Life-Changing Outcomes for Exceptional Kids

We have the best team available to educate and care for your child, and our students’ families are an important part of our team!

We have an open door policy, so parents are always welcome to observe classes or therapies. We also provide informational and support services.

Here is a comprehensive list of statewide resources for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities:

New Jersey Intellectual and Developmental Disability Resources

Vision Skills Tutorials for Families by Rachael Schupak, Teacher of the Visually Impaired

  • Maintaining Visual Attention

    Maintaining visual attention is an essential visual skill that all children should practice. In this video, families will learn what visual attention is, what the four quadrants are, and what strategies they can use to practice maintaining attention.

  • Shifting Gaze

    Shifting gaze also plays a role in getting children to build on communication skills such as making choices. In this video, families will learn about what shifting gaze is and how it ties in with maintaining visual attention and tracking.

  • Tracking

    Tracking is an important life skill that is needed to help children engage and respond to their surrounding environment. In this video. families will learn how to practice tracking with a child and what strategies can be used when working on this visual skill.

Support for Families with Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

American Sign Language (ASL) Lesson for Families

Debbie Winter, Teacher of the Deaf, teaches an introduction to American Sign Language (ASL) with basic everyday signs.

 

Life Skills Lesson for the Home

These videos were created by Shaynon Remillard, vocational program teaching assistant, in English and ASL to help students and their families with life skills for the home environment.

  • Kitchen Tool Options

     

  • Laundry Basics

  • Laundry: Sorting Whites and Colors

  • Laundry: Whites and Colors Sorting with Real Clothing

  • Laundry: Sorting Light and Dark Colors

  • Laundry: Sorting Socks Part 1

  • Laundry: Sorting Socks Part 2

  • Laundry Wrap Up

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Support

Pamela Welch-Reinoso, one of First Children School’s Speech-Language Pathologists, works with students who use various forms of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).  She created the videos below to help her students who use AAC devices. To learn more about the various forms of AAC and other technology used at First Children Services, please visit our Educational and Therapeutic Technology webpage.

  • What is Augmentative and Alternative Communication?

    Pamela Welch-Reinoso, Speech-Language Pathologist, explains what augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is in this video for families of our students.

  • Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) Demonstration

    PODD is a a type of AAC which organizes word and symbol vocabulary in a communication book or speech-generating device to provide immersion and modelling for learning.

  • Proloquo2Go Demonstration

    Proloquo2Go is a symbol-supported communication app providing a voice to individuals who cannot speak. It is designed to promote growth of communication skills and foster language development through research-based vocabularies.