Polk County Public Schools
Four education partners are holding a series of free workshops in October and November for parents and guardians of special needs and disabled children.
The workshops are being coordinated by Exceptional Student Education Department of the Polk Public Schools, the Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources System (FDLRS), Infants & Young Children of West Central Florida, Inc. and the University of South Florida’s Center for Autism & Related Disabilities.
There are four workshops. Workshops can be attended separately although each session uses knowledge and learning from previous sessions. All four of the workshops will be held at the Jim Miles Professional Development Center, 5204 U.S. Highway 98 South, Lakeland. Workshops will be held on Thursday, October 9 and Thursday, October 23. The October 9 and October 23 workshops will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Workshops will also be held on Thursday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 19. The November 6 and November 19 workshops will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Contact Jolene Ahlschwede at (863) 647-4258 or for more information or to register for the workshops.
Titles and topics for workshops are:
October 9: “Parenting with Positive Behavior Support (PBS)” – The Positive Behavior Support program, common behavioral terms and how to incorporate them in parenting.
October 23: “Developing Communication to Replace Challenging Behavior” – Communication, its function and communication enhancement strategies.
November 6: “Using Prevention Strategies” – Tools for preventing challenging behaviors happening during routines, transitions and tips for initiating play and social interactions.
November 19: “Implementing Interventions” – Behavior analysis, de-escalation techniques and interventions.
Ellen Weber, from the University of South Florida’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, will be the presenter for all workshops.