Faculty from the College of Education & Human Development, the Lewis College of Nursing, and the School of Public Health have been awarded a five-year grant from the Office of Special Education Services (OSEP) train and support 48 graduate students to help alleviate the statewide shortage of highly qualified personnel in early intervention settings working with young children with high-intensity needs who have significant developmental disabilities.
The Interdisciplinary Personnel Preparation for Early Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapy Services (Early SPOTS) Program at Georgia State University will prepare future speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists (OTs), and physical therapists (PTs) to work in early intervention (EI) settings, including family homes, childcare programs, and teleintervention methods. The program will include three interdisciplinary courses, a summer intensive seminar and an interdisciplinary practicum experience.
Akilah Heggs Lee, PhD, CCC-A, and Angela M. Miles, MS CCC-SLP are on the Early SPOTS faculty and will represent the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Department. They are particularly excited to offer this specialized training to the 12 CSD students who will be selected as scholars across the three disciplines each year. “The Early SPOTS program is an innovative collaboration to create interprofessional education experiences across the colleges and disciplines at GSU that serve young children with disabilities and their families. The three required courses in the program will enable students to learn from and about each other through shared learning and clinical activities,” says Miles. Another win, reports Dr. Lee, is that “GSU will contribute to building a more competent and responsive workforce by preparing students to work with this unique population”. Congratulations to Dr. Lee and Ms. Miles!
Early SPOTS is excited to announce the application period is now open for its inaugural cohort in Fall 2021. The deadline for application submission is May 1, 2021.
For more information:
Website: https://publichealth.gsu.edu/spots-georgias-early-intervention-system/
Email: [email protected]
Informational Session was held Thursday, April 8, 2021. If you’re interested in learning more about this program contact [email protected].