Presenter: Sarah Barnes
Parent and author Sarah Barnes shares 22 years of observations from her daughter’s special education experience with humor, integrity and powerful narratives that underscore her collaborations with teachers. Her toolkit is brimming with tough questions about transitions, inclusion and, of course, brownies.
Behavior Strategies to Increase Student Engagement
Presenters: Lynne Hyman & Leah Waheed
Participants will engage in hands-on, practical learning about utilizing behavior and instructional strategies to teach all learners. Strategies include using reinforcement, task analysis, and prompt fading to increase student knowledge and skills.
Strands: Behavior | Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teacher, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Paraeducator, Parent, Special Education Teacher, & Speech Language Pathologists
Developing a Shoebox Task System
Presenter: Lori Cheney Huey
During the presentation, participants will learn to develop a visually organized task system, including how to develop activities from free, recycled or low cost materials. Participants will have the opportunity to create classroom ready tasks.
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Paraeducators, & Special Education Teachers
How Do You Create a Club/Program for Special Needs Students with the Help of General Education Students?
Presenter: Maria Laidler
In this session you will learn how to form a club/program that will benefit both your special needs students and general education students. Students will benefit by improving their leadership, communication, and social skills by having involvement in a club that helps them do exactly that. My goal is to help more teachers create these learning climates so that people with disabilities can be included. These clubs/programs create fun opportunities to build meaningful relationships and build self-esteem.
Strand: Collaboration & Leadership | Inclusion | Transition
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, & Special Education Teachers
Handouts: Will be posted as they are received.
The Visual Language Classroom: Implementation of Core Language Boards to Build Functional Skill
Presenters: Patsy Tate & Gretchen Douglas
The Visual Language Classroom is a program at Walnut Springs Elementary School in DSISD designed with the purpose of creating a comprehensive language learning environment for all students in the Early Childhood Classroom (PPCD) and Functional Academics (Life Skills) Classroom. This presentation will familiarize teachers, parents and therapists with the core language board approach to communication for children with complex communication needs , cognitive and behavioral challenges. We will explain the process of classroom design with the core language approach as a foundational focus and provide strategies and examples for implementation. Additionally, we will discuss ideas for parent training and home activities for generalization of skills learned.
Strand: Communication | Behavior
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologists
A Hot Topic! Sexuality Education for Students with Disabilities
Presenter: Heidi Lerch
Sexuality education is a hot topic issue across school districts in Texas. One demographic of students consistently excluded from discussions about sexuality and healthy relationships education are students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). For students with IDD, barriers to gaining crucial information about sex and relationships can result in not having the tools and skills they need to be safer in their relationships and in the community. SAFE's Disability Services staff will present a summary of the importance of sexuality and relationship education for students with IDD and then provide educators with an example of an accessible sexuality and relationship curriculum for students with disabilities. My Rights My Life, is a ground-breaking curriculum in development and specifically for transition-aged youth receiving special education services. Funding for this innovative work is provided by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD). Curriculum content includes information on self-advocacy, safer sexuality, healthy relationship, and leadership skills development for students with developmental disabilities.
The presenter will compare common cultural misconceptions and current research about sexuality and relationships for individuals with IDD. Participants will examine practical reasons for implementing comprehensive, accessible sexuality and relationship education in schools. Next, session attendees will receive an overview of the three units of the My Rights My Life curriculum: self-advocacy, healthy relationships including sexuality, and community leadership. The presenter will then suggest tools and resources that educators can use in the classroom now to teach the foundation of healthy relationships, consent, and boundaries to students with IDD.
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction | Transition
Audience: Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Transition Specialists
Handout: Relationships, Sexuality, and Disability Resources for Educators
Emergent Writing with Alternate Pencils
Presenter: Nichole Kertis Barton, Education Specialist
Reading, writing, communicating and listening are all necessary for successful literacy development. Unfortunately, students with significant disabilities rarely engage in independent writing because the motor demands can be complicated, or writing instruction for emergent writers consists primarily of word banks, writing with symbols/pictures, other errorless strategies, and penmanship practice.
Participants of this session will learn instructional routines and strategies that support authentic writing (and communication) skills for emergent writers/communicators, and learn about tools/alternative pencils for students who are unable to use traditional pencils (physical, cognitive, auditory and visual limitations). Ultimately, participants will learn how ALL students can write for REAL reasons using only 26 symbols- the alphabet!
Strand: Communication | Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologists
Do Your IEPs Have a Data Plan?
Presenter: Kim West
Join this data journey for a step-by-step look at PLAAFPs, goals, and data collection that can create meaningful IEPs, support your practice, and improve SDI for your students.
Strand: Collaboration & Leadership, Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Roll Into Reading with Literacy-Based Motor Activities
Presenters: Deborrah Gauntlett, Diana Hiebeler, & Forrest Hancock
Come learn how to blend storybooks with motor activities to support the development of literacy and motor skills for children 3-6 years old. Video, slides, and demonstrations of literacy-based motor activities will illustrate the concept. You will get to creatively develop motor activities that are based on a preselected storybook.
Strand: Early Childhood/PPCD | Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologists
Building Beginning Writers: Shared Predictable Chart Writing
Presenters: Stephanie Wright, Denise Szymczak, & Jennifer Philbrook
Shared Predictable Chart Writing is a daily group writing routine that can be easily incorporated into any classroom. It is a great way to model and develop beginning writing skills in students who are not yet conventional writers. At the same time, it can be used to strengthen skills such as writing mechanics, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure for students who are conventional writers. This routine fosters community, participation, and communication skills in every student - regardless of their skill level. It is also a great time to collaborate with speech and OT providers on skills they may be targeting with students. Come learn how easy it is to start using Shared Predictable Chart Writing in your classroom this year, and let the writing fun begin!
Strand: Communication | Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: General Education Teachers, OT/PT and/or APE, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologists
Presenter: Darcy Schiller
Special Education teachers experience burnout at higher rates than other professions. There is no denying that we have jobs with high demands that could cause high stress that could lead to burnout. In this interactive session, participants will hear the research behind burnout and self-care, discuss signs and symptoms of burnout, participate in self-care activities, and leave with their individualized burnout prevention, or self-care, plan. Remember, you cannot serve from an empty bowl.
Strand: Collaboration & Leadership
Audience: All
Handout Full and helpful article
Presenters: Rebekah Herrington & Courtney Forman
The benefits of implementing sensory integration strategies into the daily routine for students with visual impairments, especially those with multiple disabilities. Will include strategies, examples, results and Q&A.
Strand: Behavior | Sensorimotor
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologists
Presenter: Amy Fanetti
In this session, participants will discuss an array of behavioral strategies beneficial to students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). We’ll discuss general classroom strategies to assist in preventing problem behaviors, as well as specific supports that are effective in managing behaviors specifically related to ID. Participants will leave with ideas that can be immediately implemented in their classrooms as well as accessible resources.
Strand: Behavior
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff & Special Education Teachers
Presenter: Rosemary Alexander
How can teachers and transition specialists encourage meaningful parent engagement in the challenging work of transition planning? This session, presented by a parent/professional, offers tools to put parents at ease and relay information in a friendly, culturally effective way. You will take away strategies that help transition staff develop transition goals, lower planning stress, build relationships with parents, and promote positive meeting environments. Learn from someone who has been there!
Strand: Transition
Audience: Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Transition Specialists
Features of Effective Math Instruction
Presenter: Ann Jacobson
Now, more than ever, all children require effective mathematics instruction. But what does that look like in the classroom, especially for students with significant cognitive disabilities? This presentation will answer that question by outlining four evidence-based features of effective mathematics instruction. Participants will learn about each feature and discuss ways to implement them in the classroom.
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Special Education Teachers
Handouts: Will be posted as they are received.
Presenters: Cheryl Flink & Matt White
This session will focus on fun and interactive ideas that PPCD and early childhood educators can use for cooking and sensory lessons to enrich a child’s love for literacy and, develop oral language skills. This session will provide ideas on how to incorporate sensory integration experiences for students who are resistant eaters. The presenter will review examples of how a PPCD and General Education 3 year old classroom regularly integrate cooking and sensory exploration during inclusion time. The presenter will provide examples of how to differentiate the lesson for all types of learners. The presenter will show how to incorporate the different domains of the Pre-Kindergarten guidelines in each lesson. The audience will have the opportunity to participate in a live literacy and cooking demonstration!
Strand: Early Childhood/PPCD | Sensorimotor
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, & Special Education Teachers
Presenter: Andrea Patton-Reedy
Do you teach ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies to students with significant intellectual needs? Do you need help organizing your curricula to follow the TEKS and Gen. Ed. Scope and Sequence to best serve the needs of your students? Then join me as we look at Units of Study in World Geography, US History, Government/Economics, Biology, IPC, Environmental Systems, and Health & Nutrition. Scan through ready-made binders, check out great websites and Google extensions to engage students and build independent learners, and take away a basic outline for each subject area for your classes! Let me help you organize your classes...increase student performance...build life-long learners...AND reduce your stress level.
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Special Education Teachers
Presenter: Tammy Cowen
Attendees will learn about trauma, and its effects on the daily lives of students in the classroom. In addition, we will talk about how trauma presents itself with students struggling with disabilities. The presentation will include various mindfulness strategies, sensory practices, and stories of students that have experienced success using mindfulness as a way to integrate their self-awareness and regulation of emotions.
Strand: Behavior | Sensorimotor
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Presenters: Eleanor Thompson & Anthony Diaz
Learn how to use Adobe Spark Video, a free and easy video application, to build independence with task boxes, create memorable social stories, create personal narratives and spark projects that will create community and enhance communication in both the special education and general education classroom. We’ll watch the students in action and come away with information that will allow you to begin making videos immediately!
Strand: Communication | Curriculum & Instruction | Inclusion
Audience: Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Presenters: ACC Staff
College options are expanding for students with intellectual disabilities. But how can special education teachers prepare their elementary, middle, and high school students for accessing these programs? Is it really possible for *my* students? What do families need to know about access, including funding? Christine Price, program coordinator for ACC STEPS, will address these and other questions during this valuable session on post-school planning.
Strand: Transition
Audience: Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Transition Specialist
Presenters: Debra Leff and Shelby Bishop
Here’s a session for that hard to reach student with visual and multiple disabilities. Join us as we share the basic foundation of the program we have built using “Active Learning” for this student. Video included!
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction | Sensorimotor
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, & Special Education Teachers
Presenter: Katlyn Wilkerson
This session would include strategies to make life simpler in a PPCD classroom and could also pertain to life skill teachers as well. In this session teachers would learn how to set up visual schedules in their classroom. How to set up a classroom organization. How to set up independent work stations and task centers with visuals. Overall getting the most organization out of the classroom and making students independent.
Strand: Early Childhood/PPCD
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff & Special Education Teachers
Presenters: Alice Keller & Erika Guerrero
The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program is aimed at promoting social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting systems-wide change. With sports as the foundation, the three component model offers a unique combination of effective activities that equip young people with tools and training to create sports, classroom and school climates of acceptance. These are school climates where students with disabilities feel welcome and are routinely included in, and feel a part of, all activities, opportunities and functions.
Strand: Collaboration & Leadership | Inclusion | Transition
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Handouts: Will be posted as they are received.
Presenter: Lisa Rukovena
Join us to learn the evidence-based techniques that will transform storybook time into language and literacy intervention. Shared reading is all about interacting with our students around story books, but the best part is that it should be fun! Participants will learn about Shared Reading as well as methods to support our students who have complex communication needs.
Strand: Communication | Inclusion | Early Childhood/PPCD
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Speech Language Pathologist
Presenters: James Williams & Bruce Bloom
Using a collaborative and solution-focused approach, the presenters will focus on innovative practices which may be used by educators and administrators to build Pre-ETS program partnerships & services through collaboration with providers, employers, and vocational rehabilitation agencies designed to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. All five Pre-ETS domains will be covered including Career Exploration, Work-Based Learning, Counseling on Post-Secondary Training, Work Readiness, and Self-Advocacy for 14-22-year-old students with disabilities. This information will be infused with the lead presenter's unique professional and personal experience with ASD and his work in the fields of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling. In addition, they will include examples of past, current, and future Pre-ETS partnerships they have created and how similar programs can be replicated throughout Texas.
Strand: Transition
Audience: Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Special Education Teacher, & Transition Specialists
Presenter: Laura Kroll
As physical therapist, I facilitate weekly sensory motor lab & twice weekly motor breaks with ECE or PPCD classes at Texas School for the Deaf. Recent evidence-based studies demonstrate positive relationship between movement and improved academic performance, and so my current goal is to empower teachers to challenge students in a fun, effective manner with movement.
Strand: Early Childhood/PPCD
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, & OT/PT and/or APE
Handouts: Fun Motor Lab and Motor Breaks handout and powerpoint
Presenter: Erin Sheldon, M.Ed.
Teachers are exhorted to include all students in the regular classroom but are not always given the tools and information to do this effectively. Fortunately, there are many different pathways to provide meaningful inclusion, such as more explicit classroom strategies, instructional and assistive technology, and peer supports. Educators know that students often learn best when they learn together. But our classrooms are diverse and our resources are stretched thin. When a student has complex needs, it often seems simpler to assign an adult to provide 1:1 support, even when we know that 1:1 support can be problematic and has less positive results than strategically organized peer supports.
This hands-on workshop will discuss how to meet the needs of all students in the inclusive classroom by understanding how one student's support needs can be an opportunity to enhance learning for another. With carefully planned instructional arrangements, peer supports and some simple tools for universal design, we can enrich learning for ALL our students.
Strand: Inclusion, Assistive Technology
Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers,Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Presenter: Crystal Bell
Start the day off learning about the Charting the LifeCourse framework
Charting the LifeCourse framework is a foundation for working with individuals with I/DD and their families that is being used in various situations and settings across the nation. This presentation will explore the effect of past and current policies and practices, the significant role families play across the lifespan, as well as the concepts of “ALL”, life stages and domains, vision and trajectory, the “3 buckets”, and the integrated supports star. Inspirational real life examples of implementation of the framework will be shared.
In the afternoon: LifeCourse in Action
Now that you have learned about Charting the LifeCourse thinking and principles, learn how to put it into action using the LifeCourse tools. This interactive session will give you a chance to practice having conversations and problem solving using LifeCourse tools as a guide. Small groups will practice using LifeCourse tools to explore real life scenarios in various life domains. Bring your toughest case studies and discover how Charting the LifeCourse framework can benefit you regardless of your role or the type of caseload you serve.
Strand: Transition
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers & Transition Specialists
Presenter: Ginevra Courtade
In 6 Successful Strategies for Teaching TEKS, teachers learn how to adapt grade-level TEKS for students with moderate and severe disabilities; the major focus is the instructional component of alignment.
The 6 Successful Strategies for Teaching TEKS book outlines six evidence-based strategies teachers can use during instruction to ensure alignment to TEKS:
1. Universal Design for Learning
2. Student-Directed Learning
3. Assistive Technology and Peer Supports
4. Generalization
5. Systematic Instruction
6. Research-Based Practices
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers & Transition Specialists
Presenter: Barb Hobbs, ESC 16 Education Specialist
Despite the recognition of the rights and needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) to experience all aspects of life like their peers, the situation concerning sexuality is far from ideal. Individuals with ID deserve the right to quality sexuality education that teaches the right to privacy, boundaries, healthy relationships and consent to name a few. The research shows that this population is underserved in this area due to lack of quality programs to teach this specific population. This session begins to address the discrepancy between what we know is important to teach (from research) and the lack of curriculum to educate our diverse population.
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States has developed The Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, using the Guidelines we look at a framework of key concepts and topics that sexuality education programs should ideally include. We cover sexuality topics of development, knowledge and behaviors related to individuals with disabilities.
Evidence based strategies such as visual supports, social narratives, and positive reinforcement are explored to encourage safe, healthy and age appropriate relationships.
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Audience: General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers, & Transition Specialists
Presenters: Randy Foederer, CAPE and Vicki Foederer, CAPE
The APE evaluation is complete and appropriate goals and objectives have been developed. Now, you have been identified as someone who supports Adapted PE. How do you work toward attaining these APE goals and objectives? You do this by providing appropriate prescriptive activities for each student. This workshop will explore these prescriptive activities as they relate to age-appropriateness, type of equipment needed, and what activities address specific areas of need.
Audience: This workshop is designed for any individuals (special education teachers, special education aides, physical educators, physical education assistants, therapists) who help provide Adapted Physical Education Services to individuals or small groups.
TPTA CCUs have been applied for.
Parallel Physical Education Activities for Secondary Students with Severe Impairments
Teaching Physical Education Skills and Coaching the Students with Autism Blind
Teaching Physical Education Skills to Blind and Visually Impaired Students
Presenters: Sara Kitchen and Scott Baltisberger, VI Outreach Specialists @ TSBVI
A common misconception about the Active Learning approach is that it is all about equipment and independent exploration. However, interactive activities that build trust and emotional resilience are perhaps an even more critical component. This workshop will stress the importance of emotional and social development within the framework of the Active Learning approach. Participants should come to the workshop with a specific student in mind for whom they will develop an interactive routine focused on building trust and communication.
Strand: Sensorimotor | MIVI
Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, & Special Education Teachers
Presenter: Anne Meeker, Ph.D.
Discover how to blend intervention and prevention to help children who exhibit challenging behaviors, while guiding all children toward positive self-esteem and school success. Anne will describe ways music- and play-based strategies can support the work of teachers desiring to implement the Teaching Pyramid model and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Learn how to build supportive relationships with all children as you teach the social and emotional skills children need to learn and grow.
Strand: Early Childhood/PPCD
Audience: Early Childhood/PPCD Staff, General Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches/Support Staff, OT/PT and/or APE, Paraeducators, Parents, Special Education Teachers,Speech Language Pathologists, & Transition Specialists
Good Shepherd Episcopal School, Austin, Aug 12, 2019 flyer