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Click here to register!What:Employment rates for people with disabilities are declining: people with ASD are among the least likely to be employed. In fact, only 15 percent of working aged adults with ASD are currently employed (Cameto et al, 2003). Effective interventions are clearly needed to improve employment rates for this population. SEDL and partners on the National Advisory Panel of the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Models for Individuals with ASD project have implemented a rigorous process for identifying programs that help increase competitive, long-term employment for people with ASD. Wildwood Programs was designated as an effective program in the summer of 2011. Located in Latham, New York, this program serves people with ASD needing employment-related supports. Wildwood Programs works collaboratively with individuals, families and businesses to increase individuals' independence and integration into the community. To hear more about Wildwood Program's replicable employment services please register for this free webcast at the top of the page.When:December 14, 20111:00 - 2:00PM Mountain Contact:Please send questions to vr-autism@sedl.org

A great sense of gratitude is communicated and extended to the Helena and Montana communities over our progress toward accepting mental health disorders as a true part of the spectrum of human existence. After a sudden wake-up call this summer with a mental health crisis experienced by our son, we were surrounded by well intentioned, helpful, loving and nonjudgmental professionals and others in the community.

Click here for more information! or here to go straight to registration!What:This past summer, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports Project at the University of South Florida (funded by the FLDOE) implemented the Technology & Learning Connections: AT & UDL Team. Consisting of a team coordinator, five regional technology coordinators, and five AT/UDL resource librarians, the TCL Team is responsible for the development of an MTSS Framework for technology that includes accessible instructional materials, assistive technology, instructional technology, UDL, and virtual instruction/assessment. This presentation will share our work to date.When:Thursday, February 9, 20121:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Mountain TimeContact:Assistive Technology Industry AssociationToll-Free: 877-OUR-ATIA (687-2842) Phone: 312-321-5172 Fax: 312-673-6659 E-mail: info@ATIA.org

Click here for more information! (PDF)Cost: $15.00 non refundable - Includes lunch buffetWhat:Increasingly faced with students who present very challenging behavioral issues, most school staff have not be trained as treatment providers, but as educators. Punitive and reactive strategies are often the response of choice, in spite of the frequent negative side effects and drawbacks of such approaches. We will take a look at another approach to classroom management of oppositional and defiant students. A montana licensed psychologist in private practice in Billings, Dr. House was a school psychologist in Bozeman for a dozen years before returning to graduate school in Oregon to earn a Masters and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. He practiced a couple of years in a private psychology clinic and a year in a psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, and then shifted to a psychiatric residential treatment facility, where he filled several professional roles during his twenty one years of service, resigning from there this past summer to pursue his private practice. He is still licensed as a school psychologist and is a NCSP.When:March 14, 201211:30 am - 1:30 pmWhere:Student Union Building, Lewis and Clark RoomMSU-Billings, Billings, MTContact:Debra Miller Phone: (406)657-2312Email: dmiller@msubillings.edu

Summer is almost over, and parents everywhere are experiencing that inevitable anxiety over how to make the most of the upcoming school year. In my experience, anticipating the hurdles of reentry and carefully structuring the first few weeks of school goes a long way to setting the stage for a successful year, particularly if your child has an anxiety disorder or another psychiatric condition. With that in mind, here are some dos and don'ts for families who want to start the school year right.

Chosen to be a torchbearer at the 2012 Summer Games, blind ultra-runner Simon Wheatcroft will carry the Olympic Flame running solo -- with only the guidance of his iPhone. “If you had asked me three years ago if training alone was possible while being blind I would have said no," Wheatcroft told FoxNews.com. "Now I do it and ... I realize perhaps a lot of things are possible.” The RunKeeper app uses the GPS tracker in the iPhone to track your runs, including duration, distance, pace, calories burned, and path traveled on a map. The app reads your current stats over your headphones as you run, and the virtual coach warns if you are ahead or behind pace. “This allowed me to match distances with markers on my route. So I would pair a dip before a turn with a distance marker from RunKeeper," Wheatcroft explained.

MILWAUKEE — The 54 million Americans who have disabilities can add an impressive reference to their resumes: the nation’s governors. Governors spent much of this year’s summer meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) talking about how states can help people with disabilities find jobs. Under the direction of outgoing chair Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, the NGA has been studying the issue for the past year and has released a detailed blueprint that includes dozens of policy recommendations.

A 2012 study confirmed what many parents know well: Wandering by children with autism is common, dangerous and puts tremendous stress on families.   Amid a frightening number of wandering cases of children with autism this summer – many of them fatal – Autism Speaks wants to remind families of the resources available and the advice to follow to keep your children safe.

Federal officials are taking steps to clarify new requirements surrounding Medicaid coverage of autism treatments. Over the summer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a bulletin to states indicating that Medicaid programs across the country must provide “medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services” to beneficiaries with autism under age 21. Now, the agency is providing new details about the mandate.

Epilepsy Foundation Northwest Camp Discovery August 31–September 3 The Epilepsy Foundation Northwest’s Camp Discovery, located at Camp Fire USA’s Camp Killoqua in Stanwood, Wash. (Snohomish County), is a 4-day, 3-night camp for children and teenagers, ages 7–17, with epilepsy. It’s a great opportunity for kids to experience the fun of camp activities—swimming, fishing, sports, hiking and more—all designed to be accessible and adapted to campers’ individual needs and abilities, all in a safe, medically monitored setting. The camp is free to kids with epilepsy and costs $150 for siblings. Scholarships are available for qualified individuals, based on availability and financial need. Contact Brent Herrmann at 206-547-4551, or register at www.epilepsynw.org.

Click here to download the flyer (pdf)Friday afternoon?  Nothing to do? VSA Montana arts classes at Zootown Arts are waiting for you. They are FREE and open to children with disabilities and their siblings, ages 5-12.

Click here to download the application (PDF) What: Training to develop leadership and advocacy skills Who: For parents/caregivers of youth diagnosed with mental illness willing to use their new skills to advocate for children with mental health needs beyond the needs of their own child.

One Book - One Bozeman is a community-wide read program to promote community building and literacy through reading a common book. The Bozeman Public Library is partnering with MSU Summer Reading/Convocation, Bozeman Schools, and local businesses to bring a successful and comprehensive program into the our community.

Every September, millions of parents try a kind of psychological witchcraft, to transform their summer-glazed campers into fall students, their video-bugs into bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).

And check out the classroom. Does Junior’s learning style match the new teacher’s approach? Or the school’s philosophy? Maybe the child isn’t “a good fit” for the school.

Such theories have developed in part because of sketchy education research that doesn’t offer clear guidance. Student traits and teaching styles surely interact; so do personalities and at-home rules. The trouble is, no one can predict how.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is accepting applications for the 2011 Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program. This intensive summer program provides college students with an opportunity to work on policy issues in a congressional office and to engage in original health policy research and analysis under the guidance of Foundation research staff.