Special Education / Autism: Students & Teachers Discover A New Way To Learn
Atlanta, GA - The TV Teacher, LLC is proud to announce the endorsement of its educational videos, Alphabet Beats, by public school systems in Georgia, New York, Iowa, Texas, and Minnesota. These videos, designed to teach children how to write the alphabet, are now being used in schools from Key West, Florida to California. "I have seen wonderful results using the Alphabet Beats program in the school system. I was so excited with what I had seen, I requested approval to buy it for every occupational therapist in our county," says Mary Subra of Henry County Schools in Georgia.
"Our students adore watching 'Miss Marnie' and are attentive and excited to view this DVD. This program provides a great visual component for students with Autism, and helps to correct inaccurately learned letter formations," says occupational therapists Bobbie Larson and Barbara Brenk of the White Bear Lake Area School District in Minnesota.
This innovative writing program, developed in 2005 by Susan Ellis and occupational therapist, Marnie Danielson, was created to help Susan_s son Ryan. At the time, Ryan, who lives with Autism, was 5 years old and struggled to learn how to write the alphabet. Danielson and Ellis created a multi-sensory video by combining visual writing demonstrations with auditory rhythmic chants that achieved more results in their first session than years of traditional therapy. Now, Alphabet Beats is a professionally produced DVD teaching program that has had amazing success nationwide with children having special needs such as those with Autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, and other learning disabilities.
Alphabet Beats DVDs are designed to be educational tools for teachers, therapists, and parents. Each letter is presented as its own five-minute chapter consisting of writing exercises and vocabulary words.
An emphasis is placed on key concepts that many children with special needs struggle to understand:
body parts, spatial concepts, shapes, colors, opposites, cause and effect, tracing, painting, making patterns, community helpers, etc. According to Marnie Danielson co-creator of the video, "Our design is to keep children engaged for five minutes, exposing them to the writing exercises that are interspersed with fun activities. The repetition we use helps children remember how each letter should be written. When it is time for them to write, they recall the letter chant, which prompts them to motor plan correctly."
The TV Teacher released its first video; ALPHABET BEATS - Writing UPPERCASE letters in May of 2006, and its second DVD, alphabet beats - writing lowercase letters in April of 2007. The company now offers a complete writing program with its unique DVDs, customized workbooks, and fine-motor activity sheets on its new website (revised August 2007).
To view The TV Teacher's previous appearances on NBC, CNN.com, Advance Magazine for Occupational Therapy Practitioners, Marietta Daily Journal, and Atlanta Parent magazine, go to www.thetvteacher.com
SOURCE: The TV Teacher, LLC