* At least three local or state organizations or communities of
practice that appealed to you, and explain why you chose them
Family and Children Services, Head Start, and Easter Seals.
All three of these organizations have a local office and work with children who have special needs. Family and Children Services offers a variety of services and programs for children at risk, low income families and assist with early intervention needs for all children. Head Start helps children who are less fortunate that others. This program gives children a competitive edge with their peers in school. Easter Seals offers supports to individuals and programs for children with special needs, as well as financially.
* Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you
The job opportunity that I would be of the most interest to me is working with the early intervention assessment team. Being able to support children and their families from the initial diagnosis would be rewarding. The position with Easter Seals would be a coordinator. This position assists families in setting up therapy, day care or other services for individuals with special needs.
* Skills and experience that you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles. The skills and experiences needed are to know the process of evaluating a young child with special needs. Early childhood training, courses and hands on experience in working with special needs are essential for knowing how to establish effective programs that will benefit the child and family.
Dear Wanda,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not worked with you previously, I can feel your passion through your discussion posts. The position that you mentioned from Easter Seals involves so much more than just setting up the therapy or other services. I would imagine that the individual would need to have an understanding of how to speak with families about their child; this individual needs to be a great listener and have a lot of respect for this important job. The reward would be enormous. Is this a job that you might consider applying for?
Although I have, obviously, heard of Easter Seals, I was not aware of their working with children of special needs. When I looked at their web page, I realize this is a critical aspect of their venture.
Thanks for opening my eyes to this remarkable organization. Your passion is remarkable; I look forward to working with you in this class. Good luck!
So sorry you feel stuck in Germany. Hang in there! ~Dr. Teri
ReplyDeleteDear Wanda,
ReplyDeleteI want to start off by saying, I miss Germany. My mother-n-law and brother-n-law lives there now near Landstuhl. Oh how I miss it.
I love your compassion for children, especially those of diverse needs. This area is what I am truly passionate about. As a Family Child Care Provider, I worked alongside with many Speech Interventionist and Therapist and together we helped the children thrive. Head Start and Family and Children Services works hand in hand to ensure children and families who are less fortunate are able to receive services, resources, education and training to succeed. I especially love Head Start as they take the time to include the family in the program and conduct home visits to actually build a relationship and get to know the families for who they are.
I was offered a position as a Early Interventionist, however, trying to give notice to parents and now personal health issues, I am not able to accept. If provided the opportunity, I pray you would accept as this is an awarding opportunity.
Wanda,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to make sure you saw the response I left you following your post on my blog. Here it is:
Wanda,
I am a registered trainer in early childhood education for adults. It is something that I have had limited use of, except for training adults within the company I work. I would like to broaden that and offer my services to the community. I am not able to perform assessment for early interventions with children who have special needs. I do not feel I have the qualifications to do that. Thank you for your post.
Wanda, I have always thought that it takes a special or gifted person to work in the early childhood field; but, I believe that those that work with children with disabilities are amazing. I enjoyed your post. It is great that all your organizations provide support for the children and families as a whole. We must advocate for all of the child’s needs. I too desire to know the process for assessing children with special needs. It will aid me in knowing when to change the level of assessments for children that I am unsure of a disability. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete