The Eighth National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute:mtgagenda.asp

Agenda

View Agenda (PDF: 380kb)

Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

Welcome and Opening Address

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

1 : 30 PM - 3 : 00 PM

Welcome

Shelley deFosset, Sam Odom, Pam Winton

Living Life Inclusively: Communities of Practice as a Way of Moving Beyond Information to Wisdom-Based Action

Ann Turnbull
Opening Address: Living Life Inclusively: Communities of Practice as a Way of Moving Beyond Information to Wisdom-Based Action (PPT: 10696kb)

Ann will share a vision of what it means to live life inclusively – a sense of belonging in nuclear and extended families, neighborhoods, preschool programs, community recreation, religious communities, and other settings. She will emphasize a process of wisdom-based action which involves integrating the best available research, most relevant experience-based knowledge, and most current policy. She will emphasize what can be accomplished through family-professional partnerships that move people from simply knowing “best practice” to thinking and acting wisely. Finally, she will highlight how the Early Childhood Family Support Community of Practice is seeking to learn more about how to best support families and practitioners to take wise action concerning how to live life inclusively.

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Concurrent Sessions

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

3 : 00 PM - 4 : 30 PM

Early Literacy for All Children in the Home, School, and Community

Anya Robyak
Early Literacy for All Children in the Home, School, and Community: Evidence-Based Literacy Practices for Children with Disabilities (PPT: 17328kb)
Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist (PDF: 2690kb)
Babble On (PDF: 1256kb)
Reading Out Loud Together (PDF: 2651kb)
Wired to Read (PDF: 2013kb)

The Center for Early Literacy Learning will provide research-based information on how new and existing literacy practices can be adapted for children with disabilities. These practices can be done in the home, school, and community in order to increase children’s literacy-related behaviors, interests, and skills.

Include Me: A Model for Including Children With Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs (Repeated)

Mary Lynn White

Include Me is a project designed to help early childhood programs include children with disabilities through training and consultation. During this interactive session, participants will learn about the model, tools used, project evaluation, successes and challenges.

Managing the Behavior of Young Children with Autism in Inclusive Classrooms (Repeated)

Brian Boyd

In this presentation, participants will learn user-friendly functional assessment and behavioral intervention techniques for young children with autism who are served in inclusive early childhood settings. Participants will master assessment and intervention strategies that decrease challenging behaviors demonstrated by these young children to facilitate their academic and social success in these settings.

Promoting Inclusion Through Professional Development? Bring an Example; Leave With a Plan

Camille Catlett, Shelley deFosset, Tracey West, Pam Winton

Bring an example of a professional development opportunity, initiative, or event for which you have some responsibility or role. In this session you will have a chance to learn about and apply a professional development framework to that example in a small group activity. Leave with some concrete ideas for enhancing the quality of current and future professional development to support inclusion. (Note: Professional development is broadly defined as facilitated teaching and learning experiences that are transactional and designed to support the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the application of this knowledge in practice.)

Supporting Toddler and Preschool Inclusion in the Four Contexts of Teaching

Robin McWilliam
The Observed Construction of Teaching: Four Contexts (PDF: 796kb)
Diagram: The Four Contexts of Teaching (and Consultation) (PDF: 26kb)
Vanderbilt Ecological Congruence of Teaching Opportunities in Routines (VECTOR) (PDF: 226kb)
Supporting Toddler and Preschool Inclusion in the Four Contexts of Teaching (PDF: 520kb)

Teachers and the consultants who work with them should know about the four contexts: the environment, activities, the approach, and interactions. All four need attention to make inclusive settings successful for young children. This session deals primarily with consultative practices supporting these contexts.

Visioning an Ideal Community of Practice to Increase the Likelihood That Young Children and Families Live Life Inclusively

Ann Turnbull

This session will provide an opportunity for conference participants to react to Ann’s keynote, share ideas, and “push the limits” in discovering together new possibilities for how Communities of Practice can best support practitioners and families. Focus will be on how knowledge can best be “packaged” in order to increase the likelihood of taking wise action and overcoming current challenges in implementing inclusive practices across community settings – nuclear and extended families, neighborhoods, preschool programs, community recreation, religious communities, and other settings.

What Administrators Can Do to Support Inclusion.

Sam Odom

This session will describe issues that administrators and program directors may encounter and address in establishing preschool inclusion as a new feature of their preschool program or maintaining preschool inclusion as an existing feature. The Administrators' Guide to Preschool Inclusion will be introduced and used as a basis for discussion.

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Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

9 : 00 AM - 10 : 30 AM

Family Members: What Do Practitioners Need to Know and Be Able to Do to Make Inclusion Work for Your Child?

Camille Catlett, Judy Swett, Ann Turnbull, Pam Winton

This session co-sponsored by PACER and the FPG CONNECT project will provide a chance for parents to share their perspectives on what teachers need to know and be able to do to make inclusion work for young children. The interactive discussion will also include a chance to discuss ways to maximize family participation in the Inclusion Institute (current and future).

HELP IS ON THE WAY! Indiana’s System to Increase the Quantity and Quality of Inclusive Child Care

Reneé Kinder
HELP IS ON THE WAY! Indiana’s System to Increase Inclusive Care (PPT: 5116kb)
Intake Form (DOC: 44kb)
Enhanced Referral Requirements (DOC: 31kb)
CARING FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (PPT: 4779kb)

This interactive session will describe the training, on-site technical assistance and community outreach activities provided through the Indiana Partnership for Inclusive Child Care Project. This nine year project, housed in the child care resource and referral agencies, emphasizes increasing the quality of child care settings for ALL children while allowing children with disabilities to succeed with their peers. Examples of trainings and other project materials will distributed with plenty of opportunities for discussion.

Inclusion at Your Fingertips: Sharing Resources Nationally, State-Wide, and Locally

Cindy Arstein-Kerslake, Janice Battaglia, Linda Brault, Sandi Walters
Pathways to Disability-Specific Information (PDF: 162kb)
Inclusion at your Fingertips (DOC: 43kb)
Pathways to Resources and Links for Inclusive Practices (PDF: 182kb)
Pathways to Training Resources (PDF: 177kb)

How can information on a website be practical, relevant, and still be resource-rich? California’s Map to Inclusive Childcare Project will take you on a tour of their recently reconstructed website. The presenters, parents of children with disabilities, will guide you to the latest resources including downloadable PowerPoints on Talking with Parents, Transition and Early Intervention, links to new websites on policy/trends, early mental health initiatives and training and technical assistance. This site is designed for use by early care and education professionals, family members, and specialists. http://www.cainclusivechildcare.org/camap

Managing the Behavior of Young Children With Autism in Inclusive Classrooms (Repeated)

Brian Boyd

Pre-K Curriculum Adaptations for Children With Special Needs: Lesson Learned Through Participation in an Early Reading First Project (Repeated)

Hillary Harper, Patsy Pierce
Eighth Annual National Inclusion Conference (PPT: 4030kb)
Fun Books for SHARED Reading (DOC: 22428kb)
Sharing Books with ALL Children Ages Birth-to-Five (DOC: 1872kb)
Shared Reading Checklist (DOC: 2375kb)

Early Reading First (ERF) is a federally funded initiative through the Good Start, Grow Smart initiative of the No Child Left Behind Act. Presenters in this session will share "lessons learned" after completing Year 1 of an ERF grant. These lessons included adaptations and modificiations for pre-K children who are dual language learners and for those with autism and other significant disabilities.

Program Consultation to Support Early Childhood Inclusion

Brenda Dennis

How can we increase the number and quality of inclusive early childhood programs? This session describes an evidenced based collaborative consultation framework to facilitate and support inclusion in early childhood settings.

Setting Up Inclusive Programs: How Charlotte/Mecklenburg Achieved Full Inclusion

Julie Babb, Li Forbis, Trish Tanger
Moving Mountains: How Charlotte Mecklenburg Achieved Full Inclusion (PPT: 2111kb)

In this session, presenters will describe how a unique inclusive practices model was implemented within the large Charlotte/Mecklenburg School system (NC) for all four year old children with disabilities within the regular early childhood curriculum. The collaborative planning process, professional development, challenges, successes, and transition to kindergarten will be discussed.

State Policies Promoting Inclusion In Typical Early Childhood Programs

Abby Cohen
State Policies Supporting Inclusion (PPT: 10154kb)

This session will survey the country, looking at widely varied policies states have undertaken to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities into early childhood programs serving children who are typically developing. These policies will include: the development of special needs rates in the subsidy system, using quality dollars to establish a system of inclusion specialists, reviewing and revising licensing constraints such as limitations on medication administration, training requirements for providers, etc. There will be opportunity for sharing by participants.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

11 : 00 AM - 12 : 30 PM

Early Childhood Inclusion at the Frank Porter Graham Child Care Program

Kathy Davis, Teresa Jones Ruth Miller, Margie Muenzer
Early Childhood Inclusion at the Frank Porter Graham Child Care Program: A Collaborative and Routines-Bases Approach (PPT: 10261kb)

Members of the Frank Porter Graham Child Care Center staff will provide an overview of the components that make up this long standing inclusive program. Included will be program philosophy and mission, children served, staff and parent roles, routines based assessment interviews, integrated therapy, embedded instruction and research summaries. The presentation will include videotaped samples of program components and handouts including samples of the various formats used to support a systematic approach to inclusive programming. This presentation is open to all regardless of participation in scheduled tours of the FPG Child Care Program.

Early Intervention Part C Services in Natural Environments: A National Perspective

Grace Kelley, Lynda Pletcher

This session will present information about the service delivery “models” states are using as they deliver early intervention services in natural environments. We will explore common terms, web resources states have developed, and recent position statements developed by the National Workgroup on Services in Natural Environments and from other professional organizations. We will discuss challenges and activities states are identifying as they work to improve practices in serving children in the home and community settings. This session is designed for state level administrators and trainers for the Part C Early Intervention programs. (Repeat)

Inclusion: Illusive or Conclusive – Three Moms' Perspectives

Linda Gaster, April Gerard, Melissa Weir

In this session three moms, of children with disabilities, share and discuss their child's and family's experiences with inclusive and self-contained settings. Are both viable options, did and can both meet the social-emotional and educational needs of their child? How and why did these parents choose a particular type of setting for their child. Are high quality inclusive community options illusive or conclusive in the future of your child, career, classroom or center?

Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers – IPOP (Virginia's Systems Change Initiative) (Repeated)

Cheryl Henderson, Dianne Koontz-Lowman, Phyllis Mondak, Sandy Wilberger
Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers (IPOP): One State's Plan for Systems Change (PPT: 1033kb)

A look at the IPOP manual developed to assist localities with system’s change. A walk through the manual and its training materials will be presented. Additionally data to show the impact of the initiative on inclusive placements and children will be shared.

Pre-K Curriculum Adaptations for Children With Special Needs: Lesson Learned Through Participation in an Early Reading First Project (Repeated)

Use the Teaching Tools to Unravel the Mystery of Challenging Behavior and Support Plan Development (Part 1)

Bobbie Vaughn
Creating Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior (PPT: 3335kb)
Child Description: Jordan (DOC: 163kb)
Daily Routine: Jordan (DOC: 202kb)
My Teacher Wants to Know: Jordan (DOC: 544kb)
Teacher's Support Planning Sheet (DOC: 170kb)
Child Description: Tim (DOC: 164kb)
Daily Routine: Tim (DOC: 197kb)
My Teacher Wants to Know: Tim (DOC: 542kb)
Child Description: Vic (DOC: 165kb)
Daily Routine: Vic (DOC: 197kb)
My Teacher Wants to Know: Vic (DOC: 542kb)

This interactive session will unravel the mystery of challenging behavior and support plan development with the user-friendly Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior. Participants will develop support plans via a case study format and receive the Teaching Tools CD.

Where’s the Money? – Financing and Partnerships (Part 1)

Abby Cohen, Susan Rohrbough
Where’s the Money?: Financing and Partnerships (PPT: 7167kb)

This interactive back-to-back session will focus on improving and increasing services to children with disabilities and their families. Participants will examine and experience how financing paired with collaborative leadership can benefit children, families and caregivers. Participants will become more familiar with collaborative leadership; will gain access to resources, strategies, and information re: collaboration and financing; and will practice new strategies and approaches. These back-to-back sessions can stand alone, yet, full participation is very encouraged.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

1 : 30 PM - 3 : 00 PM

Building the Plane While Flying It: How Three States Are Building a Cross-Sector Professional Development System That Supports Inclusion

Camille Catlett, Jennie Couture, Pam Deardorff, LeAnne Lorenzo
Building the Plane While Flying It: How 4 States are Building Cross-sector Professional Development Systems that Support Inclusion (PPT: 6163kb)
Oregon’s Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative Training and Technical Assistance Menu/ Planning Form (DOC: 46kb)
Oregon's Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative (PDF: 194kb)
Airplanes in the Sky (mpeg: 10362kb)

In 2007, the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) began working with four states to support an integrated professional development system that supports high quality inclusion. Each state has taken a unique approach, taking into account state-specific players, initiatives, opportunities and challenges. This session will highlight the work in progress and lessons learned. Participants will learn how to implement the NPDCI approach at state and local levels.

Challenges to and Opportunities for Promoting Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Education

Mariajosé Romero
Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood (PDF: 311kb)
Challenges and Opportunities for Promoting Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Education (PDF: 442kb)

This session discusses approaches to social inclusion, diversity, tolerance, and respect for diversity education for children from birth to ten years of age and/or their parents, teachers or caregivers. The session presents findings of an interview study of organizations implementing social inclusion and respect for diversity programs in the U.S. The study examined current curricula; program components; evaluation designs; and barriers and opportunities related to implementation. The session concludes with a description of a follow-up to this project, an action research study of the formation of regional coalitions among researchers, policymakers, evaluators and practitioners to promote social inclusion and respect for diversity in the US.

Coaching Families and Colleagues in Natural Environments (Part 1)

Barbara Hanft
Tools for Effective Teaming: Coaching Families and Colleagues in Early Childhood (PPT: 330kb)
Coaching Skills Self-Assessment (DOC: 120kb)

This 2-part workshop will provide information and illustrations about how to effectively coach family members and early childhood colleagues to support the participation of young children with disabilities in their home and community life. Coaching in early childhood emphasizes a learner focused approach to sharing skills and knowledge among adults through a planned and nonjudgmental partnership.

How is Inclusion in Louisiana Like Mardi Gras?

Loren Barrios
How is Inclusion in Louisiana Like Mardi Gras? (PPT: 1094kb)

This presentation will provide an overview of methods used by the Louisiana Department of Education to help local school districts increase the number of children receiving services in settings with typically developing peers.

Promoting Young Children’s Participation by Creating Adaptations for Routines and Activities (Repeated)

Suzanne Milbourne
Promoting Young Children’s Participation by Creating Adaptations for Routines and Activities (DOC: 427kb)
CARA's Checklist of Priorities and Concerns (PDF: 554kb)
Adaptation Continuum (PDF: 154kb)
Adaptation Notes (PDF: 564kb)
Promoting Young Children’s Participation by Creating Adaptations for Routines and Activities (PPT: 72651kb)

Adaptations promote children’s learning and development by allowing children to more effectively participate in activities and routines in their natural environments. Participants will gain research-based content relevant for professional development and/or immediate application to practice regarding the selection, design, and use of adaptations with young children with disabilities and learn about a new product called CARA's Kit.

Use the Teaching Tools to Unravel the Mystery of Challenging Behavior and Support Plan Development (Part 2)

Bobbie Vaughn

Where’s the Money? – Financing and Partnerships (Part 2)

Abby Cohen, Susan Rohrbough
Where’s the Money?: Financing and Partnerships (PPT: 7167kb)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

3 : 30 PM - 5 : 00 PM

Coaching Families and Colleagues in Natural Environments (Part 2)

Barbara Hanft
Tools for Effective Teaming: Coaching Families and Colleagues in Early Childhood (PPT: 330kb)
Coaching Skills Self-Assessment (DOC: 120kb)

Continuation of Part 1. This 2-part workshop will provide information and illustrations about how to effectively coach family members and early childhood colleagues to support the participation of young children with disabilities in their home and community life. Coaching in early childhood emphasizes a learner focused approach to sharing skills and knowledge among adults through a planned and nonjudgmental partnership.

Include Me: A Model for Including Children With Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs (Repeated)

Mary Lynn White

Promising Practices to Help Young Children Find Friends

Barbara Goldman, Tracey West
What Early Educators and Parents Can Do to Support Friendships in Early Childhood (PDF: 252kb)
Promising Practices to Help Young Children Find Friends (PPT: 11308kb)

The focus of this multi-media presentation will be on the ways that parents and early childhood professionals, together and separately,can encourage the development of friendships inside and outside the inclusive early childhood classroom. Specific observable signs that identity emergent friendships, and specific strategies that can promote their development, will be described and shown in action. The presentation will also provide an overview of the literature on peer interaction and acceptance in inclusive early childhood classrooms, using information from recent studies of friendships in early childhood inclusive classrooms and other studies of developmentally very young children

Promoting Young Children’s Participation by Creating Adaptations for Routines and Activities (Repeated)

Recognition & Response: A Pilot Implementation Study

Virginia Buysse Ellen Peisner-Feinberg

This session will review the key components of the R&R system (Recognition, Response, and Collaborative Problem-Solving) and describe the specific screening/progress monitoring tool (mCLASS system) and Tier 2 intervention (Read It Again!) that will be implemented as part of a pilot study being conducted in Florida and Maryland in Fall of 2008.

The Case for Inclusion: Making It Happen

Susan Deans, Carla Fenson

We know that inclusion is a "good thing" and the "right thing" to do. The law tells us we must and our ethical sense tells us we should. Yet, how do we work with people who do not see the benefits of inclusion as we do? This session will focus on the change process and strategies to help bring others on board. This information may be useful for preschool coordinators, teachers, and others who desire to promote inclusion in their communities.

The Right Stuff: Methods and Materials for Preparing Personnel to Support Inclusion

Camille Catlett
The Right Stuff: Methods and Materials for Preparing Personnel to Support Inclusion (DOC: 438kb)

Come discover activities, videotapes, books, web sites and other resources for preparing personnel to support the learning of all young children in inclusive and natural environments. You’ll discover applications that range from the awareness level to the attitudinal level, and resources for use in teaching, training, staff development, supervision, self-assessment and policy development. Handouts will include diverse examples that can be helpful in many institutions, states and applications.

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Concurrent Sessions

Thursday, July 24, 2008

9 : 00 AM - 10 : 30 AM

Building Blocks for Including and Teaching Young Children With Special Needs (Repeated)

Susan Sandall
Building Blocks for Including and Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs (PPT: 6692kb)

This session will provide an overview of the Building Blocks framework, a set of educational practices designed to help teachers and teams include young children with disabilities in early learning environments. The framework includes four levels of support: a quality early learning program, modifications and adaptations, strategies for embedding teaching and learning opportunities, and child-focused instructional support.

Designing and Implementing a Curriculum Framework for ALL Children (Repeated)

Jennifer Grisham-Brown
Intervention Plan (DOC: 32kb)
Designing and Implementing a Curriculum Framewok for ALL Children (PPT: 2598kb)

This presentation will highlight a curriculum framework that has been designed for implementation in inclusive early childhood settings. The curriculum framework has four components; assessment, scope and sequence, activities/intervention, and progress monitoring. The presentation will focus on using the curriculum framework as a tiered model that addresses the universal, targeted, and individualized needs of young children in inclusive settings.

Effective Approaches for Developing a Community of Practice

Beth Fairchild, LeAnne Lorenzo
Effective Approaches for Developing a Community of Practice (PPT: 510kb)

This session will provide participants the tools to develop a community of practice to build collaborative support for inclusion. The session will be interactive and participants will have the opportunity to share their successes and challenges developing a community of practice.

Preschool Inclusion: "Then What Are We to Do?"

William Brown

The presenter will review a brief history of preschool inclusion to provide the background to his current work with preschool personnel. He will then discuss his collaborative consultation activities and an emerging local community of practice a large school district in South Carolina. Discussion will focus on mechanisms to promote communication and preschool inclusion among key stakeholders.

Resources for Supporting Inclusive Practices: The SpecialQuest Approach and Multimedia Training Library (Part 1)

Linda Brekken, Cheryl Ducey, Susan Stewart

Part I: Provides information about training resources (pre- and in-service) designed to assist families, early childhood care and education providers, early interventionists, and other partners prepare to include young children with disabilities. Includes an overview of the SpecialQuest approach to professional development and the contents of the SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library. Participants will receive a video (DVD format), training script, handouts, and additional resources.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

11 : 00 AM - 12 : 30 PM

Building Blocks for Including and Teaching Young Children With Special Needs (Repeated)

Susan Sandall
Building Blocks for Including and Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs (PPT: 6692kb)

Designing and Implementing a Curriculum Framework for ALL Children (Repeated)

Jennifer Grisham-Brown
Intervention Plan (DOC: 32kb)
Designing and Implementing a Curriculum Framewok for ALL Children (PPT: 2598kb)

Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers – IPOP (Virginia's Systems Change Initiative) (Repeated)

Cheryl Henderson, Dianne Koontz-Lowman, Phyllis Mondak, Sandy Wilberger
Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers (IPOP): One State's Plan for Systems Change (PPT: 1033kb)

Resources for Supporting Inclusive Practices: The SpecialQuest Approach and Multimedia Training Library (Part 2)

Linda Brekken, Cheryl Ducey, Susan Stewart

Part II: Part I participants or those familiar with SpecialQuest will have the opportunity to discuss in small groups topics or issues arising about the SpecialQuest approach and materials. This session will encourage cross-program sharing, using the wisdom of the group, and exploring the SpecialQuest approach and materials in-depth. Opportunities for follow-up discussions after the conference will be made available and will be based on interests identified at the Inclusion Institute.

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