Welcome to SPED*NET Wilton

SPED*NET Wilton is a special education network, a forum for discussing issues and ideas and developing strategies for children with special needs, general and special education and Section 504 issues.

Visit SPED*NET Wilton’s Guide to Special Services in CT:

Bringing Knowledge to the Table: How to be an Effective Advocate for your Child

This is a free on-line resource guide with links to dozens of websites. We will continue to update it to comport with special education laws and regulations and CT State Department of Education forms and publications.

 

2008 - 2009 Presentations

Thursday, September 25, 2008: Modifications and Accommodations: Don’t take the “I” out of IEP. Kathy Whitbread, Ph. D., Associate Professor and Program Director of Special Education at St. Joseph College, and Sharon Golder, Director, Educational Consultants of CT, will speak about the what, the why and the how in developing appropriate individualized modifications and accommodations based on a case-study approach. Bring your child’s IEP, and walk away with specific strategies for your children with learning disabilities, ADD and special needs. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Co-sponsored by Wilton Public Schools and SPED*NET Wilton.

In case you missed this presentation, the handouts are available. Click here to download presentation files (all in MS Word): Don't Take the "I" out of IEP Slides

Thursday, October 16, 2008: The How's, When's and Why's of Inclusion. Ruth Eren, Ed.D., Professor at Southern CT State University and one of the finest resources in autism spectrum disorders, and Barbara Cook, MS-SLP, a speech/language pathologist and consultant, bring their experience in autism spectrum disorders and special needs to discuss: How do you assess the needs of children with ASD in determining appropriate placement? Is inclusion right for your child and, if not, what are the options? What should inclusion look like for kids with ASD? How do you design classroom strategies that will work for kids with ASD and others? How do you monitor progress to change or alter placement? 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Co-sponsored by Wilton Public Schools and SPED*NET Wilton.

Thursday, October 23, 2008: A Father’s Influence on the Lives of Their Children: Perspectives on Fathering in the 21st Century. Dr. Kyle Pruett, child psychiatrist, author and speaker, will discuss social, emotional and academic aspects of child rearing, sports, special needs, family issues, special situations, and being a healthy role model. Not just for fathers! Co-sponsored by Wilton Public Schools, Wilton Youth Council, Wilton Youth Services, Parent Connection, Wilton Rotary, and the Wilton Library. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Wilton Library, Brubeck Room. 137 Old Ridgefield Road.

Monday, November 17, 2008: Accountability after the PPT: How to achieve IEP compliance. Attorney Jennifer Laviano, focuses her practice on the specific legal rights of children with special needs and their entitlement to a free, appropriate public education. She will discuss the various processes available to parents under State and Federal laws to enforce IEP compliance, including the differences between Due Process hearings and State Complaints, and will provide helpful tips and strategies for parents to avoid disputes with the district. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

Monday, December 15th: Biomedical Updates: What’s New on the Horizon in Alternative Interventions. Dr. Nancy O'Hara, a board certified pediatrician with a Master’s degree in public health, and a consultant for families of children with special needs, will discuss therapies and the research behind them: neurofeedback, detoxification, neuroinflamation, oxytocin, immunoglobulin therapy and more. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

In case you missed this presentation, the slides are available. Click here to download file (MS Powerpoint): Slides

Tuesday, January 27, 2009: Train the Trainer: Learn how to Become your Child’s Social Skills Coach. Janneta Bolander, LMFT, a licensed marriage and family therapist, has over ten years’ experience working with children, families and couples and in creating and leading social skills groups. Treating children with anxiety and attention disorders, Non-verbal learning disabilities, and Asperger’s Syndrome is her specialty. Bohlander’s multi-modal Social Sense™ Programs utilize videos, role-play, games and exercises to teach and reinforce concepts in a fun way and help children generalize the information outside the sessions. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

Friday, February 27, 2009: A Brain-Based Approach to Development through Martial Arts: Neuron-Do®. Douglas De Massa, D.C., M.S., a Chiropractic Physician specializing in treating children with disabilities, will discuss and demonstrate the theory behind his brain-based martial art, Neuron-Do®. Focusing on children with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD and autism spectrum disorders, Dr. De Massa will explain how right and left hemisphere brain function and sensory motor integration relate to learning and development and how children can improve attention, endurance, short-term memory skills, impulse control, time on task, visual tracking, balance, coordination and self-confidence. 10:00 a.m. to noon. The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

In case you missed this presentation, the handouts are available. Click here to download presentation files: Neuron-Do Handout (Power Point)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009: It’s not an All or Nothing World with Assistive Technology: How AT Can Support your Child with Reading and Writing. Shelley Lacey-Castelot, ATACP, MS, founder and director of The Literacy Solutions and a reading and language arts consultant, specializes in weaving together the right combination of diagnostic teaching approaches with a focus on reading, writing and assistive technology. Well-versed in the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading, writing and spelling and in Lindamood-Bell’s Phonemic Sequencing® (LiPS) Program, she is expert in process-writing instruction, utilizing assistive technology, and overseeing the evaluation and planning processes for children who are struggling to learn to read. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

Sunday, March 29, 2009: CranioSacral Therapy 1-Day Hands-On Workshop. Malinda Mayer, MT, a manual therapist specializing in Upledger CranioSacral Therapy and Barral Visceral Manipulation, will introduce participants to a few simple techniques designed to relieve headaches, reduce stress, control pain and promote relaxation: palpation of the craniosacral rhythm, the CV-4 self-help technique, the still point, the V-spread and TMJ decompression. Co-sponsored with ShareCare. Registration and advance payment required by March 13, 2009. Please mail $45.00, payable to Malinda Mayer, to Patti Sylvia, c/o Optimal Health Initiatives, 150 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897 or call 203-834-2813 X 19.

Monday, April 27, 2009: “Food for the Soul” - Creating Sensory Diets for Children with Sensory Processing Disorders. Rae Suba , OTR/L, a seasoned occupational therapist and consultant specializing in treating children with disabilities, will help you discover the importance of a sensory diet in supporting your child’s daily sensory processing “health.” She will introduce the topic of sensory processing, review necessary basic sensory concepts to further your “sensory knowledge” and help you problem-solve to begin creating a custom sensory diet to meet your children’s individual needs, support their challenges, make them “feel” better in their own skin, and help their development flourish. 10:00 a.m. to noon at The Greens at Cannondale, 435 Danbury Road, Wilton. Sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton.

In case you missed this presentation, the handouts are available. Click here to download presentation files (all in MS Word) : Introduction to Sensory Diet, FAQ, Sensory Motor Activities.