Easter Seals offers autism awareness trainings & workshops

[March 25, 2014]  PEORIA — Easter Seals will recognize Autism Awareness Month in April by offering autism-related trainings and educational workshops that are geared toward parents, caregivers, health care providers, therapists, teachers and community members.

Participants can choose from a variety of topics:

• April 7, Peoria: Executive Function — Learn how to assess a child's executive function process and develop effective interventions for that child. Approved for 5.0 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

• April 7, Peoria: ADOS-2 Review — Criteria for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder using DSM-5 will be taught. Prerequisite for participation in ADOS-2 training for those who have not administered the ADOS. Approved for 2.5 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

• April 8-9, Peoria: ADOS-2 — Learn how to administer the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 2, a tool widely known as "the gold standard" for observational, diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum disorders. Approved for 12 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

• April 12, Peoria; April 17, Bloomington: Autism 101 — Designed for professionals and families to learn about the fundamentals of autism spectrum disorders, including diagnostic criteria, meaning of "spectrum" and interventions available in the community. Approved for 1.5 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

• April 22, Peoria: April 23, Bloomington: P.L.A.Y. Project — Learn strategies and observe videotaped P.L.A.Y. Project sessions. Approved for 1.5 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education. Credit pending with the Illinois Early Intervention program.

• April 24, Peoria; April 29, Bloomington: Changing Challenging Behaviors — Learn how to decide what a child's behavior actually means and how to change the environment to change the behavior to something more appropriate. Approved for 1.5 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

• April 28, Peoria: Learning the Fundamentals of Discrete Trial Training — Learn the anatomy of discrete trial training, what sort of programs can be taught via discrete trial training, how to use reinforcement effectively and the importance of documentation. Approved for 1.5 contact hours through the Illinois State Board of Education.

Presenters are Jamie Hollis, MA, LPC; Wendy Trotter, MS, CCC-SLP/L; Dona Wiebler, MS, SLP, BCBA; Debra Detrich, MS, NCSP, school psychologist; and Malinda Cumbow-Radloff, M.Ed., certified P.L.A.Y. Project consultant.

Trainings and workshops will be at the Easter Seals Peoria Center, 507 E. Armstrong Ave. in Peoria, and at the Bloomington Center, 2404 E. Empire, Bloomington.

For full descriptions and online registration, visit www.ci.easterseals.com or call 309-686-1177.

[Text from file received from Easter Seals Central Illinois]