Group items tagged

Click here to download the flyer for this event (PDF) What: Transitioning from life after high school is a big process. You are not alone! Come meet other youth, parents, teachers and professionals to see all the resources that are waiting to work with you. Transition Teams are encouraged to attend. Topics covered: Youth and Adult/Professional Tracks Resource Fair with vendors for independent living, Employment/ training, Recreational, Benefits planning, and more! When: November 9-11, 2011 Where: Heritage Inn Great Falls, MT For registration and additional conference details: www.montanayouthtransitions.org

Click here to register for this event What: SAMHSA's Partners for Recovery Initiative invites you to the sixth free webinar in its series about the implementation of expanded addiction and mental health coverage outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This webinar, intended for consumers, providers, and state officials, will provide basic information about the prevention provisions and activities included in the ACA. When: June 16, 2011 11:00am Mountain Time For more information: Contact Sherie Boyd at 202-544-5478.

Background: In a recent study, 77% of students said they had been bullied mentally, verbally, and physically. 32% of parents fear for their childs physical safety at school. 282,000 students in America are physically attacked each month. The effects of Bullying often have devastating effects on a childs life. Now we can stop Bullies and we can do it FAST. FAST Defense teaches Award Winning assertiveness and self protection skills to effectively protect our children from Bullies. Using simple and effective non-violent conflict resolution skills, FAST Defense playfully gives children ages 6-12 the tools to stop bullies in their tracks. And the confidence gained from the experience empowers them in all other facets of their lives. In a fun and safe environment, this dynamic one hour program effectively teaches our children how to skillfully deal with bullies: Avoiding common playground altercations How to handle name calling and teasing Protecting personal space and possessions Assessing appropriate defense and how NOT to start a fight Verbal skills to back off a Bully Team strategies to work together to stop Bullying Physical escapes from grabs or pushes Confidence and Assertiveness Training for all walks of life. What: A 1.5 hr Assertiveness and Confidence Training for Kids ages 9-14 Where: Billings Sportsplex 5000 Southgate Blvd. (406) 839-9080 When: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:00am Mountain Cost: Free Contact: Keri or Jamie at (406) 839-9080 Brought to you by FAST Montana, Billings Chi-Tu Do, www.billingschitudo.com & the Billings Sportsplex, www.billingsplex.com

Click here to download the brochure, with registration, for this event (PDF) What: The successful implementation of Response to Intervention system involves both the collection and skillful analysis and use of data. However schools often struggle with the second half of this requirement: continuously using assessment to make data-based decisions. This workshop will focus on: A short view of the 8 Montana RtI Essential Components with an emphasis on ongoing as-sessment at the school wide and student level. Going beyond data collection to using the information to make strong, viable data-based decisions. Using benchmark data from multiple sources to develop effective instructional plans for schools, classrooms and small groups. Collecting and using various types of progress monitoring data to track the effectiveness of individual student intervention plans. Individual break-out sessions focusing specifically on DIBELS, AIMSweb and MAP systems. When: September 13, 2011 Where: Hampton Inn Great Falls, MT Free training for: Elementary teachers, Special education teachers, Administrators, and Paraprofessionals. To register online: Register online at www.havre.k12.mt.us Click on the CSPD icon (upper right hand corner) Click on CSPD Calendar

President Barack Obama signed a three-year extension of the Combating Autism Act Friday, the very day the law — and many of the programs it established — was set to expire. The reauthorization Obama signed calls for $231 million annually through 2014 to fund everything from autism research to prevalence tracking, education, early identification and intervention programs.

What: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are disability income benefits administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that also provide Medicaid and/or Medicare health insurance to individuals who are eligible. The application process for SSI/SSDI is complicated and difficult to navigate. Nationally, about 37 percent of individuals who apply for these benefits are approved on initial application and appeals take an average of two years to complete. For people who are homeless or who are returning to the community from institutions (jails, prisons or hospitals), access to these programs can be extremely challenging. Approval on initial application for people who are homeless and who have no one to assist them is about 10-15 percent. For those who have a mental illness, substance use issues, or co-occurring disorders that impair cognition, the application process is even more difficult – yet accessing these benefits is often a critical first step in recovery. SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) is an approach that helps states increase access to mainstream benefits for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness through: Strategic Planning Meeting(s) to establish collaboration among key state and/or local stakeholders and to develop an action plan for implementing the SOAR approach (e.g. SSA and Disability Determination Services (DDS); State Mental Health Agency and Department of Corrections leadership; and community homeless, health and behavioral health providers). Training of case managers using SAMHSA's Stepping Stones to Recovery curriculum that includes a step-by-step explanation of an improved SSI/SSDI application process. A Train-the-Trainer program allows for expansion and sustainability. Technical Assistance to states and communities including support for action plan implementation, training observations with feedback, and assistance with tracking outcomes in order to document success and help access additional resources.  (SOAR Technical Assistance Center. http://www.prainc.com/SOAR). When/Where: Great Falls SOAR Refresher Course September 23, 2011 & October 28, 2011  9AM – 2PM Largent Building - 915 First Avenue South Great Falls, MT (406) 761-2104 Billings SOAR Training Registration: September 28 & 29 | 8:00 – 5:00 Garfield School – Room 103 3212 1st Avenue South Billings, MT 59102 Great Falls SOAR Training Registration October 13-14, 2011 Largent Building - 915 First Avenue South Great Falls, MT (406) 761-2104 Helena SOAR Training Registration November 1-2, 2011 Disability Determination Services 2550 Prospect Avenue Helena, MT 59601

The Mountaintop couple developed an application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch that helps track behavior in autistic children. Called Behavior Tracker Pro, it was approved this summer by Apple as an "app" and was placed on the iTunes Web site, where it can be downloaded for $9.99. It has been downloaded more than 400 times, and the pace of downloads is increasing.

Since we first announced captions in Google Video and YouTube, we've introduced multiple caption tracks, improved search functionality and even automatic translation. Each of these features has had great personal significance to me, not only because I helped to design them, but also because I'm deaf. Today, I'm in Washington, D.C. to announce what I consider the most important and exciting milestone yet: machine-generated automatic captions.Since the original launch of captions in our products, we’ve been happy to see growth in the number of captioned videos on our services, which now number in the hundreds of thousands. This suggests that more and more people are becoming aware of how useful captions can be. As we’ve explained in the past, captions not only help the deaf and hearing impaired, but with machine translation, they also enable people around the world to access video content in any of 51 languages. Captions can also improve search and even enable users to jump to the exact parts of the videos they're looking for.

Click here to register for this event What: In the rush to develop collaborative care practices the use of health IT is a powerful, often overlooked, and crucial element. The University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care in northern Vermont have embarked on a project to develop Patient-Centered Medical Homes in each of our primary care practices. As part of that effort, there is a commitment that mental health substance abuse and health behavior services are central elements of the development. Dr. Kessler, a health psychologist, directs this effort. Dr. Burdick a family physician, is physician leader for outpatient implementation of the Fletcher Allen Helath Care Epic-based EHR, PRISM. Their collaboration has resulted in this project. The webinar will explore the backround and history, measure selection and process development, current status and future plans. When: Thursday, April 14th 2011, from 11:00am - 12:30pm Mountain

April is Autism Awareness Month, and to kick off events, the advocacy group Autism Speaks is releasing results of its first online community survey on livability. The organization used the data to generate a list of places to live for people with autism, reporting the places most often cited by respondents for best availability of services and resources, including educational offerings and recreational and medical services.

KALISPELL- The Flathead County Sheriff's Department is the first in the state to offer a bracelet that can track missing people that suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, Autism, Down's Syndrome and brain injuries. The Glacier Pilot Club told the Flathead County Sheriff's Department about Project Lifesaver earlier this year. It's a program that consists of a person wearing a medical bracelet that sends off a specific frequency that can be detected by using two antennas.

Diseases that were largely eradicated in the United States a generation ago—whooping cough, measles, mumps—are returning, in part because nervous parents are skipping their children’s shots. NOVA’s “Vaccines—Calling the Shots" takes viewers around the world to track epidemics, explore the science behind vaccinations, hear from parents wrestling with vaccine-related questions, and shed light on the risks of opting out.

Montana is on track to join 28 states and the District of Columbia by expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people.