Our Digital Chalkboard

1. Our Digital Chalkboard Employing educational technology in our home

2. Welcome to our family

4. The phone rang

5. And then the phone rang again!

6. We’re Parents…almost!

8. Pre-Adoption consultation Post-Adoption assistance Comprehensive laboratory work and dietary assessment Counseling options Ongoing care options Referrals to other specialists at Texas Children’s, if needed • Highlight tools that you can use during your trip to help you assess the child • Educate you about medical and psychological issues in international adoption • Prepare you for some of the challenges children who have been institutionalized face when transitioning to a new home environment

10. William When we first brought William home, he just had his third birthday • Born in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia • First 8 months of life were in a state run orphanage with hundreds of children • Under-resourced and without expertise in caring for children with physical disabilities • No basic educational resources provided • Exposed to Mandarin almost exclusively

11. Luckily, Will moved to an institution that could care for a child with a special need • He was still one of more than 50 children his age in the institution • Caregivers provided care as needed • Will was diagnosed with Achondroplasia

12. A bit about Achondroplasia • It occurs in approximately one in every 25,000 live births • Achondroplasia is caused by a mutation in the FGFR3 gene • Symptoms • Short stature – exclusion/bullying, need for accommodations, psychological impact during adolescence, orthopedic issues/corrective surgery and time away from school/friends • Hypotonia – delayed gross and fine motor skill development • Ear infections – hearing loss, delayed speech and comprehension

13. Zoey When we first brought Zoey home, she had just turned two • Born in Mumbai, India • Her entire life up to that point was spent within the confines of a state run orphanage with over 70 small children waiting for adoptive families • Education, emotional, even basic health care resources were minimal or absent • Exposed to Marathi, Hindi… and to a lesser extent, English • The staff lacked the skills to provide appropriate care for a child with special needs

14. Due to Zoey’s size (she was underweight and shorter than the average little person), caregivers treated her like an infant for her first two years of life • Zoey also has Achondroplasia • We also noticed an attachment concern

15. A bit about International Adoption • Attachment • Communication • Learning • Motor skills • Emotional • Eating

16. Introducing technology • Since Will was the first to come home, we started with him. • We gave him an iPad and before we could show him how, he swiped the unlock button and revealed the apps we had downloaded • Even though he knew very little about what he was doing, his engagement was clearly evident

17. We introduced an interactive alphabet application first, called Endless Alphabet • Will clearly enjoyed the sounds and movements made when he moved letters around • With some guidance, we were able to show him the goal of matching letters and the associating the sounds each letter makes • The app also helped us to identify areas needing the most support… leading us to work with a speech pathologist

18. Enrolled in speech therapy twice a week, Will began working to improve his language skills. • We supported his efforts and that of his therapist by working with him at home to apply the lessons learned in therapy when using the Alphabet app

19. Then we discovered ABC Mouse… • Games • Puzzles • Lessons • And tickets/prizes! • There were some parallels Will was able to draw between what he was learning in school and what he was learning when using ABC Mouse.And, he was having fun using it

20. After seeing the progress Will had made, we explored other products… • Osmo Tangram – spatial thinking and motor skill development • Specific assistive devices and technology (AD and AT) tangential to education, in that it affords much needed independence and confidence necessary to reach new developmental milestones • Upon further review • We became more and more aware of the value of employing AD & AT to both help identify potential delays, as well as being more ‘app’t to provide resources to help in all areas of reinforcement and de novo education

21. Present Day Will

22. Zoey • We gave Zoey the same iPad sans the Fisher Price case • Within 1 minute, we realized we would need to purchase another iPad • She immediately took to the apps on the iPad, starting with the ones her brother was so fond of

23. Zoey loved using the Endless Alphabet app • She began recognizing letters very quickly; and while learning to identify the letters, she was also expanding her verbal skills via repetition • Word repetition helped to identify some of her speech therapy needs as well

24. Zoey was even more impressed by ABC Mouse • She loved that it would say Hi Zoey every time she logged in. Once again, her engagement was high and she was enjoying the tech • The most popular games/lessons were the farm tour and the reading section

25. Zoey also enjoyed using Osmo, which helped a great deal when it came time to hold a pencil, color with crayons or paint on the walls • A photographer in the making, Zoey is an avid fan of cinema verite • Independence for Zoey is now more important than ever… so we continue to find ways to even the odds for her in an environment made for bigger people

26. Present Day Zoey

27. Our role as parents hasn’t changed much • Educational technology has been a tremendous help to us and to our children. • As parents, it is our duty to continue to supervise our children’s use of technology, helping to ensure its used properly and not as a distraction or escape • As our children’s outspoken voice, we need to continue to encourage proper use and support of educational tools like ABC Mouse

28. Moving right along