The need and desire to learn is essential for all development. There are many different things we must all learn, and there are many different ways to learn. When a child is not learning all that they should, it is important to determine:
- why they are not learning
- what they are not learning and
- how to teach them so that they can learn
Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through experience and being taught. It is crucial for young children to acquire new skills on an ongoing basis in order to develop and grow.
Each child is unique and learns in a different way. Individual strengths and weakness must be identified. Our goal is to enhance a young child’s ability to learn through play, language and social interactions.
Special Education is central to much of what happens at CEED. We have a strong reputation for our Toddler Developmental Groups. Our teachers are highly credentialed professionals who are continually raising their own standards of practice. Our program is literacy based and incorporates a strong emphasis on the development of language skills through daily activities in the classroom. We utilize a variety of approaches at CEED, including TEACCH, Pecs a d Floor -time. We also have classrooms that apply the principles of ABA which entails the use of positive reinforcement, continuous measurement of learning and data analysis based on graphic data. In addition we offer one to one ABA to support the student in the classroom.
Our special education teachers are New York State licensed professionals who provide and individualized program within a safe and nurturing environment for a child to learn.
Elizabeth Asprea
Elizabeth Asprea is the Special Education Supervisor at Westchester Center for Educational and Emotional Development. She has been with CEED since May 2002. Elizabeth has been a special education teacher for nineteen years. She has experience working with children who display varied developmental delays and disabilities. Elizabeth received her Master’s Degree at Lehman College, Bronx New York in Early Childhood Special Education. She has training in using the PECS Communication System and in TEACCH. Elizabeth looks forward to her continued work with children and their families at CEED.
Barbara Wasserman, MA ED
Barbara has her Masters in Special Education from NYU where she attended on a full fellowship. She has been teaching special needs children for 25 years. She began her career with New York City Board Of Education at the Manhattan School, where she taught for 11 years. She also co-directed the sleep away summer camp program sponsored by the Manhattan School. For the past 13 years , she has been with WCEED, both as a special educator in the Toddler Developmental classroom, as well as a department head and supervisor of the special education department. Barbara has also provided both center-based and home-based ABA services for Early Intervention. Her many years of dedicated service to the special needs population has earned her a well-deserved reputation with both professionals and parents.
Gina Ferraro, MPS, SP ED
Gina is a New York State licensed teacher. Her certifications are in Special Education and Elementary Education. She studied at the University of London. She has been a teacher in New York City and Westchester County for more than 20 years. Gina is dedicated to her field and gets great joy from helping children and their families. Her classroom is always a bright and exciting place to learn!
Recently Gina has been studying Yoga for Children which she incorporates into her toddler developmental group routines. She is also the founding educator of CEED’s “Saturdays at CEED” program. Gina has found that working at CEED and collaborating with her fellow teachers and highly experienced therapy team has been a wonderful experience.
Emily Tabacoff, B.A.
Emily Tabacoff is the Supervisor of the Teaching Assistants at CEED. She herself is a certified Teaching Assistant and she is trained in Applied Behavioral Anaylsis, ABA. Emily has a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin. Emily has been a member of the CEED team since 1993. She loves working with the children, staff and families.