Special Educators Conference

A Special Thanks to:

Teachers Credit Union Australian Education Union Office Max Bunnings Tuggerannong Bunnings Belconnen

16 & 17 April 2012

Key Note Speakers

Sally Clendon
Sally Clendon is a speech-language therapist and a consultant in the area of literacy for children with significant disabilities particularly those with complex communication needs. She is a Research Affiliate of the Centre for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. Sally has presented nationally and internationally. She has also consulted with various groups including working with companies to develop literacy programmes for children with severe disabilities, working with AAC device manufacturers to develop the language systems within their AAC devices, and working with schools to implement a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction with their students.

Chalk Trudi Smith Kylie Hennock Emma Herne Leave it to Leslie Leslie Mariani Australian Education Union Bill Book PROMPT Education Tara Hearne Lightning Mobility Cameron Aussel Silvereye Educational Publications Anne-Marie Wilkins

Dawn Hallet
In 2009 Dawn began working at Warringa Park, a school which caters for students with an intellectual disability from the ages of 5-18. 40% of students there have been formally diagnosed with autism. In 2011 Dawn was appointed iPad Coach at Warringa Park and became responsible for the integration of 430 iPads into the school. Her role involved facilitating workshops and supporting teachers in the classroom. This was the start of an exciting journey into transformational teaching and learning for the teachers and students at Warringa Park School. Dawn is extremely passionate about providing a curriculum to meet the needs of ALL students. The iPad has already made a significant difference to the lives of students at Warringa Park School and she has witnessed first hand students writing, counting and communicating for the first time using this device. Dawn is extremely excited about the possibilities yet to be discovered for learners with an intellectual disability.

Day 1 Special Educators Conference Building Blocks Monday 16 April 2012

8.30 9.00 9.10 9.30 10 .00 11.00 11.30 1.00 2.00 Workshops

Workshop Outlines
Disability and Grief Identifying the symptoms of grief in parents of children with disability and outlining the current research on grief processes, in particular relating to disability. Participants will consider how families they work with may be responding to grief, and ways of working compassionately with them. Proloquo2go and Pictello for Beginners This session will introduce two communication iPad apps used at Black Mountain School. Pictello is a simple way to create talking photo albums and talking books on the iPad, It is highly motivating for students, who can easily record their own voices as narrative. It is a really useful tool for creating Social Stories, quickly and easily. Proloquo2go is an AAC solution for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, that is changing the world of communication for people with disabilities. It provides a fully featured communication solution for those with communication difficulties. Participants will be given a demonstration of the functions of these apps and suggestions for personalisation to cater for individual needs. Examples of how they can be used in the school setting will also be given. It is assumed that participants are only beginning their journey in the use of these apps and have little or no experience with using the apps at all. Active Learning for high needs students Active Learning was developed by Dr Lilli Nielson in Denmark. It was initially developed for children with vision impairments, but is now used for all children, including those with multiple disabilities and autism. The presentation will look at the Active Learning methodologies, the learning environment and the teachers role in facilitating learning. We will discuss our journey over the last 18 months: how we started, what we have learned and where we are heading. AIM Achieving Independence and Mobility In 2011 Cranleigh School started a pilot program, AIM, with students with limited mobility, complex communication needs and high needs. The program is based on conductive education principles and this presentation looks at the results of the Action Research, mainly in the mobility area, undertaken by the teachers of the class. Positive Behaviour Support Strategies The basic principles of Positive Behaviour Support will be introduced and through discussion and the use of scenarios the practical implementation of these principles will be explored. The emphasis will be on supporting positive academic and social outcomes for all students through the use of positive and systematic student management. Sibling Support Program Sibling support is a project that teachers can implement to assist their wider community especially siblings of students with disabilities. The purpose of this program is to: Understand issues pertaining to their siblings disability or illness Understand they are not alone with their concerns and feelings Receive support to express and deal with these feelings Develop strategies to deal with difficult situations Make a more positive adjustment to their family situation TeamTeach Refresher This session is only available to people who have completed at least the 6 hour TeamTeach training and have received a certificate. Participants will revisit the basic principles of TeamTeach and there will be a review of basic positive handling techniques. Participants will need to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. AAC Alternative and Augmentative Communication strategies Many Cranleigh students have limited verbal language and use AAC to communicate. Throughout the school there is a strong emphasis on using Boardmaker symbols for communication, and for making communication practices seamless across the school. Emma and Kate have developed a range of resources for literacy learning which incorporate Boardmaker communication symbols. These have been used successfully to increase engagement with literacy and meaningful reading and writing. Well be sharing a variety of our resources and looking at how we have used them with our students. Come away with some practical ideas for making your own AAC adapted literacy materials. Communicating with i-pads Malkara School is trialling an iPad class with Years 5/6 students with specific communication experiences. This workshop will cover our journey in implementing Proloquo2gosuccesses and challenges.

Workshop Registration and Trade Displays Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country Diane Joseph - Acting Director General Dr Baker - The Nation Disability Insurance Scheme Sally Clendon Keynote Part 1 Morning Tea Sally Clendon Keynote Part 2 Lunch and Trade Displays Sally Clendon Disability and Grief Proloquo2go and Pictello for Beginners ASDAN Active LearnUnderstanding Pilot Curriculum ing for high Autism/ CommuProject needs students nication& Sensory Strategies Positive Behav- Sibling Support iour Support Program Strategies Indigenous Perspectives and Resources

3.00 Workshops

Sally Clendon

Disability and Grief

AIM Achieving Independence and Mobility

4.00

CLOSE and Evaluations

Day 2 Special Educators Conference Building Blocks Tuesday 17 April 2012

8.30 9.00 9.10 9.35 11.00 Workshop Registration and Trade Displays Welcome Steve Gniel, Director: Aboriginal and Torris Strait Islander Education and Student Engagement Strategic Directions Dawn Hallet: Keynote Morning Tea and Trade Displays Using the IWB Write On to engage studentsGonzalo Donoso-Lopez Practical Literacy Strategies

11.30 Dawn Hallet Team Teach Introduction to Workshops Popular apps for Rrefresher Numicon i-pads Participants must have completed Team Teach training 1.00 Lunch

1.40 ACC: Matching Writing and Us- Introduction to Workshops the Strategy to ing Social Sto- Numicon the User ries to support student routines. 2.40 Dawn Hallet Workshops i-pads for dummies Understanding Autism/ Communication and Sensory Strategies

Mealtime Management

Using a PlanFelting Workshop ning Matrix to Max 15 meet the individual needs of students Felting Workshop Max 15

School Nurse Right to Project Meet- Know ing Complex Health Care Needs in Schools

AAC Alterna- Communitive and Aug- cating with imentative pads Communication Strategies

3.30

Evaluations, lucky door prize and Close: