Join Our Cyber Conversations!

Image credit: http://www.cssocialmedia.com/blog/

#oecsped2016

At today’s Ohio Early Childhood Special Education Conference  we are inviting everyone to participate in "Cyber-Conversations". We have a record number of participants today, and at an event this large it’s simply not possible to meet with and talk to everybody. We also want this event to provide opportunities for you to learn from each other as co-participants. 

We invite you to use the following hashtag for the conference: #oecsped2016 to post brief comments, questions, or mini-reflections on Ohio DEC’s social media pages (https://www.facebook.com/Ohio.DEC; @OhioDEC on Twitter)

We are also inviting you to engage in cyber-conversations on the Poster Sessions. Use the hashtag #oecsped2016 as well as the unique hashtags for the posters. The following presenters are using the hashtags below: 

  

#EmotionalSupportInECSE (Caitlin Spear, et al.: Early Childhood General and Special Educators: An Examination of Similarities and Differences in Beliefs, Knowledge, and Practice)

#takingflight (Julie Valentic: Taking Flight: A Kindergarten Readiness and Transition Initiative)

#ohioinclusion (Kristen Nowak: Inclusive Social-Emotional Practices for Preschool Students)

#pbissylvania (Sarah Shanahan: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in an Integrated Preschool Setting)

Please note that some presenters did not provide a hashtag, but you are of course welcome to post or tweet about any of the sessions. 

Feel free to post brief comments, questions, or mini-reflections on Ohio DEC’s social media pages:

https://www.facebook.com/Ohio.DEC

@OhioDEC on Twitter

We hope the Cyber Conversations will be a great way to continue the discussions beyond the presentation/session time. As Ohio DEC is initiating this activity, we will have representatives monitoring the feeds and responding as well. 

Here are the initial tweets under our hashtag #oecsped2016 !

We’d love to know what you all are thinking, processing, and reflecting on in this online community. 

Be active, be engaged, and enjoy the conference!

**Many thanks to our conference partners/co-hosts the Ohio Department of Education and the State Support Team Itinerant Teachers Workgroup**

Part 2: Conference PM Break-Out Sessions Align to DEC Recommended Practices

Part 2: Conference PM Break-Out Sessions Align to DEC Recommended Practices

Ohio Early Childhood Special Education Conference

#oecsped2016 

We would like to highlight all the wonderful breakout sessions available to participants at the Ohio Early Childhood Special Education Conference on June 3, 2016 at the Ohio Union located at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Because of the Ohio DEC’s partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and State Support Team, we have advocated for the use and alignment to the DEC Recommended Practices (RP) at this conference. Below you will find the list that includes the PM session speakers, titles, approvals and their alignments to DEC (2014) Recommended Practices (Available here: Free Download). 

Image Credit: Division for Early Childhood (2015)

DEC RP Alignment

The following speaker's presentations align to the follow DEC Recommended Practices:

Interactions (p. 13)

INT1. Practitioners promote the child’s social-emotional development by observing, interpreting, and responding contingently to the range of the child’s emotional expressions.

INT2. Practitioners promote the child’s social development by encouraging the child to initiate or sustain positive interactions with other children and adults during routines and activities through modeling, teaching, feedback, or other types of guided support.

INT5. Practitioners promote the child’s problem-solving behavior by observing, interpreting, and scaffolding in response to the child’s growing level of autonomy and self-regulation.

Write us a comment after reading if you find other DEC Recommended Practices in action in the following breakout sessions:

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Speaker: Rob Corso

Title: If You Want Something, Teach it... All Day Long

Building positive relationships with children, families, and co-workers is the foundation of learning and a prerequisite for all other practices that promote social emotional competence. Within the context of nurturing and responsive relationships, we can maximize the impact of our teaching strategies.  In this session, we will explore several instructional strategies that demonstrate the inextricable link between relationships, environments and teaching and discuss how we can think about these connections to intentionally teach skills that both promote infant and young children’s social emotional development and prevent challenging behavior.

Age Level:  Birth – 8 Years

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI 

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Speakers: Lynn McCasland & Kelly Pack

Title: What Can the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant Do for You?

This session will demystify the services provided through an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (ECMHC) that are available to teachers/administrators  in working with young children and their families.  What is early childhood mental health consultation? Who is the ECMHC?  What services can be provided?  How can early childhood mental health consultation benefit teaching staff and administrators in their work with children and families?  The answers will be revealed during this session.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) 

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Speakers: Lynn McCasland & Kelly Pack

Title: What Can the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant Do for You?

This session will demystify the services provided through an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (ECMHC) that are available to teachers/administrators  in working with young children and their families.  What is early childhood mental health consultation? Who is the ECMHC?  What services can be provided?  How can early childhood mental health consultation benefit teaching staff and administrators in their work with children and families?  The answers will be revealed during this session.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) 

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Speakers: Marla Himmegar (Devereaux)

Title: We Are family! All Children Come with Grown-Ups Attached

90% of the time, our efforts to partner with families are a swimming success, but 10% of the time they can be fraught with tension and negativity.  The relationship between a parent/guardian and the adults who help them care for and educate their child is a deeply personal one.  Values, culture and emotions sometimes collide and create a strained relationship amongst the important adults in a child’s life.  At times we all may want to avoid, blame or battle, BUT instead we need to relax, regroup and be more responsive to everyone’s needs.

Approvals: Ohio Approved & DoDD EI

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Speakers: Mayra Porrata

Title: 

Being Fully Present | Mindful Leadership in Education

Promoting the social-emotional competence of young learners, requires that we fortify and nurture our own understanding of these aspects. Becoming a mindful educator calls upon the integration of all that we know (intellectually), all that we feel (emotionally), as well as what actually is occurring (the environment). While these competencies are inherent in each of us, they are not generally encouraged, nor leveraged in most professional settings.  Based on the latest findings in neuro-scientific research, and layered against the backdrop of wisdom from contemporary teachers, this session provides coherent and concrete strategies for personal and professional leadership, and bolstering our own social-emotional intelligence; two key components for understanding and embracing conflict and paradox. Lastly, a framework for relationship-building and inclusion, the Porrata & Pretti-Frontczak Inclusion Framework, will be introduced as a means to provide a common language and simple approach to working together, in our schools and in our communities.

Approvals: Ohio Approved 

Image Credit: DEC (2015)

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Speakers: 

Judee Mulhollen

Title: 

The Language of Trauma and Its Effects

Part 1

Through a kinesthetic activity with play dough and visual meaning as demonstrated with functional MRI/CAT scans, we will be able to better understand Attachment Disorder. Recent data on the developing brain reveals how abuse and/or neglect effect brain development. Through review, reflection and discussion, we will address methods to implement action plans for children recognized as having attachment issues

Part 2

Participants will define trauma, social emotional development, and relate specific brain development to specific behavior outcomes. Participants will have two activities from handouts and video vignettes that demonstrate and help reflect upon the language behavior as it relates to trauma. We will discuss the PP slides that show MRI, CAT Scan, and SPECT Scan results of various mental health diagnosis from trauma as compared to a scan of a non-trauma patient. Participants will become aware of the work of Dr. Bruce Perry and some of his research outcomes in trauma that will then flow into classroom intervention plans and planning intentional change for successful outcomes in the lives of the children these participants serve.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI

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Speakers: Kristie Pretti-Frontczak

Title Creating Embedded Learning Opportunities to Teach Self-Regulation Skills

This session is specifically for Itinerant teachers, and will highlight a framework for a whole-child approach to early education. The framework is designed to elevate children’s overall social-emotional health and well-being through embedded learning opportunities. Instructional strategies, which Itinerant teachers can share with others, and that are grounded in the latest neuro-scientific and educational research, will be shared. During the session, how to create embedded learning opportunities to teach a variety of social-emotional attributes will be explored and practiced. The attributes have been cross-walked with Galinsky’s seven essential life skills every child needs, and have been aligned with research on what leads to children’s success in school and in life. Beyond providing an awareness of the social-emotional learning attributes, how to intentionally, mindfully, and concisely teach self-regulation across a variety of early childhood settings and routines, will be discussed.

Dr. Pretti-Frontczak created a landing page with resources tied to both of her sessions at the Ohio Early Childhood Special Education Conference. Anyone, even those who are not attending, can access the resources here.



Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ)

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Speakers: Jennifer Champagne

Title: Finding Calm in the Storm: Using a Trauma-Informed Approach to Address Difficult Behaviors

Children exhibit difficult behaviors for a variety of complex reasons. Discuss how to use a trauma-informed approach to de-escalate intense situations and to avoid intensifying challenging behaviors. Examine triggers for adult and child behavior and discuss ways of finding and/or remaining calm while supporting social emotional competence.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI

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Image Credit: DEC (2015)

Speakers: Kristin Knight and Vanessa Shrontz

Title: 

Supporting Children Birth-3 with Learning and Behavior Challenges

This session will discuss effective strategies used to support children birth to three with learning and behavior challenges in an early childhood classroom.  The presenters will discuss factors that create behavior challenges, preventative strategies, long term goals of guidance and discipline strategies, positive discipline techniques and practical classroom suggestions for children who may need more targeted support.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI

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Speakers: Kim Kehl

Title: Becoming a Trauma-Informed School

One of out every four children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior.  Trauma can impact school performance and impair learning.  Preschool students and young children are particularly at risk and impacted by traumatic experiences.  Research would suggest the more traumatic experiences a child has, increases their risk for these health problems in strong and graded fashion.  Many kids who experience trauma simply can’t learn and when they can’t learn, their behavior is affected.  This session will consist of a panel of school teachers and staff who are part of a movement across the state to become trauma-informed schools.  They will describe the efforts undertaken, barriers to successful implementation and benefits gained from becoming trauma informed.  Integrating trauma-awareness into schools and early childhood settings constitutes a major paradigm shift addressing the root cause of school performance and behavior.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ)

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Speakers: Emily Ribnik, LPCC-S

Title: Personal Safety as a Professional

Personal safety is imperative to the role of being a professional service provider out in the community and when providing support services inside the home of clients. Being in someone else’s home and out in the community can put some unique challenges to feeling safe in the environment so that you can competently and confidently provide your services to your clients. This presentation goes over the basics of personal safety while out in the community, in the office, and in a client’s home, as well as goes over important questions to ask agencies about safety. The suggestions are simple, to the point, easily adaptable and immediately able to be implemented. Emily Ribnik, LPCC-S, is a licensed clinical mental health counselor, an A.L.i.C.E. Instructor and has 5 years’ experience of working in emergency psychiatric services, which included both in office and in the community outreaches. Being a service provider herself, she knows the challenges and unique aspects of the work, and brings suggestions from both law enforcement and other providers to help new professionals and leaders take care of themselves and others

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI

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Speakers: Linda King & Michelle Smith

Title: What's In Your Itinerant Toolbox? Strategies to Collaborate With Families and Community Partners

Itinerant teachers have many tools to collaborate with families and community partners and support the social emotional competence of young learners.  What tools do you use?  In this session, you will have the opportunity to work through a challenge in your itinerant practice with other itinerant teachers and identify a possible solution.  Come and share what works for you with other itinerant teachers from across the state and walk away with a few new tools for your toolbox.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ)

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Speakers: Kristin Knight and Vanessa Shrontz

Title: Supporting Preschool Aged Children with Learning and Behavior Challenges

This session will discuss effective strategies used to support children birth to three with learning and behavior challenges in an early childhood classroom. The presenters will discuss factors that create behavior challenges, preventative strategies, long term goals of guidance and discipline strategies, positive discipline techniques and practical classroom suggestions for children who may need more targeted supports.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ)

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Speakers: Jennifer Champagne

Title: Ain't Misbehavin': Using a Developmental Lens to Explore Toddler Behavior

Image Credit: DEC (2015)

During this session, we will explore ways of responding to challenging behaviors (such as temper tantrums and biting) that occur during the toddler years. Our discussion will include identifying milestones of development and developing strategies that will strengthen social and emotional competence.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ) & DoDD EI

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Speakers: Lynnette White 

Title: Building Relationships with Community Partners: One Community Program's Journey

Together we’ll take a journey through the eyes of one childcare teacher, family, and itinerant services. We’ll explore their up’s and down’s and how over a 2-year span became the ultimate team through trust, accountability and collaboration.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (DoDD)

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Speakers: Laurie Dinnebeil 

Title: Realizing the Promise of Inclusion through Effective Collaboration

The conference theme, promoting social emotional competence in young learners is of critical importance to early childhood educators who work typically-developing children as well as children who have disabilities. Young children with or at risk for social-emotional delays can present a significant challenge to the educators who work with and care for them. These educators need effective help and support from skilled professionals, professionals such as itinerant ECSE teachers. A consultative approach to itinerant ECSE services is the most effective way of providing that support and in this session, educators will learn about the components of providing high-quality itinerant services and explore a variety of tools that educators can use to promote treatment fidelity.

Approvals: Ohio Approved (SUTQ)

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Can't come on June 3rd, but would like to be involved?

Join the Conversation!

#oecsped2016

Participants at the conference will be invited to use the hashtag above to share their experiences, thoughts and "aha!" moments throughout the day.

Division for Early Childhood. (2014). DEC recommended practices in early intervention/early childhood special education 2014. Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org/recommendedpractices