The following training opportunities are offered by the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC). All of our trainings are free for parents. For school districts and professional groups a rate of $150 per hour is charged. Sessions are tailored to meet individual group needs including trainings available in Spanish. For more information or to schedule a training, please call us at 1-800-445-2722.
Please Click Here to download a copy of our Workshop Brochure.
Legal Rights
The Nuts and Bolts of Special Education
Parents of children with disabilities will learn how to become more active participants in their children’s education. It will include information on evaluations, record keeping, Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meetings, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 and dispute resolution.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004)
This training is designed to familiarize participants with the changes in IDEA ‘04. The focus is on special education and how parents can ensure their child is receiving an effective and appropriate special education program.
No Child Left Behind and Students with Disabilities
Participants will become familiar with the key elements of No Child Left Behind. With the increased emphasis on accountability, it is important for parents and professionals to understand the changes this legislation makes and how they may affect students with disabilities.
Eligibility, Programming and Placement
Developing the Individualized Education Program
This training focuses on how parents can be actively and effectively involved in the development of the IEP. Participants will learn the key components of an IEP and will become familiar with the new Connecticut IEP forms. It will offer guidance about developing measurable goals and tips for monitoring a student’s progress.
Preparing for the Planning and Placement Team Meeting
This training focuses on preparing for the Planning and Placement Team Meeting. It will explore the roles and responsibilities of both parents’ and professionals’- and will include information on futures planning, the importance of record-keeping and strategies for creating team relationships and having successful meetings.
Help! My Child is Struggling in School
This training will explore regular education strategies used to support children having academic or behavioral difficulty. Participants will gain an understanding of Response to Intervention (RTI), an approach to supporting all children in school. The session will conclude with a review of the special education referral process.
How Do I Know If My Child is Making Progress?
This workshop will introduce participants to the importance of reviewing data provided by the school to determine whether or not a child is making progress. Participants will learn how to use the IEP and other tools to determine what data should be collected and how to utilize it to ensure that a child is making continuous progress.
IEP Goals 101: A Guide for Monitoring Student Learning
This training will teach participants how to identify key information to incorporate into the present level of academic and functional performance and how to use present levels of academic and functional performance to create measurable goals and objectives.
Positive Behavioral Interventions: What Parents Need to Know
Families will be introduced to a new way of thinking about their child’s challenging behaviors and about the need to advocate for behavioral supports. It introduces and provides an overview of the concepts of functional behavioral assessment and positive behavior interventions.
Discipline: Rights and Options for Students with Special Needs
This workshop will review the issues related to discipline that face students with special needs in school. Participants will become aware of the required process for suspension of a child with an IEP, learn the value of positive behavioral support programs and become familiar with the components and purpose of a functional behavioral assessment.
Family - School Relationships
Effective Communication
Improved communication skills can help parents gain confidence whenever they are working with professionals who are helping their child. This training will help parents and professionals identify their communication strengths and weaknesses, and will offer strategies to help if obstacles arise.
Developing Positive Relationships Between Parents and Schools
The importance of positive home-school relationships and the effect of these relationships on students’ success will be discussed. Participants will also learn strategies that families and schools can use to create meaningful relationships as well as the barriers to successful relationships.
How to Become Your Child's Best Advocate
Learn how to effectively communicate with your child’s school and advocate for your child’s appropriate education. Participants will learn tips on preparing for meetings with teachers, clearly communicating questions and goals, and how to foster positive relationships with your child’s teachers.
What to Do When You Disagree
The focus of this training is on positive communication and the continuum of conflict resolution options. Participants will learn several strategies for promoting positive communication within a team. Participants will also identify ways to resolve special education disputes including Mediation, Due Process and Complaints.
Disability Specific
Understanding ADHD
This training is designed to help educate parents, teachers and others about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and its implications for school success. It provides participants with information about ADHD including behavior support for parents and instructional strategies for teachers.
Strategies and Accommodations for Children with Learning Disabilities and/or Attention Difficulties
Participants will become familiar with strategies that can help children with learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders succeed in the regular education classroom. Participants will learn how to contribute to the development of the IEP and how modifications and accommodations can support a child in the general education curriculum. Participants will leave with easy-to-use ideas and tools to help their children be more successful at home and in school.
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders
This training provides an overview of issues related to autism, including common characteristics, practices for identification, and components of an effective program. Participants will learn about different types of Autism Spectrum Disorders and the triad of deficits that are associated with them.
Transition to Adult Life
Transition from School to Adult Life
Parents and professionals will better understand transition planning and how they can become more active participants in the process. Participants will gain knowledge of the legal requirements of IDEA, the availability of adult service agencies, and options for what lies ahead after high school.
Early Childhood
Understanding Challenging Behaviors in Young Children
This workshop will help participants change the way they view and react to their children’s challenging behavior. Participants will learn what their children’s behavior is communicating, how to use positive behavior supports to encourage the development of new communication skills, and practical tips for promoting children’s success
Intervening Early: Steps to Take When You’re Concerned about Your Young Child
Learn what steps parents and professionals can take when a young child is having difficulty at home or in an early childhood program. This presentation will describe how early intervention services can support children who are developing differently than their peers. Caretakers will also gain an understanding of when and how to proceed with the formal referral process for special education.
The Transition Process: From Birth to Three to Special Education
Families of children enrolled in Birth to Three will increase their understanding of the transition process from Birth to Three services and will gain knowledge of the key components of special education services under IDEA. Participants will learn about their role as an equal partner of the PPT and ways that they can effectively advocate for their children and communicate with schools.
Supporting Young Children
This presentation will explore the legal, practical and positive implications of including young children who have disabilities with typical peers in early childhood settings. Parents and professionals will learn about the research that supports inclusive programs and how Connecticut is putting this research into practice. Practical strategies and reasonable accommodations will be discussed. Information on existing resources for providers and families will also be available.
Next STEPS (Support and Training for Educators and Parents) Training Program
Next STEPS is a training series that prepares parents of children with special needs and educators to enable them to, and help others advocate for appropriate educational services for their children. This training provides information on the following topics: Preparing for the PPT, Understanding the IEP, Transition to Adult Life, Effective Communication, Dispute Resolution and Special Education Laws.
Next STEPs participants attend training sessions one evening a week for three weeks. We try to offer a different location throughout the state for every series. Participants are encouraged to attend the entire series. Participants are encouraged to use their knowledge to effect change in their own community. Some examples of ways to make a change include taking educational materials to the public library, scheduling a guest speaker or workshop for parents in the community or volunteering to help parents who may need help understanding the special education system. For more information or to bring a Next STEPs series to your area, please call CPAC at 1-800-445-2722.
Families as Partners
Families As Partners is designed to develop partnerships and promote collaboration between schools and families in the implementation of the IEP. Three training modules, available in both English and Spanish, are presented jointly to parents and district personnel on Preparing for the PPT, Developing the IEP and What to Do When You Disagree. Providing joint training allows parents and professionals to hear the same information and it gives them a chance to sit down together in a comfortable setting to talk about their concerns, both parents concerns for their children and the school's concerns when education the children.
Fifteen school districts collaborated with CPAC during the first year of this initiative. Using input from school district personnel and families, each district developed a plan that would meet the unique needs of parents and professionals. Families were involved from the planning to the implementation and evaluation of all activities. Support from the school district's administration and working as a collaborative team with parents, administrators and school personnel were key pieces of this project that made it successful.
The following materials were developed and/or distributed as part of this training:
Positive Student Profile
Positive Student Profile (Spanish)
Promoting Positive Communication
Promoting Positive Communication (Spanish)
Reaching Out To Diverse Populations
Role Reversal ActivityFor more information or to see how your school district can get involved, please contact CPAC at: 800-445-2722 or by email at: cpac@cpacinc.org.
This project was originally developed using funds from Grant H32A000003, Special Education-State Program Improvement Grants for Children with Disabilities, received from the Connecticut State Department of Education.
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