Wisconsin Personnel Development System (WPDS)--E-Newsletter 8/20/09

Parent Leadership Hub Weekly E-Newsletter for August 20, 2009

The attached "Parent Leadership Hub" Weekly Email Update is sent to you from WSPEI and WI FACETS. The Parent Leadership Hub supports parents/family members, educators and other community partners to build capacity regarding meaningful family involvement. The Hub serves three primary purposes:
(1) To support parents of children with disabilities between birth and 26 years of age to participate as partners in the professional development activities of each of the other Statewide Initiatives as they design, deliver and support professional development experiences; and
(2) To facilitate opportunities for parents/family members to build leadership skills; and
(3) To provide Content Focused technical assistance concerning family involvement.

Parent/Personnel Development Opportunities

Appleton Parents in Partnership Training
The Parents In Partnership program (PIP) is a five-part leadership opportunity for parents, foster parents, or other care givers who have children, 6-14 years old with a sensory disability that includes blind/visual impairment, deaf/hard of hearing, deaf-blind or has a developmental delay, disability or chronic illness. Parents will have the opportunity to develop leadership skills, support networks, and positive parent-professional partnerships. You will meet with parents, educators, state agency personnel, and other statewide leaders over the course of these five sessions. You will also have time to share your own stories, obtain useful information, and strengthen skills that will enable you to communicate more effectively with educational, medical, and human service providers. Topic areas may include IDEA and the special education process, policymaking, citizen participation, and community inclusion of youth with special needs. Participants will share information about resources, collaborative teams, advocacy, and conflict management skills. For information about the Appleton PIP, contact Martha DeYoung at 1-800-862-3725 ext 255. To register, contact Phyllis toll-free at 1-877-844-4925. Registration information also will be posted at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/par_partn.html.
WI FACETS September Trainings
September 19: Workshop: Omatayo Support Group: Functional Behavioral Assessments & Positive Behavior Intervention
1-877-374-0511; smcfarland@wifacets.org
Register 1 week in advance. Workshop materials & call-in information will be mailed.
September 26: Workshop: Latino Autism Support Group Support group for Spanish-speaking families who have children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
1-414-374-4645 ext 124 Nelsinia Ramos or ext 131 Martha Lechuga; nramos@wifacets.org or mlechuga@wifacets.org. Activities for children available.
Go to http://www.wifacets.org/events.htm for more information on these trainings.
“Did You Know? Now You Know” Workshop in Salem
This is a training on Health Care and Community Supports for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs on Wednesday, October 21 AND Wednesday, November 4 from 4:00 p.m.—8:30 p.m. at the Salem Library. Further details are available at http://www.wfv.org/fv/training.html and space is limited...so register early!!
WECA 55th Annual Early Education and Care Conference in Wisconsin Dells
Our Annual Early Childhood Conference will be held this year at the Kalahari. You can help make a difference in the quality of childcare in Wisconsin. Our attendees are Infant-Toddler, Preschool and 4K teachers; program directors and administrators; family childcare providers; parents and advocates. They are looking for great products and services, and information about resources available to them.
When: October 22-24, 2009
Where: Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells
Go to http://www.wecanaeyc.org/conference/ind
ex.php?category_id=3288 for more information and to register.
National Summit on Disability Policy 2010: ADA 1990-2010 Retrospectiveand Future Policy Directions
A comprehensive dialogue to shape the national disability agenda. The National Council on Disability (NCD) is seeking people with disabilities, individuals representing grassroots organizations, and others to attend their July 25-27, 2010 national summit in Washington DC to help shape disability policies and programs for the next decade. The National Summit is an invitation-only event, however, if you are interested in attending, you may submit an application. Deadline for submitting an application to attend the summit is October 15, 2009. More information is available online at http://www.neweditions.net/ncd2010/index.html

Phone Workshops

WI FACETS Phone Trainings for September
September 1
Phone Workshop: Least Restrictive Environment Decision Making
September 16
Phone Workshop: Introduction to Special Education (Spanish)
September 23
Phone Workshop: Individual Education Programs – Part I (Spanish)
September 30
Phone Workshop: Individual Education Programs-Part II (Spanish)
Register 1 week in advance. Workshop materials & call-in information will be mailed
Go to http://www.wifacets.org/events.htm for more information on these trainings.

Family Involvement Resources

Fact Sheets on Specific Disabilities
NICHCY's fact sheets discuss, among other things, school considerations with specific disabilities such as: AD/HD, autism, cerebral palsy, deafness or hearing loss, Down syndrome, epilepsy, emotional disorders, LD, intellectual disabilities, speech-language impairments, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairments or blindness. They'll also point you to the leading organizations specializing in those disabilities. And that will lead you to a wealth of info related to school concerns.
http://www.nichcy.org/Disabilities/Specific/Pages/Default.aspx

The above information is from NICHCY’s E-Newsletter. If interested in receiving NICHCY’s E-Newsletter, go to http://www.nichcy.org/Pages/Home.aspx to sign up.
Back To School Resources
Many resources for back to school, go to http://www.nasponline.org/families/index.aspx for more information.
PACER Center Resources
What Probation Officers Need to Know About Learning Disabilities
http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/php-c169.pdf
What Youth Need to Know if They Are Questioned by Police
http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/php-c171.pdf
Droupout Prevention andYouth With a Disabilities
Dropout Prevention and Youth with Disabilities: Strategies for Parents of High School Students, is a collaborative effort of the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities and the PACER Center.
http://www.ndpc-sd.org/documents/PACER/PACER_Ac
tion_Sheet_php-c140.pdf
What Works, Wisconsin Website: Effective Prevention Programs for Children, Youth and Families
For more information, go to http://whatworks.uwex.edu.
Free Resources for Teachers, Parents and Students
http://specialed.about.com/od/backtoschool/Ba
ck_to_School_Resources.htm

DISCLAIMER
Inclusion of information in this e-mail does not constitute an endorsement by the Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative, Wisconsin FACETS, the Department of Public Instruction, the U.S. Department of Education, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.