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SPED*NET New Canaan Conference Archives:
Positive Behavioral Supports 11/07
High School Inclusion 3/28/07
Inclusive Education: Promising Practices 10/03
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April 7, 8 & 9, 2008: Kathie Snow is coming to Connecticut! Co-sponsored by STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way…, www.starinc-lightingtheway.org and SPED*NET New Canaan. Supported by the CT Down Syndrome Congress and The State Department of Education. CEUs will be granted by New Canaan Public Schools. For more info on Kathie Snow, check www.disabilityisnatural.com.
April 7: Evening at Saxe Middle School, 468 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT, 06840. $10 covers light refreshments and materials. Walk-ins are $15. Disability is Natural and Other Revolutionary Common Sense. Kathie’s “signature” presentation—new attitudes and perceptions, including the importance of People First Language and focusing on people’s strengths, gifts, and abilities.
6 to 7, registration, refreshments, book sales, and networking. 7 to 9, presentation. 9 - 9:30, book sales and refreshments.
April 8 & 9: Full day at Chatham Manor, 493 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854, (203) 838-8598, www.chatham-manor.com. Choose one day only, each presentation covers the same material. Please note that the evening program is NOT a repeat of the day program.
$75 includes breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, and all materials.
$60 for family members.
$30 for self-advocates.
Call for group rates.
Walk-ins are $100.
Please register ahead of time due to extensive materials, comfortable seating planning, and keeping the chef sane!
Registration and breakfast:: 8 to 9. Presentation: 9 to 3.
Disability is Natural and Other Revolutionary Common Sense. Morning session.
Yes, like gender, ethnicity, and other traits, disability is one of many natural characteristics of being human! What can happen when we deconstruct disability, use People First Language, and focus on people’s strengths and abilities? Awesome change is possible when we think differently and talk differently!
Best Hopes; Worst Fears. Afternoon session.
What does it take to ensure children and adults with disabilities are living real lives, included in all environments? Let’s examine our best hopes and worst fears, explore barriers, and brainstorm solutions. Let’s follow the wisdom of Gandhi, and “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Together we can do it!
This workshop is for:
General education and special education teachers, administrators, therapists, related services, families, and direct service providers that work with individuals with developmental disabilities. Anyone who cares about someone with a disability will benefit from this conference.
More about Kathie Snow:
Since the way we think drives the way we act, Kathie believes real change can only occur if we first acquire new attitudes and perceptions about individuals with disabilities. Kathie is the parent of two young adults, one of whom has a disability diagnosis, and she combines her earlier career in the media with personal experiences in the disability arena to ignite positive and long-lasting change. Kathie also believes the inclusion of people with disabilities can best be accomplished when they move from clienthood to citizenship, and replace traditional “special” and segregated services with assistance from the abundant supply of natural supports and generic services that exist in every community. And everyone has an important role to play in this effort!
In lively and insightful workshops in more than forty states and in Canada, Kathie questions today’s conventional wisdom, suggests alternatives to traditional services for people with disabilities, and covers a variety of topics including: People First Language, developing new attitudes and perceptions, using natural supports and generic services to create inclusive communities, cooperative advocacy, inclusive education, legislative issues, effective partnerships, systems change, empowerment, disability history, and more. While she’s been a “trainer” for 16 years, she still considers herself a “student”— learning from individuals with disabilities, family members, and others who attend her presentations and touch her life in a variety of ways.
Kathie is the author of Disability is Natural: Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising Successful Children with Disabilities (now in its second edition) and 101 Reproducible Articles: Revolutionary Common Sense for a New Disability Paradigm. Her books, the Disability is Natural DVD, a variety of articles, and an assortment of bright, colorful, and positive “Disability is Natural” products are featured on her website www.disabilityisnatural.com. Several universities are using Disability is Natural as a textbook, and articles from her “Revolutionary Common Sense” web page and her free E-Newsletter are frequently reprinted in other publications and websites. She created the Bowl of Apples logo to illustrate a new way of thinking: just as apples are natural, disability—like gender, ethnicity, and other characteristics— is a natural part of life. (This paradigm shift is included in the Federal Developmental Disabilities Act.) Kathie is also the author of the widely-disseminated “People First Language” article.
A graduate of the first class of Texas Partners in Policymaking (a disability leadership training program) in 1991, Kathie now presents at Partners programs in many states and provides technical assistance to many Partners coordinators. In addition, she presents keynotes and workshops at international, national, and state conferences, and has coordinated conferences and developed training curriculum.
Native Texans, Kathie and her family have resided in the Colorado mountains since 1991. Before the births of her children, she was a broadcast television writer, producer, and director and a print journalist. She’s energetic, positive, and determined to help create a society in which all are valued and all belong.
Kathie Snow
250 Sunnywood Lane, Woodland Park, CO 80863-9434
719-687-8194 — kathiesnow@msn.com
state-wide breakfast conference:
For flyer with mail-in registration… Pdf
November 15, 2007: 8 am to noon. State-wide breakfast conference.Sue Izeman, PhD., and Todd Kellogg, MA, will presenton Positive Behavior Supports - Individual and Whole School Approaches.
Held at: The Norwalk Inn and Conference Center,
99 East Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06851
(203) 838-2000
Participants will learn about key components of positive behavior supports: what IDEA says that IEP teams must do when a child’s behavior “impedes the child’s learning or the learning of other children;” what a good functional behavior assessment includes; Antecedents, Behavior, and Consequences; and how parents and schools can work with together to support both individual and school-wide approaches to PBS. Specific questions will be addressed during the question and answer session. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET New Canaan, ARC (Greenwich, CT), and New Canaan Public Schools. Supported by the CT State Department of Education. CEUs granted. Registration and continental breakfast from 8 to 9. Presentation from 9 to noon. For more info, email Beth Lurie at lurie@spednet.org.
This workshop is for:
General education and special education teachers, administrators, parents, and other educators interested in supporting children with behavior challenges.
This workshop will cover:
- Definition of Positive Behavioral Supports
- Philosophy and assumptions of PBS
- School-wide strategies for reducing problems and increasing positive behavior for all students
- Functional assessment of problem behaviors
- Developing, implementing, and evaluating individual behavior plans
Expected outcomes:
Participants will increase their understanding of the benefits of positive behavioral strategies; the basic assumptions and steps associated with PBS; strategies for increasing positive behaviors for all children.
Participants will be able to identify the major functions of problem behaviors; use functional information to develop prevention and reaction strategies; use behavior information to teach replacement skills for problem behavior; identify classroom-wide or school-wide strategies for building success.
Registration fees:
$40 per person includes tuition for the half day workshop, continental breakfast, and training materials.
For online registration, $42, to cover cost of PayPal fees.
Your instructors:
Susan Izeman is Director of the the Greenwich Autism Program of ARC-Greenwich, CT. Dr. Izeman is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with children with autism spectrum disorders and children with challenging behavior for almost 30 years. As GAP’s director, Dr. Izeman has provided consultation to families, community agencies, and schools. Much of that consultation has been related to supporting children with autism spectrum disorders at home, in childcare settings, and in schools.
Todd Kellogg is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Behavior & Family Therapy Consultant for the Greenwich Autism Program of ARC-Greenwich, CT. At the Greenwich Autism Program, Mr. Kellogg works primarily with families with children with autism and other developmental disabilities. The focus of treatment is often the development and implementation of a Positive Behavior and Parenting Plan (PBPP) to address difficult behaviors while teaching new skills and promoting alternative behaviors.
Click here for PowerPoint presentation!
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SPED*NET New Canaan &
October 2003 Conference New Canaan, CT
See what we did in 2003!!!
To download a full conference brochure in black & white, click here: B&W Brochure.pdf
To download a single page flyer, click here: flyer_screen.pdf
To download a single page flyer in black & white (best for non color copies!), click here: B&W flyer.pdf
Press Release 2003
Saxe Middle School will host a statewide conference called Inclusive Education: Promising Practices. It will be a conference focused on inclusive education and best educational practices for students with developmental disabilities. It is being sponsored by the New Canaan Public Schools, Department of Special Education, Dr. Candy Lombardo, Director, and SPED*NET, Special Education Network of New Canaan, Ltd. The conference will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2003 from 8 to 3:45 pm. Saxe Middle School is located on 468 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT 06840.
The conference organizers are expecting between 250 and 300 people, and are targeting an audience of 70% professionals and 30% parents. Administrative support is being provided by STAR, Inc., Lighting the way… More information about STAR is available at http://www.starinc-lightingtheway.org. STAR, Inc. is a not-for-profit membership organization, serving infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. They create opportunities by providing personalized support and advocating for people to live full lives with independence, freedom of choice and personal growth. They educate the community to recognize the value of all individuals.
Support is also provided to the conference by a generous grant from the New Canaan Community Foundation.
Thousands of brochures and flyers were mailed, reaching every single school in Connecticut, and all disability related organizations. The conference organizers include Beth Lurie, conference chair; Dr. Candy Lombardo, Director of Special Education of New Canaan; Anne Eason, local special education attorney; and local parent Victoria Munoz. Local parent Debbie Simpson has stepped forward to handle some of the banking. The brochures and flyers were designed free of charge by Judi Sohn, Stamford graphic designer. Her work can be seen at www.momathome.com.
In addition to speakers, presentations, and an upscale lunch, a large vending area will be organized. This attraction will include commercial vendors as well as tables featuring disability related organizations. If you are interested in having a table, contact Vendor Chair, Victoria Munoz at victoriamunoz@earthlink.net.
The State of Connecticut, Department of Education, will also be present at the conference. They will address the audience and be available throughout the day with information.
NCPS and SPED*NET have secured a keynote speaker of national prominence. She is Professor Mary Falvey. Dr. Falvey is a national authority on inclusive education for students with and without disabilities. She is a professor in special education at California State University, Los Angeles and has authored three books within her field of expertise, including “Inclusive & Heterogeneous Education: Assessment, Curriculum, and Instruction.” She is currently writing a new book on Celebrating Abilities in Disabilities. In addition, she has co-authored over 17 book chapters and numerous journal articles, and has made over 250 presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences. She serves as a consultant on inclusive education for several school districts and state departments of education. Dr. Falvey is also a former Director of TASH, an international association of persons fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm.
Anyone who needs more information or wishes to volunteer to help with the conference should contact the conference chair, Beth Lurie, at (203) 966-2982 or e-mail her at lurie@optonline.net. Updated conference information will continue to be available on this website, http://www.spednet.org.
STAR, Lighting the Way… and The Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress,
Present….
Successful High School Inclusion
Presenter: Kathleen Whitbread, Ph.D.
- Held in cooperation with the New Canaan Public Schools, Dept. of Special Education, Darlene Pianka, Director
- Supported by the CT State Department of Education
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
8:00 am to 12:00 noon
8 - 8:45 am, registration & breakfast. 8:45 to 12 noon, presentation.
$30 registration in advance, includes a continental breakfast. $40 at the door.
Held at the Norwalk Inn and Conference Center, 99 East Ave, Norwalk, CT 06851.
Cosponsored by SPED*NET New Canaan, STAR, Lighting the Way… and The Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress.
CEU’s will be available. Yes, we accept purchase orders from schools.
About the program:
This seminar is designed to help parents and professionals design educational programs that enable students with disabilities to be successfully educated in their neighborhood high schools. The session will include resources and hands-on activities to enable participants to practice techniques and strategies for providing access to the general education curriculum for students of all abilities.
About the speaker:
About the speaker: Kathleen Whitbread, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the UConn Center on Disabilities, where she directs several statewide projects focused on access to the general education curriculum for students with significant disabilities. Dr. Whitbread has more than 25 years of experience providing training and technical assistance to school districts and families in inclusive education, positive behavior supports, and family-school partnerships. Dr. Whitbread is the editor of The Inclusion Notebook, an award winning, internationally distributed publication of best practices in inclusive education. She has published articles on her research in Teaching Exceptional Children, The New England Reading Association Journal, and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education and is co-author, with Anne Eason, of the book IEP and Inclusion Tips for Parents and Teachers.
For more information about the program, contact Anne Eason at 203-966-9709 or eason55@aol.com.
Click here for a flyer on the conference: PDF or Word
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