SPC + Early Childhood and Family Studies Program + Amy Huebner = An A-Plus HiMama Podcast

NOTED ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE FACULTY MEMBER SHARES TIPS AND WISDOM ON AUTISM AND ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) IN THE CLASSROOM ON HIMAMA’S THE PRESCHOOL PODCAST!

Amy Huebner gives back by sharing content from San Antonio’s first online community college Early Childhood education program, enhancing the worldwide capacity of Early Childhood and Family Studies professionals to serve in their space

The three-hour 2018 professional development presentation of an in-demand Early Childhood and Family Studies faculty member at St. Philip’s College has resulted in a 20-minute 2019 podcast archived for reference on a global educational resource where early childhood professionals and childhood development enthusiasts---particularly parents and caregivers---visit to learn practical new tips that help children grow successfully in the early childhood education space every week.

The faculty member is Amy Huebner. She was a presenter at a three-hour workshop for members of her industry on managing challenging classroom behaviors with children on the autism spectrum during the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in Washington, D.C., in October. 

In his capacity as content marketing manager for HiMama, a social purpose business with a mission to give its time, knowledge and dollars to improving learning outcomes for children aged zero to five, Michael Keshen was scouting emerging talent among the leading childhood development insiders for the firm’s weekly podcasts. Each week, this e-platform connects the world with “leaders in early childhood education, from teachers and educators in the classroom with innovative curriculum approaches, to directors who are excelling at empowering their team, and leaders outside of the child care environment that are passionate about making a positive impact on outcomes for young children.”

Keshen realized that Huebner is an instructor faculty member in an educational space that offers three plans leading to an associate of applied science degree with or without specialization and one certificate of completion, all accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)-Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation (ECADA).

And in the nation's seventh-largest city, the innovative Early Childhood and Family Studies program at St. Philip’s College is the home of the first online Early Childhood degree in San Antonio from an accredited community college.

Clearly, Keshen, HiMama and the room full of professionals at the premiere industry event were working with an educator-leader who shares thought-provoking insights both live and online for their space in the form of Amy Huebner.

He emailed Huebner to gauge her interest in serving as an interview guest on HiMama’s The Preschool Podcast!, where three hours of content could be distilled to a 20-minute reference for the pros in the field. 

“I believe that your recent presentation at the NAEYC conference, "How to manage challenging behaviors for individuals with an autism spectrum disorder and/or ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder]," would make an excellent topic for our listeners… The Preschool Podcast was created to be an educational resource for early childhood professionals to learn practical new tips every week,” Keshen emailed Huebner over the winter. 

From her office in the college’s Center for Health Professions, Huebner remotely completed a 15-20 minute interview in January with HiMama co-founder and CEO Ron Spreeuwenberg. 

“My segment was on managing challenging behaviors in the classroom with a child on the autism spectrum and/or ADHD,” said Huebner. “We discussed typical behaviors seen with these disorders, tips for teachers and tips for talking with parents,” Huebner said.

“Anyone who has small children or is working with children gets tips on managing ADHD and other behavioral issues. This is a good place to start for tips,” Huebner said. “A lot of early childhood teachers turn to podcasts and follow the Facebook pages of early childhood education sites for ideas on different concepts. Teachers really reach out to these sites for ideas and tips,” said Huebner.

“I hate to listen to my own voice, but they transcribed, and I have shared it with students at St. Philip’s College in my Children With Special Needs class. I always have students who are curious about the inevitable---working with autism. These children are not separated from their peers, they are in the general education class and many teachers are not equipped with training to work with those kids. I was once thrown into a classroom with lots of kids with special needs. What I try to get across in my professional development trainings is easy tips they probably never got, and where to find more,” Huebner said. 

Autism refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, speech and nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviors, as well as by unique strengths and differences. Although April is designated as National Autism Awareness Month, every classroom day is autism-compassionate and autism-aware at 121-year-old St. Philip’s College. The college’s Disability Services Team provides information to educate the educators and the students on how to work with individuals diagnosed with this disability in order to provide the best, safest and most supportive experience for everyone involved.

But for Huebner and her students and colleagues within the college’s Public Service Institute, autism is a passion approached from the educator’s lens, and her program does all it can to embody its "Make a Difference in the Lives of Children!" motto. Potential and current students can rest assured that when they take classes from Huebner, they are gaining knowledge from a recognized leader who can now be heard as a reference on a HiMama podcast. In this episode, Huebner “shares her experience identifying children who are on the spectrum, communicating this to parents, and creating an environment that is structured, consistent and has access to the right tools to work with special needs children more effectively.”

About the Preschool Podcast: With over 1 million monthly web visitors and thousands of downloads per episode, emerging and established subject matter experts can speak directly to parents and the early education community. The Preschool Podcast is one way the HiMama team provides practical resources to early childhood professionals. The team also operates a blog and newsletter with over 70,000 subscribers who work in early childhood education. In addition, 75% of the HiMama team and over 80% of the HiMama leadership team identifies as women---a corporate gender diversity ratio almost unheard of in tech startups.