Group items tagged

This morning, I read an article online at Education Week titled, "Where Are the Autism Teaching Competencies?" (1)  This commentary calls attention to the fact that only a few states have set forth autism competencies for teachers. What is most interesting is that a few states, both Virginia and California, have successfully this accomplished this task. Yet the majority of states haven't figured create or adapt currently existing autism teaching competencies.

Click here to download full brochure (PDF) What: This workshop is designed for parents, educators, tutors, and aides working with children with autism in an ABA and/or Verbal Behavior Program. Participants will be able to identify examples of verbal operants, identify methods for developing and maintaining motivation, identify effective data collection, and how to teachchildren both in the classroom and in the natural environment. This workshop is designed for parents, professionals and paraprofessionals to learn how to implement behavioral teaching strategies. Participants will not only be shown how to implement a variety of teaching procedures, but will also practice those procedures and receive individualized feedback on the implementation of the techniques. The workshop will also cover the behavioral analysis of expressive language (Verbal Behavior), the basic principles of behavior, and an analysis of motivational strategies to keep the learner actively participating in the learning activities. When: November 2-4, 2011 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Where: Hilton Garden Inn 2520 14th Street SW Great Falls, Montana 59404

The OPI Montana Autism Education Project is providing a limited number of FREE parent subscriptions for the Autism Training Solutions online autism/behaviorism training program. The subscriptions will begin in late March and will last for 90 days. For each individual subscription, the parent watches short online videos and then answers quizzes. Parents will have 24/7 access to 13 hours of online video lessons teaching: Antecedent Interventions Consequence Interventions Teaching New Behavior Principles of Behavior: Behavior Reduction Principles of Behavior: Reinforcement Introduction to Austim Spectrum Disorders Teaching to Request/Mand Instructional Control Participants will be asked to complete a training survey at the conclusion of the pilot project. At the end of the pilot project each participant receives a certificate of completion. More information and a free trial of the program can be found by searching the web for, "Autism Training Solutions." If you are interested in participating in this FREE training please send an email with the subject line of "ATS Parent Account" to DDOTY@MT.GOV Please include the following information in your email: Your name Your child's gender and age The town in which you live Thank you, Doug Doug Doty, Coordinator Montana Autism Education Project Montana Office of Public Instruction

Click here to view registration form and get more information!What:Any reading program can be “powered up” when delivered with effective instructional techniques. Participants will review the “Big Five” strands of reading instruction with a particular focus teaching vocabulary and comprehension both as part of reading instruction and in content areas. They will learn and practice evidence based, explicit teaching techniques, practices and activities that can increase student learning whether used with large groups, small groups or individual students.Register online at http://www.formsite.com/hpsk12/form48873536/index.html.When and Where:January 25, 2012 - Havre, Montana - Fifth Avenue ChurchJanuary 26, 2012 - Great Falls, Montana - Hampton Inn8:00 am - 3:30 pm MTContact:Aileen Couch, CoordinatorPhone: (406) 265-4356 ext. 322Fax: (406) 265-8460Email: cspd@havre.k12.mt.us

When: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm (Mountain time) What: Tricks and Treats of Teaching Techniques for Students with ADHD Who: Sandra Rief, MA Description: Do the symptoms of ADHD get in the way of your students understanding and completing their school work? Do your students with ADHD face obstacles when it comes to staying on task for classroom assignments? Whether your students are resistant to writing or become overwhelmed with multistep math problems, Sandra Rief knows the “tricks” to help persevere past ADHD symptoms in the classroom. Her helpful “treats” involve techniques and strategies that are useful for both parents and teachers to help students with ADHD.

SEN Teacher provides cost-free teaching & learning resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities. All the resources available or listed here are free for use in schools, colleges and at home.

When: May 20-21, 2010 Day Two : May 21, 2010 Who Should Attend: Social Workers Counselors Teachers Juvenile Court and Probation Staff Residential Treatment Staff Daycare Staff Parents and More! Objectives: Describe how different explanations for and interpretations of challenging behavior in kids can lead to dramatically different approaches to intervention, and why conventional reward and punishment procedures may not be effective for many challenging kids Identify and assess the various cognitive skills that are central to handling life’s social, emotional, and behavioral challenges • Identify and prioritize unsolved problems precipitating challenging behavior The three basic mechanisms by which adults handle problems and unmet expectations in kids (Plans A, B, and C) and what is accomplished by each, and the three steps or “ingredients” of Plan B How to effectively implement Plan B to develop a helping relationship, solve problems, teach lagging cognitive skills, and reduce the frequency and intensity of challenging behavior in schools, homes, and restrictive therapeutic facilities

One of the hardest things about parenting older kids who are on the autism spectrum is recognizing that the issues they're dealing with as teens are very different from the ones they dealt with in elementary school. It's so much easier -- and more comfortable -- for us to think about birthday parties and playground friendships than it is to tackle the prom and dating, isn't it?

 "Suddenly, the question is not simply, 'How do I teach my child this or that?' but a much more complicated 'How do I teach my child not to need me to teach him anymore?'" writes Claire Scovell LaZebnik in Growing Up on the Spectrum: A Guide to Life, Love, and Learning for Teens and Young Adults with Autism and Asperger's.

Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior

Creating Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior is a FREE product developed by the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) that gives teachers practical strategies, developed from TACSEI’s research activities and experiences in Positive Behavior Support, to  create a plan to support young children who are having challenging behavior.

Welcome to the Family Center on Technology & Disability's Online Discussion Center. Join us this month for a discussion of "Improving Teaching and Learning through Technology." Led by national experts, Lisa Thumann and Karen Janowski, our discussion will range from the specifics of using particular applications for both teacher and student learning to the results of recent research on best classroom practices. Our threaded discussion format allows you to follow individual lines of discussion, start new topics, and easily post questions and comments.

Improving Teaching & Learning through Technology with Karen Janowski and Lisa Thumann

Webinar - All About Apps for Education: Just the Apps and Nothing but the Apps Thursday, May 5, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mountain – Web-Based Training, register Discover the wonderful world of apps for education. This webinar will help you navigate and maximize your use of the iPod/iPad. The presenters will take you on an app adventure and share a variety of apps in such categories as early childhood, literacy, autism, communication, organization, and more. Funding for this webinar is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. The source of funding is from federal award, Grants to States-Special Education CFDA 84.027, P.L. 108-446 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Basic Vocabulary Organization in PRC Devices Monday, May 16, 2011, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register This free workshop is for parents and professionals to learn more about Unity vocabulary organization included in all Prentke Romich Company PRC Communication or AAC Devices.  Participants will be introduced to the vocabulary options available.  This workshop will be held in the PACER computer lab where participants can bring their own device or use computer emulation software (Vantage Lite PASS software version 5.02).  The training will include hands-on experience to become familiar with how Unity supports creation of spontaneous novel communication, and to teach basic device operations such as customizing messages, changing icons, hiding keys, and backing up the device. The presenter is PRC Regional Consultant Helen Canfield.  The workshop is limited to 20 participants. Classroom Suite Version 4 Foundations Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who are new to (or have limited experience with) Classroom Suite V.4. The goal of the Foundation Workshop for Classroom Suite V.4 is to enable educators to use Classroom Suite to teach early concepts, reading, writing, and math to students struggling because of learning difficulties or access issues. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225. Kurzweil 3000 Version 11 Foundations Thursday, May 19, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who support students with learning disabilities and are new to (or have limited experience with) Kurzweil 3000. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225.00. Putting LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) to Work: AAC Strategies to Promote Communication Friday, May 20, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach based on neurological and motor learning principles.  The goal is to give individuals who are nonverbal or have limited verbal abilities or speech a method to independently and spontaneously express themselves.  This workshop is for parents, professionals, and SLPs and will give an overview of the LAMP treatment approach, discussion of the components of LAMP and how and why children with autism would benefit from using a voice output AAC device, and discussion of features that are beneficial for teaching language to children with autism and other disabilities.  Lunch will not be provided.  A one hour lunch break will be taken and maps to area restaurants will be provided.  This free workshop will offer 0.5 ASHA CEUs.

Many teachers (including parents) witness children who lack social competence, which includes critical, life-enriching friendship skills. As a result, these students often not only have difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships, but are poorly accepted by their peers, and may later engage in more serious and violent acts when their discourteous and disrespectful behaviors persist over time. Furthermore, social competence opens doors for academic success.

At the core of our guidebook are a set of effective strategies that teachers can use regularly in classrooms that include students with learning difficulties. These strategies have been shown to be especially effective with these students because they provide scaffolding to help with language and with understanding concepts, and the interrelationships among concepts.