DESCRIPTION:

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. This webinar will offer facts about abuse and neglect as it relates to children with disabilities, how to recognize the red flags that abuse or neglect may be occurring, mandated reporting, and practical steps that you can take to recognize and respond to child abuse and neglect of children with disabilities.

MEET THE PRESENTER:

Molly Dellinger-Wray has been supporting individuals with disabilities and their families for more than 30 years. She started out as a special education teacher and received a master's degree from SUNY Buffalo in Special Education with a specialization in teaching students with significant intellectual disabilities, and autism. After several years teaching in a model community-based school that emphasized data based instruction, she moved to Virginia and began working to help families with their children's challenging behaviors. In that capacity, she learned to listen to families stories, and recognize their strengths and the hurdles that they overcame every day. It was shortly after that that one of her own children was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum and she began to understand the challenges of parenting and collaborating with professionals from both sides of the IEP table.

Molly is part of the Partnership for People with Disabilities, a University Center for Excellence in developmental disabilities. She coordinates the Positive Behavior Support Project and in 2007, Molly became an Endorsed Positive Behavior Support Facilitator. She also coordinates and directs three projects that assist children and adults with disabilities with issues surrounding violence, abuse, sexual assault, and neglect. She has taught positive behavior support at the VCU School of Education and became a certified Person Centered Thinking Trainer in March of 2011.