{"id":41301,"date":"2012-04-09T18:36:41","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T18:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=41301"},"modified":"2012-04-09T18:36:41","modified_gmt":"2012-04-09T18:36:41","slug":"fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2012\/04\/09\/fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun and Learning Foremost at UMW Play Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p>When senior Laura Johnson registered for classes for her last undergraduate semester<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_41321\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41321\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2012\/04\/09\/fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab\/play-lab-laura-johnson-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-41321\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"41321\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/play-lab-laura-johnson-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1800,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"5\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark II\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1333562591\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"50\",\"iso\":\"2000\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0125\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Play lab Laura Johnson\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Laura Johnson, center, assists Mckenzie.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-41321\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-600x400.jpg 600w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-lab-Laura-Johnson1.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-41321\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Johnson, center, assists Mckenzie.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>at the University of Mary Washington, she added one that wasn&rsquo;t required&mdash;the Play Lab, an education course that gives students hands-on experience working with disabled students.<\/p><p>Johnson, a historic preservation and elementary education major with a focus in museum studies, thought the class would be beneficial to her as a teacher.<\/p><p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t control who comes into your classroom,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp; &ldquo;As a teacher, you&rsquo;re responsible for giving every student the best education that you can, so I thought it was part of my responsibility as a teacher.&rdquo;<\/p><p>The Play Lab, in its third semester at UMW, is a parent resource and clinic for children with developmental delays, such as autism and intellectual disabilities. Bolstered through community donations and grant awards, the course has been cited as a model program by Virginia Commonwealth&rsquo;s Center for Autism Excellence.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_41331\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41331\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2012\/04\/09\/fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab\/play-lab-nicole-myers\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-41331\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"41331\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/play-lab-nicole-myers\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1800,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"4.5\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark II\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1333563294\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"50\",\"iso\":\"2500\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.01\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Play Lab Nicole Myers\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-41331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-600x400.jpg 600w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-Nicole-Myers.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-41331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Myers works with Matt Hioos.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>UMW students spend seven weeks in the classroom learning strategies to effectively handle children with disabilities, and then incorporate those techniques in five-week sessions in the Play Lab with the children.<\/p><p>Johnson was among 12 UMW students who worked with 13 children. She was one of two undergraduates in a class of mostly graduate students and teachers who wanted to learn more about working with students with disabilities.<\/p><p>But the range of classroom dynamics wasn&rsquo;t an obstacle for Johnson.<\/p><p>&ldquo;It was really kind of daunting at first, but we all came together to work as a team,&rdquo; Johnson said.&nbsp; &ldquo;It just makes me excited to collaborate in the future with other teachers.&rdquo;<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2012\/04\/09\/fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab\/play-lab-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-41421\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"41421\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/play-lab-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1800,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"4\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark II\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1333563656\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"50\",\"iso\":\"2500\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0125\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Play Lab 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-600x400.jpg 600w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-2.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/a>During each session, the children rotate through four different rooms designed to target specific sensory, communication and motor skills.<\/p><p>&ldquo;It really sets the kids up to want to communicate with each other, so they&rsquo;re feeling comfortable, their bodies are feeling comfortable, and so that they are primed to communicate on their own,&rdquo; said Nicole Myers, associate professor of education and coordinator of the program.<\/p><p>Parents appreciate being able to connect with another parent who has a child with special needs and receiving additional resources to what the school system provides, Myers said.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2012\/04\/09\/fun-and-learning-foremost-at-umw-play-lab\/play-lab\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-41341\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"41341\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/play-lab\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1800,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"4.5\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark II\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1333563451\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"50\",\"iso\":\"2500\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.01\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Play Lab\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41341\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-600x400.jpg 600w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/04\/Play-Lab.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/a>Students compile data collected throughout the semester and provide parents with a comprehensive resource packet, detailing strategies that worked well for their child in certain situations.&nbsp; The information later can be used to help write the child&rsquo;s Individualized Education Plan, or IEP.<\/p><p>But the Play Lab isn&rsquo;t just a resource for parents or a learning tool for students&mdash;it&rsquo;s a place for the children to have fun.<\/p><p>&ldquo;I think what the kids like is the social component,&rdquo; said Myers.&nbsp; &ldquo;They&rsquo;re learning, but it&rsquo;s all play to them.&rdquo;<\/p><p>Heather DeCou, a licensed counselor who joins Myers in staffing the Play Lab, agrees that the social component is one of the most important, for the children as well as their parents.<\/p><p>Said DeCou: &ldquo;I think many of the parents are looking for an opportunity for their kids to make friends.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When senior Laura Johnson registered for classes for her last undergraduate semesterat the University of Mary Washington, she added one that wasn&rsquo;t required&mdash;the Play Lab, an education course that gives students hands-on experience working with disabled students.Johnson, a historic preservation and elementary education major with a focus in museum studies, thought the class would be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":41311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[709],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-newsletter-archived-latest-news","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ 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