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What: Do you need to know more about how to promote successful outcomes for your students in the area of math skills? Come to the MASP Summer Institute to discover how to apply recent research findings in your classroom. Learn the essentials of math preparation that we now know underlie proficiency in mathematics, including the importance of effective instruction. Find out the implications for identifying mathematics disabilities and for planning intervention. This is an important conference because there is a great deal of new evidence about how to foster the acquisition of good math skills, information that is not widely known yet. This will be one of the first opportunities that most people in our audience will have to learn about current knowledge on how children learn mathematics and how that learning can go wrong. Presenter One of the world's leading authorities on how children develop understanding of mathematics, Michèle M.M. Mazzocco is a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is the principal investigator for the Math Skills Development Project at the Kennedy Krieger School. With Daniel B. Berch, she is the co-editor of Why Is Math So Hard for Some Children?: The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities, a respected book that provides, in the words of one fan, "an exceptional review of literature on LD in maths." Dr. Mazzocco initiated the Math Skills Development Project in 1997, through which she has followed a group of students from kindergarten through 9th grade (so far!). This project involves an extensive study of normally developing children, children who have learning disability not associated with a genetic condition, and children who have genetic conditions that are known to contribute to math disability. The focus of the research is to seek an understanding of how cognitive, behavioral, and genetic factors contribute toward successful mathematics achievement. Dates and Times: June 12, 13, and 14, 2011 Registration opens at 5 o'clock on Sunday evening, June 12, 2011. The conference begins at 6:30 on Sunday evening and concludes for the evening at 9:30. On the following days, June 13 and 14, the conference continues from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The doors open at 8 o'clock each morning. Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Billings Treasure State Salon A & B 2465 Grant Road, Billings, Montana, USA 59102 (near Costco and Best Buy) Tel: 406-655-8800 Fax: 406-655-8802

What: Kids spend an average of more than 7 hours a day with some form of media.  As a result, they sometimes grow up having more interaction with TV, the Internet, and other media messages than people.  Media Literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages of all kinds.  This interactive training will explore basic concepts of media literacy by examining TV commercials, messages and print ads, and tobacco and alcohol marketing.  We will work in small and large groups to discuss the language of persuasion, deconstruct ads, and create counter messages.  After this training, participants will have a greater understanding of media literacy and walk away with tools they can use with their learners. Objectives: Participants will define media literacy and understand some techniques of persuasion. Participants will understand how media literacy education helps prevent tobacco and alcohol initiation among youth. Participants will learn new media literacy activities and exercises they can do with their learners. The Media Literacy Professional Development Project will assist the state's school districts in meeting the Montana media literacy content standards by offering Media Literacy Professional Development (PD) to Montana teachers.  Please note that media literacy is included in both Curriculum Arts and Health Enhancement standards. OPI Renweal Units are available. There are no fees for this taining but registration is required. SCHEDULED WORKSHOPS: May 6, 2011 - (9:00 to Noon) May 11, 2011 - (9:00 to Noon) May 17, 2011 - (9:00AM to Noon) All workshops are scheduled at for MSUB, College of Education Building, Room 122. TO REGISTER: For further information go to http://www.msubillings.edu/smart/training/medialiteracy.htm To register go to http://www.msubillings.edu/mcdregister/MediaLiteracyRegistration.htm

What: Please mark your calendar and join us at the 2012 Parent Involvement Conference. This year's conference will take place at the Doublewood Inn, in Fargo, ND on April 26th, 27th, & 28th (until noon).  The conference is jointly hosted by the Pathfinder Parent Center, the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Human Services - Part C and the Anne Carlsen Center. Parents, educators, social workers, & therapists are all invited. The Anne Carlsen Center is hosting several technology speakers and keynotes. There will be a joint registration that opens right after the new year. Email dpage@nd.gov and we will send you a link when the registration is ready. Stipends will be available for parents living outside of the Fargo area through a grant from the ND State Council on DD.  Details will be available when registration opens.  If you would like to be considered as a presentor for the conference, contact cathyh@pathfinder-nd.org or call 1.800.245.5840 When: April 26 - 28, 2012 Where: Doublewood Inn 3333 13th Ave S Fargo, ND

Click here to download the flyer (PDF) Who We Are: Family Solutions is a group of parents and caregivers of children with mental health issues who meet once a month for the purpose of confidentially supporting one another and sharing resources. All are welcome to join with us and share experiences and lessons they’ve learned along the way. When: October 28, 2011 6:00pm - 7:30pm Where: The Summit (Conference Room 2) 205 Sunnyview Lane, Kalispell MT Who to Contact: If you have questions, contact Kristy Negri by phone at 406-261-2440 or by e-mail at kristy.negri@pluk.org. Additional Information: A light dinner will be provided. Please RSVP Kristy, either by phone or e-mail, if you will be attending.

Apps for Children with Special Needs (a4cwsn) is committed to helping the families and carers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective. Our aim is that these videos, along with relevant information and advice from an independent source you can trust, provides valuable insight into whether a product is suitable for its intended purpose or not, enabling sensible buying decisions to be made. We hope this site and its content provides a valuable resource to the community that serves our precious children with special needs.

There are many signs or clues to dyslexia which are discussed in depth on this website; however it is also important to be aware of the misconceptions and myths surrounding the disorder. There are several myths regarding dyslexia. We have highlighted some of the more common ones.

Traveling with disabilities is not only possible, it can also be a wonderful, life-changing experience. Whether you are visiting relatives or going on vacation, traveling can bring out many different reactions and emotions. However before you get to your final destination there is much planning that must be done. Traveling with a child that has special needs is not easy task. There are many details that should not be overlooked. To help you get to your destination as easily as possible we have created the Special Needs Travel Guide

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.

We are pleased to announce the release of a new FREE online training curriculum, Montana Integrated Vocational Employment Specialist Training (MT INVEST).  MT INVEST is a joint project of the Developmental Disabilities Program and Vocational Rehabilitation, and is available to our employment partners and the public throughout the State of Montana! 

The Council for Exceptional Children provides ongoing articles and updates (based on research) to support that students with varying abilities are capable of reaching higher levels of achievement than was once thought possible. The trick comes as we strive to update the mindsets of administrators, teachers and families (as well as the personal belief systems of the students) about the capabilities of diverse learners.

We all know how important it is for parents to have open lines of communication with their children’s school. Parents want to be champions for their children and to protect their interests and to do this they need information. When it comes to information that is stored digitally, parents often ask questions such as: What information are you collecting about my child? Why do you need that information, and what do you use it for? How do you safeguard my child’s information?

“We are finding more solid evidence, based on higher quality studies, that these early intensive behavioral interventions can be effective for young children on the autism spectrum, especially related to their cognitive and language skills,” said lead author Amy Weitlauf, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator. “But the individual response to these treatments often varies from child to child.”

This week, we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law. This landmark legislation was the nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities. It prohibited discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.

Legendary Women, Inc. was able to speak with two outspoken bloggers and activists about the way people were discussing the measles outbreak, the misinformation of the anti-vaccine movement, and the demonization of the autistic community in the middle. In part one, we spoke with Squidalicious writer and The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism co-founder, Shannon de Roches Rosa. In a few days, we’ll be posting part two of this piece with Sara Kurchak.