Agenda for Low Incidence Institute
Thursday, August 6
Digging In: More Tools for Accessible Instructional Materials with a Focus on Students with Visual Impairments (continued from Monday through Friday)
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
See-the-Sound Visual Phonics: An Introductory Workshop (to be continued on Friday)
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Thursday; 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. on Friday, Act 48 and/or ACVREP: 12 hours; ASHA: 1.2 CEUs
See-the-Sound Visual Phonics© is a system of forty-five hand gestures that are suggestive of the English sounds they represent, and written symbols that suggest these hand gestures.
Participants will be taught to recognize, produce, and blend all of the Visual Phonics manual prompts and written symbols for the English phonemes. Emphasis will be placed on the
application of Visual Phonics to best practice in literacy instruction for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Suggestions will be given for modifications and applications of
traditional elementary phonics curricula. A See-the-Sound Visual Phonics Disk, which allows for additional practice, will be provided for those attending this session.
Outcomes
- List three academic settings in which visual phonics can be used
- Identify the visual phonic hand prompts and written symbols
- Produce the visual phonic hand prompts and written symbols
- Describe a student literacy activity that incorporates visual phonics
Ann Hughes, M.A., is the coordinator of the Technical Assistance Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, at the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), with more than thirty years of experience in the field of deaf education, twenty-eight of these in Virginia's public schools as a teacher of students who are deaf/hard of hearing. Ann has worked with students, pre–K through postsecondary, in a variety of settings and communication modalities, and with students who present with multiple disabilities. She is an International Communication Learning Institute-licensed (ICLI) See-the-Sound Visual Phonics© trainer, certified SKI-HI provider, and has completed the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia program as an educational consultant for children with cochlear implants. Ann has used Visual Phonics with elementary school students with great success prior to coming to VCU, and she enthusiastically promotes Visual Phonics throughout Virginia and beyond.
Promoting Inclusion, Peer Supports, and Meaningful Relationships for Students with Significant Disabilities
8:45 a.m.–4:15 p.m., Act 48 and/or ACVREP: 6 hours; ASHA: 0.6 CEU, Psych: 6.5 CE hours
This interactive session will address practical and promising approaches for developing supports and fostering relationships among students with and without significant disabilities, both
in the classroom and throughout the school and larger communities. Our projects have focused on (a) implementing peer support strategies as an evidence-based approach for promoting
curricular access and social interaction within inclusive classrooms and extracurricular activities and (b) fostering natural supports as an avenue for promoting inclusion in
service-learning, after-school, and community activities. This session will include activities and strategies from these projects, as well as tips and ideas about how to set up and
support new projects within school and other community settings using existing resources and opportunities.
Outcomes
- Identify step-by-step ideas for using peer support strategies in inclusive classrooms
- Identify practical strategies for fostering natural supports and relationships among students with and without disabilities across the school day
- Address promising avenues for encouraging and supporting student-led efforts to create more inclusive school experiences
- Compare and contrast social, academic, and other benefits for students with and without disabilities, who participate in these efforts
Erik Carter, Ph.D, is an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research and teaching focus on strategies for supporting meaningful school inclusion and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has authored or co-authored several books, including Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students' Social Lives and Learning (2009); Peer Buddy Programs for Successful Secondary School Inclusion (2008); and Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities: A Guide for Service Providers, Families, and Congregations (2007).
True Directions: An IEP Planning Process to Build Partnerships with Families and Promote Meaningful Life Outcomes
8:45 a.m.–4:15 p.m., Act 48 and/or ACVREP: 6 hours; ASHA: 0.6 CEU, Psych: 6.5 CE hours
This full-day workshop will teach participants to use True Directions—an IEP planning process that empowers families to play vital roles in the planning process and gives professionals a
means for facilitating collaborative partnerships with families to generate a framework for student learning. True Directions aims to place the student at the center of the planning
process. Through user-friendly forms developed for professionals, families, and students, True Directions guides the planning process, taking into account input from key team members
during the annually scheduled IEP or ITP meetings. The focus of the True Directions meeting is directed toward the student’s strengths, abilities, and dreams, while looking across current
and possible future environments.
Outcomes
- Explore the collaborative planning structure necessary for effective IEP plans
- Identify and determine the factors that enable the child to be at the center of meaningful IEP planning through the use of person-centered planning techniques
- Learn and interact with the steps of the True Directions IEP process
Cynthia Chambers is an assistant professor and program coordinator at East Tennessee State University in the Department of Human Development and Learning. Through her early studies at Vanderbilt and work in the disability field, she has been actively researching and implementing methods that support families of students with significant disabilities. Since earning her doctorate from the University of Kansas, Dr. Chambers has continued to focus on families’ needs while providing preservice and graduate-level students and teachers in the field with training on methods to promote partnerships with families of individuals with disabilities.
Amy Childre is an associate professor at Georgia College & State University in the Department of Special Education. Since earning her doctorate from Vanderbilt University, her primary focus has been teacher training with specific interest in families of students with disabilities. Through her work she supports teachers in developing collaborative partnerships with families to increase family educational involvement and to enhance educational planning.
