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April 28, 2010 - Preconference
April 29 & 30, 2010 - Conference and Exhibits
Greater Tacoma Convention Center, Tacoma, WA |
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Program at a Glance
Wednesday Preconferences
Thursday Conferences
Thursday Evening
Friday Conferences
Travel Information
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
CONFERENCE SESSION A (Note that the ending times of A sessions vary)
10:30 - 12:45
A1 Feeding Groups: What Works and What Doesn’t Work
A2 Getting Started With PeCS
10:30 - 12:30
A3 Spontaneous reading
A4 Rockets, Slime and the Integration of Art and Science
A5 Considering Childhood Loss
A6 Language and Movement Through Music
A7 IFSP to IEP: An Overview of Early Intervention and School Based Services
A8 Developmental Vision Milestones Within a Play-based Model
A9 ITEIP: What’s New - Going Beyond Compliance
A10 Help! They Still Don’t Understand Counting
10:30 - 12:00
A11 The Child Outcomes Summary Form (CoSf)
10:30 - 1:00
A12 Early Head Start Networking
A13 Parent Networking and Luncheon
10:30 - 12:45
A14 What Families Want: Family Experiences & Need for Support Following an Autism Diagnosis
CONFERENCE SESSION BC
1:30 - 5:30
BC1 Supporting Parents With Intellectual Disabilities and Their Children
BC2 Making Things Better: Program Improvement for Early Intervention Services
CONFERENCE SESSION B
1:30 - 3:00
B3 Can You Hear Me Now?
B4 Using Research-based Curriculum Within a Response to Intervention (RTI) Framework,
B5 Intercultural Sensitivity: Dancing With Difference
B6 Babies and the Beat
B7 Refining the Art of the Home Visit
B8 Letting Your Child’s Wild Side Out
B9 ITEIP: What’s New - Going Beyond Compliance
B10 Fun With Poetry
B11 Finding Calm in an Ongoing Storm
B12 Multi-disciplinary Approach to Working With Parents of Infants and Toddlers With Sleep Problems
B13 Using Visual Supports to Increase Engagement and Independence
B14 EHS & ITEIP - a Natural Partnership
B15 Mosaic Art With Tumbled Safe Glass
B16 Creating Peer Buddy Programs in Elementary Schools
CONFERENCE SESSION C
3:30 - 5:30
C3 Disabilities in EHS/HS Programs
C4 PECS: Beyond the Basics
C5 Compassion Fatigue
C6 Mosaic Art With Tumbled Safe Glass
C7 The First Steps to Switch and AAC Use
C8 You Gotta Know the Rules if You’re Gonna Play the Game
C9 Early Childhood Behavioral and Mental Health Consultation to Child Care
C10 Dance With Me to Develop My Mind, Emotions, and Motor Control
C11 A Story to Pass Along
C12 Strategies for Working With Meth-affected Children and families
C13 Children and Screen Time
C14 Family Resources Coordinator (FRC) Networking (ITEIP)
C15 Community Drumming
C16 Early Learning Transitions
A1 Feeding Groups: What Works and What Doesn’t Work
presented by Gay Lloyd Pinder, SLP with Joli LaBissoniere,
OTR, Kellie McMurtry, OTR and Jodi Van Vleet, SLP
Feeding groups have been a wonderful addition to treatment options
and approaches in our work with children and feeding issues. This
session will provide participants with the tools and knowledge they
need to have successful feeding groups. You will learn how to
identify which children are appropriate for a feeding group versus
ones needing 1:1 therapy and why. You will gain knowledge of how
to group children based on age and developmental ability as well as
family dynamics. This session will offer practical ideas for menu
planning and time management including set up and clean up that
make such groups feasible in a therapists schedule. We will discuss
how to involve parents in the groups so carry home is facilitated. This
session will include ideas for paperwork that has facilitated overall
efficiency, parent participation and learning and data collection.
Finally, we will share information regarding billing codes which are
necessary for cost effective groups. There is a $5.00 materials fee.
STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: All Children
Who Should Attend: All
A2 Getting Started with PECS, presented by presented by
Vanessa Tucker, Ph.D., Autism Educational Specialist, Tacoma
Public Schools
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is
an augmentative/alternative communication system that was
developed to help individuals to quickly acquire a functional means
of communication. The system teaches individuals to initiate
communication right from the start. PECS has been used successfully
with individuals with a variety of communication, cognitive, and
physical difficulties and is a frequently used option for children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders. In this session, you will get an overview
of PECS, learn the teaching sequence, and receive guidance for
getting started with PECS. STARS Core Competency: COM
Age Group Addressed: Early Childhood
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers and Paraeducators, OTs,
PTs, or SLPs, Child Care Providers, Students
A3 Spontaneous Reading, presented by Dr. Patricia
Nan Anderson, Author and Early Childhood Education
Consulting
In this session we will discuss supporting early brain development.
We will discuss how to support spontaneous reading and child
centered early literacy, what works best, and supporting early
child literacy in early learning settings. STARS Core Competency:
CUR
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Child Care Providers
Click here for Session Handout
A4 Rockets, Slime and the Integration of Art and Science.
Presented by Tim Lowell, Artist and Educator, Active Art
and Science
Create hands-on examples of the intersection of art and science. You
will make and take home a working rocket using recycled water
bottles and make it fly with non-toxic, safe “fuel.” By combining
non-toxic mediums/substances you will experience mixing of
colors, changing of form, chemical reactions and the creation of
colorful, tactile putty (a.k.a. Gak, Oobleck, Slime). There is a
$5.00 materials fee. STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: All
A5 Considering Childhood Loss, presented by Laurie Kanyer,
M.A., Certified Family Life Educator
Laurie Kanyer has spent nearly 3 decades working with families
where death, divorce, incarceration, drugs, and/or homelessness
are all too common. In this session designed for professionals,
she will describe the grieving process and outline activities that
help bereaved children.
Loss is a natural part of life…that being said, it is often unexpected,
unanticipated and life changing. Each loss carries with it a unique
quality affecting the life of those who experience it. When a child
experiences a loss they have the complicated challenge of growing
up, maneuvering through on-going circumstances of their family
group AND coping with a huge changes resulting from a death or
other such.
We now know that children “do grief” in a particular manner
based to their age and stage in life. This workshop aims to offer
professionals information about early childhood grief as well as
classroom activities to support young children through a loss.
Participants will receive Twenty-five Things to Do when Grandpa
Passes Away, Mom and Dad Get Divorced or the Dog Dies. There
is a $10.00 materials fee. STARS Core Competency: GUID
Age Group Addressed: All Children
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Child Care Providers, Family
Resources Coordinators
A6 Language and Movement through Music, presented by Debi
Hagardt, MS, CCC-SLP, Becky Blake, and Janet Anderson. All
presenters are from the Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton
This class will explore teaching music to young children, with
specific components such as pitch exploration, singing in tune,
keeping a beat, and musical expression. Using music to support
language learning and cognitive skills, to encourage movement,
and for calming and self regulation will also be covered in this
session.
Making music is a joyous experience for young children. Researchers
have found that children who discover music at a young age will
learn to comprehend and appreciate music more deeply throughout
their lifetimes. Music is also a fun and natural context for learning
and practicing new skills. Because movement is a natural part
of music, it is a natural tool for teaching motor skills, including
those that underlie speech, feeding and fluency. Music supports
and build’s on children’s natural tendency to move, and can help
children build a repertoire of functional body movements. Interactive
singing encourages social interaction and communication. Music has
also been shown to enhance memory through repetition, and make
learning new skills a positive and reinforcing experience. Music can
teach sounds, concepts, vocabulary and grammar, and can enhance
language learning. STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handouts
A7 IFSP to IEP: An Overview of Early Intervention and School
Based Services, presented by Athena Elrod, Lead FRC, Pierce
County Human Services, and Vicky McKinney, Washington
PAVE
This workshop will offer a side by side comparison/presentation of
what a family can expect when leaving birth to three services and
entering the school system. We will provide an overview of both
systems, briefly cover the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) Part B and Part C and give participants an opportunity
to ask questions. This workshop, while primarily focused to provide
information to families should be useful to educators or providers
wanting to gain a greater understanding of either service delivery
system. STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handout
A8 Developmental Vision Milestones within a Play-Based
Model, presented by Dr. Tanni Anthony, Exceptional Student
Leadership Unit, Colorado Department of Education
The sense of sight is the most studied of all human senses. Empirical
studies have confirmed a sequence of developmental milestones for
young children in the area of vision. Many of these milestones,
based on Dr. Anthony’s doctoral research, have been embedded in
the most recent edition of Toni Linder’s (2008) “Transdisciplinary
Play-Based Assessment.” Information will be shared about the
protocol, corresponding vision screening procedures, and strategies
for working with young children with visual impairment. STARS
Core Competency: DIV
Age Group Addressed: Infant and Toddler
Who Should Attend: All
A9 ITEIP: What’s New - - Going Beyond Compliance , presented
by Karen Walker, M.Ed., Acting Director, Department of Social
and Health Services, ITEIP
ITEIP has new resources to offer early intervention providers. Come
learn about the resources that are now available to support improved
early intervention practices and services. Hear from ITEIP Early
Intervention Training Consultants and review new Practice Guides.
STARS Core Competency: PROF
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handouts
A10 Help! They Still Don’t Understand Counting, presented
by Faith Sadler, M.Ed., Itinerant Early Childhood Special Ed.
Teacher, Seattle Public Schools
What is the current thinking about how preschoolers come to
understand counting? Come and learn about the six stages of
cardinality development and how understanding this learning
trajectory can help you plan appropriate math activities for young
children. Participants will learn a variety of teaching strategies
derived from research and see videos of counting activities. Games,
easily made from inexpensive materials will also be shared as well
as a list of children’s literature that can spice up counting activities.
STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Preschool
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
Click here for Session Handouts
A11 The Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) Refresher,
presented by Christina Kasprzak and Robin Rooney, the
National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
(NECTAC) and the Early Childhood Outcome (ECO) Center
A “refresher course” in using the Child Outcomes Summary Form
(COSF), this session will update participants with new tools for
implementing the COSF process. Presenters will provide a brief
review of the COSF’s 7-point rating scale, demonstrate the use of an
updated decision tree and rating definitions, and provide guidance
for documenting the COSF rating and for reviewing completed
forms for quality. Using written child examples, activities will
allow participants to practice with tools and discuss how they can
be used to improve child outcomes data quality. STARS Core
Competency: OBS
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Administrators
A12 Early Head Start Networking, facilitated by Head Start
T/TA Office of Washington Staff
This session is for Early Head Start (EHS) staff to register for and
attend and is developed specifically EHS staff who are attending
the conference. This is your opportunity to meet other EHS staff
at the conference and learn first hand how important resources and
supports from peers and professionals. This will be a facilitated
gathering for to meet, exchange ideas and concerns and give
feedback to the Head Start T/TA Office of Washington. STARS
Core Competency: PROF
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler
Who Should Attend: Early Head Start
A13 Parent Networking: Supports, Resources and Advocacy
Equals Success for Your Child and Support for Your Family,
presented by Cassie Johnston with Special Guest Speakers
It is recommended that parents/families register for and attend this
session developed specifically for parents (and other relative care
givers) attending the conference. This is your opportunity to meet
other family members and learn first hand how important resources
and supports from peers and professionals can help with the success
of your child with special needs through out their life time.
This workshop is a panel of families and a youth sharing their
experiences and discussing the resources and supports helped them
move forward to achieve their goals and outcomes in working
with professionals and systems of care. They will provide not only
ideas on key resources but share tips that build partnerships for
successful outcomes. This panel will cover experiences on birth to
three services, early childhood pre-school, grade school and a high
school student’s perspective his abilities and school experiences.
This session will be immediately followed by a Parent Reception
and Luncheon. STARS Core Competency: FAM
Who Should Attend: Parents, Grandparents, Foster Parents,
Relatives, Care Givers, Family Resources Coordinators
A14 What Families Want: Family Experiences & Need for
Support Following an Autism Diagnosis. Presented by Jennifer
Fung, PhC, University of Washington
A critical challenge in working with young children who have
autism is meeting the needs of families whose children have recently
received a diagnosis. Families are struggling with emotional and
cognitive reactions while they are trying to find treatment services
for their child. This session will describe the results of a research
study in which families tell us what was helpful, what wasn’t and
what professional can do to support families during this process..
STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: Toddlers, Preschool
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Administrators, Family Resources
Coordinators, Students
Click here for Session Handout
BC1 Supporting Parents with Intellectual Disabilities and Their
Children, presented by Linda Gil, Division of Developmental
Disabilities (DDD)
The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DD) works to support
parents with intellectual disabilities who are also clients of DDD
and who want to parent their children. No one agency can be the
sole support of the parents. Public and private agencies must partner
and share resources to support this population. Providers, educators,
public heath nurses, social workers and case managers always
seek strategies to improve working relationships and support these
parents in their parenting endeavors. In this workshop, information,
strategies and curriculum from a national program shared with
participants. STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: All
BC2 Making Things Better: Program Improvement for
Early Intervention Services, presented by Kris Slentz, Ph.D.,
Professor Western Washington University Early Childhood
Special Education and Kellie Horn, MS., Early Childhood
Coordinator, ESD 123. Both presenters are ITEIP Technical
Assistant Consultants.
Compliance determinations, performance indicators, evidence-based
practices, and the work we do...Are you wondering where to start
with program level improvements for infants/toddlers and families
receiving services under Part C of IDEA? All personnel providing
Part C services have similar requirements for eligibility determination
and initial assessment; IFSP development, implementation, and
monitoring; and program accountability against OSEP outcomes.
Join us and engage in a comprehensive self-assessment of program
practices from referrals to exit COSFs, using recommended practices
and Part C performance indicators as standards. Set priorities for
program improvement based on the results of your individual selfassessment,
and engage in action planning for continuous program
improvement. Leave with a clear understanding of the connection
between national/state requirements, and evidence-based practices
that are recommended as the foundation of our work with children
and families. This session is not appropriate for those who
participated in our IECC 2009 pre-conference workshop.
This is an advanced session. Participants should have detailed
knowledge of the processes, practices, and procedures of a specific
early intervention program, including school district programs
that just started serving directly in September 2009. STARS Core
Competency: OBS
Age Group Addressed: Infants and Toddlers
Who Should Attend: Administrators, Family Resources
Coordinators, LLA Representatives, Lead Teachers, School
Psychologists
B3 Can You Hear Me Now? Early Auditory Skills of Very
Young Children with Visual Impairment, presented by Dr.
Tanni Anthony, Exceptional Student Leadership Unit, Colorado
Department of Education
The field of educating learners with blindness/visual impairment
has a long-established history of assessing functional vision. There
has been less attention on assessment practices of the auditory
development of young children with visual impairment. Auditory
development and listening skills are paramount for a young
child’s learning, literacy, and movement development. A proposed
sequence of auditory development will be discussed, along with
nuances specific to auditory development of the young child who
is blind/visually impaired. STARS Core Competency: DIV
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: All
B4 Using Research-Based Curriculum Within a Response to
Intervention (RTI) Framework, presented by Susan Sandall,
Ph. D., The Haring Center, University of Washington and Sheila
Ammons, M.A., Early Childhood Program Supervisor, Office of
Superintendent of Public Instruction
The research surrounding RTI and other tiered models of intervention
highlights the importance of utilizing research-based curriculum
as a foundational strategy to provide high quality instruction to all
children. This session will explore the outcomes of using researchbased
curriculum in a variety of early childhood programs. A panel
of representatives will discuss how their early childhood program has
adopted research-based curriculum. Participants will learn about the
benefits of implementing research-based curriculum, how to get started
and how to continue using research-based curriculum with fidelity.
STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Preschool
Who Should Attend: All
B5 Intercultural Sensitivity: Dancing with Difference, presented
by Dr. David Whitfield and Natalie Mattson, Intercultural
Leadership, Inc.
With or without our consent, culture shapes our lives. This lively,
interactive, team-facilitated workshop will involve you and your
workplace stories as we explore the otherness within us. Presenting
a model that focuses on understanding how parents, teachers, and
other practitioners experience cultural difference, we will offer tools
to support inclusivity by addressing elements of your Mind Set,
Heart Set, and Skill Set. Example: what do you know about this
child’s intellectual disability, her/his family’s values, and related
social norms (Mind Set)? How do you feel about what you know
(Heart Set)? And, do you have the skills to work with what you
know and how you feel (Skill Set)? STARS Core Competency:
ADM
Age Group Addressed: Toddlers, Preschool
Who Should Attend: All
Thursday Workshop Selections
Click here for Session Handouts
B6 Babies and the Beat, presented by Tessa Grigg and Brian
Ringrose, Early Childhood Educators, Christchurch, New
Zealand
Babies and the Beat is a practical musical/sensory motor workshop
designed for adults who have contact with very young children and
babies. It is an opportunity for everyone to have fun, while learning
new skills. The activities are designed to increase the child’s music
and movement experiences. Recordings of much of the music will
be available, together with written material. The songs and activities
have been thoroughly tested with infants. While course members will
be encouraged to participate where appropriate, the natural mix of
an experienced educationalist and a professional musician ensures
entertainment and a strong educational content with a delightful New
Zealand flavour. Current research into brain development, sensory
motor integration and music and movement are used as the base of
the material presented. We hope to demonstrate ways to enhance a
child’s learning potential through the use of music and movement.
Topics covered: Musical activities to encourage learning Whole
Brain Learning - ways to enhance this Children’s dances for babies
and toddlers Rhythm as an important tool in learning. STARS Core
Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Prenatal, Infant, Toddler
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
B7 Refining the Art of the Home Visit: Actions That Catalyze
Change, presented by Mary LeClair Turcotte, M.S., Infant/
Toddler Specialist, Olympia School District
From their first conversations with families, professionals who support
children with developmental delays or disabilities in their “natural
environments” are presented with a plethora of choices in how they
conduct themselves. What guides these choices? How do you know
when your support is facilitating meaningful changes in daily routines
and activities? What changes to your home visiting routines might
you consider?
This presentation will explore ways to increase family participation,
maintain a family-centered focus and bring energy and productivity
into each home visit. By the end of this session, participants will
understand theories that support family participation and change,
give fresh consideration to how their actions may impact families and
develop strategies for increasing parents’ confidence and competence
in relating to their children. STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: Home Visiting Professionals, Family Resources
Coordinators, Students
B8 Letting Your Child’s Wild Side Out: Raising a Confident Blind
Baby, Toddler, Preschooler, presented by Graciela Tiscareno-Sato,
Mother, Writer, Speaker, Advocate
This special guest speaker is brought to you by Washington State Sensory
Disabilities Services.
Created and presented by the mother of a blind child, this unique
multimedia session is a five-year case study of how one family
embraced early intervention services and created an environment
and philosophy to allow their little girl early mastery of her body in
space. For educators this session provides a real-life child example
that can be shared with parents of kids with disabilities so they can
see the benefits and successful outcomes that are possible when they
let their child’s wild side out. For parents of kids with special needs,
this session provides specific early recreational ideas to put into
practice, video evidence that it can be done (and why it should be
done), and a powerful parent-to-parent message about avoiding the
urge to over-parent/over-protect the child with a disability. Through
video and photographs, you’ll see how the blind baby first learned
to move, plus activities that motivated the blind toddler to stand and
walk. You’ll see the preschooler master escalators with her white
cane, enjoy gymnastics and excel in her first downhill ski lesson.
STARS Core Competency: DIV
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Parents, Family Resources
Coordinators, Students
Click here for Session Handouts
B9 ITEIP: What’s New - - Going Beyond Compliance
Continued, presented by Karen Walker, M.Ed., Acting Director,
Department of Social and Health Services ITEIP
ITEIP has new resources to offer early intervention providers. Come
learn about the resources that are now available to support improved
early intervention practices and services. Hear from ITEIP Early
Intervention Training Consultants and review new Practice Guides.
Attendance at the first session (A9) is not required. STARS Core
Competency: PROF
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: All
B10 Fun with Poetry, presented by Susan Anderson-Newham,
Early Learning Librarian, Pierce County Library
Words, rhymes, feelings, and fun. In this entertaining session,
teachers will discover new ways to share and play with language.
Cast off the image of the staid, serious, wordsmith and introduce
your babies, toddlers and preschoolers to the delights of poetry.
In this workshop, you will learn specific poems and activity ideas
to share; and be given the opportunity to share poetry activities
that have worked for you in the past. In addition, you will receive
an extensive resource list of poetry books and materials. STARS
Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handouts
B11 Finding Calm in an Ongoing Storm, presented by Laurie
Kanyer, M.A., Certified Family Life Educator
This workshop was specially designed for families coping with
life experiences that were unexpected…. namely caring for their
child(ren) (foster children) with developmental delays, disabilities
and/or other special health care needs. Participants will learn about
typical roles that often develop in families to manage crisis, as well
as the roles a “primarily caregiver” develops to insure care for their
child(ren). Parents (or relative caregivers) will learn about “future
tripping” and ways to maintain a sense of balance in the middle of
an on-going storm. The presenter will support parent in exploring
types of life stress and the wellness wheel as a tool for self-care.
STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: Parents, Family Resources Coordinators
B12 Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Working with Parents
of Infants and Toddlers with Sleep Problems, presented by
Angelique Millette, Ph.D.c, Sleep Consultant, Parent Educator,
and Infant/Child Therapist
Sleep deprived parents are often too tired to research sleep solutions.
Also, parents report not feeling comfortable talking to their
pediatricians about their infants or toddlers poor sleeping. Many
sleep books use a “one size fits all” approach. I will present a new
model to understand and solve infant and toddler sleep problems.
The model incorporates a motto often used by birth and postpartum
doulas: “meet the family where they are at.” This model takes into
account familial, social, cultural as well as parenting practices, and
over all family functioning. Additionally, the model incorporates
attachment theory, and takes a look at untreated maternal mood
disorders impact on infant and toddler sleep organization. The
model is not limited to one sleep location or arrangement, as recent
research shows us that up to 70 percent of parents in the U.S. will
co-sleep with their infant or young child at some point in the first
five years. Finally, the model presents a better understanding of the
very early sleep regulation that infants are developing as parents
help them to sleep. STARS Core Competency: ENV
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler
Who Should Attend: All
B13 Using Visual Supports to Increase Engagement and
Independence in the Classroom and at Home. Presented by Julie
Ashmun, Continuing Education Coordinator, with Carolyn
Cottam, and Bethany Younger, Experimental Education Unit,
University of Washington
Pictures, objects, photographs, symbols, drawings, words. Any
and all of these can be used to support young children’s successful
participation in play groups, in the classroom and at home. Many
children learn best when information is presented visually as
well as orally. This session will provide a host of “tried and true”
visual supports for young learners, including those with significant
disabilities. Learn how teachers (and parents!) can use visuals to
support transitions from activity to activity. Learn how to use visuals
to display the classroom schedule. Learn how to use visuals to
promote social interaction. Learn to use visuals in a variety of ways
to elicit child responses and to increase the probability of accurate
responses while reducing challenging behaviors. You’ll leave this
session with ideas you can put to use right away. STARS Core
Competency: COM
Age Group Addressed: Toddler, Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Parents, Child Care Providers
B14 EHS & ITEIP - A Natural Partnership, presented by Erin
O’Moore, EHS Supervisor and Christi Louro, Lead Family
Resources Coordinator, and a Panel of Providers from the
Opportunity Council.
Often families enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS) have children who
are involved with Early Intervention services as well. Sometimes
parents (and service providers) experience confusion and overwhelm
trying to determine the roles and responsibilities of each program
provider. Our agency is engaged in a process of collaboration in
an effort to gain clarity and improve services to families. During
this session we will have a panel of providers - EHS home visitor,
FRC, Infant Specialist and others, who will share their experience
of forming this partnership and the impact its had on families. Come
and hear about some of the barriers to effective collaboration and
strategies to overcome them! STARS Core Competency: ADM
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler
Who Should Attend: Teachers, Administrators, OT’s, PT’s, SLP’s,
Family Resources Coordinators
B15 Mosaic Art with Tumbled Safe Glass. Presented by Tim
Lowell, Artist and Educator, Active Art and Science
Unleash your creativity and inspire your students to do the same!
In this fun and creative session you will make and take home two
mosaic glass coasters using tumbled safe (no sharp edges) recycled
stained glass. Come and discover how to present this wonderful
tactile project to children. Learn more about the Washington State
Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRS) in the Arts,
and how they apply to this project and other lesson plans. We
will discuss age appropriate approaches to art and the nurturing
of creativity in children. There is a $5.00 materials fee. STARS
Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
B16 Creating Peer Buddy Programs in Elementary Schools,
presented by Karla Jacks, professional speaker, mother
The Peer Buddy Program was designed to assist children with
disabilities in learning appropriate social skills and how to establish
friendships within an inclusive/supported educational school
setting. This program has been successfully implemented in the
Stanwood/Camano School District since 1999 with over 30 students
with disabilities. Karla Jacks, the co-creator of the program will be
sharing how to implement your own program and how successful
the peer buddy program was for her now 17 year old autistic son.
STARS Core Competency: ENV
Age Group Addressed: School Age
Who Should Attend: All
C3 Disabilities in EHS/HS Programs, presented by Dawn
Williams, M.Ed Head Start T/TA Office of Washington
This session will focus on current issues in disabilities affecting
Head Start Programs. This is an opportunity to meet other EHS/
HS staff attending the conference while learning about disabilities
coordinator responsibilities, the role of Head Start programs
and RTI, an update on the Washington MOU, and strategies for
enrolling 10 percent of children with disabilities by the mid-point
of the year. STARS Core Competency: DIV
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Who Should Attend: Early Head Start and Head Start staff
C4 PECS: Beyond the Basics. Presented by Janet Bauer,
Speech Language Pathologist and Tara Godinho, Classroom
Teacher at the Experimental Education Unit, University of
Washington
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a widely
used system to teach functional communication to children with
language delays including children with autism. This session
is intended for teachers, therapists, and parents who have used
PECS to teach basic requesting. Now learn to integrate PECS into
activities throughout the classroom day. Help children use PECS
to make comments, and engage in conversations with peers and
adults. Participants will learn strategies to incorporate PECS into
all aspects of the child’s life; school, home, and in the community.
Bring your own experiences to share with others. This is an
advanced session. STARS Core Competency: COM
Age Group: Toddler, Preschool, Kindergarten
Who Should Attend: Experienced Teachers, Therapists, Parents
Click here for Session Handouts
C5 Compassion Fatigue, presented by Karin Ganz, LMHC,
Bonnie Day, MA, and Marian Gonzales, MA, Mental Health
Specialist, Sound to Harbor Head Start/ECEAP.
This training is designed to help professional caregivers maximize
their efficiency and effectiveness while minimizing burn out and
stress. The simple principles and practices covered in this training
will increase resiliency whether you are a twenty year veteran or
just starting your career. By the end of this training you will have
a resiliency plan and have new information about how to manage
demands and competing needs. This training is based on the work
of Eric Gentry Ph.D., and provides concrete tools and learning
opportunities. STARS Core Competency: ADM
Age Group Addressed: Adults
Who Should Attend: All
C6 Mosaic Art with Tumbled Safe Glass. Presented by Tim
Lowell, Artist and Educator, Active Art and Science
Unleash your creativity and inspire your students to do the same!
In this fun and creative session you will make and take home two
mosaic glass coasters using tumbled safe (no sharp edges) recycled
stained glass. This is a repeat of session B15. Please read that
session description for full details. There is a $5.00 materials fee.
STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
C7 The First Steps to Switch and AAC Use, presented by Alix
Koehler, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), Koehler Therapy
and More, Brooke Rothermel, and Michele Jorgensen, SLPs, at
Birth to Three Developmental Center
Many children with special needs benefit from Augmentative
Communication support. This session is intended to be an
introductory class for parents, teachers, and therapists. The purpose
and functional use of access tools, switch adapted toys, simple voice
output communication aids, and basic communication software
programs will be discussed. Participants will learn practical
strategies and creative ideas for implementing simple AAC devices
and switches at home, in the community, and in the classroom.
Bring your own experiences to share with others. STARS Core
Competency: COM
Age Group: Toddlers, Preschool, Kindergarten
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Therapists
Click here for Session Handouts
C8 You Gotta Know the Rules if You’re Gonna Play the Game,
presented by Graciela Tiscareno-Sato, Mother, Writer, Speaker,
Advocate
This special guest speaker is brought to you by Washington State
Sensory Disabilities Services. In this session, parents will learn the
basics of special education law so that they can advocate for their
child from a position of knowledge. We will provide insight into
organizational culture so that parents can build positive, productive,
long-term working relationships with educators and administrators.
Parents will be provided with parent-created IEP preparation and
meeting materials to help keep the IEP meeting child-centric at all
times. Teachers and administrators are encouraged to attend this
session, and will take away strategies to improve partnerships with
parents whose children have IEPs. STARS Core Competency:
COM
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Administrators, Family
Resources Coordinators, Parent to Parent Coordinators, Students
Click here for Session Handouts
C9 Early Childhood Behavioral and Mental Health
Consultation to Child Care, presented by Chris Cuneo and
Stephanie Campbell, Social Workers, Holly Ridge Center in
Bremerton
Do you sometimes wish you had help managing challenging
behaviors? In this session, participants will learn about the value,
function, and process of a behavior/mental health consultation
program and gain awareness of the possible funding sources for
such a program. Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton, Washington
has designed a consultation program, won start up grants, and
established sustainability through local contracts and billing. A
behavior and mental health consultation is a problem-solving
intervention where a professional consultant works with child care
staff and families to create solutions that best fit a particular child
and child care center. The process aims to improve the ability of
staff, families, and programs to prevent, identify, treat and reduce
the impact of mental health problems among children from birth to
age five. Consultants conduct observations, offer training, design
and implement program practices with staff, support staff with
classroom management and educate parents on children’s mental
health issues. STARS Core Competency: PROF
Age Group Addressed: Adults
Who Should Attend: Administrators, Child Care Providers
C10 Dance With Me to Develop My Mind, Emotions And
Motor Control, presented by Christine Roberts, BFA., Founder
and Director of Nurturing Pathways, Inc
Explore movement patterns that organize neural pathways and
a “map of me” or kinesthesia that leads to mental and motor
coordination. Participants will learn sound neurological principals
that underlie the rhyming exercises, sensory explorations, obstacle
courses and musical instruments used in the workshop. Understand
how learning competencies are built upon the body’s basic
neurological movement patterns. You will leave with a head full of
ideas for dancing with children to improve their mental processing,
emotional well-being and motor control. By participating in a
20 minute creative dance lesson plan parents and professionals
will understand how accessible the material is for children with
challenges. STARS Core Competency: CUR
Age Group Addressed: Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School Age
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handout
C11 A Story to Pass Along, Presented by Dan Peters, Author,
Lecturer, Instructor, Yakima Valley Community College
I have a three year old son and a five year old daughter. The thing
people keep telling me is that the days are long but the years are
fast. So I decided to try to slow it down and capture some of it
before it was gone. To grab some details as they raced by in the
daily work of being a parent. The best way I found to accomplish
this was through poetry. While it won’t slow down the children
(what could?) it does have a way of slowing us down. It gives us
a chance to look at our particulars more closely. It allows us to
shape the memory for ourselves, for our children and for others.
It gives us a story to pass on.
In this session, participants will write (or get started writing) two to
four poems. We’ll work mainly by reading and imitating the works
of authors such as Neruda, Orr and Stafford. We’ll also write poems
that incorporate photographs, “forms” such as a acrostics, alphabets
poems, tritinas, haibuns and journal entries. Absolutely no prior
writing experience is necessary. Beginners are highly encouraged
to attend. STARS Core Competency: FAM
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Students
C12 Strategies for Working with Meth-Affected Families,
presented by Jackie McReynolds, Senior Instructor, Washington
State University
Meth abuse creates many opportunities for severe family
dysfunction, child maltreatment, specific challenges for those
professionals who work with the children and families, and
neighborhoods and communities who struggle with the crime and
the costs associated with production and use of the drug.
This session is designed to create a higher level of understanding
of what the drug is, how it works, why it’s so addictive, how it
impacts users, and the direct and indirect impact it has on families,
children, communities, and society. Particular attention will be
paid to addressing the developmental impacts on children, and
best practices for working with children who are meth-affected.
Additionally, we will address the safety concerns for professionals
who work with meth-impacted families and will brainstorm
strategies for interacting with families. STARS Core Competency:
PROF
Age Group Addressed: All
Who Should Attend: All
C13 Children and Screen Time, presented by Linda Albert,
Public Health Nurse & Child Care Health Consultant, Skagit
County Public Health Department
Our society has changed dramatically. As technology has advanced
and screen time (the time spent in front of the TV, computers, or
Video Games) has increased, our children’s activity levels have
decreased. This session is designed to provide parents and Early
Childhood educators essential information about how screen time
affects young children’s health and development. Participants
will be given strategies to teach children to develop healthy media
habits. Additionally, the discussion will address the epidemic of
childhood obesity and how families can strive to help their children
avoid this condition. STARS Core Competency: HS
Age Group Addressed: All Children
Who Should Attend: All
Click here for Session Handouts
C14 Family Resources Coordinator (FRC) Networking,
presented by Carol Hall, M.Ed., Director Early Childhood
School Improvement, ESD 112 and Karen Walker, M.Ed.,
Acting Director, ITEIP
A facilitated gathering for Family Resources Coordinators’s to meet,
exchange ideas and concerns and give feedback to the state training
coordinator. STARS Core Competency: PROF
Who Should Attend: Family Resources Coordinators
C15 Community Drumming, facilitated by Ray Soriano,
Program Manager Skagit Islands Head Start
This special evening session is guaranteed to be fun for all who come
out. Community drumming is a fun and powerful way for us to
build community, relieve stress, rejuvenate, and express creativity.
Last year, participants told us this was one of their favorite sessions
- ever! No training or experience necessary! This session will be
repeated Thursday evening. STARS Core Competency: COM
Age Group Addressed: Toddler, Preschool, School Age, Adults
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
C16 Early Learning Transitions, presented by Collaboration
Team
The Edmonds School District, Snohomish County Head Start and
Edmonds Community College collaborate when there is a concern
about a child. The staffing team includes the Head Start Classroom
Teacher, School Psychologist, Special Education Teacher, School
district Paraeducator, and Speech-Language Pathologist. Rather than
referring every child to the district’s Child Find team, we develop
a multi-tiered instruction (MTI) and intervention system designed
to meet each individual child’s needs. In most cases this leads to
success in the Head Start classroom rather than eventual referral
to preschool special education services. When a full evaluation is
warranted, after staffing and trying MTI, the team that knows the
child and Head Start best (rather than the Child Find team) conducts
the evaluation.
Given the high needs population that Head Start serves, we believe
in most cases it is best for children to have the time and support they
need to succeed in this “typical” preschool rather than evaluation
for special education services. And it is advantageous for the school
district to know more about the children who will be transitioning
to kindergarten.
Edmonds School District is one of the recipients of a Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation Early Learning Grant. Our Head Start staffing
team is working with the grant liaisons to make the transition to
kindergarten as seamless as possible. STARS Core Competency:
PROF
Age Group Addressed: Toddler, Preschool, School Age, Adults
Who Should Attend: Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers
Click here for Session Handout
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