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Click here to register for this webinar What: Join Occupational Therapist and Inclusion Advocate Ingrid M. Kanics, OTR/L for this enlightening webinar. Participants will learn about the seven senses as well as how the brain integrates and uses this sensory information in everyday activities. The webinar will provide participants with activities in each sensory area that can be used to help children explore and integrate sensory information in their daily lives. When: June 1, 2011 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Mountain Cost: $30 per person (free for Lekotek affiliates) Special-FREE for all caregivers of children with disabilities (just email domahen@lekotek.org to resgister) Presenter Bio: Ingrid M. Kanics, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist who has worked for 10 years helping communities create and run amazing places where all children can play together. She was senior consultant on the national advisory team for the Center for Creative play, Pittsburgh, PA. During that time she worked with numerous communities and children's museums helping them expand their understanding of Universal Design and the importance of Sensory play in every childs' development. She continued this work as Therapy Director at Hattie Larlham, Mantua, OH, where she oversaw therapy and recreation programs for children of varying abilities. She now owns her own consulting business focusing on great play spaces in communities. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences on the topics play, sensory integration and Universal Design. Conferences include the Association of Children's Museums, American Occupational Therapy Association, Parents As Teachers, and National Association of the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC).

As an increasing number of children are diagnosed with autism, researchers are looking to parent facilitated play therapy as a cheaper, more accessible alternative to traditional behavior therapy. There are not enough therapists to handle the influx of children with autism, so researchers are looking to early intervention models like the play and Language for Autistic Youngsters, or the P.L.A.Y. Project, to fill the void. This play therapy approach relies on parents being trained by a professional to be their own therapy provider. Then, parents conduct 20 to 25 hours of play therapy weekly with their child who has autism.

Click here to register for this webinar What: Outdoor play activities designed for children with and without disabilities can help all children experience and value play together. Explore how to foster friendships, break down barriers, promote disability awareness, while supporting character education initiatives utilizing outdoor play environments in new and fun ways! Participants will receive the 2play Together program, developed in partnership with Lekotek and playCore. When: September 28, 2011 1:00pm - 2:00pm Mountain

Every day, parents ask professionals for advice on buying toys for their children. Often, shoppers are wary of buying toys for special needs children. However, selecting a toy for any child begins with two steps: first, learning what the child is interested in, and second, assessing his or her skill level. Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs is a helpful educational tool designed to assist with this selection process. After reviewing this guide and doing your homework, we encourage you to visit toy shelves (both online and at your local retailer) and sample the great products designed to excite, engage and enthrall your child. Experience with them the joy and happiness of Play!

This is Part Three of a series of posts that will concentrate on the inherent benefits of play for children with special needs. In this post we focus on how toys and the experience of play help with emotional development. Part Two of the series was related to physical development and the growth of fine motor skills. Part One was devoted to toys and the development of gross motor skills.

Camden, Maine (CNN) -- The young man tucks his violin under his chin and begins to play. A hush falls over the few spectators in the largely empty opera house, who turn toward the bare stage. As his lilting notes float through the room, other people trickle in from the lobby to listen. The young man sometimes closes his eyes as he plays, as if lost in the music. If his audience closed their eyes, too, they would never know the violinist standing before them has no right hand, only a stunted appendage with tiny stubs instead of fingers. Which is fitting, because Adrian Anantawan prefers to be judged for what people hear, not what they see. At 28, Anantawan is one of the world's most accomplished young violinists. He has performed at the White House, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, for Pope John Paul II, for Christopher Reeve and most recently for the Dalai Lama during an event at MIT. Anantawan played a piece by Bach, and when he finished, the Tibetan Buddhist leader approached him.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers long have evaluated the roles parents play in children’s development. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that mothers’ directiveness, the extent to which they try to control the content and pace of young children’s play, varies based on the children’s ages and the mothers’ ethnicities. In addition, the study found that the more directive the mothers were during play, the less engaged children were with them and the more negative emotion the children displayed toward their mothers.

AbleGamers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advocating for game accessibility in the digital entertainment space. Really fancy words for: if you want to play video games and you can’t play or have trouble playing, we help you to do so.

Register here!What: Deidre Omahen, Director of Training and Affiliates will be presenting this 1.5 hour webinar on Lekotek's principles of toy adaptation. She will also share ideas for adapting technology including apps and adaptive software. When:  Wednesday, January 25 11:00 pm-12:30 pm Mountain Cost: $30 (includes CE and EI credit)   HEY, no worries if you miss the "Adapting Toys and Play" webinar...Lekotek is offering the recorded version up to one year so you can learn at your leisure.  Contact:Email: lekotek@lekotek.org

Play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood. It is a natural tool for children to develop resiliency as they learn to cooperate, overcome challenges, and negotiate with others.

Howard said the area will give children a compact, accessible—it’s also accessible to people with disabilities—play space that can serve as a portal to the wider world of nature.