Early Intervention Special Instructor

Job Description

Job Description

Aspirations, LLC is looking for Part Time Special Instructors to serve children and their families in Northern Dauphin County, PA who qualify for (birth to 3yrs) Early Intervention services. We offer competitive compensation, flexible scheduling, and professional development. Our work is rewarding and impactful! Come join our amazing team today.

What is Special Instruction?

Special Instructors, formerly called 'developmental therapists', work with children (ages birth to 3 years), who are eligible to receive Early Intervention service, and their caregivers in home and community settings. A Special Instructor's main role is to promote a child's optimal development. Special Instructors work with children (and their families) on behaviors, following directions, increasing cognitive skills, increasing play skills, increasing communication skills, attending to tasks, and any other specific areas of concern for each child.

The IDEA regulations state that special instruction includes:

• The design of learning environments and activities that promote the child’s acquisition of skills in a variety of developmental areas, including cognitive processes and social interaction.
• Curriculum planning, including the planned interaction of personnel, materials, and time and space, that leads to achieving the outcomes in the child’s individualized family service plan.
• Providing families with information, skills, and support related to enhancing the skill development of the child; and
• Working with the child to enhance the child’s development.

Providers of special instruction must have knowledge of early childhood development and strategies for promoting typical development and function. Providers of special instruction must be able to plan the effective use of all that is available within the child’s natural environment – including interventions planned by other IFSP team members - in designing interactions that will lead to achievement of specific IFSP goals and must be able to assist families to enhance their child’s development. Furthermore, special instruction is the service uniquely identified in federal law as being specifically relevant for both cognitive and social domains of development.

Special Instructor Qualifications and Responsibilities

Early interventionist qualifications.

An early interventionist shall have one of the following groups of minimum qualifications:

(1) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in early intervention, early childhood special education, early childhood education, child development, special education or family studies, and 1 year of full-time or full-time-equivalent experience working directly with preschool children with disabilities and their families or a university-supervised or college-supervised student practicum or teaching experience with preschool children with disabilities and their families.

(2) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university which includes 15 credit hours in early intervention, early childhood special education, early childhood education, child development, special education or family studies; and 1 year of full-time or full-time-equivalent experience working directly with preschool children with disabilities and their families; and demonstrated knowledge, understanding and skills needed to perform the functions specified (relating to early interventionist responsibilities).

Early Interventionist Responsibilities

An early interventionist is responsible for the following:

(1) Designing the learning environments and activities that promote the acquisition of skills by an infant or toddler with a disability in a variety of developmental areas, including cognitive processes, communication, adaptive skills, and social interaction.

(2) Providing the family with information, skills and support related to enhancing the skill development of the infant or toddler with a disability.

(3) Working with the infant or toddler with a disability and family to enhance the infant or toddler’s development.

Aspirations is an Early Intervention agency dedicated to providing quality Early Intervention services to infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. We provide a variety of supports and services to children birth to 3 years in age who qualify for Early Intervention services.

Company Description

Aspirations is an Early Intervention agency dedicated to providing quality Early Intervention services to infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. We provide a variety of supports and services to children birth to 3 years in age who qualify for Early Intervention services.