AAC & Proloquo2Go: How to Program for a Better Implementation and Outcome!

Glendive - August 19, 2019     Holiday Inn Express

Billings - August 20, 2019     Billings Hotel and Conv. Center

Bozeman - September 23, 2019  Comfort Inn

Havre - October 7, 2019   Best Western Plus

Great Falls -   October 8, 2019  Holiday Inn

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day

What is “best practice” for use of AAC with a student? Attendees will receive information to confidently help individuals who rely on AAC. This session will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn the “ins and outs” of the iOS app, “Proloquo2Go” from www.assistiveware.com. Participants will learn to navigate the app, discover new features and practice programming the app. The group will review case studies and talk about specific student’s needs. Julie will share teaching strategies so that interactions with AAC/Proloquo2Go are enjoyable for the student, the family,  instructor, and staff.

Attendees say: "This was the best information!  Loved it!" and "Julie is fantastic. Her excitement is contagious and her knowledge is amazing. I loved the real life examples."

Register here.
This training is FREE from the OPI Montana Autism Education Project. Six OPI renewal units will be available for this training. ASHA CEUs will not be available.

Julie A. Doerner, M.S. CCC-SLP has been a nationally certified and state licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for 16 years and she currently works for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation Tribal Health. Julie has worked as an SLP in public schools, private practice, rehab settings, and most recently at the University of Montana where she worked for the state assistive technology program, MonTECH, and the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. In that position her focus was on Augmentative Alternative Communication. Julie has been working with the Proloquo2Go app since 2012.

Workshop - A Guide to Managing Challenging Behaviors

December 6 (8:00AM to 4:00PM)Hampton Inn (Great Falls)

December 7 (8:00AM to 4:00PM)
Fifth Avenue Christian Church (Havre)

6 OPI Renewal Units
Cost is free

The Guide to Managing Challenging Behaviors training involves an in-troduction to broad-spectrum behavior analysis in the form of the Pyramid Approach to Education. Discussion focuses on the importance of addressing students’ skill deficits prior to or simultaneously with ad-dressing behavior excess or other unwanted behavior is explored. In ad-dition, issues related to teaching skills are addressed. This workshop teaches participants to determine and define unwanted behavior targeted for intervention. Participants are assisted with understanding the func-tional assessment of behavior, and the selection and teaching of alterna-tive responses to replace unwanted behavior. Participants are exposed to antecedent strategies designed to reduce unwanted behavior as well as differential reinforcement procedures and consequence based strategies. Finally, issues related to the evaluation and monitoring of behavior plans are discussed.

Registration LINK

For more information contact Aileen Couch, Region II CSPD Coordinator, at cspd@blueponyk12.com or call 406-395-8550 (ext. 6714).

Implementing Social Thinking Concepts and Vocabulary: A Day to Develop Team Creativity

Great Falls - October 11, 2017
Havre - October 12, 2017

It’s time to get practical! Learn about three core treatment-based frameworks and more than 20 unique strategies based on Social Thinking Vocabulary and related activities. Teach students to better interpret and respond to their social world by exploring how to engage in richer social observation and making smart guesses to discover hidden social rules. Learn systematic and logical ways to encourage social responsibility by learning about our own and others’ social thinking. Explore how our thinking about a situation and what we know about others can help us navigate and create the expected behaviors that support our relationships. Learn how we make these abstract concepts more concrete by reviewing a variety of activities through clinical examples.

Participants will work in groups to learn how to use Social Thinking concepts across settings, creating one or two lesson plans of their own. We explore how to make lessons applicable across a variety of environments and focus on enabling students to apply these lessons in their lives. 

Register here. 

Understanding Life Skills, Meltdowns and Sensory Proessing

Havre

August 17th

Jennifer McIlwee Myers, author of How to Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism and Growing Up With Sensory Issues, will give an enlightening understanding of how to teach life skills, how to compre- hend meltdowns from the inside out and how to understand sensory is- sues. Jennifer was diagnosed with Asperger’s at the age of 36 and has since devoted her time to learning and teaching about autism. It is her life goal to promote understanding between those with autism spectrum disorders and everyone else. She comes highly recommended by Tem- ple Grandin and Ellen Notbohm (Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew). Jennifer will give her unique perspective to help everyone in attendance understand the autism mind and equip each one with creative, practical solutions for better day-to-day functioning.

Register here.  

Webinar - Zones of Regulation, Havre, August 7th

The Zones of Regulation (2011) curriculum, comprises of lessons and activities designed by Leah Kuypers, M. A. Ed., OTR/L to help students gain skills in the area of self-regulation. The lessons and learning activities are designed to help the students recognize when they’re in the different Zones (states of alertness/moods) as well as learn how to use strategies to regulate the Zone they are in. In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students will be gaining an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading facial expressions, perspective on how others see and react to their behavior, insight on events that trigger their behavior, calming and alerting strategies, and problem solving skills.

Zones trainings provide strategies to teach students to become more aware of and independent in controlling their emotions and impulses, managing their sensory needs and improving their ability to problem solve conflicts. Practical ideas are provided that can easily be incorporated into the classroom or home.

Go here to register.

Integrating Employability Skills: Improving Transition to Employment for Students with Disabilities [PDF]

Sept. 13, 2016 (Billings - click to register)

Sept. 16, 2016 (Havre - click to register) 

Students with disabilities require many skills for post-school success, including academic knowledge, technical expertise, and a set of general, cross-cutting abilities called employability skills. The U.S. Department of Education, through an initiative of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, developed the Employability Skills Framework in an effort to clearly identify the general skills necessary for success in the labor market at all employment levels and in all sectors.  This interactive session will:

• Introduce participants to the Employability Skills Framework and explains why it is important for students with disabilities.

• Connect employability skill preparation to transition plans and lesson planning.

• Provide tools and strategies to select appropriate assessments and prioritize employability skills at the employer, district, and individual teacher levels. 

Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant at the American Institutes for Research, will be the presenter.

Beyond Compliance: Writing Quality Transition Plan - Billings

Beyond Compliance: Writing Quality Transition Plans [PDF]

Sept. 12, 2016 (Billings - click to register) 

Sept. 15, 2016 (Havre - click to register)

 

Did you know that a compliant transition plan doesn't guarantee it is meaningful plan, but a meaningful transition plan guarantees compliance? Quality transition plans - those that are both compliant and meaningful - are essential for promoting seamless and effective transitions from school to post-school living for students with disabilities. This interactive session will:

• Review the state and federal requirements, including Indicator 13, related to writing transition plans for students with disabilities.
• Highlight transition assessment strategies that support the development of quality transition plans.
• Present strategies for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of writing transition plans.
• Provide opportunities for evaluating and writing transition plans using learned strategies. 

Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant at the American Institutes for Research, will be the presenter.

 

This session is relevant for educators responsible for supporting the development and writing of transition plans. Participants are encouraged to bring samples of their own transition plans for activities.

Positive Behavioral Strategies For Students with Autism - Havre

April 29, 2016

Positive Behavioral Strategies for Students with Autism
A thorough presentation of positive behavioral interventions in a variety of environments will be presented to conference attendees. Discussion will center around types of behaviors; task avoidance, escape motivated, atten- tion seeking, behaviors that produce sensory consequences, and the role motivation plays in behavioral success in many settings-school, home, and community. Children with autism and behavioral concerns will be thoroughly discussed. The audience will be able to apply the information presented through videos, activities, and examples of how to set up positive plans for the children in a variety of environmental settings immediately in their respective situations. 

The training will also contain discussions about setting limits that work and the application of positive interventions. We will examine the common pitfalls that sabotage behavioral intervention plans and what to avoid when wanting to make significant behavioral changes. Discussion of how to conduct a Functional Behavioral As- sessment, write a Positive Behavioral Plan and use an Antecedent/Behavior/Consequence chart will be presented to the conference attendees. A brief discussion of how to draft positive behavioral goals for IEP’s of IFSP’s will also be presented.

Throughout the presentation, the attendees will receive a vast amount of information on what seems to work best for the children and adolescents with the various disabilities, and how to set up positive behavioral sup- ports and interventions for the individuals they are serving.
Content areas include: early childhood/infant; elementary/middle school; secondary school; curricula & instructional design; families; transition(s); collaboration/team building; differentiated education; involving para- educators; behavior management; assessment; autism; PBS positive behavioral supports.

Find more information and register here.  

Training for Paraprofessionals - Havre - October 2015

Respectful, well-behaved students increase the time and opportunity for teaching and learning. This workshop will focus on a medley of simple behavioral practices which can be used by individual adults to make a huge difference in creating this climate. If these behavioral structures are used consistently within and across small group, class- room and school wide settings-and combined with effective instructional strategies (the focus of the afternoon session)-powerful learning environments can be established.Powerful Teaching: Dynamic and Effective Instructional Strategies Create classrooms and small group settings that maximize student learning using effec- tive instruction and planning. Powerful instructional teaching strategies can be used effectively for all ages. (Preschool to adult) These strategies, when combined with effective behavior man- agement (Behavior Management: Do’s and Don’ts) create a positive and powerful learning en- vironment for all students.
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Zones of Regulation April 2015

The Zones is a systematic, cognitive behavior approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing all the different ways we feel and states of alertness we experience into four concrete zones. The Zones curriculum provides strategies to teach students to become more aware of, and independent in controlling their emotions and impulses, managing their sensory needs, and improving their ability to problem solve conflicts.

The Zones of Regulation incorporates Social Thinking® concepts and numerous visuals to teach students to identify their feelings/level of alertness, understand how their behavior impacts those around them, and learn what tools they can use to manage their feelings and states. (Leah Kuypers has practiced as an OT/autism specialist in school and clinical settings, specializing in self-regulation and social learning, and has worked with students of all ages and challenges, including anxiety, ADHD, and ASD. Leah created The Zones of Regulation®, a concept designed to teach self-regulation, and is author of the book and app by the same name.)

Who Should Attend: Speech & Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Regular And Special Education Teachers, Guidance Counselors, Case Managers, Specialists, Social Workers, Psychologists, School Administrators, Educational Paraprofessionals, Behavior Therapists, Parents

This free workshop is funded by the OPI Montana Autism Education Project.

2015

April 15 - Havre

April 16 - Great Falls

April 17 - Missoula

Motivating Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Learn - Great Falls and Havre February 2015

February 26, 2015
Great Falls

February 27, 2015
Havre, MT

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12 Habits of Practitioners Who are Effective at Working with Students with ASD Havre November 2014

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Capturing the Positive - Havre, October 13 2012

In this session, we will learn the connection between behavior and communication. The participants will understand the methods of communication and the function of behaviors. Participants will also be given an overview of strategies for positive behavioral supports. In break-out sessions participants will integrate strategies for home, school, and community that will allow students with ASD to thrive.

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PECS Training in Havre and Great Falls September 19-20, 2011

August 18-19 in Havre. 
September 19-20 in Great Falls. 

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PECS Training in Havre and Great Falls 2011

August 18-19 in Havre.

September 19-20 in Great Falls.

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