Last updated 4/15/08

Please note, you do not need to register for Single Sessions ahead of time. Also note the level of the session appears in parentheses after the title. Please select your attendance accordingly.

Thursday, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Enhancing Students' Self-Esteem to Assist Them in Realizing Their Full Potential (intermediate) ~ Kelly O'Brien Mann, M.A. & Deborah Fairchild, B.A., Southern Connecticut State University. Many students with disabilities disclose feelings of low self-esteem. To raise self-esteem, students need opportunities to build their confidence. In this interactive workshop, presenters will discuss issues related to self-esteem and provide suggestions that DSS providers can implement to enhance students' self-esteem.

A Cognitive Behavioral Approach for Developing Academic Motivation in Post-Secondary Students with LD/ADHD (intermediate) ~ Alexandra Klein Rafaeli, Psy.D., Cognitive Behavioral Services, New York. What motivates learning? Why do students engage in some tasks, but not others? And how does their environment influence their motivation? The presenter will address how the environment influences engagement and motivation for students with LD/ADHD. Participants will learn what specific cognitive behavioral interventions can help enhance academic motivation.

Assistive Technology: An Introduction and Management Strategies (beginner) ~ Christopher Doucet, B.A., Sarah Damsky, M.S., & Colleen Lewis, M.S., Columbia, University, NY. Participants will be given a basic understanding of different assistive technologies and their uses.

iEvaluate the Office for Students with Disabilities: An Electronic System for Program Evaluation (all levels) ~ Lyman L. Dukes, III, Ph.D., University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. This session is designed for OSD administrators who are interested in office/program evaluation. A newly developed computerized system for evaluating one's program or office will be presented. The system is currently under development, thus the session will provide the opportunity for attendees to discuss the beta-version of the system. Features of the system and how to use it will be highlighted.

Improving the Transition of Students with Disabilities into the Community College (all levels) ~ Lori Corcoran, M.Ed., Quinsigamond Community College, MA. Receiving a college education is an essential part of the millennium age. This presentation will include effective community college efforts to enhance student persistence within the arena of transition for students with disabilities. The presenter will describe programs at entry and orientation as well as transition workshops and a transitional homework center.

Thursday, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Learning Technologies Management System (LiTMS): An Instructional Model for Helping Students Develop Greater Proficiency with Learning Technologies (all levels) ~ David R. Parker, Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, MO, Cheri E. White, M.A., Colorado Mountain College, CO & Laura E. Collins, M.A., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Recognizing the growing overlap between assistive, personal, and "mainstream" technologies, a team of disability personnel piloted a new service delivery model for university students with LD/ADHD. The LiTMS translates universal design for instruction (UDI) theory into practical guidelines that service providers can utilize to help students develop strategic proficiency with a range of learning technologies. The presenters will discuss the model's development, illustrate its use with two actual case studies, guide participants' application of LiTMS to a hypothetical case study, then facilitate a question and answer session.

Friday, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Finding Common Ground: How to Establish a Support Group for Students with Asperger's Syndrome (intermediate) ~ Linda Smith, M.S. & Susan Walker, Ph.D., Montclair State University, NJ. The presenters will share their experiences creating a support group for students with Asperger's Syndrome and other social disabilities. They will share the materials they used and adapted, the technique that worked for them, and provide participants with direct information from their group participants through videotaped interviews.

Implementing an Online Database and Registration System: Universal Design at Work (all levels) ~ Christopher E. Mattson, M.F.A., M.Ed. & Edward Roth, Ph.D., University of Southern California. Collecting and managing data can be tedious and time consuming for disability services staff. Students turn in numerous request forms, data is often times manually entered, and accommodation letters are usually prepared and printed one at a time. Participants will learn how an interactive online database and registration system makes the process easier for students and staff. Participants will learn how to better collect and distribute data, prepare better reports, improve the note-taking accommodation, and give students more access to the accessibility process. This session will be of greater importance to offices working with large populations and/or struggling with the bureaucratic paperwork involved.

What Instructional Materials are Available to Teach Students to Disclose and Request Accommodations in College? (beginner) ~ Allison R. Walker, Ph.D., Towson University, MD. Participants will be able to identify components of several instructional materials and discuss how these materials showed an effect in a student's ability to use advocacy skills to disclose and request academic accommodations. According to research, self-advocacy skills have been identified as a factor of success for students with learning disabilities in postsecondary education; however, not all students have the advocacy skills to navigate through the postsecondary education setting. Therefore, it is critical that instructional materials be available to students with disabilities to teach strategies to help them not only disclose their disability but also to request the appropriate accommodations that will help them be successful in the academic setting. Two sets of materials designed to teach students how to disclose their disability and request accommodations at the college level will be discussed.

Fitting the Pieces Together: Program Review, Budgets, and Accreditation (intermediate) ~ Daniel L. Miller, M.Ed. & Alicia Simmons, Ph.D., Jacksonville State University, AL. The presenters will review their institution's systemic approach to program review (including self-study) that addresses budgeting, planning, and capture of data for reports that are "accreditation friendly." The system incorporates a 'spiral' to promote ongoing goal making (via review, evaluation, and request for resources) with direct ties to standards and funding.

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Page created and maintained by Carrol Waite, Program Assistant, Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability