Morning Workshops:
1. Stepping Into Your Future
This workshop will focus on the high-school student’s transition from school to adulthood. Eric Johnson, of VocRehab Vermont, along with Mame Grossman and Nancy Rice, both Special Educators at Mt. Mansfield Union High School, will present post-secondary options and strategies for successful transition planning from high school to work, postsecondary education, and life in the community for youth with special needs. Participants in this workshop will discuss things to consider when developing a transition plan, for while the student is in high school and how to connect to youth and adult services. The panel also includes two students who have either recently transitioned successfully or are about to make the transition. There will be additional time for Q & A. Target audience is late teens and young adults, as well as parents, educators, and professionals who are involved with the process of students transitioning to adulthood.
Facilitator: Ellen Vaut, VFN; Panel: Eric Johnson, VocRehab Vermont; Mame Grossman and Nancy Rice, Special Educators at Mt. Mansfield Union High School; and students
2. Champion Your Cause
Attendees will learn about the legislative process in Vermont from the multiple perspectives of a legislator, parents who have provided testimony at the Legislature or worked to put an act into law, and an experienced political organizer. The objective is that participants will gain a better understanding of how the legislative process works and the roles they can play in effecting change.
Facilitator: Kim Friedman, Director of Kids Are Priority One Coalition;
Panel: Patsy French, Legislator; Lisa Maynes, Parent, Developmental Disabilities Council, Medicaid Advisory Board; Lisa Erwin-Davidson, Speech Language Pathologist; and Ron Marcellus, Parent, Autism Task Force
3. Speech Recognition Software—It Really Works Now!
An overview of all the new and exciting speech-recognition software options now available on the market will be presented in the only assistive-technology program offering. Participate in a hands-on exploration and speak into the microphone and have your words translated into text on the computer screen. With the main focus being the application Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10, this workshop involves a demonstration and tips for troubleshooting voice-dictation issues. Discussion will include identifying the characteristics of a student who might benefit from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, to produce written work in a school setting.
Dan Gilman and Eileen Haddon, AT Specialists, Vermont Assistive Technology Program
4. Fun, Fitness, & Friends
A panel of leaders, who offer a variety of social and recreational opportunities, will discuss programs that can be adapted to individual needs, regardless of age, ability, cognitive impairment, or special needs. Participants will learn about ways in which children and adults can engage in an active and healthy lifestyle, through fun experiences at camp, school, and community activities. The emphasis will be on adaptive and inclusive recreation in a social environment.
Facilitator: Peggy Owen Sands, Clinical Asst Professor for VT-ILEHP
Panel: Deb Lamden, Partners In Adventure; Patrick Standen, Northeast Disabled Athletic Association( NDAA); and Joan Martin, Unified Sports of Special Olympics
5. Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Young Children
Strong lives are cultivated in childhood through positive experiences that build competence and resilience. Evidence is building that when we fail to address what is most important for the healthy social and emotional development of our most precious resource—our children, we pay a heavy price. This session will forge a pathway toward infant and toddler mental health, using principles that foster the growth of reciprocity in relationships and capacity in every child. The strategies shared are especially useful for interventionists, parents, child care providers, infant and toddler teachers, and others in understanding "ghosts in the nursery" and the resiliency issue faced by all young children today. We will realize as never before the importance of the 0-3 years in every child's life. This is the time when trust, empathy, conscience, and self-regulation are laid down.
Jeanine Fitzgerald, Better Behavior Bureau
Round Table Discussions: One of the many benefits of attending the VFN 2010 Conference is networking with other parents and professionals. The Round Table Discussions after lunch will be an opportunity to network with other conference participants in a facilitated environment. There will be numerous topics to choose from and experts from the field to answer questions and facilitate discussions. We are currently building a list of experts to join us at the conference. You will be able to choose who you talk to the day of the conference! Click to see the list - but you can decide on the day of the event.
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Afternoon Workshops:
6. Build a Better IEP
This step-by-step explanation of the Individualized Education Program process will enable parents to better understand how the plan is designed to work for their child and their role as team members. Discussion will also include suggestions around how to actively participate in the IEP planning process in order to create a well-written IEP that can help the child make meaningful progress.
Christine Kilpatrick, Director of Parent Training & Info Center, Vermont Family Network
7. Creating a Better Future through Effective Communication
Basic communication strategies, best practices, and research-based techniques for getting your point across respectfully, even in situations of conflict, will be explored during this session. There will also be time for audience scenarios and group problem-solving to highlight and implement the newly-learned strategies of this facilitated discussion. This workshop is designed for parents, school administrators, and educators.
Kathleen Kilbourne, Director of PIRC, a project of Vermont Family Network
8. Caring for Ourselves and Our Children with Special Needs
During times of unusual stress, particularly traumatic stress, such as those associated with death or divorce, family dynamics and relationships frequently suffer from the added emotional strain. However, even during ordinary times, families of children with special needs find they are often vulnerable to stress that comes with their unique set of life challenges. This workshop will explore commonly-faced challenges for families of children with special needs. Participants will: identify personal and relational stresses associated with parenting a child with special needs; examine the role of loss, grief, and mourning in their relationships to and with their children; consider preferred methods of self care and possible alternatives; examine communication patterns within the family and experiment with new ways of relating; discuss concerns about the future; and share information regarding resources for accessing support.
Dr. Marlene Maron, Director of Pediatric Psychology Service, Fletcher Allen
9. Effective Strategies for Challenging Behavior
Finding solutions for a child’s behavior issues can be challenging to parents and schools. Parents play a unique role in helping the school develop an ideal behavior plan because they have particular insight and information regarding their child. This workshop will help parents understand functional behavioral assessments and positive interventions in school and will include some practical behavior intervention strategies for the home.
Ginny Iverson, Special Educator & Educational Consultant for the Vermont State I-Team
10. Accessing Your Community
This Q & A workshop will address accessing community resources and services, particularly relating to housing, employment, and social opportunities, with the focus being on adults with developmental disabilities. Attention will also be given to the probable effects of FY 2011 budget cuts on all three of these areas, as well as how Vermont Family Network routinely provides information, services, and resources to individuals with developmental disabilities.
Claudia Inés Pringles, Family Support Consultant, VFN and Stan Baker, Clinical Director for HowardCenter Developmental Services
