Agenda

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Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

Welcome and Opening Address

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

1 : 00 PM - 2 : 30 PM

Welcome and Opening Address

Sam Odom

Welcome: Sam Odom, Director, FPG Child Development Institute Opening Comments - Introduction to the Institute: Pam Winton and Shelley deFosset, Institute Co-Chairs, FPG Announcement of New DEC/NAEYC Position Paper on Inclusion: Virginia Buysse, President of Eivision of Early Childhood Greetings from the Bubel/Aiken Foundation: Jerry Aiken Opening Panel: Yes We Can: New Opportunities for Young Children with Disabilities and their Families Joan Lombardi, Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Dept. of Health & Human Services, and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development. Justine Strickland, Assistant Commissioner of Child Care, Atlanta, Georgia

Keynote Address

Joan Lombardi

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Concurrent Sessions

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

3 : 00 PM - 4 : 30 PM

All Aboard: Promoting Partnerships for Inclusive Education

Ellen Abramson
Barbara Hanft
Valerie von Behren

Supporting young children with disabilities, and their families, in inclusive settings is a collaborative effort by family, public school, and community early care and education partners. Learn how the Maryland State Department of Education provided local school systems with grant funds to improve opportunities for participation in inclusive preschool settings through creating community partnerships. One of the grantees, Charles County Public school, used their funds to create an ongoing collaboration among local recreation departments, libraries, restaurants, community child care and preschools, Head Start, and general education preschool and kindergarten programs. Presenters will also address the benefits and challenges to interagency teaming, and provide opportunity for discussion among participants.

Families as Partners and Leaders: Promoting Inclusive Practices

Linda Brekken
Felecia Jordan
Aracelly Valverde

This session will provide experiences and strategies for building family-professional partnerships and enhancing leadership skills. The SpecialQuest materials on Opening Doors to Family Leadership, participant experiences, and family voices will be used to stimulate discussion and identify effective approaches. Ideas will be generated for supporting families as informed decision-makers for their child and family; as supports to other families; and as advocates and active partners in creating policy and systems change.

Integrating Quality and Accountability Measures to Enhance Services for Children with Special Needs

Beth Caron
Abby Cohen
Heidi Hollingsworth
Desiree Reddick-Head

This interactive session will provide participants with background information on two systems that focus on accountability and quality in programs that serve children with special needs. Information will be provided on state Quality Rating Systems (QRS), a system of accountability of particular relevance to the early childhood care and education community, and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) APR for Preschool LRE, a system of accountability of particular relevance to the ECSE community. Presenters will also invite audience participation for a discussion regarding common elements and ways of intersection between the two systems.

New Opportunities for Inclusion

Shelley deFosset
Joan Lombardi
Justine Strickland

This session will provide participants an opportunity to talk about the ideas shared during the opening plenary. This facilitated discussion will encourage the sharing of opportunities and challenges related to the use of the ARRA funds to support Inclusion.

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

Suzanne Milbourne

Adaptations are widely used with older children with disabilities. However, they are not readily used in early childhood because teachers/providers may be more focused on traditional skill building than on children’s participation in activities, are unaware of decision making strategies or of resources, or lack knowledge/training. 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.

Recommended and Evidence Based Practice to Support Transition to Inclusive Settings

Beth Rous

A child’s successful transition has been linked to more positive academic outcomes in early schooling. This session will provide information on nationally validated, as well as empirical practices that support more positive transition experiences for young children and their families. Tools for assessing transition practices will be provided.

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Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

9 : 00 AM - 10 : 30 AM

All Aboard: Promoting Partnerships for Inclusive Education

Ellen Abramson
Barbara Hanft
Valerie von Behren

Supporting young children with disabilities, and their families, in inclusive settings is a collaborative effort by family, public school, and community early care and education partners. Learn how the Maryland State Department of Education provided local school systems with grant funds to improve opportunities for participation in inclusive preschool settings through creating community partnerships. One of the grantees, Charles County Public school, used their funds to create an ongoing collaboration among local recreation departments, libraries, restaurants, community child care and preschools, Head Start, and general education preschool and kindergarten programs. Presenters will also address the benefits and challenges to interagency teaming, and provide opportunity for discussion among participants. (Repeat)

Building Blocks: Effective Practices for Including Young Children with Disabilities in Community Based Programs

Cassandra Cerros
Gail Joseph
Jaime Martin

This session will help teachers, professional development providers and program administrators learn about research-based practices to effectively include children with disabilities. The approach draws on the Building Blocks framework, which translates research-based practices into easy-to-follow steps for inclusion. The approach includes a quality program, modifications that enhance children’s engagement, embedding learning opportunities, and more explicit, child-focused instructional support.

Recognition & Response (R&R): Results from an Implementation Study

Virginia Buysse
Ellen Peisner-Feinberg

This session will present the R&R model—a promising approach for implementing high quality inclusion. R&R is a tiered model for high quality instruction and targeted interventions matched to the learning needs of 3-5 year-olds. This session will focus on findings related to a study of the implementation of R&R in 24 early childhood classrooms in two states.

Strategies for Inclusion of Children with Multiple Disabilities, Including Deaf-Blindness

Lyn Ayer
Lynn McFarland
Kat Stremel
Tom Udell

This session focuses on strategies for supporting the inclusion of young children with multiple disabilities, including children with deaf-blindness. A conceptual framework for supporting inclusion based on defining features of access, participation and supports will be presented. The session will include strategies for planning, implementing and monitoring children’s individual programs including: (a) embedding instruction on multiple skills within routines and activities, (b) identifying child strengths (facilitators & inhibitors) across critical areas of development, (c) instructional and support strategies specifically for children with cochlear implants and children with cortical visual impairments, and (d) using appropriate outcomes and performance Indicators.

Universal Design: Designing Universally for Early Childhood Settings

Suzanne Milbourne

When universal design and universal design for learning principles are applied in early childhood settings the environment, curriculum, activities and assessment system will meet the needs of the greatest numbers of learners. Where individual needs are not met assistive technology is an optional intervention. Together the use of universal design and assistive technology attempt to eliminate barriers to an individual’s participation in everyday routines and activities. Learn about Universal Design and UD for Learning as well as how they “fit” with the use of assistive technology in the early childhood classroom.

Using the Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion to Support Change

Camille Catlett
Heidi Hollingsworth

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) have recently developed the joint definition of and position on early childhood inclusion that was shared in the opening session and you’re invited to the sequel. Join creative and thoughtful colleagues in a facilitated conversation about how to use this new resource to support opportunities for inclusion. How could it be used to support professional development, advocacy, and policy development efforts? Help envision the possibilities so we can use them to grow new realities for young children with disabilities and their families.

Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

11 : 00 AM - 12 : 30 PM

Building Blocks: Effective Practices for Including Young Children with Disabilities in Community Based Programs

Cassandra Cerros
Gail Joseph
Jaime Martin

This session will help teachers, professional development providers and program administrators learn about research-based practices to effectively include children with disabilities. The approach draws on the Building Blocks framework, which translates research-based practices into easy-to-follow steps for inclusion. The approach includes a quality program, modifications that enhance children’s engagement, embedding learning opportunities, and more explicit, child-focused instructional support. (Repeat)

Including Children and Families From Cultures Different From Your Own

Susan Moore

Responsiveness to an increasingly diverse population demands early childhood educators consider the impacts of culture, languages spoken, and parent interaction patterns with children from a cultural perspective, especially when children are challenged by a disability. This session will focus on evidence-based practices in building relationships with families from culturally, linguistically and ability diverse backgrounds.

Participatory Adult Learning Professional Development Strategy: Evidence and Examples

Carol Trivette

This presentation describes new evidence concerning a professional development (PD) approach that focuses on participatory adult learning strategies. Examples of how this approach is being used in two OSEP funded projects; one a train-the-trainer PD model, and the other a direct PD model, will be provided.

Partnerships in Action: Creating and Sustaining Partnerships to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities

Eva Carter
Susan Rohrbough

This interactive session will provide participants with information, tools and resources for building and enhancing partnerships and alliances for services for children with disabilities at the state and local levels The focus will be on creating and sustaining cross-system efforts while becoming familiar with tools and resources regarding collaborative leadership, communication, financing and evaluation. The session will actively engage participants in activities, learning and applying partnership tools and expanding their understanding of the value of cross-system partnerships in providing services for children with disabilities in all settings.

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

Suzanne Milbourne

Adaptations are widely used with older children with disabilities. However, they are not readily used in early childhood because teachers/providers may be more focused on traditional skill building than on children’s participation in activities, are unaware of decision making strategies or of resources, or lack knowledge/training. 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. (Repeat)

SpecialQuest Goes to College!

Kay Hamlin
Susan Stewart

Engage with your colleagues from community colleges, colleges, and universities to share and learn about effective strategies for using the SpecialQuest approach and materials in your courses. We will also explore the Faculty Guide to Using the SpecialQuest Approach to Professional Development on Inclusion and how it can be used to enhance students’ learning about collaborative inclusive practices in partnership with families. Discover how to access these free quality resources for learning about early childhood inclusion.

Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

1 : 30 PM - 3 : 00 PM

Adaptations Are Key to Early Literacy Learning

Carol Trivette

This session describes a framework for developing adaptations to CELL practices that promote the early literacy learning of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities. This presentation will describe how to determine and use the least intrusive adaptation possible to promote the highest level of child participation in everyday literacy learning activities.

Embedded Learning Opportunities to Support Inclusion

Maggie Connolly
Chih-Ing Lim
Christine Lindauer
Beth Rous
Pam Winton

Successful participation in inclusive environments (home, community and classroom) depends on adults making evidence-based decisions about how and when to embed learning opportunities in naturally occurring routines. In this session, participants will become familiar with research-based instructional resources developed by the CONNECT project that teach these decision-making skills. They will engage in a learning sequence that includes dilemmas, reflection and essential content on embedded learning. Following participation as a learner, participants will discuss how they can utilize these resources in their professional development practices. The session is appropriate for professional development providers, administrators, practitioners and families.

Encouraging Parent Leadership

Barbara Buswell
Julie Harmon

Frequently parents of young children with special needs realize that to be successful advocates for their children, they need to embrace leadership roles and opportunities. Though leadership skills development during a child’s early years grows and develops over time, it is an individualized, parent-driven endeavor ranging from participating actively in their own child’s IFSP or IEP to more systemic leadership such as serving on an ICC. This session will provide examples of several successful leadership programs geared to parents of young children with tips on how to recruit, encourage and support these young families.

Let’s ALL Play

Kristy Barnes
Michelle Higel

The Bubel/Aiken Foundation’s Let ALL Play initiative brings an inclusive recreational experience to children with disabilities. Please join us to learn more about this proven model that includes guidance on staffing, training, program accomodations, games, and communicating with families. Research regarding the impact on sports/motor skills, self esteem, social skills, and engagement in camp activities will also be presented.

State Efforts to Promote Inclusive Child Care Settings: Breaking Down the CCDF/IDEA Silos

Abby Cohen

This session will focus on the various strategies states have utilized and are planning to utilize to promote inclusion in child care settings, including changes to child care subsidy policies, child care licensing requirements, quality rating systems, professional development and other child care quality intiatives. Examples will include uses of the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars and various partnerships and partnering opportunities between child care, Head Start, early intervention and special education. There will also be interactive dialogue around the processes used to engage cross-sector stakeholders, looking at both successes and challenges.

Yes It Can Work.... A Positive Preschool Partnership

Tammy Flunara
Julie Miller
Pat Reese

This presentation will discuss the challenges and successes of forming collaborative partnerships between Voluntary Pre-K, Head Start, local private schools, day care and the Memphis City Schools Preschool Special Education Program. There will be time for discussion and questions.

Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

3 : 30 PM - 5 : 00 PM

Early Childhood Competencies: Sitting on the Shelf or Driving the System

Tracey West
Pam Winton

Professional competencies should be the linchpin of professional development, but are they? Learn about the status of early childhood competencies across the country and explore the critical role competencies can play in effective professional development systems. Does your state have competencies? Who uses them and how? Do the competencies support inclusion? Are your competencies aligned with your state professional development system? How can you move forward in this work? Participants will be engaged in discussion on these and other related topics. Resources, including examples of state competencies, will be provided.

Including Children and Families From Cultures Different From Your Own

Susan Moore

Responsiveness to an increasingly diverse population demands early childhood educators consider the impacts of culture, languages spoken, and parent interaction patterns with children from a cultural perspective, especially when children are challenged by a disability. This session will focus on evidence-based practices in building relationships with families from culturally, linguistically and ability diverse backgrounds. (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 settings 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?

Partnerships in Action: Creating and Sustaining Partnerships to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities

Eva Carter
Susan Rohrbough

This interactive session will provide participants with information, tools and resources for building and enhancing partnerships and alliances for services for children with disabilities at the state and local levels The focus will be on creating and sustaining cross-system efforts while becoming familiar with tools and resources regarding collaborative leadership, communication, financing and evaluation. The session will actively engage participants in activities, learning and applying partnership tools and expanding their understanding of the value of cross-system partnerships in providing services for children with disabilities in all settings. (Repeat)

The Center on Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL): Overview of the Infant/Toddler Modules

Valeri Lane

Social and emotional development is critical to the development of all children, and is a key element in successful inclusion. This session will provide an overview of three training modules developed by CSEFEL, focusing on infant/toddler social/emotional development. Participants will be introduced to the content, as well as examples of videos and activities included in the modules.

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Concurrent Sessions

Thursday, July 16, 2009

9 : 00 AM - 10 : 30 AM

Early Language and Literacy Development in Dual Language Learners: Implications for Service Delivery

Lucía Méndez

This presentation will review recent research on early language and literacy development in dual language learners and discuss potential implications for service delivery.

Evidence-Based Practices for Young Children with Autism: What Do They Look Like?

Jennifer Neitzel

In this presentation, participants will learn about evidence-based practices for young children with autism that can be used in a variety of learning environments. Participants also will learn how these practices can be implemented within ongoing routines and activities to support children’s learning and development.

Implementation and Systems Change: Moving from Random Acts of Innovation to Sustainable Services and Supportive Systems

Karen Blase
Michelle Duda
Dean Fixsen

This presentation will focus on strategies and frameworks to implement and sustain high quality, inclusive services and create hospitable environments for such initiatives. Based on the science and practice of implementation and systems change, participants will learn about strategies to improve competency of staff, better align organizational policies and practices, and how to choose the right leadership strategies for systems change initiatives.

The Right Stuff: Resources for Supporting Early Childhood Inclusion

Camille Catlett

Come discover books, videotapes, and web sites to support professional development, advocacy, and other leadership efforts. If you enjoy discovering resources that are good, readily available, and low cost you’ll love this guided tour of resources for promoting the inclusion of young children in everyday routines, activities, and places.

Concurrent Sessions

Thursday, July 16, 2009

11 : 00 AM - 12 : 30 PM

Beyond Training: Professional Development Activities to Support Inclusion

Susan Deans
Brenda Dennis
Carla Fenson
Rhodus Riggins, Jr.
Libby Wilson

Partnerships for Inclusion is a statewide technical assistance project that promotes inclusion in North Carolina. This year we have developed a range of professional development activities to build capacity and support inclusion at the local level. Come learn about: regional meetings entitled "Regional Inclusion Connections" (RICs); activities for community college instructors (CTAPS); train-the-trainer courses; web based inclusion support; and program consultation! In this presentation we will describe each of these activities and show the related activity materials. Participants will be encouraged to share ways they support inclusion in their communities.

Promising Practices to Help Young Children Find Friends

Barbara Goldman

The focus of this multi-media presentation will be on the ways that parents and early childhood professionals, both 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 a brief 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.

State Efforts to Promote Inclusive Child Care Settings: Breaking Down the CCDF/IDEA Silos

Abby Cohen

This session will focus on the various strategies states have utilized and are planning to utilize to promote inclusion in child care settings, including changes to child care subsidy policies, child care licensing requirements, quality rating systems, professional development and other child care quality intiatives. Examples will include uses of the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars and various partnerships and partnering opportunities between child care, Head Start, early intervention and special education. There will also be interactive dialogue around the processes used to engage cross-sector stakeholders, looking at both successes and challenges. (Repeat)

Yes It Can Work.... A Positive Preschool Partnership

Tammy Flunara
Julie Miller
Pat Reese

This presentation will discuss the challenges and successes of forming collaborative partnerships between Voluntary Pre-K, Head Start, local private schools, day care and the Memphis City Schools Preschool Special Education Program. There will be time for discussion and questions. (Repeat)

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