October 10, 2014
Issue 41, Volume 7
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings and Happy Friday!

Please enjoy our weekly newsletter!  Have a great weekend!
 
News Items:
  • Seeing Double: Brain Blends Faces to Reduce Visual Chaos
  • Oral Language Skills Can Predict Future Writing Difficulties
  • Toddlers Detect Emotion, Change Behavior Accordingly
  • Eating Disorders Could Start as Early as Elementary School
  • States Move Forward With Expanded ABA Coverage
  • Senator Looks To Ease Burden For Parents In IDEA Disputes
PediaStaff News & Resources
  • Featured Job of the Week: Resource Specialist Teachers - SoCal
  • Interview Questions of the Day: Your Rough Edges 
  • PediaStaff Placement of the Week: School OT in Chicago
  • The Newest Version of TxTools  - Redesigned & Optimized for iOS8 & iPhone 6/6 Plus!
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • Book Review: The SLP's Handbook for Inclusive School Practices
  • Speechie Freebie of the Week: Halloween Riddles and Fun!
  • OT/PT Activity of the Week: Motor Planning Activity Using Pool Noodles 
  • Pinterest Pin of the Week: What is ABA - Infographic 

Articles and Special Features 

  • OT/PT Corner: 17 Tips For Finding the Right Shoes for a Child with Special Needs
  • Pediatric Therapy Corner: Why Daydreaming is Critical to Effective Learning
  • Behavior Corner: Using Principles of ABA in the Classroom
  • SLP Corner: Help for Itinerant Evaluators
  • School Nurses' Corner: Building an Asthma Friendly School
  • Career Corner:  7 Tips Towards an Improved Professional You 
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered to your Feed Reader!  Don't have an RSS Feed Reader set up? Sign up at Blogtrottr and have our blog posts delivered right to your email.

Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team





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Recent Occupational Therapist and COTA Jobs 

Seeing Double: Brain Blends Faces to Reduce Visual Chaos

[Source:  Psych Central]

New research helps explain why we accept Hollywood stunt doubles as the identified actor, even when they do not look alike.
 

University of California, Berkeley researchers have identified a unique brain mechanism by which we latch on to a particular face even when it changes.
 

Investigators say that the brain action is a survival trait used to anchor a sense of awareness, stability, and permanence in what would otherwise be a visually disordered world.

 

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Oral Language Skills Can Predict Future Writing Difficulties

[Source:  Medical Express]
 

Children's future writing difficulties can be identified before they even learn how to begin writing, according to a new study by Professor Phaedra Royle and Postdoctoral fellow Alexandra Marquis of the University of Montreal's School of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology.
 

The researchers are interested in oral language skills and their impact on grammar and spelling learning. Their work shows that oral language is a good predictor of writing difficulties. "The more children are able to use verb tense in spoken language, the more easily they can learn written language," explained Professor Royle. On a different note, the research data also contradicts the popular belief that bilingualism at an early age can be detrimental to oral and written language 
 

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Toddlers Detect Emotion, Change Behavior Accordingly  

[Source: Psych Central]

 

New research discovers the capabilities of a toddler greatly exceed what many adults believe is possible.
 

The study by researchers at the University of Washington (UW) finds that children as young as 15 months are able to detect adult emotions and use the clues to guide their own behavior.
 

Researchers say this is the first evidence that younger toddlers are capable of using multiple cues from emotions and vision to understand the motivations of the people around them.
 

"At 15 months of age, children are trying to understand their social world and how people will react," said lead author Betty Repacholi, Ph.D.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Eating Disorders Could Start as Early as Elementary School 

[Source:  Medical News Today]

 
Though eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are typically associated with teenagers and young adults, researchers caution parents that children between 8 and 12 years old who are difficult eaters could have lurking psychological issues. The team adds that restrictive eating behaviors can surface before puberty.


 
The researchers, from the University of Montreal in Canada and the CHU Sainte-Justine children's hospital, presented their findings this week at the Eating Disorders Association of Canada conference in Vancouver.

 

Led by Prof. Dominique Meilleur, a clinical psychologist, the research questions how eating disorders develop and are diagnosed, as she explains:

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

States Move Forward With Expanded ABA Coverage 

[Source: Disability Scoop]

Months after federal officials ordered them to do so, states are starting to include coverage of treatments like applied behavior analysis for kids with autism within their Medicaid programs.

California is believed to be the first state to roll out the new coverage in response to a mandate 

this summer from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
 

The federal agency issued a bulletin in July July clarifying that Medicaid programs nationwide must offer "medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services" to children with autism including behavior therapy and other offerings like speech and occupational therapy, personal care services and medical equipment.
 

In a letter sent Monday, the California Department of Health Care Services told plan administrators that the state's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, will cover ABA therapy and other evidence-
 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Senator Looks To Ease Burden For Parents In IDEA Disputes

[Source:  Disability Scoop]

 

A federal lawmaker says he wants to level the playing field for parents involved in special education disputes with their child's school district.
 

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is proposing new legislation that would ensure parents who successfully challenge a school district under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act can recoup costs for psychologists, behavior specialists, physicians and other experts they engage in order to bring their case.
 

Currently, families can challenge schools if they do not believe that their child is being provided a free and appropriate education under the law. While attorney's fees can be recovered by whomever prevails, a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision determined that costs for expert witnesses can't.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Featured Job of the Week:  Resource Specialist Teachers - SoCal  

PediaStaff is looking for part-time Resource Specialist Teachers in several districts in Southern California!  
 

We are seeking RSP teachers to provide instruction and the coordination of services for students whose special education needs have been identified by the IEP team. The applicant must have at minimum a preliminary level 1 Education Specialist Instruction Credential.

Responsibilities Supporting students with Mild-Moderate disabilities. Developing /implementing integrated curriculum units, differentiating and scaffolding as needed. Regularly assessing student progress to refine instruction and meet student needs Assessing students as needed with a series of standardized tests. Participating regularly in professional development opportunities and collaborative


Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog

Interview Question of the Week: Your Rough Edges  

An interviewer is looking for future employees that are self-aware and who can learn from their mistakes.
 

Everyone has rough edges, but it's how we learn to smooth them and talk about how we learned from them, that will set you apart from your competition.  
 

Here are a few interview questions that could get at those issues, and some good answers on About.com Careers that can help you work through answers to have prepared.


PediaStaff Therapy Placement of the Week: School OT in Chicago

Congratulations to Michelle R., on her new school based OT position in Greater Chicagoland!

She will be working full time, in a north suburb of Chicago.   The position covers 3 schools that include early childhood through 4th grade students.  She will be working in a team teaching model with students who have various disabilities LD, ED, DD, OHI, CD (cognitive delayed).  


Oh, and she found us on Facebook!

TxTools 2.0 Here Now: Redesigned for iOS8 & iPhone 6/6 Plus!

PediaStaff is very happy to announce that TxTools 2.0 is now available in the App Store.  Completely redesigned for all the newest all the newest Apple iDevices, TxTools 2.0 has brand new styling and is fully optimized for iOS 8 and iPhone 6 / 6 Plus.

The beauty of this app is its simplicity  - four modules to handle the every day tasks that our pediatric therapy clinicians do every day!  For those of you who are new to TxTools, let me tell you about it.

Currently, the app has four modules: IEP Scheduler, Age Finder, Percent Right and Tally This.   Here are some screenshots.

 

Book Review:  The SLP's Handbook for Inclusive School Practices  

by Jenn Alcorn, CCC-SLP
 

Inclusion is one of those topics that either excites or frightens the involved parties.  I have been exposed to inclusion since I was in grad school and I loved the idea of it!  My involvement in inclusion services varies from year to year, depending on the students and teachers I am working with.  I usually stick to providing language services in this way...I still think that I get the best results for articulation when I pull out.
 

I recently got the chance to review this book:  The Speech-Language Pathologist's Handbook for Inclusive School Practices by Juilie Causton and Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson.  It is such a great resource for SLPs, especially if inclusion makes you nervous, but also for other educators because it covers an SLPs role thoroughly.

 

Read the Rest of this Review Through a Link on our Blog

Speechie Freebie of the Week: Halloween Riddles and Fun!  

[Source:  Speechie Freebies]
 

I am always looking for new things to do with my older students during the holiday season. My students love jokes and riddles, so I decided to make an age appropriate riddle page. There are 32 total! I used this with some of my students already and I had them explain why the riddle was funny or what the play on words was for the riddle answer. I hope you guys enjoy it!!! 

 

Download this Freebie Through a Link on our Blog

OT/PT Activity of the Week:  Motor Planning Using Pool Noodles  

[Source:  Your Therapy Source]
 

Here is a super easy set up but challenging activity to encourage motor planning skills, coordination and body awareness.  Cut up pool noodles lengthwise and lay them on the floor in different directions.
 

Ask the child to jump from noodle to noodle keeping the pool noodle between the feet.

 

You can view the brief video of this activity in action on Your Therapy Source

 

Watch this Video Through a Link on our Blog

Pinterest Pin of the Week: What is ABA - Infographic  

We found this pin this week and thought that it went nicely with the article we are featuring this week on ABA in the Schools.  It breaks ABA down into easy-to-understand language for those who are interested or are just starting out.  This image below is only a piece of the full infographic, so visit our Pinterest board to see / download the entire thing!

 

Visit This Pin to Download this Graphic on our Blog

OT/PT Corner: Finding the Right Shoes for Children w/Special Needs

[Source:  Friendship Circle]

The wrong pair of shoes can create a day of misery for anyone. When special needs are added to the mix, the right pair of shoes can become elusive. Increased foot discomfort is associated with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), use of an Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO), feet of different shapes or sizes, and medical conditions such as diabetes or edema. Certain features in shoes can reduce that discomfort.
 

Making Shoes More Comfortable. Of course, any pair of shoes can be made more comfortable with a few tricks of the trade:

1. Tight Or Loose?   Consider whether loose fitting sandals or something snug around the ankles would be better. My 13 year old son strongly prefers Converse high top sneakers because they make him feel secure, but others find that style too constricting.


Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog


Peds Therapy Corner: Daydreaming is Critical to Effective Learning

[Source Mind Shift]

There's no doubt there are more distractions bombarding students than there were 50 years ago. Most kids have cellphones, use social media, play games, watch TV and are generally more "plugged in" than ever before. This cultural shift means that in addition to helping students gain the transferable skills and knowledge they'll need later in life, teachers may have to start helping them tune out the constant buzz in order to get their message across. It's never too early to learn smart strategies to focus in on priorities and tune out what's not immediately necessary.
 

Many people believe they are skilled multitaskers, but they're wrong. Neuroscience has shown that multitasking - the process of doing more than one thing at the same time - doesn't exist.


Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog


Behavior Corner: Using Principles of ABA in the Classroom

Kristen Jensen, MS, BCBA
 

At the onset of my career, I taught at a non-public school, specializing in educating individuals on the autism spectrum. As a teacher with a Masters of Science in Special Education, I was using ABA, without even knowing it. As I went back to school to pursue my BCBA, I discovered I was using many of these techniques, without knowing the scientific term.
 

In this article, I will provide the ABC's of ABA; that I felt were helpful to use in the classroom and group settings. These techniques are beneficial to teachers, speech pathologists, occupational therapist, physical therapists and parents.
 

Antecedent Control: Looking at what is occurring prior to the onset of the behavior. Once the antecedent has been successfully identified, make the appropriate changes to reduce a maladaptive behavior or increase a new skill or expected behavior.

Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog


SLP Corner: Help for Itinerant Evaluators

by Annie Doyle, CCC-SLP

I remember attending a conference at Stockton State College in NJ, back in the late 1980s or early 1990s presented by Dr. Wayne Secord.  I couldn't tell you the topic, however, I do recall Dr. Secord saying something along the lines of "Today, multidisciplinary means come together-go apart when it should mean come together-stay together."  That sentiment has remained with me all these years. At the time the truth of this struck me like a lightening bolt.

Twenty-five or so years later, this idea, by and large, still rings true, though despite our best efforts, the time we need for collaboration is sadly limited. We are overwhelmed by staggering caseload numbers, case management responsibilities, massive paperwork requirements, meetings, playground duty and more. In concert with our general duties come more and more highly involved students presenting with academic and medical challenges that require the need for continuing education and research. Never has the need for consistent collaboration been more crucial. 

School Nurses' Corner: Building an Asthma Friendly School

[Source:  The American Lung Association]
 

The Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative (AFSI) is a comprehensive approach to asthma management in schools that aligns with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Strategies for Addressing Asthma within a Coordinated School Health Program. AFSI provides the framework that community and school coalitions can use to work toward creating a supportive and safe learning environment for all students.
 

The Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative Toolkit™ is a planning tool based on real-life activities that have been used in schools throughout the Unites States to create a long-term asthma management plan. The Toolkit provides step-by-step guidance that includes tools, templates, and resources that aim to keep students healthy, in school, and ready to learn.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog

Career Corner: 7 Tips Towards an Improved Professional You

Editor's Note:  This article was written for OTs, but is really quite appropriate for all our readers!


[Source:  Advance for Occupational Therapists]
 

By Joy Voltz-Doll

 
Professional development does not have to mean becoming the next president of the American Occupational Therapy Association, an Eleanor Clark Slagle lecturer, or even seeking a new career direction. In other words, professional development is not meant to be a dramatic life change (although the previously mentioned ideas are optimal professional development activities).
 
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Professional development can occur through many venues, including: seeking new assignments at your current job, seeking or becoming a mentor, taking a course, or pursuing a degree or advanced certification. 


Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog

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