Registration
Continental Breakfast

Open Space
Kathy Marth; Black Mountain, NC

Kathleen Osta, B.A.; Vital Clarity, Asheville, NC

Open Space will give you a chance to meet with other like minded people and create a plan of action for the future. We need your individual and unique insights, your passion, and your involvement in order to unleash the creative energy you possess. We will use Open Space Technology to facilitate that process. Together we can achieve far more than can be imagined or accomplished individually.

Concurrent Sessions

#1 - Getting to Outcomes Through Assessment

Mary McLean, Ph.D.; Professor, Department of Exceptional Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Milwaukee, WI

**NOTE:  This session - ONLY - is scheduled from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

This session will describe how to create functional assessments for children ages birth through pre-school. The presenter will help participants look at Federal accountability requirements and their impact on functional assessments and outcomes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who have developmental delays or disabilities.

#2 - Family Leadership

* Donene Feist; State Director, Family Voices of North Dakota; Edgeley, ND

* Roxane Romanick, M.S.W.; Experienced Parent, Bismarck Early Childhood Education Program; Bismarck, ND

This session will provide hands on tools for families who want to advance their leadership skills, learn about issues and effective communication with policymakers and next steps.

#3 - Special Education, Conflict Resolution Options

* Mike Ahmann, M.S.; Special Education Director, Bismarck Public Schools; Bismarck, ND

* Jim Carter, Ed.S.; Executive Director, Pathfinder Services of North Dakota, Inc.; Minot, ND

* Teresa Monicken, M.S.; IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Coordinator, Department of Public Instruction-Special Education; Bismarck, ND

* Judy Papenfuss; Experienced Parent; Park River, ND

* Craig Sinclair, J.D.; Disabilities Advocate and Assistive Technology Attorney, North Dakota Protection and Advocacy Project; Fargo, ND

A good relationship between parents and school professionals is a critical component of the educational planning process for children with disabilities.  Disagreements may occur within the often complex process of planning and implementing special education programs and related services.  When disagreements occur, it is important for parents to understand the procedural safeguards that are in place to help families and schools resolve disagreements.

A panel of special education stakeholders will share information and answer questions in this session.  The plan is for panel members to include a parent, a special education unit director, the ND Parent Training and Information Center (Pathfinders), the ND Department of Public Instruction, and the ND Protection and Advocacy Project.

#4 - Taming Worry Dragons: Empowering Children and their Parents to Master Anxiety Symptoms

Johnna Westby, Ed.D.; Assistant Professor, Minot State University; Minot, ND

Anxiety symptoms can hold children and families hostage.  Like relentless tyrants, they strip way freedoms, joy, relationships, and achievements.  By the time an anxious child gets help, they are often not attending school, not able to go out to play with friends, tormented by worries day and night, and worse – everyone is mad at them!  This session will focus on identification of children prone to anxiety, understanding how anxiety presents in children, and its impacts on learning, socializing and behavior.