Shishmanian Fellowship Awards go to Thom Child & Family Services Staff in Boston and Waltham  

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thom Boston Metro staff members: Natalie Flynn-Schofield, OTR/L, Sarah Castro, MSPT and Sharon Saklad, CCC/SLP and Thom Charles River staff members: Michelle Homer, MSN and Jenna Handley, CCC/SLP have been awarded Shishmanian Senior Practitioner Fellowships of $2,000 each to be used between November 2006 and May 2007.

Shishmanian Fellowships provide experienced early interventionists time and resources to enhance their professional development. Applicants may propose a demonstration or research project, an apprenticeship related to the needs of young children and their families, or another mode of directed learning to expand their knowledge and skills in a particular area of early intervention.

The professional development project in Boston is a collaborative effort of three Thom allied health professionals which will produce a resources guide to assistive technology services and devices for very young children. Team collaborators will compile a book of common devices, their uses and availability for family members and Early Intervention practitioners in Massachusetts. Once complete, the resources guide will be distributed to all Early Intervention Programs in the Commonwealth.
By supporting practitioners and families with this resource, the collaborators hope that more children will be able to benefit from assistive technology at an earlier age. They also hope that the earlier Early Intervention practitioners introduce children, particularly children with significant physical challenges, to assistive technology, the earlier the child will be able to maximize his/her independence and interact with his/her environment. This in turn makes it more likely that the technology will be successfully integrated into the “natural environments” of children’s homes and childcare settings.

The award for the Thom Charles River team involves a collaborative project with the Watertown Family Network and local parents with twins or multiple babies. Most of the infants and toddlers and their parents who will participate in this project are not eligible for Early Intervention, but given the demands of caring for multiple infants and toddlers, parents of multiples are particularly at risk for feeling overwhelmed and isolated. This multiples group will provide a haven for parents, safe and nurturing connections for children and a unique “learning laboratory” for Early Intervention practitioners to gain knowledge and insight into the “typical” experiences of parenting multiples.