ARTICLES
For those wishing to explore topics relevant to early childhood, we offer articles addressing special situations, from ways to distract a distressed child to research on ways early intervention specialists can use toys with special needs children without destroying the spontaneous joy inherent in play.


The Story Of Tangles
Every parent can attest that choosing toys for children involves more than determining whether the child will like it. Besides concern for safety, shoppers today are focusing more on durability, quality, and increasingly on design.
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Music in the Life of a Blind Child
Studies have shown both blind and sighted have a similar capacity to learn music; however, those with visual impairments tend to use their auditory channels more fully. Through music, we can help blind children establish and develop skills needed to function and excel in their daily lives.
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Tot-a-Doodle-Do! Celebrates May is Better Speech & Hearing Month
Tot-a-Doodle-Do! award winning children's DVDs and "Crafty Kids" Craft Kits are designed to assist parents and caregivers in stimulating important developmental and life skills.
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Wikki Stix For the Sight-Impaired
Wikki Stix are an easy way to create tactile graphics, assist with O & M training, map concepts, music lessons, daily living skills and much more. Since they adhere to almost any smooth surface with just fingertip pressure, they are easy to use to provide a raised line effect.
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Child Life: Empowering Children and Families to Cope With Life's Challenges
Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life's most challenging events.
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Why Don't You Get Better Glasses?
That's the kind of question kids with visual impairment hear all the time, yet few have an answer-until now.
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Did You Hear Me?
Studies show the average mom repeats herself 847 times to get her kids to listen! ... Well, okay, not really, but it sure seems like it, and that's why Story Roads is being embraced by moms nationwide.
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Play and the Impaired Child
by Vicki Liske and Lynn Bell
Braille Institute Child Development Services

"Play is a spontaneous act that involves interaction with objects or people in a pleasurable manner. It occurs across all environments and can be goal directed or free flowing" (Fewell, 1986). "Play includes an element of enjoyment, something that is done for fun... If it's not fun, it's not really play" (Musslewhite, 1986, p.26). While this occurs naturally for most non-impaired children, the disabled child's difficulties or delays in self-direction and motivation often are inappropriately responded to by professionals who utilize intervention strategies that incorporate overly structured teacher-directed experiences.
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Ways You Can Help Your Child
by Sorrelle Stanton, Director
Child Life Services, Evanston Hospital

Since receiving injections is a frightening experience for children, your presence and support can be very beneficial to your child. Try these distraction ideas when your child is getting injections or at any other time the child is afraid.
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LINKS
Believing that access to reliable information is the cornerstone of knowledge, Playworks offers links to the home pages of organizations offering products and services of interest to parents and professionals seeking to meet the diverse needs of children from birth through age five.


The Blind Children's Learning Center of Orange County
http://www.bclc.org

Provides direct services to blind, visually impaired and deaf/blind children, birth to 21 years of age. Three core programs: Infant Family Focus (birth to 3 years), Early Childhood Center (6 months to 6 years), Youth Outreach (Kindergarten thru 12th grade). Services include: Speech and Language, Orientation and Mobility, Braille Instruction, Occupational Therapy, Technology, Tutoring, Counseling and Family Support.

Article: Music in the Life of a Blind Child

Contact: Kathy Goodspeed
18542 - B Vanderlip Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Phone: (714)573-8888
Email: kathy.goodspeed@bclc.org


Braille Institute of America, Inc.
http://www.brailleinstitute.org

Braille Institute is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate blindness and severe sight loss as a barrier to a fulfilling life.

Contact: Elizabeth Baroglio, Teleservices
741 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Phone: (323)663-1111 or toll-free: 1 (800) BRAILLE (272-4553)
Email: biainfo@brailleinstitute.org


The Center for the Partially Sighted
http://www.low-vision.org

The Center provides comprehensive low vision care for children and adults with impaired sight. Our Children's Program is devoted exclusively to helping children with unique vision problems, including those with eye diseases, visual processing problems and legally blind children with remaining sight. In addition to optometric evaluations and low vision devices, our Family Resource Project provides ongoing resources and referrals, education, advocacy and support for parents and children in our program.

Contact: Patricia Jordan, Public Information Manager
12301 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: 310-458-3501 ext.128
Email: pjordan@low-vision.org


ROPARD and The Children's Low Vision Resource Center
http://www.ropard.org

A nonprofit dedicated to working with children with pediatric retinal diseases, primarily retinopathy of prematurity, ROPARD funds clinically relevant research seeking to understand, treat, and prevent childhood retinal diseases. We also assist families with children with pediatric retinal diseases through our free Children's Low Vision Resource Center.

Contact: Paula Korelitz
ROPARD
P.O. BOX 250425
Franklin, MI 48025
Email: ropard@yahoo.com


Story Roads
http://www.storyroads.com

Story Roads™ produces exciting and thoroughly entertaining "Children's AUDIO Theatre" (C.AT). All productions are told in a series format using only original stories brought to life by the amazing acting talents of full casts of professional actors. Story Roads productions are educational as well; being delightfully filled with lessons children of all ages can relate to and learn from, while the actual physical aspect of listening works to improve children's listening, audio processing, creative visualization, imagination and memory skills by isolating those skills and giving them a good workout. Families will love listening together in the car, at home, or snuggled together at bedtime the way they did back in the day of Ole' Time Radio Theatre...but with a modern day flair!

Contact: Karen Ehrenberg
4802 La Canada Blvd.
La Canada , CA 91011
Phone: 818-790-2207
Email: info@storyroads.com

* Disclaimer:
Although Playworks believes these sites and articles offer valuable information, we are not responsible for their content.


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