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to the home of the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas!

The Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas provides accurate and current information, resources and support for people with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

Vision: People with Down Syndrome - valued and included.

Learning Together, Focusing on Possibilities Fall Education Conference

Saturday, October 22, 2011
Crowne Plaza Suites - Dallas
7800 Alpha Road
Dallas, TX 75240 map
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Download the 2011 Fall Education Conference brochure

This year's conference will interest a diverse group of attendees. Family members who have a child of any age with developmental disabilities, educators, and professionals will benefit. Confirmed speakers and topics to date include:

Lisa Kirby-Lisa is our keynote speaker and will continue her workshop Brain-Based Learning and Differentiated Instruction throughout the day. Attendees will leave with new tools and strategies for optimizing students' academic performance in the inclusive classroom. Discover how positive attitude, understanding learning styles, and brain-based research can make you rethink the way you teach. Be prepared to move, have fun, and fill up your toolbox! These sessions are appropriate for teachers, professionals, and parents of all age individuals.

Robin Abels-What IPAD and other Technology Can do for You and Your Child: Ongoing research is proving the benefits of the latest technology for improving the lives and educational experiences of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Don't miss this chance to explore the latest technological advances and how they enhance the lives of children by improving communication, focus, and other areas of learning. This session is appropriate for teachers, professionals, and parents of all age individuals and may be of particular interest to those involved with individuals who are non-verbal or use augmentative communication.

Jane Georges-Making Math Accessible for All Students: Participants will learn engaging and exciting methods for practicing the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL ) which support accessibility to real life, practical mathematics for all students. This session is appropriate for teachers, professionals, and parents of all age individuals.

Making Math Stick for Elementary Students: Explore the latest in brain research and research-based instructional strategies which can significantly impact memory and the learning and application of mathematics. Participants will take home ideas to engage and inspire students in grades K-6.

Making Math Stick for Secondary Students: Explore the latest in brain research and research-based instructional strategies which can significantly impact memory and the learning and application of mathematics. Participants will take home ideas to engage and inspire secondary students.

Kim Voss-From Low Tech to High Tech: Begin Teaching by Design: Learn to effectively use media, layout, images, and text as described in Kim's award-winning book Teaching by Design: Using Your Computer to Create Materials for Students with Learning Differences. Create high-quality strategies, from low to high tech, that meet the particular learning needs of individual students.

Let's Talk Boardmaker/ Boardmaker Plus! Participants receive a tutorial on Boardmaker and will learn how to manage their own images to best create their own Boardmaker library of images. They will also experience Boardmaker Plus! including talking and moveable buttons and will learn how to create a simple activity using the amazing features of Boardmaker Plus!

Negotiating boardmakershare.com: Who said you have to do it all yourself? Participants will learn how to negotiate boardmakershare.com (previously adaptedlearning.com) by creating their
own account, searching the thousands of Boardmaker activities created by others on hundreds of topics, and uploading their own Boardmaker activities to share. These 2 sessions will be combined to provide an overview of Boardmaker concepts and ideas.

Who Said I Have to Talk to Prove I Can Read? Participants will explore the use of technology for designing a systematic approach for teaching reading without requiring the ability to speak.
These sessions may be especially beneficial for teachers, parents, and professionals of individuals who are non-verbal or use augmentative communication.

Debbie Wilkes-Promoting Student Interdependence through Collaborative Transition Planning: Families who have adult children with disabilities are shocked to find that their child does not qualify for services through vocational agencies such as the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and therefore employment is not an option. In this session, find out how this pitfall can be avoided and learn the strategies that should be taught from middle school and beyond so that ALL people can work. This session is appropriate for teachers, professionals, and parents of middle school and older individuals.

Increasing Responsibility and Independence: Is your student/child dependent on you or other adults to complete a task? Does he or she wait to be told what to do? In this session learn
strategies to increase independence and enhance the natural maturation process. This session is appropriate for teachers, professionals, and parents of all age individuals.

Individual Goal Setting for Middle School and Beyond: All individuals need to have the skills to set goals, develop a strategy to achieve the goal, evaluate if the strategy is working, and make necessary alterations. This session explores the rationale behind individual decision-making and provides participants with tools to help their students/children set and achieve goals.

For additional information, please contact the DSG office at (214) 267-1374 or dallasdsg@sbcglobal.net.