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Download the Save the Date here!What:About MASPA key aspect of the mission of the Montana Association of School Psychologists (MASP) is to promote the educational and mental health needs of all children and youth. The MASP Summer Institute serves educators and other professionals who work with children and youth by offering professional development opportunities that bridge the latest research findings with real-world practice. Early Bird and student discounts will be offered! (Details will appear on the website in late March or early April.) The registration fee includes all conference materials and handouts, delicious lunches on Monday and Tuesday, and delightful snacks each day. To qualify for the student discount, you must be a student actively enrolled in an accredited degree program. Electronic registration coming in late March or early April. Intended Audiences:School Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Teachers (Regular and Special Education), and Administrators Credit available:OPI Renewal credits (12); Continuing Professional Development credits (12); Billings Public School Step-Up credit (1) When:June 4-5, 2012Where:Mansfield Health Education CenterBillings, MontanaContact:Rick BartschPhone: (406) 855-4277Website: http://www.masponline.us/summer-conference

Electronic Brailler LLC Manufacturers of the Cosmo Braille Writer and "BERT" Braille Education Remote Tool  Now as never before a blind student using a Braille Writer in the classroom can be as quiet as a sighted student writing with a pencil on paper. The non disruptive patent pending Cosmo Braille Writer is a classroom-friendly Braille writer and quiet embosser. The Cosmo Braille Writer is easy for children and adults to use, economical to run and easily maintained. For the first time in the history of Braille; Braille can be taught over the internet. BERT is a revolutionary new tool that enables both the teacher and student to communicate by voice and keyboard in real time during a remote teaching session. Any keys depressed by the student on the BERT Braille keyboard will be immediately recognized by the teacher either on their Braille display or for sighted teachers on their computer screen. BERT enables real time interactive communication between teacher and student, creating a "side by side" mode of working together.

Electronic Brailler LLC Manufacturers of the Cosmo Braille Writer and "BERT" Braille Education Remote Tool  Now as never before a blind student using a Braille Writer in the classroom can be as quiet as a sighted student writing with a pencil on paper. The non disruptive patent pending Cosmo Braille Writer is a classroom-friendly Braille writer and quiet embosser. The Cosmo Braille Writer is easy for children and adults to use, economical to run and easily maintained. For the first time in the history of Braille; Braille can be taught over the internet. BERT is a revolutionary new tool that enables both the teacher and student to communicate by voice and keyboard in real time during a remote teaching session. Any keys depressed by the student on the BERT Braille keyboard will be immediately recognized by the teacher either on their Braille display or for sighted teachers on their computer screen. BERT enables real time interactive communication between teacher and student, creating a "side by side" mode of working together.

It is estimated that as many as 1/3 of individuals with autism spectrum disorder also have epilepsy. Epilepsy is a brain disorder marked by recurring seizures, or convulsions. Experts propose that some of the brain abnormalities that are associated with autism may contribute to seizures. These abnormalities can cause changes in brain activity by disrupting neurons in the brain. Neurons are cells that process and transmit information and send signals to the rest of the body. So overloads or disturbances in the activity of these neurons can result in imbalances that cause seizures. 

In the best of circumstances, raising a toddler is a daunting undertaking. But parents under long-term stress often find it particularly challenging to tap into the patience, responsiveness, and energy required for effective child rearing. Now research from a University of Rochester team helps to explain why chronic stress and parenting are such a toxic mix. The study finds that ongoing strains, like poverty or depression, disrupt the body's natural stress response, making mothers more likely to engage in a host of problematic parenting behaviors, including neglect, hostility, and insensitivity.

Register Online or call 509-335-2321 to register. When: Monday June 28, 2010 11:30 am - 12:30pm Mountain Audience: Head Start Teachers and Staff What: This workshop gives professionals and parents strategies for creating environments that help children who are at risk due to behavior problems.   This workshop will assess the environments and gives specific examples of how to manage the environment to prevent behavior problems and teach appropriate behaviors.   This workshop stresses meeting the needs of the child and presents strategies that are nonpunitive. This workshop discusses behavior management strategies that will be effective for young children who need additional assistance in maintaining or learning appropriate social skills and behaviors at home and at school.  These are children who are disruptive in daycare or preschool settings and/or difficult at home. This workshop will also address the needs of children who display violent behaviors toward adults and other children.

MONDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive levels of aggression, and a history of insufficient response to stimulant medication may benefit from a protocol of individually optimized stimulant monotherapy and behavioral intervention, according to research published online Sept. 13 in Pediatrics.

Anyone who’s travelled with a person with autism can tell you how disruptive it can be. While strange places, airport security, traffic jams, and the lack of decent legroom are enough to put anyone in a tizzy, for those who are autistic — where a day-to-day routine is critical — these interruptions can be deeply disorienting. Luckily, if you’re staying at a Wyndham hotel, you’ve got some help. In a move that could — and should — be replicated by other large hotel chains, Wyndham has begun to tailor rooms specifically to the needs of parents and their autistic children.

When: October 22nd, 9:30 am - 10:45 PM Mountain Brief Description of Webinar: A behavioral intervention gap exists, nationwide, in our schools. Indeed, surveys of schools nationwide indicate that they do not have enough professionals available to develop and implement essential social, emotional, and behavioral interventions. This is particularly compelling given the presence of many behaviorally challenging students—students who disrupt the academic climate of their classrooms, often are not academically successful, and who, many times, are early school drop-outs. This webinar discusses the need for schools to identify their behavioral intervention gaps, address them through systematic professional development programs, and implement strategic behavioral interventions so that challenging students receive the services they need and deserve. 

ASHLAND — About 20 students demonstrated Thursday at Southern Oregon University to protest an administrative decision to withdraw a student with Down syndrome.Eliza Schaaf, 20, a graduate of Ashland High School, was auditing a ceramics class as a way to share the college experience with her friends from high school, her parents said.

She already had completed two-thirds of the class when she received a letter Nov. 8 notifying her she would be withdrawn because she was not qualified to meet academic standards, even with accommodations, and disrupted instruction in the class. The letter also said the family would be given a full refund of tuition and fees.

Members of Schaaf's class and the university's Student Senate have formally opposed the administration's decision through petitions and a resolution.

While many happily anticipate the coming holiday season, families of people on the autism spectrum also understand the special challenges that may occur when schedules are disrupted and routines broken. Our hope is that by following these few helpful tips, families may lessen the stress of the holiday season and make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The following tips were developed with input from the Autism Society, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Easter Seals Crossroads, the Sonya Ansari Center for Autism at Logan and the Indiana Autism Leadership Network..

What: An invitation to families with a child with a disability, and families with small, fidgety children: celebrate Mother's Day by enjoying a bell choir concert with ALL the members of your family. No need to leave anyone home because they might be "disruptive." The JuBELLation Handbell Choir is graciously giving a concert just for special families. Your special child, or little ones, can move, make noise, and just be themselves while you all enjoy the music together. Please join us at First United Methodist Church, 300 East Main, at 12:30 on May 8. Cookies and milk to follow. There is no fee, but free-will donations are welcome. Come enjoy some beautiful music together! When: Sunday, May 8, 2011 12:30-2:00pm Mountain Where: First United Methodist Church 300 East Main Missoula, MT

oday, Hart continues to challenge status quo assumptions about the frequency of addiction and how drug use affects people. He’s even held Eric Holder to task for calling heroin use in the country “an epidemic.” Instead, Hart argues that the number of true addicts is much smaller, and when addiction does occur, it’s often because of environmental factors, rather than hardwired doom in the brain. His conclusion: Much of what we’ve been taught about drugs is wrong. With more than $40 billion being spent on anti-drug efforts a year, it’s not a message that many people want to hear. But when mass incarceration, often for misdemeanor drug possession charges, affects communities of color so deeply that health studies can’t conduct statistically sound surveys on the population not in prison, it’s a message that could disrupt the social order. We spoke to Hart about how he reached his conclusions and what it takes to speak truth to power in the scientific community.