Information
in the Introduction should be reviewed by each instructor or user of this
material. The Users Guide to Series begins on page 5. Information relating
to this module begins on page 11.
PROJECT
MITCH OVERVIEW
The purpose of the Project
MITCH (Model of Interdisciplinary Training for Children with Handicaps)
training series is to assist local school districts in Floridain
providing interdisciplinary training and resources to parents, non-degreed
daycare workers, and healthcare providers who work with special needs
infants and toddlers ages 0-5, with emphasis on ages 0-2.
This series
was funded by a grant to the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources
System/South (FDLRS/South), on behalf of the FDLRS Network, from the Florida
Department of Education, Bureau of Education for Exceptional Students
(BEES).
In 1987, the
Florida Legislature designated $100,000.00 of the total appropriation
for the FDLRS Network to "expand services to infants and preschool children."
The application submitted by Dade County on behalf of the FDLRS/South
Associate Center serving Dade and Monroe Counties was selected for funding
and was initiated on May 25, 1988. FDLRS/South collaborated with FDLRS/Mailman
at the University of Miami and FDLRS/Gateway, serving Hamilton, Columbia,
Lafayette, Madison and Suwannee Counties, to complete the work under the
grant. Outcomes of the project include:
- assessment of the status
of training and resources for the designated population
- design of a collaborative
implementation and training model to include development of competencies,
replicable training modules which enhance or expand the HRS eight-hour
special needs child care module, an adapted training plan for daycare
providers, recommendations for curricula to be used in daycare and preschool
programs, and recommendations for provision of consultation to parents
- validation of the training
modules in Dade, Monroe, and counties served by FDLRS/Gateway
- provision of training for
potential instructors and other interested personnel in the 18 FDLRS
Associate Center service regions.
Topics for
the eleven training modules, as well as information which provided the
basis for the competencies, policy framework, and other products of Project
MITCH, were obtained from a literature search, interviews, and letters
of inquiry and needs assessments sent
to over 600 persons throughout the State of Florida. The modules were
written by several authors from various disciplines, including early childhood
education, exceptional student education, nursing, occupational and physical
therapy, speech and language, nutrition and social work. Each module was
read by several critical readers and was piloted in both north and south
Florida at least three times before final rewriting took place.
The training series emphasizes
developmentally appropriate practice and normal development as the means
for working with youngsters who have special needs. The eleven three-hour
modules that currently make up the series have relevance for caregivers
of normally developing children as well as caregivers who may be working
with children who are handicapped, experiencing delays, or who may be
at-risk. Although several of the modules specifically address normal and
abnormal development from birth to 36 months of age, the material is also
meaningful to caregivers of preschoolers who are chronologically older
but who are functioning developmentally within the birth to three year
range.
MITCH
MODULES
Thirteen MITCH training
modules have been developed. -
Intellectual Development:
What You Can Do to Help
-
Speech and Language Development: What You Can Do to Help
-
The Child Who Seems Different: Meeting Special Needs
-
Family Functioning: The Impact of a Child with Special Needs
-
Listening and Sensory Integration: What to Do Before Speech and
Language Develop
-
The Caregiving Environment: Planning an Effective Program
-
Behavior Management: Preventing and Dealing with Problem Behavior
-
Health Care: Infection Control, Medication Administration, and
Seizure Management
-
Motor Development: What You Need to Know
-
Nutrition and Feeding Practices: What You Need to Know
-
Working Together: Communication Skills
for Parents, Caregivers, and Other Professionals.
-
Visual Impairments:
What You Need to Know
-
Interventions for Children
At Risk Due to Substance Exposure: Dealing with the Myth of Cocaine
Each of the
three-hour modules can be used independently. Although the modules are
numbered sequentially, they may be presented in any order since no module
provides prerequisite material for another. Each module contains a script
for the instructor, activities, references, resource list, and reproducible
handouts/overheads. In some cases, a videotape and/or an audiotape and
other materials are available to supplement the written material.
MITCH
BOOKLETS
Three booklets
have also been produced through MITCH. These may be used with modules
as indicated or may be used independently. The booklets are listed below:
. A Simple Introduction
to Physical and Health Impairments, to be used with Module 3
. Welcome to the World:
An Overview of Your Growing Child, to be used with Modules 1, 2, 3,
6, and 7
. Curricula for Use
with High Risk and Handicapped Infants and Toddlers, for use as a
supplement to the modules.
Specific Information for Presenting Module 13
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GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Goal for Hour 1: Participants
will gain knowledge of the development of an unborn baby and thepossible
effects of cocaine use by the mother. Objectives - Participants
will gain an understanding of:
. cocaine
. prenatal development
. the effects of cocaine
on the mother
. the possible effects of
cocaine on development. Goal for Hour 2: Participants
will gain knowledge of characteristics of infants and toddlers exposed
before birth to cocaine and methods of intervention. Objectives - Participants
will gain an understanding of:
- how to recognize and
identify infant states of behavior
- strategies for intervention
to promote healthy development of infants
- what is known and what
is not known about the carryover effects of cocaine
- the role of the caregiver.
Goal for Hour 3: Participants
will gain knowledge of environmental effects on infants and toddlers. Objectives - Participants
will gain an understanding of:
- how to recognize and
identify the characteristics of a healthy environment
- strategies for promoting
a healthy environment
- the importance of accepting
each child without labeling any child as a "cocaine baby."
Module
13
INTERVENTIONS
FOR CHILDREN AT RISK DUE TO SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE:
Dealing with the Myth of Cocaine
Hour 1
Goal: PARTICIPANTS WILL
GAIN KNOWLEDGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN UNBORN BABY AND THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS
OF COCAINE USE BY THE MOTHER. Objectives -Participants
will gain an understanding of:
- cocaine
- prenatal development
- the effects of cocaine
on the mother
- the possible effects of
cocaine on development.
Module
13
INTERVENTIONS
FOR CHILDREN AT RISK DUE TO SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE:
Dealing with the Myth of Cocaine
Hour 2
Goal: PARTICIPANTS WILL
GAIN KNOWLEDGE OF CHARACTERISTICS OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS EXPOSED BEFORE
BIRTH TO COCAINE AND METHODS OF INTERVENTION. Objectives -Participants
will gain an understanding of:
- how to recognize and
identify infant states of behavior
- strategies for intervention
to promote healthy development of infants
- what is known and what
is not known about the carryover effects of cocaine
- the role of the caregiver.
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