Welcome to the Special Education Department
The Office of Special Education Programs (U.S. Department of Education) has recently approved a continuation award to CSUN for the project entitled, “The Bridge Project: Bringing Early Childhood Special Educators and Behavior Interventionists Together Through Interdisciplinary Evidence Based Preparation to Serve Young Children with High-Intensity Needs” in the amount of $193,552 for Year 2020-2021.
The Bridge project is a collaborative project between the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) program in the Department of Special Education in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education and the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program housed within the Department of Psychology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Bridge project focuses on addressing the critical shortage of highly qualified professionals prepared to collaboratively serve infant, toddlers, and young children with high intensity needs and their families through interdisciplinary collaborative Master’s level training of early childhood special educators and applied behavior analysts. Bridge scholars receive interdisciplinary training through a variety of opportunities and experiences both on and off campus. Opportunities include collaborative enriched coursework, specially designed seminars, interdisciplinary fieldwork experiences and a capstone project. Graduates of the project will be well prepared to serve young children with disabilities eligible for Part C or Part B preschool services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
In Summer 2020, the Bridge project has successfully recruited 9 scholars as the first cohort, and will fund 20 more scholars over the next four years. Funding will be provided for scholars as stipends, travel, and technology support. The Bridge project is now accepting applications for Summer 2021. For more information or to submit an application, please go to www.csun.edu/bridgeproject.
On November 12, the Bridge project will bring the very first Bridge Seminar Series to the community. The Bridge Seminar Series is open to all the community members and it is free. The first seminar presented by Dr. Shahla Ala'I at the University of North Texas will provide people with a conceptualization and rationales for nurturing, culturally responsive and progressive interventions, including the difficulties presented by social injustices, pandemics, and climate change. Please register for the seminar at: https://csun.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_d3XM_6VaT2eJsaRPVJNk9Q