| Happy Spring, Montana Transition Listserv members! We have a number of transition-related learning opportunities, publications and resources to share with you today.
Learning Opportunities:
The Rural Institute Transition and Employment Projects, in partnership with Children's Special Health Services at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, is pleased to announce nine webinars scheduled for 2011. Interested individuals may participate from their own offices or homes, and there is no cost for any of the sessions. All webinars are from 1-2:30 Mountain Time.
4/19/11: "Overview of SSI and SSDI" (archives available soon)
5/3/11: "Dating and Healthy Relationships"
5/17/11: "Social Security Work Incentives"
6/21/11: "Guide to Success: Navigating Montana's DD Program"
7/19/11: "Parent-to-Parent: Critical Skills for Your Child to Develop"
8/16/11: "Portfolios - What are they? How can they be used?"
9/20/11: "Using Portfolios for Health Care Needs"
10/18/11: "Identifying and Communicating Support Needs"
11/15/11: "Rural Work Experience"
Session fliers and registration information will be sent to Montana Transition Listserv members. To join the Montana Transition Listserv, go to the Transition and Employment Projects Home Page and enter your email address in the box provided.
Dates: April 4, 11, 18, 25 and May 2, 9, 2011 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm MDT Registration Fees: $75/session, $405/series members; $115/session, $621/series non-members
This six-session series on Discovery will provide educators, adult service personnel and family members with the critical information necessary to facilitate discovery for persons with significant disabilities. This alternative to comparative assessment addresses the essential question so often overlooked by evaluations and tests, "Who is this person?" The sessions offer a comprehensive overview to discovery, the relationship to employment and transition from school to adult work, relevance to curricular outcomes and development of visual and written profile documents that capture the information learned during discovery.
University of Rochester Webinar Series: Autism Across the Lifespan [PDF]
Dates: April 13-May 18, 2011
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm MDT
Registration Fee: $30 per session; $100 for all four sessions
April 13: Why Autism Across the Lifespan with Kathleen M. Bishop, Ph.D.
April 27: Issues and Considerations in Assessing Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Caroline I. Magyar, Ph.D.
May 11: Future Care Planning for Persons with Autism with Doris Green, Director, Future Care Planning Services, Inc.
May 18: Assessing for Autism in Children with Down syndrome: Issues and Considerations in Screening and Diagnostic Assessment Practices with Caroline I. Magyar, Ph.D.
National WISE Webinar
Date: April 27, 2011
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm MDT
If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits or Supplemental Security Income, learn how you can benefit from Social Security Work Incentives, including the Ticket to Work program.
Employment First - Keeping the Movement Moving APSE Webinar
Date: May 3, 2011
Time: 10:00 am- 11:00 am MDT
Registration Fee: $50 APSE Members/$100 Non-members
In this webinar, participants will learn about the growing Employment First movement that is happening across the United States and other countries. You will learn about the roots of the Employment First movement and recent developments occurring in several states. We will discuss the role of APSE state chapters as leaders and participants in Employment First efforts. There will be discussion of some fundamental organizing principles that are being used throughout the country to advance this rapidly growing movement.
Family Involvement in Transitions to Adulthood Webinar
Date: May 24, 2011
Time: 11:00 am -12:00pm MDT
Family members, youth, service providers, and researchers will offer perspectives on how to involve families in services in ways that are preferred by youth and young adults. Presenters will discuss the developmental, legal and confidentiality issues that affect young people; the balancing act between families and providers; the role of mentors and adult allies; and the strengths and needs of diverse families.
Employment For All - Believe it, Achieve it! APSE National Conference 2011
June 14-16, 2011
Seattle, WA
The ARC's 2011 National Convention
Dates: September 17-19, 2011
Location: Denver, Colorado
Register to attend this year's convention for informative presentations on issues important to the intellectual and developmental disability community, hear from experts and professionals, participate in setting the direction of The Arc, network with peers and enjoy special events.
National Inclusive Education Initiative offers free online and on-demand Inclusive Education webinars. The University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability presents free online and on-demand inclusive education webinars: Fundamentals of Inclusive Education, Administrators' Leadership Series, and Educators' Inclusive Education Leadership.
Montana News
Youth M.O.V.E. is a national youth led organization devoted to improving services and systems that support positive growth and development by uniting the voices of individuals who have lived experience in various systems including mental health, juvenile justice, education, and child welfare. The Montana chapter was accepted and established in April 2010. The goal is to get teens around the state involved in the Youth M.O.V.E. mission. For more information on the Montana chapter, go to the Facebook fan page: Youth M.O.V.E. Montana. For more information, contact Kristin: KYoungmeyer@mt.gov.
According to their web site, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks "seeks to ensure that its programs, services, and activities are accessible to persons with disabilities." Visit the site to learn about accessible hunting, fishing and other recreational activities in our beautiful state.
Employment
How to: Build Partnerships for Career Exploration - Using Job Shadows to Explore the World of Work [PDF] from the Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions at Keene State College is part of a series to increase work-based learning opportunities for students with disabilities. This guide is written for high schools to work with organizations to plan and carry out a Job Shadow Day.
The DisabilitiesAtWork.org April newsletter discusses tax incentives for private employers who hire and employ people with disabilities.
The Office of Disability Employment P0licy (ODEP) now publishes monthly updates to the national employment rate of youth with disabilities. The data is disaggregated by ages 16 to 19 and 20 to 24.
Post-Secondary Education
The April Think College Newsletter includes information about upcoming events and notable resources on postsecondary education.
Self-Advocacy
Including Samuel - The Power of Youth [Video] goes behind the scenes of the 2010 Youth Inclusion Summit, inspired and co-organized by the Including Samuel Project. Twenty teens from around the country participated in the summit and created "I am Norm," a national youth-led campaign promoting the acceptance, respect and full inclusion of youth with disabilities in schools and communities.
OUCH! is a website from the BBC that reflects the lives and experiences of people with disabilities. The site features articles, blogs, a message board and a downloadable radio show, "The Ouch Podcast."
The Riot 2011 National Conversation Series: Who's in Charge? [PDF] features 90-minute discussions on May 3, June 7, and July 12, 2011 starting at 12:00 noon Mountain Time. The series provides a forum for self-advocate leaders to talk about:
� What gets in the way of people being in charge of their own lives and support that helps people be in control (May 3rd)
� What gets in the way of self-advocates being in charge of their own movement and support that is helpful (June 7th)
� Ideas about what self-advocate leaders and others can do to strengthen the movement (July 12th)
The cost to participate is $30 per phone line per discussion, or $70 for all three sessions.
Social Security
Social Security has released the 2011 Redbook. Download or bookmark this handy resource for SSI and SSDI eligibility requirements, accompanying health insurance, state supplemental payments if any, and formulas for determining the monthly payment amount.
Transition
Possibilities: A Financial Resource for Parents of Children with Disabilities was first published in 2004 by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and PACER. The popular financial planning guide is now online and has been updated and expanded. Topics include organizing financial records, managing money, preparing income taxes, health insurance options, dealing with debt, saving for college, preparing youth for adult employment, and more.
The IDEA National Survey Project is sponsored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), Autism Society of America (ASA), Autism National Committee (AutCom), and The Advocacy Institute (AI). The survey looks at whether parents are treated as equal partners in their children's education. Parents of children with disabilities, self-advocates (people with disabilities), attorneys, advocates, and other professionals are encouraged to complete the survey, which will run through May 2011. The results will be compiled into a report about experiences under the IDEA that will be published this summer. For more information, contact Jessica Butler, Coordinator, IDEA National Survey Project, at jessica@jnba.net.
Inclusion and the Other Kids: Here's What Research Shows so Far About Inclusion's Effect on Nondisabled Students [PDF] from the National Institute for Urban School Improvement answers questions about the learning of students without disabilities when children with disabilities are in their classes. The report also talks about attention from the teacher, friendships, social skills, self-esteem, personal principles, comfort levels for differences and more.
Web Sites
Workplace Accommodation Examples is a Wiki created as a means to share unique accommodation ideas. It is located at CATEA's Work RERC site at Georgia Tech. Visitors may read case studies about successful workplace accommodations and add their own.
The Yahoo! Accessibility Blog was created to reflect the experiences of individuals with disabilities, their families, and the professionals with whom they interact.
YouthRules! was launched by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2002 to increase public awareness of Federal and State rules concerning young workers. The web page provides quick access to information such as the hours that youth can work, the jobs youth can do, and how to prevent workplace injuries. Use the handy interactive map to directly access individual State guidelines.
Sincerely,
Kim Brown
MT Transition Listserv
(Please note: the Transition
and Employment Projects at the University of Montana Rural Institute shares information and resources our listserv members may find of interest. We do not endorse the web sites or workshop contents or their providers, and we assume no responsibility for the validity of information provided on sites or in sessions not hosted by our agency.) |
