COVID-19 Resources
International Hotline Offering Emotional Assistance Beit Issie Shapiro, a Federation partner and Israel’s leading provider of innovative therapies for children and adults across the entire range of disabilities, has opened a hotline for emotional assistance for people with disabilities and their families. While its doors have temporarily closed, Beit Issie Shapiro is helping those struggling at home without treatment and routines. In English please send a message to this Hotline number: +972-50 564-8864 and they will call you back. In Hebrew please call: 073-241-7730
Stay at Home with PJ Library As communities seek to lower the impact of COVID-19, many families are spending a lot of time at home with their kids. PJ Library is here to support you with virtual story times, activities, recipes, and Jewish resources. Visit us here for our daily schedule of content!
Virtual Kabalat Shabbat with Beit Issie has a special accessible Kabbalat Shabbat in English for kids with disabilities.
Teaching from Home for Children with IEPs Here is a thoughtful overview of teaching children with IEPs from home, along with many free web based resources organized by academic subject, including art and music, by UM-NSU CARD.
The Statistics
If you suspect a learning disorder the most important first step is to support your learner’s journey to understanding their strengths and challenges.
Virtual Special Education Kindergarten Beit Issie Shapiro has developed online content for kindergarteners in Hebrew and English. Children can sing, enjoy games and storytelling.
Visual Schedules help create a framework for the day and reduce verbal redirection and cues. This Visual Task list created by the NJ Coalition for Inclusive Education walks the user through the process and while it is simple in presentation it does allow for variations. It may be more appropriate for an early learner and/or lighter schedules. This Visual Schedule link is a comprehensive collection created by the UM-NSU CARD team addressing online learning, virtual field trips, social and emotional regulation and life skills.
Communication Board for Medical Communication This printable resource from Temple University is an important tool for communicating with people with augmentative and alternative communication (AC) needs, such as limited or non verbal communication. AC is any form of communication other than spoken/oral language. We communicate to express thoughts, needs, wants, and ideas and this is especially important in these times.
The Friendship Circle has gone virtual. Please join their Facebook page for all events.
Yachad has created a great variety of virtual events, open to all communities, called Yachad on Demand.
Face Masks and Anxiety This video on wearing face masks from Dr. Peter Vermuelen of Autism in Context explains why autistic children can get anxious when seeing people wearing mouth masks and what we can do to help them.
Accessibility for Apple products can be found here on the Apple YouTube channel.
Accessibility and ZOOM Here are the accessibility features for ZOOM the online meeting platform, including closed captioning, transcripts and keyboard support.
Traumatic Stress and Separation Anxiety from COVID-19 this worksheet from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers language on how to talk with children about traumatic separation or traumatic grief as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has resulted in thousands of children being separated from loved ones who require isolation and/or hospitalization due to a loved one testing positive for COVID-19 or because of potential exposure for essential workers. This tip sheet is for caregivers or other adults supporting children with traumatic separation or traumatic grief related to COVID-19. Especially in stressful times, in addition to the suggestions here, all children benefit from caregivers listening to and validating their different feelings.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has created this webpage of resources on COVID-19
The National Down Syndrome Society has developed a COVID-19 web page with resources for parents, caregivers, health care providers, and educators with videos on exercises for speech, PT and Ot for birth through high school.
This Miami Herald article highlights tips from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind for the blind and visually impaired in the era of COVID-19.
The Charge Syndrome Foundation offers at home activities and resources for families during this period.
The National Center on Deaf-Blindness COVID -19 web page is filled with resources for facilitating distance learning.
The Described and Captioned Media Program link to closed captioned educational resources is fully funded by the Department of Education and free memberships are available through this link.
Educational Resources for American Sign Language (ASL) this page from Crossroads Deaf Education based in Texas collates many links for ASL COVID-19 communication, distance learning and educational Google apps.
The National Association of the Deaf’s COVID-19 webpage offers information and a link to their Facebook community.
Gallaudet University, a leader in higher education and the deaf community, has created this link to free ASL literacy activities including a podcast.
The Planned Life Time Advocacy Network shares this thoughtful worksheet on how to you stay engaged while social distancing.
Special Olympics Commit to Fit is a program with a number of videos for fitness.
