Intentionally Using Environmental Practices to Support Child Access

Learn about a newly published comprehensive package of materials called PEAT's Suite that helps service providers, educators, families, and other stakeholders support the participation of young children with differing abilities in typical routines and activities. PEAT’s Suite makes the process of identifying physical environment feature and assistive tool solutions explicit and easy to undertake. Explore how anyone can use the materials to identify barriers to a child's full participation in everyday activities and to create a plan for fixing the problems — instead of fixing the child.
 
Participant Outcomes: Participants will discuss the benefits of using these materials through one child's real-life story of preschool and transition to kindergarten. Participants will also learn about the principles behind this approach to individualizing plans that promote children's full participation in everyday routines and activities. These materials put a new twist on the approach used in the highly regarded and DEC distributed "CARA's Kit for Preschoolers" (Milbourne and Campbell, 2007).
 
Presenters: Suzanne A. Milbourne, PhD, and Elizabeth Jordan

Suzanne A. Milbourne, PhD, is the Director of a five-year, federally funded project focused on using assistive technology with young children. She is the co-author of the highly regarded CARA’s Kits (2007; 2012), and the TAM Technology Fan for Young Children (2006). Along with her co-presenter they field-tested a child- specific-AT-planner.
 
Elizabeth Kennedy is a speech language pathologist with a special interest in assistive technology. She is the AT coordinator for a large school district preschool program in Deleware. Along with Dr. Milbourne, Ms. Kennedy designed and leads the on-site activities to field-test a child-specific-AT-planner.