Meaningful Engagement Through Active Learning: Early Exploration, Communication and Literacy for Children with Complex Special Needs

Collaborative State Blind/Visually Impaired Community of Practice, Statewide DeafBlind Community of Practice and Statewide Early Hearing and Detection Intervention Community of Practice Representatives

Kay Clarke is a certified early intervention specialist, orientation and mobility specialist (COMS), teacher of children who are visually impaired (TVI), and preschool teacher. For over 35 years, Kay has served infants, preschoolers and school-age children and their families in California and Ohio. She developed and implemented the Infant-Family Program at the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles, California and the Infant-Preschool Outreach Program at the Ohio State School for the Blind.   In addition, Dr. Clarke has served as an advocate for state-wide visual impairment early intervention services in Ohio, taught at the Ohio State University to train new vision professionals entering the field, and provided a series of statewide EI/VI trainings for developmental specialists through the Ohio Department of Health. Kay has authored several publications designed to support parents and professionals as they work with their young children, including “Hold Everything!” and “Making Sense of Early Intervention” through the Ohio Center for Deafblind Education and “Laptime and Lullabies” through the American Printing House for the Blind.

This workshop will open with an overview of Lilli Nielsen’s Active Learning Approach for children who have vision/hearing loss and additional special needs. Practical active learning strategies for jump-starting early exploration, communication and literacy will be presented through video clips and other concrete examples. Methods to evaluate child progress and resources for additional information will also be shared.

The last day to register is February 18, 2022.

March 18, 2022, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Teams are encouraged to attend the presentation together so that there is common conceptual understanding about emergent literacy, communication and exploration.  

12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Lunch and Make-and-Take Tactile Bar.  Each Region will be hosting and supporting the afternoon Make-N-Take for a pre-determined number of participants. You must contact your regional low incidence facilitator (RLIF)  to request participation in the afternoon Make-N-Take

ASL interpreters will be provided with Zoom auto-transcription enabled.

Regional Low Incidence Facilitators (RLIFs):

NW MN (Region 1 & 2) - Nicole Eck (neck@bric.k12.mn.us)

NE MN (Region 3) - Alicia Jepsen (ajepsen@northlandsped.org)

W MN (Region 4) - Jill Skarvold (jskarvold@lcsc.org)

Central MN (Region 5 & 7) - Nan Records (nan.records@sourcewell-mn.gov)

SW MN (Region 6 & 8) - Mary Palmer (mary.palmer@swwc.org)

South Central MN (Region 9) Erin Toninato (etoninato@mnscsc.org)

SE MN (Region 10) Christian Wernau (cwernau@zumbroed.org)

Twin Cities Metro (Region 11) Ingrid Aasan.  Email to Kayna Plaisted (kayna.plaisted.metroecsu.org)

This initiative is made possible with a grant from the MN Department of Education using federal funding CFDA 84.027A Special Education – Grants to States.  This initiative is made possible in whole with a grant from the Minnesota Board of Education using federal funding, CFDA 84.027A, Special Education – Grants to States. This event does not necessarily represent the policy of the federal Department of Education or the state Department of Education.  You should not assume endorsement by the federal or state government.

Cancellation: You can cancel your own registration for an event before the cancellation deadline. (Please check the event information for specific cancellation details.) If the event has a fee, refunds are possible only if cancellation is prior to the deadline. If you do not attend and do not cancel prior to an event, you are still responsible for payment and will be billed.

Special Accommodations: Please alert BrightWorks 2-3 weeks prior to the workshop/event if you need special accommodations, including sign language interpreters. (BrightWorks requires a notice of 2 business days to cancel a sign language interpreter. If you fail to cancel, we reserve the right to bill your school/district for this expense.) Update your profile as needed. Special accommodations are not included with each registration, but are stored in your profile until you make changes.