Gardiner Place, Walton, NY 13856

Jed Baker, Ph.D. Director of the Social

Skills Training Project

http://www.jedbaker.com

The Social Skills Training Project is a private organiza-

tion serving individuals with autism and social communi-

cation problems. He is on the professional advisory board

of Autism Today, ASPEN, ANSWER, YAI, the Kelber-

man Center and several other autism organizations. In

addition, he writes, lectures, and provides training interna-

tionally on the topic of social skills training and managing

challenging behaviors. He is an award winning author of

five books, including Social Skills Training for Children

and Adolescents with Aspergers Syndrome and Social

Communication Problems; Preparing for Life: The Com-

plete Handbook for the Transition to Adulthood for Those

with Autism and Aspergers Syndrome; The Social Skills

Picture Book; The Social Skills Picture Book for High

School and Beyond; and No More Meltdowns: Positive

Strategies for Managing and Preventing Out-of-Control

Behavior. His work has also been featured on ABC World

News, Nightline, the CBS Early Show, and the Discovery

Health Channel.

No More Meltdowns Positive Strategies for

Managing and Preventing

Out-Of-Control Behavior

By Dr. Jed Baker

It could happen at the grocery

store. At a restaurant. At school.

At home. Meltdowns are stressful

for both child and adult, but Dr. Baker can help! Author

of the award-winning Social Skills Picture Book series,

Dr. Jed Baker offers parents and teachers strategies for

preventing and managing meltdowns. His 20+ years of

experience working with children on the autism spectrum,

combined with his personal experiences raising his own

children, have yielded time-tested strategies, and results!

Dr. Baker offers an easy-to-follow, 4-step model that will

improve your everyday relationships with the children in

your life:

1) Managing your own emotions by adjusting your ex-

pectations,

2) Learning strategies to calm a meltdown in the mo-

ment,

3) Understanding why a meltdown occurs, and

4) Creating plans to prevent future meltdowns.

- - - - This conference is FREE - - - -

But, you must register in advance by

emailing register@familyrn.org

or calling (607) 432-0001

The kids are out of school and summer vacation is

in full swing. The first week or two of summer vaca-

tion usually goes pretty smoothly. The kids are ex-

cited to be out of school and they feel that sense of

freedom to do just about anything they want.

Then the boredom and moodiness starts to set in.

You start hearing, "I don't have anything to do!" or

"Why do we have to that?". You know what I'm talk-

ing about. Most of us have been there. Sometimes

it's hard to know what to do with all your free time.

Here are some ideas you can try to make this sum-

mer go by a little more smoothly.

Start by trying to plan something special each

day during summer break. You don't need to

plan out the entire day for every day, but think

of a couple of things to schedule each day; it lets

your kids know what to expect and maybe they

will even offer some of their own recommenda-

tions on things they would like to do.

Find some local parks you could go to regularly

so the kids could run around and play or even a

skate park where they could skate or roller

blade. It's good exercise for them and it burns

off some of their pent up energy.

Go to the movie theater and catch a good movie

once a week or every other week.

Spend some time each week at your local pool or

a water park and let them splash around and

get wet during these hot months.

Take that summer

trip you are always

talking about. Get

your entire family to-

gether and brainstorm

where you would like

to go and what you would like to do and then go.

Start a reading program with your children.

Take them to the library often and have them

read a certain number of books a week. Read

with them.

Enroll your kids in some activities like team

sports, summer camps or bible schools. Try to

keep them socializing with other children

throughout the summer.

Use some time during the summer vacation to

have your child tutored if they need it so that

they can get a good jump start on the upcoming

school year.

By being a little creative and taking some time to

listen to what your children want to do during the

summer you can come up with enough activities to

keep them busy and you a little less stressed. A

summer vacation is meant to be fun. Spend time

with them. Keep them active. Let them socialize.

Make it an adventure.

http://voices.yahoo.com/a-summer-vacation-survival-

guide-parents-with-442087.html

urviving the Summer

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about

half full)

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup salt (The bigger the granules, the better.

Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is fine.)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pint-size Ziploc bag

1 gallon-size Ziploc bag

Your favorite mixings such as chocolate chips, cere-

al pieces, or fresh fruit.

Serves 1

ummer Fun - Homemade Ice Cream

Forget endlessly cranking the handle of an ice-

cream maker. After combining the ingredients,

each kid can simply shake up his or her own

pouch of soft serve and it's do ne in 5 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Combine the sugar, half

and half, and vanilla ex-

tract in the pint-size bag

and seal it tightly.

2. Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then

place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal

the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mix-

ture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small

bag to determine when it's done.

3. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add

mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the

bag. Easy cleanup too!

Courtesy of FamilyFun Magazine

http://static.spoonful.com/sites/default/files/styles/square_420x420/

public/recipes/homemade-ice-cream-in-a-bag-recipe-photo-420-

FF0601CELEBA11.jpg?itok=JlIEqL2

Page 5 Mid-South Early Childhood Direction Center Summer Edition

C O N T AC T U S AT:

Laurie Wightman Director of ECDC

Vacant Community Outreach

Specialist

Kathy Ryan Community Outreach

Education Coordinator

Elaine Maxam Office Assistant

O U R S T AF F :

Five Solutions:

1. Being alone can be restorative. Do not

force the child into a crowed situation until

he is ready to return. Allow him time away

from the situation (in the office, Resource

Room, or another designated “safe place”)

until he has de-escalated.

2. Try to help the student “burn up”

some of the emotional energy that has

been put in motion by the triggering event.

A vigorous walk or time on the swing can

help.

3. Use pre-selected rules or stories to as-

sist the student back into his routine. En-

courage him to use a preset plan the next

time he has those feelings.

4. Attempt to identify and predict when

such times will occur. If your experience

tells you, for instance, that the confusion of

a fire drill brings out these response in the

student, take steps to see that he is pre-

pared ahead of time.

5. Above all, do not take the behavior

personally. Under stress, kids can often

say inappropriate things that they do not

mean.

Behavior Solutions for the Inclusive Classroom, Beth Aune,

Beth Burt, Peter Gennaro, Future Horizons, Inc., 2010

ositive

ehavior

ointers

Hiding or Running Away When Upset

A student looks into his lunch box,

sees that something is missing, lets

out a loud cry and bolts for the door.

Students who hide or run away when upset

are displaying the “flight” response. These

students may react to a seemingly ordinary

event as if their lives were

on the line.

Triggers for this response:

Confusion

Lack of ability to problem

-solve

Emotional buildup

It is when the student is

presented with the unex-

pected, or something out of the ordinary, that

he is most likely to display this behavior.

When these events occur, the student can ap-

pear markedly different from his peers. He is

smart enough to know the rules, but is will-

fully not following them due to unexpected

events that may appear trivial and unim-

portant to us, but seem monumental to him.

Do not take this behavior personally. It fre-

quently is a reaction to too much stimulation.

Your first response should be to get the stu-

dent somewhere he feels safe, so he can

“regroup.” Only after he has been given

enough time to settle down will he be able to

communicate his distress to you. Attempting

to force communication when he is over-

stimulated will lead to an even more intense

escalation.

Early Childhood

Direction Center

@ STIC

135 East Frederick St.

Binghamton, NY 13904

Phone: (607) 724-2111

Fax: (607) 772-3615

Email: ecdc@stic-cil.org

Facebook: Mid-South

ECDC

Website: http://www.stic-cil.org/ecdc.html