Keynote


Blueprint for Improved Results for Students with Disabilities


In the fall 2015, the New York State Education Department released its Blueprint for Improved Results for Students with Disabilities.  This Blueprint establishes a statewide framework of expectations thatlay the foundation for improved instruction and results for students with disabilities.  It focuses on seven research and evidence-based core principles and practices for all students with disabilities.  Improving results for students with disabilities requires a renewed focus on these core principles.  This Blueprint will be used by the State to review policy, technical assistance and other improvement activities.  School districts and schools must use these principles to review practice and to identify and act on areas where improvement is needed. 

Materials

Powerpoint Blueprint For Improved Results For Students with Disabilities

Blueprint Cover Page


Speaker


Patricia J. Geary

Coordinator, Special Education Policy and Professional Development
Office of Special Education
New York State Education Department

As Coordinator of Special Education Policy and Professional Development, Ms. Geary oversees the State’s special education Policy, Preschool, Due Process, and Programs Development and Support Services Units.  She has worked in the State’s Office of Special Education since 1989.  Ms. Geary holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders and permanent certification as a School Administrator and Supervisor. Prior to her work with the State Education Department, Ms. Geary worked for as a Speech and Language Pathologist and as a School Principal.


Sessions


Understanding the Needs of the Traumatized Child in the Classroom


Many children have been exposed to violence in the home or community, child abuse, and other traumatic experiences that can have lasting effects on their body and brain. There are some common behavioral characteristics that can make engaging and teaching the traumatized child challenging in the classroom. This workshop will provide an overview of some of the common physical, emotional, and cognitive impacts of trauma on children. We will also discuss tips and techniques for creating an emotionally "safe" classroom in which children who have been exposed to trauma can flourish. 


Materials


Powerpoint Presentation Understanding the Needs of the Traumatized Child in the Classroom


Speaker

Adene Karhan, LMSW
Parent Network of the Capital Region

Adene's interest in learning more about the impact of trauma on children started when she was working in the field of foster care and adoption. In recent years, she has been working with children who have experienced trauma in her counseling practice, and she is passionate about helping parents and school staff learn how to create a feeling of safety within the home and school setting. 


Making Restorative Justice a Reality


Discipline in schools has often been relegated to assigning consequences and allowing students to return to the school community once those consequences have been served, frequently without additional support or significant follow-up discussion.  As the most popular forms of significant consequences in schools are internal and external suspension, students are removed from their educational setting and then asked to return without having an opportunity to repair the relationships damaged by their actions.  Restorative Justice provides an opportunity for students to hear from the people who have been harmed by their actions and have a discussion about what those parties need to feel that "things have been made right." If the student can agree to meet what the harmed party needs, once he or she rejoins the school community, there is less anxiety, guilt, and lingering ill will that often leads to repeat offenses and additional suspensions. Most often added in addition to traditional consequences, Restorative Justice allows students an opportunity to take ownership over not only what they did to cause harm, but also over making their own amends to repair it. This session will explain the basic workings of RJ and the steps some local schools have used to make it a part of their school culture.


Materials

Power Point Presentation Restorative Programs in Schools


Speakers

Sarah Rudgers-Tysz
Mediation Matters


Sarah Rudgers-Tysz is the Executive Director of Mediation Matters, a non-profit agency offering conflict resolution services including Restorative Justice, Mediation, Facilitation, and Training in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington Counties.  Mediation Matters has been providing alternative dispute resolution services in the community for over 35 years.  A primary focus for Mediation Matters has been engaging youth, families, and schools in alternative processes that support all to find new strategies for handling the challenges in their lives.  She is licensed to practice law in Maryland and has been a mediator since 1996.  Prior to joining Mediation Matters, Sarah was an Assistant General Counsel at the National Archives and Records Administration where she also ran their nationwide workplace mediation program.  Sarah’s professional experience in conflict resolution includes: community, federal, workplace, elder, youth, family, and criminal justice mediations; large group facilitation and team building; training for both educational seminars and undergraduate classes; and program design and implementation.

Mediation Matters has offices in 3 locations:
10 N. Russell Road, 2nd Flr, Albany, NY  12206                   (518) 446-0356
480 Broadway, LL-32, Saratoga Springs, NY  12866           (518) 584-6361
1473 Erie Blvd, Suite 302, Schenectady, NY  12305            (518) 847-0117

Peter Mody
Burnt Hills Ballston Lake CSD


Pete Mody has served as an assistant principal at Burnt Hill-Ballston Lake High School for the past three years.  Prior, he held the same position with Queensbury High School, and was part of the team that learned about and brought Restorative Justice  to the district.  Before administration, Pete taught English and Social Studies for a combined 12 years at both Ballston Spa High School and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School.  He has advised an at-risk boys group at each of the three schools he has worked at and helped start and coordinate/coach high school aged rugby for schools in Saratoga County.


Fetal Alcohol Neurodevelopmental Disorder: Missed Opportunities for Diagnosis and Intervention

Unless diagnosed (preferably early in life) and placed in proper special education classes and activities in school they may not pass or succeed in their studies and may be labeled as “Lazy”, “Bad” or unmotivated. Children prenatally exposed to alcohol show deficits in communication, daily living skills, and socialization behavior, evidenced by low standard scores on the Vineland (VABS). These deficits are not attributable to deficits in IQ. IQ IS OFTEN MISLEADING.

Many families enter the child welfare system through the dependency and delinquency courts due to drug and alcohol abuse. FASD/ND-PAE should be a primary “rule out” in these cases, although often neurodevelopmental issues impacting a child’s actions in school, foster care placement, juvenile and adult detention, and/or other community agency settings may not be apparent. A child with FASD/ND-PAE growing up without a proper diagnosis deprives the child of adequate services or effective treatment to prevent recidivism and further involvement with the court system. 


Materials

Power Point Fetal Alcohol

Power Point Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Neurodevelopmental Disorder

IDD Equivalence -Greenspan, Brown & Edwards

Adaptive Behavior and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Worldwide Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Pattern of Malformation in Offspring of Chronic Alcoholic Mothers

Neurocognitive Profile in Children


Speakers
Doug Waite, MD

The Keith Haring Clinic, The Children's Village


Dr. Waite is medical director of The Keith Haring Clinic at Children’s Village, a community foster care agency and residential treatment center established in 1851, located in New York City and Dobbs Ferry, New York. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital, a member of the Society of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics and the National Mental Health Advisory Board of the Child Welfare League of America. Dr. Waite has special interests in fetal alcohol neurodevelopmental disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of child abuse and neglect upon child development.


William J. Edwards, Esq.
Office of the Public Defender Los Angeles County


William J. Edwards is a Deputy Public Defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defenders Office, and has served in that position since 2001. He has worked with clients who have been diagnosed with FASD since 1998. For 4 years he was assigned to the mental health court where he represented clients in conservatorship and competency proceedings. Since 1994, Mr. Edwards has specialized in the representation of people with developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system. For more information about Mr. Edwards read his biography.


Dianne O’ Connor
Parent to Parent of NYS


Dianne O’Connor came to the Capital Region office of Parent to Parent in October 2014. Prior to working with Parent to Parent of NYS, she worked for the NYS Research Foundation of Mental Hygiene at the NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services implementing a sub-contract for SAMHSA on the Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). She is a certified FASD trainer through the Center for Disease Control and has been a national speaker and advocate for families dealing who have loved ones with FASD. In 2005, Dianne received the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner’s Service Award for her work on FASD prevention. Dianne’s passion to help those with FASD and the families who love them has kept her going. With a smile, she tells families, “There is an enduring quality about our children. They wake up every morning as if it is a new day, mostly forgetting about the previous day’s let downs or challenges. If my children can start each new day without worrying about the previous day, then so can I.”

Dianne and her husband Mickey have been married for 39 years and have nine children, several with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. They also have four grandchildren, two of which they are helping to parent. When Dianne is not busy working on her college course work, she loves to read and go to camp.


Special Education Law Update

We will cover recent developments in federal and state law and policy including the Every Student Succeeds Act and other changes covering the range of special education law from least restrictive environment to medication administration.

Speakers

Julie Keegan, Esq.
Disability Rights New York


Tara Moffett, Esq.
Girvin & Ferlazzo, PC


Materials

Powerpoint Presentation

Every Student Succeeds Acts

Testing Action Plan

Students with High Cognition

Effective Communication - NYSED Advisory and Link to Federal FAQs 

T.K. v. NYC Dept. of Education

Medication Administration - Levels of Assistance

Medication Administration - Naloxone

Medication Administration - Revised Sample Seizure

Least Restrictive Environment

Extended School Year Services

Residential Placement & Process

Testing Accommodations 

Exam Score Appeal for Students with Disabilities

Suspension & Expulsion of Preschoolers


Self-Advocacy –Promoting Student Involvement in the IEP Process


In this session we will explore how greater student involvement in the IEP process can empower our students and create a focused, pressure free IEP meeting.   Two students and two teachers from Shenendehowa School will share some simple strategies and materials designed to involve students in the process at varying degrees of complexity.   


Materials

IEP Planning Brochure


Speaker

Heather Green
Shenendehowa Central School District


Wrap Around Visual Supports


Wrap Around Visuals” will be a presentation demonstrating the benefits of using visual supports.  The main focus will be using visual supports in the home, at work, at school, and while out in the community.  We will look at several different kinds and view numerous examples of visual supports.


Materials

Power Point Presentation Wrap Around Visual Supports


Speaker

Stephanie Costantino
Saratoga Bridges


Stephanie Costantino has been working in the field of Speech Pathology for five years.  She started out working with children.  Currently, she works with adults with developmental disabilities through Saratoga Bridges.  Stephanie uses visual supports on a daily basis to encourage successful communication exchanges.

Defiance or Disability?:  Behavior and Students with “Hidden Disabilities”

Understanding the Impact of Disability on Behavior in the Classroom”    This session will focus on behavior as a manifestation of “hidden” disabilities (e.g. anxiety, trauma, HFA, ADHD) and the need to understand behavior in the context of disability in order to provide appropriate interventions.  Strategies for distinguishing between defiance and disability will also be discussed.

Materials

Power Point Presentation Defiance or Disability?

Speaker

Elizabeth Kraft Brown PsyD
Campbell House Psychological


Dr. Beth Brown is a licensed psychologist with clinical experience as a school psychologist, independent practitioner, and administrator. As the Director of Psychological Services at the Center for Disability Services (Albany, NY), Dr. Brown currently oversees implementation of psychological services in the residential division – consulting and coordinating with clinicians, direct care professionals, and administrators to support adults with developmental disabilities. Her work at Campbell House Psychological (Schenectady, NY) ranges from direct counseling and diagnostic evaluations to consultation and coordination with local school districts. Time and time again, Dr. Brown has seen the importance team collaboration has in achieving improved outcomes.


Special Feature Video 


The Special Education Task Force focuses on improving communication between schools and families to promote better outcomes for students with disabilities. The Task Force produced a video, Communication Matters: Time-Tested Strategies by Parents & Schools to Reduce Conflict & Improve Outcomes for Students with Disabilities, to examine communication barriers and how families, advocates and schools have overcome these barriers.