Debug’d Coding – It’s Time to Include ALL Students in Coding!
September 28 | 2:00 PM CST | 60 minutes
ALL students benefit from coding opportunities, but the design of current applications limits meaningful participation of students with complex needs. Using a UDL approach, lessons, materials, and a software application were designed ensuring ALL students can actively participate in coding experiences. We’ll demonstrate how Debug’d offers important daily living skills for students who have complex learning needs while supporting teachers who are new to coding. Join us to explore our new Debug’d Inclusive coding curriculum and Weavly – a freely available, fully accessible coding interface currently under development. (Note: All materials that will be shared, have been designed to support students in English speaking classrooms. Unfortunately, these products are not currently available in other languages.)
Cost: Free
Presenter: Susie Blackstien-Adler, Christy McDonald and Leanne Husk
Level: Beginner
Coaching Parents to Use Innovative, Practical Assistive Technology Tools and Strategies for Meeting the Needs of Their Children While Learning From Home
October 6, 2021 | 2:00 PM CST | 60 minutes
For many students, especially young students and students with disabilities, teaching virtually or hybrid requires a robust level of parental involvement and support. Teachers often act as coaches for parents who help their students with early literacy skills, social skills, and IEP goals. This interactive session will focus on tips, tools, and innovative strategies for partnering with parents to meet the academic, behavioral, communication, and physical learning goals of their students.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Jennifer Courduff, Ph.D. and Sarah Orton, M. Ed.
Level: Beginner
Engaging and Interactive Literacy Journey for Learners with Severe and Multiple Disabilities
October 13, 2021 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
In this highly practical webinar session focusing on English Language Arts (ELA)-Reading activities, participants will gain skills in planning and delivering academic content to students with cognitive, communication, motor, and behavior challenges through a variety of literacy-rich activities to advance learning outcomes. Through depicting multi-sensory, hands- activities embedded in high interest scenarios, the session will demonstrate:
- Expand vocabulary skills (linking literacy with personal life experiences)
- Develop comprehension skills to identify main theme, characters, events, and conflicts in stories.
- Increase concept knowledge.
Participants will increase their knowledge of how to apply universal design for learning principles (UDL) to ensure accessibility and foster active learner participation, adjust the task complexity level aided with diverse teaching tools, and assistive technology supports matched to individual students’ strengths and needs.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy, MA, Author & Educational Consultant
Level: Beginner
Making Math Relevant and Meaningful: Hands-on Activities to Engage Learners with Severe and Multiple Disabilities
November 4, 2021 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
In this highly practical webinar session focusing on Mathematics instructional activities, participants will gain skills in planning and delivering academic content integrated with functional activities to advance the learning outcomes for students with severe cognitive, communication and motor and behavior challenges. Through depicting several multi-sensory, hands- activities, the session will demonstrate how to address key concepts in Math content area using high interest scenarios:
- To use numbers in a variety of forms to solve problems in daily life.
- To increase awareness of amount, size, time concepts and the use of measurement tools.
- To use money in real-life situations and to solve problems using combination of coins and bills.
Participants will increase their knowledge of support tools including how to apply universal design for learning principles (UDL) as well as to adapt the task complexity level in the Math content area to enhance active student participation and response and facilitate progress.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy, MA, Author & Educational Consultant
Level: Beginner
The World Returns to Somewhat Normal: Now I Have All These New Tools - How Can I Be Sure I Won’t Forget About Them?
November 10, 2021 | 2:00 PM CST | 60 minutes
The pivot to virtual/hybrid teaching and learning has literally forced educators to go all digital. Teachers are now using innovative digital tools to make learning engaging and successful during the pandemic. Now that we have all of these tools, how will we ensure that we don’t forget what we have learned when we return to F2F instruction? In this hands-on session, participants will become familiar with Task-Tool matrices that other educators have made as “Quick Start Guides” for remembering tools they found effective during the pandemic. Then, participants will create their own Task-Tool Matrix to use as a Quick Start Guide in their own classroom. Participants will then learn how to transition the matrix to an interactive, collaborative tool that can be shared with other teachers on social networks.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Jennifer Courduff, Ph.D. and Sarah Orton, M. Ed.
Level: Beginner
Mounting Speech Generating Devices and Tablets to Wheelchairs
December 14, 2021 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
This webinar will address mounting speech generating devices and tablets to wheelchairs. A variety of commercially available product options will be presented, including “off label” use of products and custom solutions. We will focus on mounting speech generating devices and tablets. Newly updated!
Cost: Free
Presenter: Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Level: Beginner
Switch Assessment, Part 1: Determining the Best Switch Type and Location for Clients with Muscle Weakness
December 16, 2021 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
This webinar will present assessment strategies to determine the optimal switch location and switch type to provide access for clients with muscle weakness. These clients require a switch placement and type that can capture very limited movement and force. Case studies will be included. Newly updated!
Cost: Free
Presenter: Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Level: Beginner
Switch Assessment Part 2: Determining the Best Switch Type and Location for Clients with Increased Muscle Tone
January 11, 2022 | 11:00AM CST | 60 minutes
This webinar will present assessment strategies to determine the optimal switch location and switch type to provide access for clients with increased muscle tone. These clients require a switch placement and type that can capture isolated movement where available. This movement may be large and forceful. Case studies will be included. Newly updated!
Cost: Free
Presenter: Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Level: Beginner
Children with ASD: Understanding and responding to the Communication, Behavioral and Social Characteristics
January 20, 2022 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
Children with autism spectrum disorder tend to process and respond to information in the environment in unique and unusual ways which frequently present challenges to educators and families. This session will illustrate how to better understand the characteristics of children with ASD and the underlying factors that contribute to their problem behaviors in order to provide individualized supports and interventions to maximize their academic, social, and behavioral outcomes.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy, MA, Author & Educational Consultant
Level: Beginner
Switch Assessment, Part 3: Determining the Best Switch Type and Location for Clients Aren't Engaged
February 8, 2022 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
This webinar will present assessment strategies to determine the optimal switch type and location for clients that are not engaged. It can be challenging to entice these clients to activate the switch and see it as a tool. Newly updated!
Cost: Free
Presenter: Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Level: Beginner
Setting and Student-specific Personalized Interventions and Supports for Children with ASD
February 22, 2022 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
This session, combining the portrayal of several student case examples and setting-specific situations, will present proactive intervention techniques and tools to reduce challenging behaviors of students with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Empowered with best-practice techniques grounded in the positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) approach, you can transform your knowledge into constructive action to achieve desirable long-term outcomes for children with ASD.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy, MA, Author & Educational Consultant
Level: Beginner
Pediatric Seating
March 8, 2022 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
This webinar will address the specific issues of Pediatric Seating. Growth, of course, is key with this population. Flexibility in a seating system is also required to accommodate orthopedic and range of motion changes and medical interventions, including surgeries and tone management. Positioning is also dependent on the mobility base, as many children use adaptive strollers, dependent manual wheelchairs, self-propulsion manual wheelchairs, and power wheelchairs. Newly updated!
Cost: Free
Presenter: Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Level: Beginner
Transform Transition Meltdown to Calm-down: Seven Support Strategies for Children with ASD
March 29, 2022 | 11:00 AM CST | 60 minutes
Changes in routines, activities, materials, or environments can trigger transition-related tantrums in children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Experiencing anxiety and stress, they may engage in aggressive or oppositional behaviors. This workshop, drawing from evidence-based best-practices, will demonstrate how to pursue child-focused approaches – seven support strategies – to prevent transition-related meltdowns and make smooth transitions.
Cost: Free
Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy, MA, Author & Educational Consultant
Level: Beginner