ICE Symposium - Session Details

Empowering Educational Efforts: Reflect, Refuel, Re-Engage

As workload increases for special education assessment staff and service providers, current challenges and needs must be acknowledged. Educators across the United States are impacted by increased caseloads (and subsequent workload), lack of opportunity to collaborate with educational staff, increased paperwork and, ultimately, decreased job satisfaction. Attendees will walk away feeling acknowledged and seen, empowered to implement evidence-based interdisciplinary practices and primed to embed advocacy within their roles as educators.

Learning Objectives:

• List the concerns of special education assessment staff and service providers, per research-based data, to provide equitable resources for students and families.
• Discuss evidence-based considerations and practices to efficiently and effectively support educator workload and maximize student outcomes.
• Identify and discuss strategies to advocate for professional needs at organizational and individual levels (including mental health).

Special Education Counseling

Attendees will develop a more comprehensive understanding of the qualifying criteria, referral, and evaluation process for students to receive counseling as a related service. Attendees will leave the session with a greater understanding of how students can benefit and how to collaborate with counseling providers for improved student and family outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

Workshop attendees will learn when it is appropriate to refer a student for special education counseling and how to participate in the referral and evaluation process. Attendees will benefit from understanding how to collaborate with counseling providers for improved student and family outcomes.

Students with Visual Impairments and DeafBlind: New Guidance for Eligibility for Special Education

This session will cover information provided by the new TEA guidance document that was released by the Texas Sensory Support Network. We will discuss the following topics: determining a visual impairment and educational need for services.

Learning Objective:

• To understand the essential "bundle" of vision evaluations needed to determine a visual impairment and receive answers to common questions related to determining eligibility for vision services.

Teleassessment: Essentials to Know

While COVID-19 has increased the use of telepractice, tele-assessment was already being utilized and is definitely here to stay. This session will cover the background of remote assessment, clinical considerations for successful implementation, how schools can best leverage remote evaluation, and logistical/operational considerations. The equivalency research on remote versus in-person evaluation will be discussed and a brief demonstration of how tele-assessment works will be conducted.

Learning Objectives:

• List several implementation considerations for tele-assessment
• Discuss equivalency research for remote versus in person evaluation
• Explain how tele-assessment is conducted with validity

ECI to LEA - Building a Golden Partnership

It is imperative to build a strong, collaborative relationship between Early Childhood Intervention and the school district. These relationships help our youngest learners and their families navigate this important transition in their lives. In this session, participants will review the roles and responsibilities of ECI and the school district, learn the importance of developing a collaborative partnership, and develop strategies to improve their own assessment practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will discover the roles and responsibilities of both ECI and the school district when working with children from birth to age 3.
• Participants will develop strategies for creating a strong, collaborative partnership with ECI.
• Participants will identify areas of improvement in their own assessment practices and develop a plan of action.

SLD or SI: Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression Deficits

In this session participants will explore the research around cognitive processing and language development in order to better understand factors and constructs that are linked to deficits in oral expression and listening comprehension. This knowledge will be linked to the requirements for determination of the disability conditions of SI and SLD as well as considerations for eligibility decisions by the ARD committee.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the cognitive processes impacting language development and disorders
• Clarify legal requirements for disability determinations of SI and SLD
• Explore factors for determining eligibility and services

Blueprint for Success: Matching Evaluation Results to Recommendations

Session participants will learn how to intentionally link evaluation results to functional recommendations through research-based strategies and efficient ways to collaborate with colleagues.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify a variety of resources available for locating research-based recommendations.
• Identify efficient ways to collaborate with colleagues to increase the efficacy of implementing recommendations.

Can I Get an Assist? Working Together on AT Evaluations

An Assistive Technology Assessment is a team process. This workshop will focus on research and best practices for conducting collaborative assessments within a multidisciplinary team. Team members will utilize results to inform future decision making.

Learning Objectives:

• Provide an overview of AT assessment; including referral steps, team members, and process
• Address student needs with best practice in AT Assessment
• Engage team members in shared decision making and implementation of assistive technology
• Create a sustainable AT assessment model for the long term.

Writing and Supporting Effective BIPs

This learning experience will focus on building school staff capacity to support those students presenting with the most challenging behavioral concerns. Participants will learn what is a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). Participants will also review the different parts of the BIP and how a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) provides information to develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP).

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the importance of linking the BIP to the FBA.
• List and describe the necessary components of the BIP.
• Identify function-based intervention strategies.

Social-Pragmatic Assessment -Reading Between The Lines

In this session participants will explore the components of social communication & pragmatic language, as well as providing an overview of a variety of assessment & data collection methods to describe observed skills & deficits in children across multiple settings.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify components of Social Communication and Pragmatic Language
• Identify assessment data collection methods
• Review how to analyze collected data to guide disability and eligibility recommendations

Brain Research and Autism: Understanding and Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorders

This interactive session will provide information on the last 20 years of brain research in autism and it's implication for assessments, interventions and supports, classrooms, and home/community.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain knowledge on brain research and autism.
• Participants will gain knowledge on how to use brain research to make a better impact on the lives of people with autism.

Using the Pearson Assessment Toolkit to Unravel the Mystery of Dyslexia

In this session, a comprehensive model for dyslexia evaluation along with examples of relevant tools from the Pearson Dyslexia Toolkit will be discussed including practical implications for assessment. Evaluation tools will be presented with an emphasis on interpretation of data from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-4) reading and reading related subtests and utilizing the WIAT-4 Dyslexia Index Scores for screening and evaluation.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will apply expectations from the Texas Dyslexia Handbook to Pearson’s Dyslexia Toolkit*
• Participants will learn how to use and apply Dyslexia Index Scores
• Participants to understand how use WIAT-4 data to identify the nature of a student’s reading difficulties and apply results to the development of individualized interventions

Let's talk about REEDs: Clearly Communicating with ARDCs

REEDs are more than just a quick, required component to rush through! This session will provide attendees with information about why the REED process is important, as well as how to go about creating thorough and compliant REEDs. Recommendations will also be given on how to streamline this process, as time to complete these can feel like a luxury! A review of the tough and confusing aspects of REEDs will be covered and guidance given on how to address these aspects. Participants will collaborate to identify process barriers and best practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Why the REED process Is Actually Important; Components Necessary to Complete a Thorough, Compliant, and Efficient REED; Answers/Guidance to the Tough and Confusing Aspects of REEDs; Identification of Process Barriers and Best Practices

A Step by Step Guide for Peer Review Committees

Participants in this workshop learn how to develop and implement a Peer Review Committee structure within their district to aid the evaluation team with planning and interpreting Specific Learning Disability and Intellectual Disability evaluations. The scope of the process--from selecting appropriate assessments, scheduling, streamlining procedures, training staff, and incorporating the CSEP method--will be covered in this session. Participants will receive sample resources that can be utilized within their district to aid in the implementation of a Peer Review Committee structure with CSEP practices at its core.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will gain a thorough understanding of how to organize and set up a Peer Review Committee process for evaluators.
• Session will include step by step process including: preparing for the process, organization and structure, documentation needed, and how to guide evaluators to use the process to write effective impact statements and recommendations.

Autism Evaluations: Diagnosis vs. Eligibility & Differential Assessment

This session focuses on comparing educational criteria for autism to diagnostic criteria. Differences between the criteria will be reviewed as well as how they impact parents in and out of the school setting. The session then becomes more focused on differential assessment and distinguishing between autism, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, and ADHD.

Learning Objectives:

• A deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between diagnostic and educational criteria for autism.
• Tools and research to help with making differential determinations when evaluating for autism..

Supervision: What You Need to Know

This session will discuss the role of the field-based supervisor and how to support "newbies." It will address common issues and also provide hands-on strategies to be an effective supervisor.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn effective strategies and resources for supporting new professional;
• understand some of the "pitfalls" that occur in supervision and;
• understand the needs of new hires

Building Effective Partnerships With Parents

The amount of time, money, and stress related to unresolved parent concerns is growing. It's difficult to truly and effectively partner with parents without listening to them, so we will do that part of the time in this session when we hear a bit from a parent's perspective. We will also discuss evidenced-based, practical, and real-world recommendations for moving forward.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will walk away with

• A renewed parent perspective regarding how to avoid pitfalls in the special education evaluation process and special education in general.
• New real-world strategies to use to improve relationships with parents.
• A base of research from which to draw future ideas and to use to support their practices with administrators.

The What and How of Comprehensive Dysgraphia Evaluations

In this session participants will be provided a framework based on IDEA, state regulations and connected to research for use when determining the condition of dysgraphia. Participants will leave with knowledge of what and how to assess the skills and processes at the root of dysgraphia.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain clarity of the requirements for dysgraphia identification as outlined in the Texas Dyslexia Handbook
• Review the latest research on which current policy is based upon
• Apply a step by step process for gathering and analyzing data in order to determine the condition of dysgraphia

6 Myths of AAC Assessment

Parents and professionals have many misconceptions about implementation of AAC. This session will address 6 most common myths of AAC and how they need to be resolved within the assessment process.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify most common misconceptions of AAC and;
• Describe how they can be resolved within assessment process

Unlocking More Potential: Leveraging Partnerships to Link Assessment to Intervention

Assessment extends beyond obtaining scores. Come learn ways that you can maximize the potential of assessments by using common partnerships to enhance student progress with interventions linked to assessment data.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn the key administration features of a variety of products used to evaluate adaptive behavior, developmental delay, learning motivation, phonological awareness, and sensory processing and integration.
• Participants will explore ways to offer data-based individualized recommendations and interventions.
• Participants will acquire ways to collaborate with a variety of multidisciplinary team members on assessments that are typically viewed as just one evaluation personnel’s domain.

Collaboration in the Early Childhood / Preschool Evaluation Process

Participants in this workshop will learn how to develop and implement preschool evaluation systems and processes from referral to ARD that promote and facilitate collaboration and efficiency among all staff members including clerks, evaluators, teachers, service providers, and administrators.

Learning Objectives:

• Processes and tools to help facilitate collaboration during the referral, evaluation, and ARD preparation of preschool evaluations.

Using Your Noggin: Brain Based Interventions

The more we understand how the brain learns, behaves, and socializes the better our interventions, supports, and outcomes. This session will look at some of the best brain-researched practices to develop and strengthen brains, which is vital to learning and behavior outcomes for ALL students.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain insight into how the brain learns and behaves and the best ways to teach the brain new skills (behavioral, social, and academic).
• Participants will gain knowledge on some of the top brain-researched supports and interventions for ALL students and adults.

Autism Evaluations: Girls with Autism

This session is a broad overview of girls with autism. Recent research will be reviewed in comparison to the diagnostic and educational criteria for autism. Trends from the research and hands on experiences will be noted to assist with identifying girls with autism. Specifically, the tendencies for girls with autism to experience, masking, dissociation, and even PTSD will be reviewed. Finally, some tools for evaluating girls with autism will be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding the differences between boys and girls with autism.
• Increasing the ability to identify traits commonly noted in girls with autism.
• Adding to the toolbox of evaluation strategies to help identify girls with autism.

Deafblind Eligibility

In this interactive session, participants will experience a brief simulation followed by discussion to gain a little understanding of the impact of being deafblind. This perspective will carry us into a conversation about the sometimes challenging questions around determination of deafblind eligibility and considerations related to the question of primary eligibility. Participants will also receive an update on the progress of Teacher of Deafblind (TDB) certification.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain introductory level of understanding of the impact of being deafblind on access to the general curriculum
• Understand the four ways students might meet the qualifications as a student who is deafblind according to the Texas Administrative Code (TAC).
• Apply understanding of eligibility to various scenarios

No More TEIRs: Supporting the MTSS Process

MTSS can offer a roadmap for problem-solving teams to ensure that all students have access to high-quality instruction and the interventions they need to be successful. In this session, participants will TIER-Up and get acquainted with the statewide network for Multi-tiered System of Supports. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to engage in collaborative discussions around the relationship between MTSS and Other Programs, including Special Education, as we aim to improve special education identification/referral practices.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, participants will become familiar with the Statewide Network for MTSS understand the benefits of an MTSS Framework and its relationship with other programs, including Special Education.

Email: keya.saleh@region10.org
Location: 904 Abrams Road, Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: 972-348-1598