Federation Workshops and Schedule

Workshops available:

Basic Rights: This workshop provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Massachusetts Special Education Law and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It is designed to help parents learn how to be effective partners with the school, to decide the child’s eligibility for special education, to plan, make decisions and to monitor the educational progress of their child. Workshop materials are also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The staff at the Federation suggests that you attend this workshop first in order to have a better understanding of the information provided in our other workshops.  

Derechos Básicos: Esta taller le informa a los padres de familia sobre sus derechos y responsabilidades bajo la Ley para la Educación de Individuos con Discapacidades (IDEA - por sus siglas en Ingles) y la Ley de Educación Especial de Massachussets. Está diseñado para guiar a los padres de familia a aprender como trabajar efectivamente con la escuela, como decidir si el niño es elegible para recibir educación especial, como planear, como tomar decisiones y hacerle un seguimiento al progreso educativo de su niño. Los materiales del taller están disponibles en Español, Portugués y Ruso. Los empleados de la Federación que Ud. asiste este taller primero para que tenga una mejor comprensión de la información proporcionada en nuestros otros talleres.

Basic Rights/Direitos Básicos: (In Portuguese) Esta palestra fornece as fámilias uma introdução de seus direitos e responsabilidades abaixo da Lei para Educação de Invíduos Deficientes (IDEA) e lei de Educação Especial de Massachusetts. A palestra é designada para ajudar os pais a aprender como ser auxiliadores mais efetivos com a escola para decider a elegibidade da criança para uma educação especial, planejamento, decisões e para monitorar o progresso educacional de suas crianças. O funcionários na Federação sugere que você assista a esta palestra primeiro para ter uma melhor compreensão das informações fornecidas em outras de nossas palestras.

Continuing the Journey: This workshop explores the variety of opportunities available to children as they move from Early Intervention to other activities in their community.

Turning Three: This workshop highlights the differences between Early Intervention and publicly funded preschool for children with disabilities. Discussion includes eligibility for special education, the Team process for decision making and the parents’ role in the transition process to preschool.

Creating a Vision: Vision Training provides an opportunity for parents to answer some key questions and from those answers, write their own inspiring vision for or with their child. In this workshop parents will share their vision for their child with a partner and then take their vision and break it down into skill categories which can be used as an integrated goal in the IEP.

An IEP for My Child: Every child with a disability who receives special education services must have an Individual Education Program. This workshop takes parents step-by-step through the development of the IEP including how to articulate a Vision, using evaluations to write annual measurable goals and how to measure their child’s progress. Workshop materials are also available in Spanish.

Un IEP para mi niño: Todo niño con una discapacidad que recibe servicios de educación especial tiene que tener un Plan Educativo Individualizado (IEP – por sus siglas en Ingles). Este taller les enseña a los padres paso a paso como se desarrolla el IEP, incluyendo como hablar sobre la visión que usted tiene para el futuro de su niño, como usar las evaluaciones para medir las metas y como medir el progreso de su niño.

An IEP for my Child: (In Portuguese) Um Programa de Educação Individualizado. Nesta palestra os pais aprenderão como ler um IEP. Toda criança com deficiência, que seja atendida pelos serviços de educação especial, deve ser contemplada com um Programa de Educação Individualizado. Esta palestra orienta os pais passo-a-passo no desenvolvimento da IEP, inclusive na maneira como visualizar ou articular uma Visão, utilizando avaliações para estabelecer metas anuais que sejam mensuráveis com uma metodologia própria que defina como medir o progresso de seu filho/sua filha.

Transition; Planning the Next Steps for Youth 14-22: This workshop addresses the issues related to designing the right curriculum and supports throughout high school so that the student will be on the right track for becoming self-sufficient and living independently after graduation. Information and strategies will be provided to help parents and students translate individual preferences and dreams into meaningful goals in the IEP.

MCAS: The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a tool to measure progress in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks or general curriculum. This workshop will help parents understand how their children with disabilities can participate in a meaningful way in MCAS. It will discuss accommodations and alternate assessments available so that students can demonstrate what they have learned.

Celebrate Yourself! Self-Determination and Successful Students: This workshop is designed for individuals with special needs and their parents. It emphasizes: knowledge of your learning styles; teaching others about how you learn; recognizing your talents, abilities and strengths; developing empowerment and leadership skills.

Yelling Doesn’t Work!: What You Can Do to Help a Child with Special Needs Comply at Home and in the Classroom Using Positive Behavior Supports. Yelling does not teach the necessary skills the child needs to learn in order to comply. This workshop provides insight into why a child with special needs misbehaves and how changing your behavior will in turn change theirs. Learn to recognize the function of behavior and how a front-end approach will show results. Functional Assessments, which are at the heart of a Positive Behavior Support Plan, are discussed at length and samples plans are provided. This workshop was created by Rebecca Goniwich, Barbara Gopen Memorial Fellow, in collaboration with FCSN.

Effective Communication: This workshop offers communication skill building and conflict resolution for parents as members of the IEP Team.

You may register for workshops by either calling the Federation at 617-236-7210 or in Massachusetts toll-free at 800-331-0688.

OR

if you would like to register electronically, please fill out the form below (you can now register for up to 3 workshops at once) or send an email including your name, address and telephone number along with the information about the specific workshop for which you are registering. We will verify your registration and provide you with contact information at that time. Send your email to: register@fcsn.org

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