Search

10 West Edge Drive
Suite 101
Durham, NH 03824

Phone: 603.862.4320
Fax: 603.862.0555

E-mail

Methods, Models & Tools

An intensive 5-day course designed to help develop the competencies needed to facilitate consumer and family directed life planning

Description

Methods, Models & Tools is an intensive five-day course, presented by the Institute on Disability and the Browne Center, designed to help develop the competencies needed to facilitate consumer and family-directed career, education and life planning. The course incorporates lecture, role-playing, action learning, and peer support to provide an interactive forum for participants to develop and practice effective group facilitation skills. The curriculum addresses theories of group development, offering experiential methods for process design, questioning and recording skills, and strategic planning. Models of situational leadership, team performance, conflict management and principled negotiation are translated to the context of person-centered futures planning.

Who Should Attend?
This course is appropriate for individuals who have a strong interest in developing the facilitation skills used to support increased or improved group collaboration. The summer institute is specifically geared toward case managers, social workers, nurses, long term care specialists, clinicians, family members, and others involved in planning with persons with long term support needs.

Course Credit:
If you plan to take this course for UNH credit, DO NOT register through the Institute on Disability. Please register through the UNH Registrar's Office by calling 603.862.1500.
Course Name: Person-Centered Planning
Course: Undergraduate SW 697-01 (4 credits); Graduate SW 897-01 (3 credits)

Presenters: Patty Cotton, M.Ed., & Pam McPhee, MSW

Patty Cotton, M.Ed., directs Innovation Facilitators (IF), a new service initiative offering educational programs, facilitation services and professional development related to creative planning, strategic visioning, and consumer and family-directed service designs. Patty works jointly with the Institute on Disability and the Browne Center for experiential learning at UNH to establish IF as a centralized resource for people with disabilities and families to hire an independent facilitator to guide them through person-centered planning. Since joining the Institute on Disability in 1989, Patty has coordinated numerous federally funded projects with a particular focus on model demonstration and system-change in adult services.  She has extensive background in process facilitation, service brokering, and the development of natural support strategies.  Patty has authored several publications on person-centered planning and natural supports, and provides training at both the state and national levels.

Pam McPhee, MSW, is a founder and the Director of the Browne Center and is on the faculty of the Outdoor Education Program at the University of New Hampshire. Pam has had a varied career working for Outward Bound, as a school social worker and as an organizational consultant. Her focus is on helping individuals and groups develop their own deliberate culture through inter and intra-personal skill development.

back to top...

Picture This! The Art of Graphic Facilitation

Description

Meetings are Costly
Organizations and groups invest substantial resources (i.e. salaries, time, energy) in bringing people together to accomplish complex collaborative tasks and goals. Often these groups have little more than an agenda to guide them and some charged with taking notes or "meeting minutes." This is a little like hiring a team of carpenters and telling them to "build a hose" without providing tools to make the job easier or a blueprint so people can see how parts intersect to form a comprehensive whole.

Graphic Facilitation Adds Value
Graphic Facilitation adds another layer of clarity to communication-a visual language-to help people with diverse ideas, beliefs, and learning styles work and think together. By tightly integrating words with visual images, people can see "...at a glance the key parts of a whole and their relations, thereby allowing a holistic understanding that words alone cannot convey" (Jones, Pierce & Hunter). In fact, the benefits of using visual language to aid comprehension are well-documented. For example, research on visual language in business environments has found that it:

• Produces better problem solving
• Produces higher scores in less time (comprehension and learning)
• Aids decision-making
• Shortens meeting time
• Promotes group consensus
• Is persuasive and makes a better impression

This workshop will offer participants an accelerated learning experience in graphic recording and facilitation. Through a series of structure practice sessions, participants will develop basic skills in using visual language to record the give and take of conversation during meetings. Examples of visual strategic planning and problem solving tools that a facilitator can use to organize information "in the moment" will be demonstrated. Ways to display this information that make it easier for groups to process will also be presented. A developmental model for learning to create or customize tools and visual templates to "meet groups where they are at" will be shared.

Who Should Attend:

• People who spend time in frustrating meetings
• Facilitators who want to expand their toolbox
• Educators interested in learning simple ways to accommodate multiple learning styles
• Counselors, case managers, coaches, and other practitioners involved in guiding people through self-discovery processes

Workshop Agenda:

• Orientation to graphic facilitation
• The building blocks of visual language
• Recording practice
• Organizing information to support group processes
• Graphic Keyboard (Sibbet)
• View templates
  

Presenter: Patty Cotton, M.Ed.

Patty Cotton, M.Ed., directs Innovation Facilitators (IF), a new service initiative offering educational programs, facilitation services and professional development related to creative planning, strategic visioning, and consumer and family-directed service designs. Patty works jointly with the Institute on Disability and the Browne Center for experiential learning at UNH to establish IF as a centralized resource for people with disabilities and families to hire an independent facilitator to guide them through person-centered planning. Since joining the Institute on Disability in 1989, Patty has coordinated numerous federally funded projects with a particular focus on model demonstration and system-change in adult services.  She has extensive background in process facilitation, service brokering, and the development of natural support strategies.  Patty has authored several publications on person-centered planning and natural supports, and provides training at both the state and national levels.

back to top...

Methods, Models & Tools Summer Institute

An intensive week-long summer institute designed to help develop the competencies needed to facilitate consumer and family directed life planning

Description

Methods, Models & Tools is an intensive five-day summer institute, presented by the Institute on Disability and the Browne Center, designed to help develop the competencies needed to facilitate consumer and family-directed life planning. The summer institute incorporates lecture, role-playing, action learning, and peer support to provide an interactive forum for participants to develop and practice effective group facilitation skills. The curriculum addresses theories of group development, offering experiential methods for process design, questioning and recording skills, and strategic planning. Models of situational leadership, team performance, conflict management and principled negotiation are translated to the context of person-centered futures planning.

Who Should Attend?
Methods, Models & Tools is appropriate for individuals who have a strong interest in developing the facilitation skills used to support increased or improved group collaboration. The summer institute is specifically geared toward case managers, social workers, nurses, long term care specialists, clinicians, family members, and others involved in planning with persons with long term support needs.

Accommodations:
Holiday Inn Express
2 Main Street, Durham, NH
Phone: 603.868.1234
Rate per night: $120 (includes breakfast)

UNH Campus Dormitory Rooms - Single rooms
Rate per night: $56.70
Includes air conditioning, semi-private bath with common room, in-room telephone with local service, alarm clock, toiletry and bath linen pack, and hangers.
For more information and to book campus accommodations, please call 603.228.2084

Both rates available until June 14, 2009.

This training is supported in part through a Person-Centered Planning Grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CFDA #93.779.

Presenters: Patty Cotton, M.Ed., & Pam McPhee, MSW

Patty Cotton, M.Ed., directs Innovation Facilitators (IF), a new service initiative offering educational programs, facilitation services and professional development related to creative planning, strategic visioning, and consumer and family-directed service designs. Patty works jointly with the Institute on Disability and the Browne Center for experiential learning at UNH to establish IF as a centralized resource for people with disabilities and families to hire an independent facilitator to guide them through person-centered planning. Since joining the Institute on Disability in 1989, Patty has coordinated numerous federally funded projects with a particular focus on model demonstration and system-change in adult services.  She has extensive background in process facilitation, service brokering, and the development of natural support strategies.  Patty has authored several publications on person-centered planning and natural supports, and provides training at both the state and national levels.

Pam McPhee, MSW, is a founder and the Director of the Browne Center and is on the faculty of the Outdoor Education Program at the University of New Hampshire. Pam has had a varied career working for Outward Bound, as a school social worker and as an organizational consultant. Her focus is on helping individuals and groups develop their own deliberate culture through inter and intra-personal skill development.

back to top...

The Third Annual Assistive Technology Summer Institute

Achieving Educational Success Through Assistive Technology (AT) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Description

The third annual Assistive Technology Summer Institute “Achieving Educational Success Through Assistive Technology (AT) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)” will explore innovative and creative ways technology can increase the accessibility of curriculum and enrich the learning experience for all students. Each of the three interactive and hands-on workshops will provide participants practical, cost effective, and proven strategies and tools that can be applied to any learning environment.

The AT Summer Institute is specifically geared toward general education classroom teachers, special educators, paraeducators, speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, literacy specialists, transition coordinators, and others.

Workshop Descriptions

Wednesday, July 22: IntelliTools Level I – Introduction to Classroom Suite 4
The new IntelliTools Classroom Suite 4 is incredibly quick and easy to use. New, customized templates allow you to create learning and assessment activities in minutes for reading, writing, and math. The program provides students with direct explicit instruction, constructive practice, and embedded assessments, allowing teachers to gauge progress and individualize instruction for their students. In this hands-on session, participants will learn how to use Classroom Suite 4 to teach early concepts, reading, writing, and math to all students. Learn how to access the IntelliTools Activity Exchange’s over 3,000 activities, as well as import activities created in Classroom Suite 3. The day will cover all the basics from using templates, creating classes and students, assigning activities, accessing student reporting features as well as utilizing all the accessibility features in the program from switch access, to alternate access with the IntelliKeys keyboard.

Thursday, July 23: IntelliTools Level II – Next Steps with Classroom Suite 4*
This intermediate, hands-on session will take you beyond the basics of using Classroom Suite 4. Learn how to download and customize activities from the IntelliTools Activity Exchange, as well as create your own activities from scratch using the blank Paint, Design, Writing, and Math Creativity Tools files. Utilize new tools and actions for creating or editing, including working with Scriptable Bins, Arrays, Number Lines, Sorting Bins, and more.
*Workshop pre-requisite: Level I or other introductory Classroom Suite 4 course. Please call 603.228.2084 for more information.

Friday, July 24: Technology Tools for Student Access and Success
This workshop will address the academic and communication needs of struggling students continuing on to higher education with tools that will enable them to be successful. Tools include scan and read programs to provide access to written text; tools for electronic note taking, brainstorming, and writing; research tools for online note taking; free word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet programs; online tools for scheduling and assignment organization; collaboration tools, and more.

Presenter: Dan Herlihy

Dan Herlihy has been in the education field for over 24 years working in wilderness programs for at-risk students, in special education classrooms, and as a private consultant providing training and professional development to school systems. He is also an IntelliTools Training Specialist. He presents nationally on numerous topics including creating access on the fly, working with high and low incidence disabilities, creating accessible test, quiz, and alternate assessment activities, and more. He has written numerous books and articles on technology integration, as well as producing CDs of educational activities for students. His expertise is in taking diverse technologies, and connecting them together to provide solutions for access to the curriculum.

back to top...

The 11th Annual Autism Summer Institute

Show Me The Evidence: Evidence-Based Practices for Supporting Students with ASD in Schools and Communities

Description

The goal of the Autism Summer Institute is to provide strength-based perspectives about students with Autism Spectrum Differences (ASD) to improve the quality of education in inclusive settings. Participants will gain knowledge and skills to evaluate and select supports and strategies based on research evidence that will enhance the full participation of students with ASD in their schools and communities. This Institute offers a unique combination of keynote presentations, breakout sessions, and "home" work groups.

The full Institute registration fee includes participation in all four days' activities, continental breakfast, lunch (Monday - Wednesday only), materials, and parking. A separate fee has been established for those registering for course credit and for those interested in attending one or more keynote presentations only.

Who Should Attend:
The Autism Summer Institute is designed for, and will benefit, individuals with ASD and their families, teachers, paraprofessionals, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, school administrators, guidance counselors, psychologists, school-family educational teams (see registration form for group discount information), university students, and others.

Scholarships & Family Support:
Family and self-advocate scholarships may be available from several of our collaborators. For full details, click here or call 603.228.2084.

Professional Development & Course Credit:
All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation. The Autism Summer Institute qualifies for 25 Staff Development Hours. Participants may earn 4 academic credits by registering for EDUC 757/857 in the Fall 2009 semester and attending the Autism Summer Institute (tuition and $99 conference fee apply). To register for UNH course credit, DO NOT continue with registration. Please contact the course instructor, Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D., at cheryl.jorgensen@unh.edu for more information and permission to register.

Presented by the Institute on Disability's NH Resource Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders

In Collaboration With:
Asperger's Association of New England • Autism Society of New Hampshire
Community Support Network, Inc. • NH Developmental Disabilities Council
Parent Information Center • University of New Hampshire

Keynote Presenters

Monday, August 10 (Morning) - Ari Ne'eman
"The Neurodiversity Movement: An Emerging Civil Rights Struggle for the 21st Century"
Ari Ne'eman, a young man who experiences Asperger's Syndrome, is the Founding President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a non-profit organization of adults and youth on the autism spectrum. He first became involved in self-advocacy as a high school student, arguing for his own inclusion and access to high level academic coursework. He later became involved in disability and education policy advocacy. He is the Vice Chair of the NJ Adults with Autism Task Force and served on the New Jersey Special Education Review Commission. Ari is currently studying Political Science at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County as a Sondheim Scholar of Public Affairs.

Monday, August 10 (Afternoon) - Dan Habib
"Inclusive Education"
Dan Habib is the director, producer and cinematographer of the documentary Including Samuel and is Filmmaker in Residence at the UNH Institute on Disability. Until joining UNH in April of 2008, Habib was the photography editor of the Concord Monitor since 1995. His freelance work, including extensive documentary work in China, has appeared in numerous publications, including Time, Newsweek, Yankee, Life, Boston Magazine, Mother Jones and the New York Times. Habib has been named New Hampshire Photographer of the Year six times.

Tuesday, August 11 - Lana L. Collet-Klingenberg, Ph.D.
"Evaluating the Evidence"
Lana L. Collet-Klingenberg, Ph.D., is employed with the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Waisman Center, UW-Madison. Lana's professional experiences include teaching individuals with a wide range of abilities and challenges in school and community settings, pre-service and in-service teacher education and professional development, and participation on a number of federally funded projects related to teaching individuals with disabilities in the areas of communication, social skills, transition, and inclusive school environments.

Wednesday, August 12 - Cathy Pratt, Ph.D.
"Implementing Evidence-Based Practices"
Cathy Pratt, Ph.D., is the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University. Dr. Pratt is on faculty at Indiana University, and presents internationally on the topics of autism spectrum disorders, functional behavior assessment/positive behavior supports, instructional approaches, systems change, and policy. She currently serves as Chair of the Board for the National Autism Society of America, member of the advisory board for the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, and is co-director of the Network of Autism Training and Technical Assistance Programs (NATTAP).

Thursday, August 13 - Michael McSheehan
"The Role of Evidence"
Michael McSheehan, a project coordinator with the UNH Institute on Disability and Clinical Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been affiliated with the Institute on Disability since 1993. As a researcher and professional developer, Michael has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapter, and a forthcoming book (Summer 2009) in the areas of autism, augmentative communication (AAC), and access to and learning of general curriculum. He consults with various state departments of education and presents internationally.

back to top...

The Fourth Annual APEX II Summer Leadership Institute

Description

This year's institute will be open to teams from high schools that are interested in:

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
• Improving school culture and climate
• Student leadership and participation
• Intensive school-to-career interventions
• Data-based decision-making
• Creating multiple and individualized pathways to graduation
• Function-based assessment and intervention
  

Tentative Agenda:
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
8:00-9:00 - Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00-9:30 - Welcome
9:30-10:15 - Keynote Presentation: Joe DiMartino "Personalizing the High School Learning Experience"
10:15-10:30 - Break
10:30-12:00 - Breakout Session
12:00-1:15 - Lunch
1:15-2:30 - Breakout Session
2:30-2:45 - Break
2:45-4:15 - Breakout Session
6:00 - Evening Activities begin

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
7:30-8:30 - Breakfast
8:30-8:45 - Welcome
8:45-9:30 - Student Leaders-We Can Improve Our Schools!
9:30-9:45 - Break
9:45-10:45 - Breakout session
10:45-11:00 - Break
11:00-12:00 - Breakout session
12:00-12:45 -Lunch
12:45-1:15 - Celebration

APEX II is a Dropout Prevention Project of the NH Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. APEX II partnership agencies include the Institute on Disability at UNH, Main Street Academix, Inc., and 10 high schools throughout the state. This year's Institute is also sponsored by NH RESPONDS, a project of the NH Bureau of Special Education at the NH Department of Education.

Featuring

Joe DiMartino, M.Ed.
Keynote presenter Joe DiMartino, M.Ed., president of the Center for Secondary School Redesign, Inc., will discuss “Personalizing the High School Experience for Each Student,” a new practice which leads to challenging and relevant 21st century learning environments.

Dan Habib and the film “Including Samuel”
This inspirational film by Dan Habib portrays the struggles and triumphs of the inclusion of his son, Samuel, in school. Dan will facilitate a dialogue about inclusion and the social and cultural impact for all children and adults.

LeDerick Horne
Last year, LeDerick shared his personal journey from “special education” student to real estate mogul. This year, LeDerick will work with students and teachers on their poetry and other forms of personal expression.

Hank Bohanon, Ph.D.
Dr. Bohanon is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Loyola University of Chicago and has facilitated the development PBIS in high schools in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Bohanon will provide a workshop on PBIS leadership strategies and classroom management.

back to top...

Autism National Committee 2009 Conference

Opening Doors with Voices and Choices

Description

Featuring:
Keynote presentations by:

• Sharisa Kochmeister - "Voices and Choices: Words from the Board President"
• Matthew Goodwin - "New Assistive Technology and Community Participation in Research"
• Jessica Butler - "Restraint and Seclusion - Lifting the Veil"
• Larry Bissonette and Tracy Thresher - "World Tour - the making of the film"
• DJ Savarese - "Plotting Hope" (a film)
• Margaret Bauman, M.D.
• Beth Dixon, Janet and Jeff Williamson - "Self-Directed Lives in a Bureaucratic World"
• Alan Kurtz - "Autism Science - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

Breakout sessions by:

• Amanda Baggs
• Kathy Berger
• Larry Bissonette
• Hope Block
• Pascal Cheng
• Janine Collins
• Rob Cutler
• Barbara Delsack
• Amy Frechette
• Mike Hoover
• Cheryl Jorgensen
• Sharisa Kochmeister
• Alan Kurtz
• Harvey Lavoy
• Ari Ne'eman
• Nick Pentzell
• Jacob Pratt
• Jenn Seybert
• Stephen Shore
• Tracy Thresher
• Thalia Vitikos
• Jeff Williamson

Social Work CEUs have been requested. Please call 603.228.2084 for more information.

Accommodations:
Overnight rooms have been blocked at the Crowne Plaza Nashua for the evenings of September 24, 25, and 26, 2009 and are available at a rate of $129 per room per night for single or double occupancy. Please mention the AutCom Conference to guarantee rate. Rate available until August 21, 2009.

Free shuttle service will be available to the hotel from the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT).

Dollars for Voices:
The Autism National Committee seeks to assist people on the spectrum to attend the AutCom conference in order to learn and share firsthand knowledge about ASD. During the registration process, please consider making a donation to support the attendance of individuals on the spectrum.

The Autism National Committee is an association of individuals on the autism spectrum, their parents and caregivers, and members of the professional community who believe in and work for social justice and self determination for all people with autism, pervasive developmental disorders, and related disabilities.

back to top...

Real Choice Systems Transformation 2009 Conference

Workforce Innovation: Ensuring the Future of NH’s Direct Support Workforce

Description

A one-day conference to address public policy and best practices for ensuring the future of a quality direct support workforce in home and community based services.

Keynote Presenter: Nancy Folbre, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts

Keynote Presentation: “Valuing Care Work: Priorities for Public Policy”

back to top...