| |
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.
Upcoming 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. Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
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. Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
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. Please RSVP
to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
NOTE CHANGE OF DATE: 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. Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
Tuesday, January 27, 2009: Train the
Trainer: Learn how to Become your Child’s Social Skills Coach. Jannetta
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. Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
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 skill, 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. Please
RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
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. Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
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
child’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.
Please RSVP to Pam at 203-563-9994 or
View our 2006-2007 meeting schedule or view info from prior years.
NEW! You can now support SPED*NET Wilton by making your donation online. It's quick, easy and secure.
For more extensive information on special education and upcoming events, please visit www.spednet.org.
More about us:
SPED*NET, Special Education Network of Wilton, was organized to provide information to educate the public on special needs, special education and disability- related issues. SPED*NET serves as a parent-to-parent support and advocacy network for families of children with special needs, especially families of children with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Section 504 Plans, under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. SPED*NET was conceived not only as a network for information, but as a life net for parents thrust unexpectedly into the special needs maze. SPED*NET strives to empower parents, professionals and students to become more effective advocates in their schools and communities, particularly in Wilton, CT and its neighboring towns.
The speaker series for the 2007-2008
school year is generously sponsored by The Anne Claire Lester Charitable
Foundation, The State Department of Education, the Wilton Woman's Club and
family contributions. Refreshments are provided by The Greens at Cannondale, the
Village Market and Wave Hill Breads, Wilton.
SPED*NET Wilton is a member organization of Vision 20/20 and a 501(c)(3)
charitable corporation. SPED*NET Wilton welcomes your contributions. All
donations are tax deductible.
For more information about SPED*NET Wilton, our presentations, web-based Guide
to Special Services in CT, and video/DVD collection, please contact Eve Kessler,
Esq. at
.