Lauren Pratt is the Mahomet-Seymour School District's Behavior Coach.  She works with students, staff and families to support the social and emotional needs of students in the school setting.  

In her presentation "When Little Kids Have Big Feelings," Lauren will provide tips and tricks to helping young children identify their emotions and regulate them.  This is a great presentation for parents of children 2-8 years of age.  

Philisha Paragi is a special education teacher at Middletown Prairie Elementary school.  She is very passionate about the science of reading and giving young children the tools to be successful readers who enjoy literature.  

In her presentation "There Is No App to Replace Your Lap," Philisha will provide parents with strategies to increase engagement with books for young children.  This is a great presentation for parents of children 2-8 years of age.   

Alisa Lamb has been an occupational therapist for over 20 years, and has spent the last 15 years working in the Mahomet-Seymour School District.  Throughout her career, Alisa has also worked in outpatient pediatrics, Early Intervention with birth to 3 children, NICU, acute care, rehab, outpatient neuro, extended care/skilled nursing, and with various clinics (Child Diagnostic Clinic at Carle, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinic, Muscular Dystrophy Clinic, How to Lose the Training Wheels Clinic, Very Low Birthweight Clinic).  Alisa teaches several pediatric lectures and labs at the Parkland Occupational Therapy Assistant Program and has also been a guest speaker at several Early Intervention courses about sensory processing.  In each setting, she really enjoys not only working with the specific client, but also educating parents and families of the clients as much as possible about how occupational therapy strategies can be helpful to “extend” the session into his/her everyday life.

Does your child seem to hold everything together at school, but come home and have the world’s biggest meltdown…just for you?  Does your child seem to crash off the walls, do endless somersaults, hang upside down, and do everything it takes to avoid going to bed? Is your morning routine a total nightmare trying to get your child to focus to listen to one direction to brush his/her teeth before the bus comes? If any of this sounds familiar, this session may be for you!  We will talk about sensory processing and how it affects children in different ways.  We will also talk about programs such as Zones of Regulation and How Does Your Engine Run? to provide you with visuals and tools for adding easy strategies into your daily routine that will hopefully make a difference in the way that your child processes sensory information.  You will walk away with tips and tricks for how you can use sensory strategies at home to make your life a little easier!  This is a great presentation for parents of children 2-8 years of age.  

Angie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education, as well as a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).  She is entering her 22nd year in education, 21 of them working as a Special Education teacher/case manager. She has worked at all grade levels from elementary through college and specializes in Executive Functioning skills. In addition to teaching full time, Angie has worked as an Executive Function coach for the past 4 years and finds great joy in helping students grow and develop those critical skills. Currently, Angie is a high school Support Services teacher/case manager at MSHS and also serves as the district's content area specialist for Executive Functioning. Having a neurodivergent child herself, Angie empathizes with parents who are navigating the educational system and laying the groundwork for their child's future success. 

In her presentation  "Executive Functioning and Your Teen," Angie will provide an in depth description of what EF skills are, why they are important, and how they can be better developed. Information about brain development related to executive functioning skills will also be shared. Tips and strategies for helping support your teen at home and at school will be provided, as well as practical approaches that can be easily implemented. This is a great presentation for parents of students ages 11-18.  

Annie Bruno is the Ligas Family Advocate for Central & Southern Illinois. She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, as well as a Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional. Annie has over fifteen years of experience working with individuals with disabilities and their families. She has spent time as a Service Facilitator in the Home Based program and as an Independent Service Coordinator at an ISC agency. Annie has a background in consulting and is passionate about assisting families with navigating complex service systems and connecting to available resources.

Join us to learn about the PUNS waitlist and services available in Illinois through the Home and Community Based waiver program. Attendees will become familiar with the purpose of the PUNS waitlist, how to navigate a PUNS selection, and how to choose what services are right for your loved one.  This is a great presentation for parents of students of all ages!

Angel Wawrzynek is a partner at Constant Wawrzynek & Grove, LLC. in Mattoon, Illinois.  She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to assisting people in navigating the legal system for their loved ones.

Have you heard the term “special needs trust” and wondered what they are and how they work? Have you wondered how to open a guardianship or how they work or whether guardianship would even benefit your family’s situation? Learn about the use of special needs trusts to protect and preserve eligibility for state and federal benefits as well as the purpose and use of guardianships to care for a loved one with a disability. Also covered: a primer on opening a guardianship, a discussion of the two types of special needs trusts (third party SNT and first part SNT), and considerations in deciding whether trusts and/or guardianships are appropriate for your situation. This is a great presentation for parents of students ages 14-22.