Early Childhood Area
The Early Childhood Area (for ages birth through eight years) consists of instructional software, adaptive comoputer hardware, communication devices, adapted toys, and equipment for mobility and positioning.
The area provides a hands-on, early childhood setting that allows students to interact with equipment typically used by teachers, therapists, and family members who work with children with sensory, physical, language, and cognitive disabilities or delays.
Through the orientation experience, students will be familiar with:
- The four main developmental domains (cognitive, motor, communication, and social) of infants and toddlers.
- How technology can be integrated into the natural environment of very young children to encourage their development these domains.
- How toys and utilitarian items can be augmented or changed in order to make them more accessible to children with disabilities.
- Assistive technology devices that increase childrenís independence and functional skill levels.
- How to manipulate the items in the early childhood area.
Sttudents will also engage in hands-on activities that explore the following functional domains:
- Cognitive: Using the alternative keyboard, students will activate Intellikeys software and match animals with their sounds and count objects.
- Motor: Exploring the Fine Motor Manipulatives such as the clown face toy students can discover ways to encourage use of fine motor skills such as grasping, pulling and visual tracking.
- Communication: Activating Tech Talk, a communication board, demonstrates how children communicate their ideas and needs to peers and teachers without using oral language.
- Social: Playing and taking turns with many of the toys in the early childhood area encourage the development of social skills.
Click here to see pictures and descriptions of devices and software in the Early Childhood area.
