for family service providers

HSCI understands how active family life can be! These 15 minute inservices are quick lessons on topics related to children with disabilities. View these lessons to see a Powerpoint presentation delievered by a professional in the field. The Powerpoint presentations often contain video and picture examples of the lesson in action. Also, download handouts and worksheets to extend your learning.


15 min. Inservices Tip!Complete these short lessons along with families at home, school, or the library. You can download and save this information to your computer if internet access is a challenge. Another idea is to view the PowerPoint presentation on your own and take handouts and a discussion topic to the family.


IEP Basics
Inclusion Basics: Membership
Supporting Literacy

The Social Story concept was created by Carol Gray. Social Stories are short stories detailing specific activities or situations from the child's point of view. Social Stories often work well for children who don't seem to understand how to act or respond in certain situations (like sharing with kids, getting dressed, etc.) by describing exactly what happens and what is expected during these activities. Download, print and personalize Social Stories by handwriting in specific information related to your child.


Social Stories Tip!Assist families in talking about and focusing on one activity or situation in which a Social Story may be helpful. Print a few copies and help the parents personalize it for their child. Also, try writing a new Social Story if those on the site do not fit your needs. Reference the directions on the Social Stories page for directions and ideas. Don't forget to add pictures by including photographs of the child, cut-outs from a magazine or drawings!


Getting Ready for School
Staying Close When Shopping

Download and print these sheets as a quick reference for tips on challenging behavior, helping your child to talk more, teaching your child to share and more! Hang them on your refrigerator, keep them in folder, or put on your kitchen counter to quickly reference when needed.

Challenging Behavior Tips for Families

Find information about a variety of books that highlight and celebrate inclusion and differences in our Community Book Group section. Each sheet provides an overview of the book and ideas for using the book to teach about inclusion and differences both at school and at home.


HSCI Community Book Group Tip!Encourage families to check out books from the library and use these as discussion points with their child around differences and playing with everyone. Another idea is to start a lending library of your own to increase family access to helpful and supporting books.


HSCI Community Book Group

Broadcast Calls occur live about once a month through the HSCI website. National experts in the field present on a variety of topics highlighting the most recent information about specific disabilities and other special needs. The calls are about an hour in length and usually include a PowerPoint presentation and audio. You can listen live to these calls or find and listen to archived calls.

Siblings of Children with Special Needs
Social-Emotional Health in Children in Head Start
Working with Children with FASD
Working with Children in Foster Care
Using Home Visits to Enhance Literacy Skills

Click here for Broadcast Call participant instructions