New Training
Shining Light on ASD and Essential Supports – Everyone utilizes essential support strategies throughout their day, without even realizing it. Join us as we provide an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) characteristics and explore how these everyday essential supports can be used at home to assist individuals with ASD to be successful and avoid frustration.
School-Based Anxiety: Helping Kids Cope – Chessie Brittain, Masters Candidate in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, talks about ways that healthy anxiety can actually be beneficial, and practical ways to respond and help when the emotions are too big for kids to handle.
Work Incentives Planning Assistance (WIPA)
Program – Kay Wallace and Jessica Walker from Lighthouse Louisiana explain the WIPA program and how it can help youth with disabilities plan for future employment and not lose their government benefits.
Act 378 Individual & Family Support Services – This training webinar will provide a basic understanding of this state funded program established in 1989 by legislative Act 378. The purpose of IFS is to meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities that exceed those normally met by existing resources, such as entitlements and natural supports in the individual’s family and community.
Adults & Youth
Personal Branding the Will Johnson Story – Join Sharon Blackmon, our Director of Training, as she talks with Will Johnson about his journey and what personal branding means to him as an adult with a disability.
Youth Health Transition Essentials:
What, Why and How – Patti Barovechio of the Bureau of Family Health discusses the youth healthcare transition to adulthood and offers some valuable tips and resources to make for a smoother process.
Special Education Training
Introduction to Special Education – Do you suspect your child could benefit from special education and related services, or is your child newly evaluated? This overview covers key aspects like philosophy, laws, evaluation, and IEP basics.
Parent Rights in Special Education – Learn the rights that parents have when it comes to their child’s special education and related services, such as parental participation, access to education records, informed consent, prior written notice, your right to disagree with school, and more.
SPED 101 – Luz Lopez from the Southern Poverty Law Center explains basic rights of parents of students receiving Special Education Services as provided by federal laws such as IDEA, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the ADA.
What is a Surrogate Parent in Special Education – Join us as we discuss the roles and responsibilities of a surrogate parent in the Special Education process.
Understanding RtI Response to Intervention – Dr. Amber Harris is a contract school psychologist with Monroe City Schools and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She is also a mom of a young man with autism, having years of personal and professional experience with all things related to special education services. She will explain RtI and how it can help all students succeed.
Navigating the IEP Part One – This training is part 1 of a 4-part training on Navigating the IEP. Part 1 covers the requirements of notification to the parent for an IEP meeting, IEP team members, IEP exceptionalities, General Student Information, and Special Factors to be considered for a child with a disability.
Navigating the IEP Part Two – Join us for this training as we navigate the different sections of the IEP. In this training we will discuss the Instructional Plan and Accommodations Pages of the IEP.
Navigating the IEP Part Three – Join us for this new interactive training as we navigate the different sections of the IEP. In Part 3, we will cover the Program, Services, Placement, Assessment, Extended School Year, and Consent.
Navigating the IEP Part Four – Join us for this new interactive training as we navigate the different sections of the IEP. In Part 4 of our 4 Part series, we will cover the transition sections of the IEP.
ABA Therapy in the School Setting – In this webinar, we will hear from an ABA professional on ABA in the classroom: what it can be, what it is not, and how different school systems manage it.
Meeting the Challenge of Challenging Behaviors – This one-hour webinar provides parents with best practice knowledge and skills they can utilize to address challenging behaviors at home and when working with their child’s education team on behavior supports. Content will cover behavior basics, the do’s and don’ts in dealing with behavior, what makes quality FBAs (Functional Behavior Analysis) and BIPs, (Behavior Intervention Plans) and will provide resources for home and school use.
Positive Behavior Supports at School and in the Home – Learn what Positive Behavior Support is and what it might look like in your child’s school. Also, discover how to apply Positive Behavior Support practices at home to help improve family life and address challenging behaviors.
Calming the Crisis Interventions for the Moment – Todd Cirillo, LCSW-BACS, discusses strategies to calm and de-escalate behaviors when a child or adult becomes dysregulated. This training explains how the brain and body react to trauma or intense emotion, and gives parents and professionals ideas on practical ways to help those with a disability or history of trauma to self-regulate and regain composure.
Your Child was Suspended: NOW WHAT? School Discipline for Parents of Kids with Disabilities – All children have rights if they are being suspended or expelled from school, and there are additional protections for students with disabilities. This special presentation by staff attorneys with the Southern Poverty Law Center will empower parents to advocate for their child’s rights in suspension hearings, expulsion hearings, and Manifestation Determination Reviews (MDRs).
Strategies to Support Communication
Join us for a special presentation from Dr. Rosemary Kerrin, Director of Speech and Hearing with Jefferson Parish Schools, and Leigh Anne Vogy, Department Coordinator, as we discuss practical ways you can support your child’s communication development.
The Communication Plan: Who, What, When, Why Learn about the Communication Plan for your child with an IEP: Is one needed? Why or why not? Who creates it? When is it done? Join speech and hearing professionals from Jefferson Parish Schools to get answers to these and other questions.
Supporting Diverse Communicators in the Real World Join an Occupational Therapist and a Speech Language Pathologist as they present strategies to support language acquisition for diverse learners. They will share how to use day-to-day routines to provide fun and motivating opportunities for increased communication. You will also learn about alternative/augmentative communication (AAC) and how it can support communication during language development.
Navigating Dyslexia in Our Schools: A Defining Movement – This session addresses equity, access, and inclusion for students with dyslexia. Participants will get a chance to discover foundational reading skills and build awareness of dyslexia identification and intervention. We will explore the dyslexia laws, policies, and guidance necessary to journey through the school support processes.
Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development in the Elementary Years – In this webinar, we will discuss how to support your young school-aged child’s literacy development with evidence-based strategies, tips, and activities.
Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development in Adolescent Years – Dr. Beth McLean from the National Center on Improving Literacy discusses how to support your teen’s literacy development with evidence-based strategies, tips, and activities.
Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development in Preschool – Dr. Beth McLean from the National Center on Improving Literacy talks to us about tips and strategies parents can use to support literacy in their young children.
The April Dunn Act – What Parents Need to Know NOW – Rebecca Hanberry walks us through the April Dunn Act, formerly Act 833, to explain what the law means and how your child can qualify.
Postsecondary Apprenticeships for Youth (PAY CHECK): An innovative transition pathway to competitive integrated employment – Sue Killam from the LSU Human Development Center joins us to talk about PAY Check, a 3-semester program helping young adults 18-22 transition to life after high school.
4-Part Series Introduction to Work for Youth with Disabilities and their Families
Part 1 – Key Resources and Skills to Ensure Career Planning Success – In this introduction to the 4-part series, we will learn the critical role families and professionals can play in supporting youth and young adults with disabilities in learning work and career readiness skills for successful employment.
Part 2 – Key Laws That Support Youth and Career Readiness – Join us for Part 2 of this series, where we will discuss the key laws that support youth and career readiness. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Rehabilitation Act, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and others are important helps for future workers who have a disability.
Part 3 – An Overview of Key Employment Skills – In Part 3 of this 4-part series, we will focus on nine key employment skill areas, with an explanation about each skill.
Part 4 – An Overview of Resources to Support the Development of Skills from the “Working Independently, Here We Come!” checklist – In the final part of this 4-part series, we will look at a variety of resources available to assist families, educators, and other professionals who work with youth and young adults with disabilities to develop the skills necessary to seek, obtain, and keep employment.
Early Intervention Training
Louisiana Early Intervention: Early Steps Referral Process – Join us as we discuss the referral process for EarlySteps – Louisiana’s Early Intervention system for infants and toddlers.
Louisiana Early Intervention: Early Steps Transition Process – Join us as we discuss the options and procedures for children transitioning out of EarlySteps, Louisiana’s Early Intervention System for infants and toddlers.
Early Steps Start to Finish – EarlySteps provides services and support to babies and young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families. This training webinar navigates the EarlySteps process from referral to transition.
Home & Community-Based Services
Louisiana OCDD – Screening for Urgency of Need (SUN) & Tiered Waiver Process
From the United States Department of Justice
Accessible Public Schools – This video, narrated by an architect with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, describes accessibility features that should be considered to ensure that public schools are accessible to students with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The video describes key accessibility features needed by students with disabilities to get to school, participate in classes and get around school buildings and facilities, use playground equipment, and participate in other school activities.
updated 8/16/2024
