The One Goal Summer Conference Registration Brochure which includes registration, hotel, keynote speakers, and general conference information is now available. View a copy of the brochure at http://www.onegoalsummerconference.org/OneGoalBrochure2010.pdf. This is a great conference for early childhood professionals with many useful workshops. I hope to see you there.

July 21 – 23, 2010
Hyatt Regency at Tampa Center
211 North Tampa Street,
Tampa, Florida, 33602

A registration is included in the brochure and if submitted by July 15, 2010 the registration fee is $75.  After this date, only on site registrations will be accepted at the price of $100.

For more information please refer to www.onegoalsummerconference.org.

Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) will hold an informational forum for individuals and their families on the APD waitlist and individuals seeking more information about APD.

Saturday, August 17, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00pm
Karl Drews Community Center
18412 Lee Road
Fort Myers, FL 33912

Plans are being made to provide respite care at this event. Please contact Elaine Gage at Elaine_Gage@apd.state.fl.us or (239) 338-1271 if you can use this service.  Agency for Persons with Disabilities website: http://apd.myflorida.com/.

You’re invited to the 15th annual Circles of Care Conference, hosted by Child Care of Southwest Florida and Edison State College. Keynote speakers include Lee Knapp and Music with Mar.  Lee Knapp is known as a highly charged trailblazer who connects with her audience and makes you feel like her message is just for you.  Maryann, “Mar” Harman is well-known and respected for combining music’s importance in child development and brain research, and will be presenting The Brain Loves A Song!

Saturday, May 22 from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Edison State College
8099 College Parkway
Fort Myers, 33919

The fee for this event is $30 if registered by Friday, May 14 and $40 at the door.  CEUs will be offered through Lee County Association for the Education of Young Children (LCAEYC).  For more information or to register for this event please refer to www.ccswfl.org or call 239- 278-1002.

Save the date for the 64th Annual FCEC Conference, Discover your Treasure with Florida CEC.  The Conference will continue the collaborative efforts with school districts, universities, family organizations in Florida, and the Florida Association Student CEC.  Together we will celebrate our mutual commitment to children and youth with special needs. 

October 21-23, 2010
Clearwater Beach Hilton
Clearwater, Florida

More information will soon be available at http://www.floridacec.org/.  For more information please contact, Holly Boyet, Program Chair, at cec.hollyb@gmail.com.

The Mental Health Association of Southwest Florida, 501c3 community based volunteer supported organization, since 1957 has advocated for a mentally healthy community through education, prevention, and support. As part of our Mental Health Month in May we will be presenting this Educational and Entertaining One Woman Show bring to light her life as a Broadway Star with a mental illness in a spirited 70 minute performance “The Balancing Act”-The Musical: Written and Performed by Wambui Bahati.

Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Norris Center

755 8^th Ave S.

Naples, FL

This event is free and open to the public with light refreshments served. Seating is limited; please RSVP at (239) 261-5405 by May 3, 2010.

Don’t be caught in the headlines! This new conference offered by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida seeks to help child care providers become better prepared for emergencies and disasters.  Presenters include: Emergency Operations, Water Company, Florida Power and Light, Local Law Enforcement, Dept. of Forestry, Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

April 17, 2010 from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Germain Arena
11000 Everblades Parkway
Estero, FL 33928

The cost of this conference in $10 per person.  0.6 CEU’s are available for child care professionals.  Space is limited.  Register today at www.elcofswfl.org.  For more information contact Danna Breeden at (239) 252-6022.

RCMA, PIRC, Parent Education Network, and Collier County School Board are presenting a “Día del Niño.”

Saturday, April 10, 2010
RCMA Immokalee Community School
123 N 4th St
Immokalee, FL 34142

For more information please call (800) 825-5736 or (727) 523-1130.

The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University – Rehabilitation Research Training Center is offering a webinar series for parents, students with disabilities, and the professionals who work with them.  Stacey Milbern, Community Outreach Director, Ryan Pinion Director of Partnerships and Action, and intern Jessica Smith of the National Youth Leadership Network present youth perspectives on the important areas students with disabilities should be considering as they leave adolescence and enter adulthood. Choice without information is not really a choice. Community without access is really not community. Listen to how the National Youth Leadership Network is working to ensure that young people with disabilities enter adulthood fully prepared to navigate life.
 
Monday, March 15, 2010
Web Cast 2:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Registration is required for this event. All of the webinars are free and are archived. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Rehabilitation Credits (CRCs)are available. For more information go to http://www.nextsteps.peatc.org/peatc.cgim?template=webinars#year3 or contact healy@peatc.org.

The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University – Rehabilitation Research Training Center is offering a webinar series for parents, students with disabilities, and the professionals who work with them.  Knowing what to disclose about a disability is as important as knowing when to disclose this personal information. Parents and transition professionals play a key role in preparing students with disabilities for this eventuality. Knowledge about key policies is only a part of the information youth with disabilities need to understand when talking self-disclosure and requesting accommodations. 
 
Monday, March 1, 2010
Web Cast 2:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Registration is required for this event. All of the webinars are free and are archived. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Rehabilitation Credits (CRCs)are available. For more information go to http://www.nextsteps.peatc.org/peatc.cgim?template=webinars#year3 or contact healy@peatc.org.

Presenter: Dr. Peter F. Gerhardt, President & Chair, Scientific Council Organization for Autism Research

The past decade has seen reports citing the dramatic increase in the prevalence of autism and related disorders (ASD) to the current 1 case per 110 individuals most recently identified by the Centers for Disease Control (2009).  While the reasons behind this increase remain unclear what is clear is that there are greater numbers of individuals being diagnosed with ASD than ever before and subsequently, steadily growing numbers of adolescent and young adults on the autism spectrum. Subsequently, this increase in prevalence has created an increased demand for appropriate and effective services for adolescents and young adults with ASD. Unfortunately, the need for such services continues to far exceed the available resources leaving a generation of individuals with autism and their families in a programmatic, financial, and personal limbo. This presentation will provide an overview of effective transition programming — at any age – with the ultimate goal being a life of dignity, competence, and quality. To this end, an overview and practical suggestions for transition planning (inclusive of employment goals) will be presented along with issues related to community based instruction, employment social competence, sexuality and sexual safety, and quality of life concerns.   Regional Trainings are hosted by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, through the Partnership for Effective Programs for Students with Autism. 

Thursday, April 8, 2010
8:30 am – 3:30 pm (registration begins at 7:30 am)
Coral Gables Holiday Inn
1350 South Dixie Highway
Coral Gables, FL 33146

Registration is mandatory for this training.  Registration deadline: April 2, 2010. Online registration is available at www.doepartnership.org/training.asp.  For more information please refer to the online flyer at http://doepartnership.usf.edu/trainings_09_10/UMNSU_Gerhardtflyer_040810.pdf, or contact UM-NSU CARD at (305) 284-5263.