Training Provided to Parents of Students with Disabilities
by Teresa Kreger
December 14, 2007
Not only do our teachers and staff receive specialized training to work with the various disabilities of our special needs students but also our parents. The majority of the training that is provided through workshops given by the Educational Service Center at Region 20 (ESC20) is made available to our parents. The training focuses on various areas of special education and is provided by their own consultants or speakers that are experts in a particular area. Anytime a workshop is announced that would benefit our parents, brochures are mailed out to the parents in our program as a whole or individually if it pertains solely to one specific disability.
Our support staff also provides training at the district level for parents to assist them in working specifically with their child. Our speech pathologist provides training in the area of augmented communication devices and language development to individual parents and our behavior interventionist provides training in the area of behavior management.
Shortly after the holidays, parents of special needs students will be receiving a brochure inviting them to attend the 2008 TAPPestry Conference “A Time for Sharing Successes” to be held on February 23, 2008 at the Education Service Center, Region 20 in San Antonio. This conference brings together Teachers, Administrators, Parents and other Professionals working with students with special needs for a day of shared wisdom, ideas, strategies and resources to strengthen the needed partnerships for children’s success. Breakout sessions will include topics dealing with autism spectrum disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disabilities, behavior, differentiated instruction, transition planning, guardianship, financial planning, early childhood education, and more. To register for this conference please contact Lori Williams at (210) 370-5466 or by email at lori.Williams@esc20.net. Parents must registered directly with Region 20. Our office will not be able to register anyone.
The district supports the parents with stipends to help pay for their registration fees in order for them to attend training. Sometimes Region 20 also provides stipends or the particular organization sponsoring the conference or workshop.
