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I attended three sessions. The first on "Total Communication", presented by specialists from Children's Hospital (Boston) Waltham. They were an awesome team! They talked about, and even more effective, showed videos of the successes they've had with children who are not using speech as their primary use of communication. They showed examples of everything from signs/gestures...to velcro boards/books w/ symbols to help kids communicate ...to electronic keyboards. They also talked about the successes they've had using music to motivate many of the children they work with.
Then I attended a session on IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). This one was a bit more "historical"/"technical." Talked a lot about how/when special ed./mainstreaming started out in Massachusetts...and where it is today. The presenter was a lovely man who has a typical daughter, a daughter w/ Ds, and an adopted son with Ds...all over the age of 21...and his experiences in their school system. Although it was an amazing journey to be brought on...I would have liked more of a focus on what entering the public schools will mean for Sarah. What IDEA has to offer us? What do we need to do/know to get the services we need for our child?, etc.
Finally I attended a session on behavior. Presented by an RN specializing in behavioral studies, from Children's Hospital, Cincinatti(sp?...HOW do you spell that?). She also shared a lot of background on where behavior stems from i.e. Piaget. When the floor opened up to individual questions and concerns, it became much more interesting and useful, in my opinion. Basically, I think the main message she shared was that we need to keep our children's expectations/behaviors/consequences realistic. If a child is functioning on a 2 yr. level developmentally, even at the age of 5...you have to realize that he/she is probably only capable of responding well to the consequence appropriate for a 2 yr. old, regardless of age.
The keynote speakers were Greg and Ned Palmer (father son team/co-authors of a new book) They were pretty entertaining, with an endearing relationship between them.
And last but not least...they always end with a talent show presented by some young adults with Ds...one of my FAVORITE parts!
It really was a terrific day! This year I attended solo, and DH stayed home with the kids. It was awesome!
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Lisa,
mom to Stephen(6/4/00)
Sarah(DS 5/17/03)
and baby #3 due (7/6/06)
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03-19-2006 03:05 AM
I know it's a long day, but I was actually so excited to go. I hope we can make it next year. 
She was taking orders and letting people taste the food.