Specialized Topics Strand



Attention, Please: Evidence-Based Instruction For Children with AD/HD Presenter: Shari Gent Intended Audience: Elementary/Middle School Educators Instructional Time: 6 hours Do you have students who can't sit still, constantly disrupt others, or just stare into space? This training will provide the background information and specific strategies you need to teach students with ADHD. Participants will: Understand how ADHD behavior differs from normal Learn about the latest research on ADHD and the brain Apply research to practical strategies Learn effective strategies for universal, small group and individualized settings

Ensuring Student Success: Understanding 504 Presenter: Mary Anne Nielsen Intended Audience: Families and Educators Instructional Time: 3 hours This workshop will familiarize educators and families with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its impact on children with disabilities. Participants will learn: Educators' responsibilities under the law The differences between 504 and special education Sample accommodations

Executive Functioning: Helping Students Learn How to Learn Presenters: Diann Grimm and Jennifer Simmons Intended Audience: All Educators Instructional Time: 6 hours How students "execute" or carry out tasks is crucial for school success. However, the complex cognitive skills required for effective task completion are often overlooked and misunderstood. This training will present an overview of executive functioning and provide intervention ideas tha address the influence of executive functioning on school success. Participants will: Define the skills and behaviors associated with executive functioning Understand executive functioning from a developmental perspective and recognize deficits in students Appreciate the executive functioning demands of class work and homework Utilize strategies to assist students with executive functioning deficits Provide a classroom environment that promotes effective executive functioning for all students Note: This training will not address the learning needs of students with severe disablities

Middle and High School Transition Portfolios Presenters: Priscilla Harvell and Renee A. Dawson Intended Audience: Secondary Educators Instructional Time: 6 hours The Middle and High School Transition Portfolios provide teachers with meaningful, student-focused Transition activities that are aligned with the California Standards. This presentation shows both general and special education teachers how to use the Transition Portfolios to connect Transition activities for post-secondary outcomes with the core curriculum. Participants will: Understand basic changes to Transition under IDEIA 2004 Learn how to connect California Standards to Transition requirements Master strategies to facilitate student-centered planning Prepare students for post-secondary activities

Promoting Social Competence: Effective Strategies for Busy Teachers
Presenters: Diann Grimm and Phoebe Howard

Intended Audience: All Educators
Instructional Time: 6 hours

Social competence is crucial for positive interactions, successful interpersonal relationships and academic accomplishment. Educators are often overwhelmed with the rigorous demands for academic progress and have little time to devote to structured instruction in social skill development. This training will present ideas, strategies and simple interventions that only require learning them and remembering to use them! Participants will:

Understand development factors related to growth of social competence
Clarify the difference between behavior problems and social skill deficits
Integrate social learning opportunities into the curriculum
Use effective strategies to promote social development throughout the day
Recognize how to facilitate positive student-to-student interactions

Note: This training will not address social skill intervention for the moderate-severe population or low functioning students on the autism spectrum.


Students with Moderate to Severe Developmental Disabilities Presenters: Ann England and Rebecca Steinberger Intended Audience: IEP Team and Families, Preschool to 8th Grade Instructional Time: 6 hours This training presents strategies to prevent problem behavior, develop meaningful activities, address IEP goals in all settings and develop adaptations to assist students to meet their potential. Opportunities to experience simple/low technolgoy augumentative communication devices will be provided. Participants will: Have a deeper understanding of the needs of students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities in preschool-eighth grade programs Leave with ideas and tools to use for instruction and behavior change Learn strategies to prevent and/or reduce problem behaviors Review curriculum modifications and accommodations Discuss least restrictive environments for this population Provide an opportunity to experience some simple, low technolgoy augmentative communication devices Note: This training will not address social skill intervention for the moderate-severe population or low functioning students on the autism spectrum.

The ABC's of a Transition Functional Assessment Model(TFAM): Connecting Assessment to Transition Goals Presenters: Priscilla Harvell and Renee A. Dawson Intended Audience: Middle/High School Educators Instructional Time: 3 hours New requirements under the IDEIA 2004 direct the use of "appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments....(20 USC1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VII)". This training offers an appropriate Transition assessment model for teachers of students with moderate to severe disabilities and complies with the IDEIA expectations. Participants will: Learn to develop goals based on assessemnt outcomes Assist students in meeting their full potential in multiple environments Education Employment Daily living skills Note: Training content also applicable for teacher of sudents with mild disabilities.

Will He Catch Up? Talking to Parents about Cognitive Impairment Presenter: Jennifer Simmons Intended Audience: School Psychologists Instructional Time: 3 hours One of the most challenging tasks school psychologists face is delivering a Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability diagnosis to parents to parents. This workshop will prepare school psychologists to discuss cognitive impairment with parents in a straightforward and respectful manner. Participants will: Examine stereotypes that influence atitudes about cognitive impairment Recognize normal and abnormal parent reactions to learnint that their child has Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability Understand that acceptance of the diagnosis is a process Learn to avoid common pitfalls that undermine credibility