Search Results

Conference Sessions Sessions will take place 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM! Even on this final day, there's dozens of sessions to choose from. View all sessions here. Playing Together: The impact of inclusive ECD programming on children with IDD and their families - Presented by: Dr. Timothy Shriver • Dr. Alicia Bazzano - Add this session to your schedule here. Around the world, children with or at risk for intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) experience exclusion, isolation and lack access to opportunities for healthy development—just at the time they need an inclusive, connected world and opportunities to thrive. Using sport and play as a tool that sparks joy and change, Special Olympics provides evidenced-based early childhood development (ECD) interventions that support critical development in motor, social, cognitive, and daily living skills. Additionally, these interventions foster changes in attitudes and perceptions for parents, caregivers, and communities towards children with IDD and what they can accomplish. Using data and programming examples from around the globe, with strategic focus in low- and middle-income countries, Special Olympics exemplifies the value and importance of including every child in ECD interventions. Implementation: What We Know and What We Need to Know - Presented by: Erin E. Barton, PhD, BCBA-D - Add this session to your schedule here. Dr. Barton will review the state of the research regarding implementation of recommended practices and provide an overview of where we need to go to improve lives for young children and their families.

Conference Sessions Sessions will take place 9:15 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:00 - 4:15 PM at meeting rooms throughout the Hilton Chicago! There's dozens of sessions to choose from. Be sure to pace yourself and don't forget to take breaks! View all sessions here. Spotlight Sessions Become stronger: War Challenges, Present and Future of ECI in Ukraine - Presented by: Anna Kukuruza PhD • Ana Maria Serrano PhD • Noor Van Loen - Add this session to your schedule. This presentation will trace the history of the development of ECI in Ukraine, starting from the beginning of the 21th century. The process of (1) changing the paradigm from the medical model to family-centered, routine based ECI, and (2) developing cooperation between national and regional government levels, the professional community, and the All-Ukrainian movement "Parents for Early Intervention" is described. Results of the national pilot project 2016-2021 showed the possibilities and the need for further development of ECI in Ukraine. The pandemic created greater possibilities for ECI and its provision online. Russia's invasion of Ukraine didn’t stop ECI services provision to families, regardless of where specialists and parents were located. Internal and external displacement due to the war and the traumatic experiences for all involved made continuing services even more important, as demonstrated by the outcomes of a study done with 80 families and 76 professionals (May-June 2022).  The presentation will also address the fact the war did not stop development on ECI. It intensified the efforts on how to organize our professional community while professionals and families migrate and needs continuously change. Family Partnerships: Families Knowing Their Rights and Using Research to Advocate for Appropriately Ambitious Educational Opportunities - Presented by: Ann Turnbull • Rud Turnbull - Add this session to your schedule. Part C’s evaluation of the family outcome of knowing rights always indicates very high percentages of family progress in this important area. To what extent do families in Part C and 619 programs actually know their rights? What is needed to enhance significantly not only knowledge of their rights but advocacy strategies for acting on their rights? Furthermore, what can we do, individually and collectively, to increase family access to research findings related to IFSP/IEP decision-making? We will use our time together to brainstorm about next steps on how we can move in positive directions related to rights, research, and advocacy.

Conference Sessions will take place 10:15 - 11:45 AM and 1:00 - 5:00 PM at meeting rooms throughout the Hilton Chicago! There's dozens of sessions to choose from. Be sure to pace yourself and don't forget to take breaks! View all sessions here. Spotlight Sessions Exclusionary Discipline: Converting the Birth-to-Prison Pipeline into the Birth-to-Dignity Pipeline - Presented by: Sascha Longstreth • Sarah Garrity • Ann Turnbull • Rud Turnbull - Add this session to your schedule. Participants in the session will learn about the current data on exclusionary discipline practices that drive the birth-to-prison pipeline. They will also be taught about the structure and scoring of The Teaching and Guidance Policy Essentials Checklist (TAGPEC) that examines the quality of guidance policies in preschool through third grade. The session speakers will share policy template & examples aligned with TAGPEC for model program/community policy and state legislation with participants. Lastly, time-tested advocacy strategies for passage of new policy will be highlight. DEC Equity Audit Unpacked - Presented by: Sterling E. Freeman • Kathleen E. Crabbs - This session will be offered from 12:00 - 12:45 PM and from 1:00 - 1:40 PM. - Add this session to your schedule. CounterPart Consulting and DEC have been engaged since February 2021 in building capacity for. advancing racial equity in the system, and assessing the current and potential racial equity capacity of the DEC system internally. All of this has been done in partnership with the Executive Board, the Executive Director, and a 12-member Equity Leadership Team (ELT) made up of members of DEC. The work has culminated in a full racial equity assessment report that will be shared in this session, as well as best next steps determined by the ELT in conjunction with CounterPart. The executive summary, released on Sept 28 on dec-sped.org is a synopsis of the goals of the racial equity assessment, the primary findings, a potential pathway forward and identified best next steps. Congressional Panel: What's Happening in Washington - Presented by: Sharon Walsh • Kuna Tavalin • Kris Pedersen - Moderator: Jenna Weglarz-Ward - Add this session to your schedule. Join us in this annual event as we discuss actions of the 117th Congress and review pending and current priorities for the remainder of this Congress. Hot topics and current context will be addressed as well as. An outlook for the remainder of the year will be provided including impact of the upcoming election and updates on federal funding impacting programs and services for young children and their families. Come prepared with your advocacy hat on and your advocacy voice ready! Plan to leave the session with ways to stay involved in this important work! Federal Session - "Be Part of Early Childhood Partnerships in Action" - Presented by: Director Valerie C. Williams • Mary Beth Bruder • Peggy Kemp - Add this session to your schedule. This session will highlight some of the OSEP early childhood investments. OSEP partners with many offices and agencies to support outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families. Additionally, the session will showcase how the OSEP funded centers partner with others to develop products and services. The session will highlight the “Be Part of” early intervention recruitment campaign, a partnership between OSEP, ECPC, and DEC. Valerie C. Williams serves as the director in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) within the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Williams most recently served for six years as senior director of Government Relations and External Affairs at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. She has decades of experience, which include supporting state-level special education leaders by overseeing federal government public policy activities, federal regulatory affairs, public relations, and key initiatives to promote equity and guide positive systemic change, thereby improving outcomes for students with disabilities. She also served as the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Public Policy Fellow, on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee advancing disability policy and civil rights. She has a unique perspective, having worked with members of Congress and staff on Capitol Hill, with advocacy organizations, supporting state special education leaders, and most importantly, being the parent of a son with Down syndrome. Using Data and Lessons Learned to Support Improved Outcomes - Presented by: Julia Martin Eile • Jennifer Barrett-Zitkus • Brenda Murray-Wilkins • Jani Kozlowski • Grace Kelley • Jennifer Miley • Janette Guerra • Vinetta Freeman • Sharon Lunn - Add this session to your schedule. Join the roundtable discussion with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and OSEP-Funded TA Centers to review Early Childhood Special Education Data and share lessons from the field, highlight concerns, promising practices, and planning for the future. Supporting Equitable Services: New OSEP Early Childhood Centers - Presented by: Julia Martin Eile • Christy Kavulic • Yolanda Lusane - Add this session to your schedule. This session will highlight OSEP’s new early childhood technical assistance centers. This presentation will share information on the outcomes and activities of the new centers and the resources they will develop for States, faculty, providers, and families to support effective and equitable services for young children with disabilities and their families.

We're seeking two types of volunteers for this year's conference! Could you help us out? We're seeking volunteers to support DEC registration set up and logistics, as well as DEC exhibit booth support! Volunteers can sign up for one or more 4-hour volunteer spots between Monday, September 26th and Friday, September 30th. Sign up for a Spot. Please consider supporting the DEC conference by loaning a projector for conference sessions! We have a system in which the projectors will be handled by DEC staff/volunteers only and checked in and out securely. Loan a Projector. Thank you! As a thank you for your time and generosity, we're offering our volunteers a $50 gift certificate for each 4-hour volunteer spot and/or for each projector loaned. Gift certificates can be applied to a 2023 conference registration, DEC bookstore products, or DEC Learning Deck webinars. (You'll be able to select your preference when you sign up at the links above!) If you have any questions about volunteering, please don't hesitate to contact us at conference@dec-sped.org.

Joseph Piven, MD will be the Opening Keynote Speaker on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022, presenting What Can Studies of Early Brain Development in Autism Tell Us About Intervention and Detection in Infancy? Joseph Piven, MD received his MD degree from the University of Maryland in 1981 and completed training in general and child and adolescent psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He continued in research training in the genetics of neurobehavioral disorders, during a postdoctoral John Merck Fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He was on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa from 1990 through 1999. Dr. Piven is currently Thomas E. Castelloe Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, a comprehensive institute for services, research and training in neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Piven is an active clinician. He is director of one of 15 NICHD-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers. Learn more about Dr. Piven. Add this keynote to your conference schedule. Karen Francis, PhD will be the Keynote Speaker on Thursday, September 29th, 2022, presenting It's Time to Deliver: DEI Strategy Leading to Action. Dr. Karen Francis is Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer of AIR. In this role, she leads AIR’s overall DEI efforts through the implementation of the DEI framework and strategic pillars focused on workforce and work environment; cultural and linguistic competence; identity, brand and thematic research; and growth and sustainability to advance AIR’s mission. Additionally, Dr. Francis focuses on developing internal and external partnerships to drive AIR’s global DEI presence. She provides oversight for the DEI Office, employee resource groups, the DEI Council and the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Workgroup. She partners with senior leadership and staff across AIR to drive organizational accountability around inclusivity, equity and fairness at all levels. Learn more about Dr. Francis here. Add this keynote to your conference schedule. Michael J. Guralnick, PhD will be the Keynote Speaker on Friday, September 30th, 2022, presenting A Framework for the Design of Inclusive Community-Based Early Intervention Programs. Michael J. Guralnick, Ph.D., is Director of the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) and Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Comprised of both a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and a Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, the CHDD is one of the largest interdisciplinary research, training, and service centers in the United States addressing issues directly related to developmental disabilities. Learn more about Dr. Guralnick. Add this keynote to your conference schedule.

Conference registration is open now for exhibitors, sponsors, and advertisers for the upcoming International Society on Early Intervention and Division for Early Childhood joint conference! Join DEC, ISEI, and up to 2,000 conference attendees in Illinois this fall at the Hilton Chicago! Download the Exhibitor Prospectus. Register Here. Join our listserv for Exhibit, Sponsor, Advertising Opportunities here.

Karen Francis, PhD will be the Keynote Speaker on Thursday, September 29th, 2022, presenting It's Time to Deliver: DEI Strategy Leading to Action. Dr. Karen Francis is Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer of AIR. In this role, she leads AIR’s overall DEI efforts through the implementation of the DEI framework and strategic pillars focused on workforce and work environment; cultural and linguistic competence; identity, brand and thematic research; and growth and sustainability to advance AIR’s mission. Additionally, Dr. Francis focuses on developing internal and external partnerships to drive AIR’s global DEI presence. She provides oversight for the DEI Office, employee resource groups, the DEI Council and the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Workgroup. She partners with senior leadership and staff across AIR to drive organizational accountability around inclusivity, equity and fairness at all levels. Dr. Francis received her doctorate in Medical Sociology and Social Inequality from Howard University. She was a principal researcher in the former Professional Services division at AIR. Dr. Francis brings more than 25 years of experience working in diverse communities and across multiple human service systems with expertise in the areas of strategic planning, research, cultural and linguistic competence, and the utilization of data-driven approaches to her DEI role that has evolved at AIR. She continues to lead and champion AIR’s internal metrics-based growth and sustainability of DEI and AIR’s external presence of DEI in the field. Dr. Francis has authored and coauthored several publications that focus on cultural and and linguistic competence and its practical application for service delivery. She also represents AIR and serves as an expert panelist for the 2021 Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Benchmarks. Dr. Francis is active in her community, as evidenced by her service on the Montgomery County (Maryland) Commission on Juvenile Justice. As a commissioner on the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Caribbean Affairs, she led initiatives to promote health literacy and access to health and behavioral health services. Dr. Francis currently serves on the Montgomery County Caribbean American Advisory Group, Office of Community Partnerships. Download a flyer here.

We know time is tight and you're looking to fit professional development in when and where you can! We're offering three different ways to attend the DEC & ISEI Joint Conference this year! Register for the Full Conference Full Conference Registration includes all sessions on Wednesday, September 28th; Thursday, September 29th; and Friday, September 30th. Three jam-packed days of conference sessions and poster sessions with three great keynote speakers! Access the conference schedule to learn more. Full conference registration discounts are available - Early Bird 2 Discounts end August 1st while Member, Early Career, Student, Practitioner, and Family Discounts last now through registration's end! Register for One Day If you have limited time but want still want to attend the conference, you can select Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday to join us for any conference session, poster session, keynote speaker, and events scheduled that day! One Day Registration is available for just $150. Register for a Pre-Conference Workshop This year DEC is offering several 3-hour in-depth workshops on Tuesday, September 27th, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Each workshop costs just $50 to attend. Learn about the available workshops here. Start your registration here to attend!

This year at the conference, pre-conference workshops will take place on Tuesday, September 27th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Hilton Chicago. Each pre-conference workshop costs just $50. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance via email following the workshop. Register for the workshops now! Already registered? Click "Already Registered" on this page and enter your confirmation number to modify your current registration.

Michael J. Guralnick, PhD will be the Keynote Speaker on Friday, September 30th, 2022. Michael J. Guralnick, Ph.D., is Director of the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) and Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Comprised of both a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and a Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, the CHDD is one of the largest interdisciplinary research, training, and service centers in the United States addressing issues directly related to developmental disabilities. Dr. Guralnick has directed numerous research, professional training, and development projects in the fields of early childhood development and intervention, with a special interest in the design and effectiveness of early intervention programs, peer-related social competence, and early childhood inclusion. He has published over 150 articles and book chapters spanning a range of topics and disciplines. In addition to 8 edited volumes, his 2019 authored volume integrated developmental, intervention, and implementation science in the field of early intervention in the context of the Developmental Systems Approach. Major research has included a randomized clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of a comprehensive early intervention program in promoting the peer-related social competence of young children with developmental delays and a multi-context investigation of the factors influencing the peer interactions and peer social networks of children with Down syndrome. Current projects focus on the further development and application of the Developmental Systems Approach to early intervention and international activities designed to integrate research and practice in the field of early intervention. Download a flyer here.

Family Waivers Are you a family member of a young child/young children with disabilities between the ages of 0 and 8? Family Registration Waivers are available. Complete an application here. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Family Scholarships Family Scholarship applications have now closed! We encourage you to apply for the family registration waiver at the link above. The Division for Early Childhood offers a limited number of Family Scholarships in the amount of $500 to support the conference attendance of families of children ages 0-8 receiving Early Intervention and/or Early Childhood Special Education services. These scholarships can be used to pay for costs related to travel, hotel accommodations, or childcare. Sadia and Matt, two former family scholarship recipients, share their experience attending the DEC conference below. "I was fortunate to receive a family scholarship to attend the DEC’s 36th Annual Conference. The conference was very well organized and the DEC Family Committee provided so many wonderful supports for the scholarship recipients such as peer mentoring, family orientation, and debriefing sessions along with a very welcoming and interactive family lounge. Not only was I able to learn from the amazing speakers and increase my confidence and competence as a parent but I was also able to connect with so many wonderful families from around the country which further contributed to my growth as a parent and as a family leader. The DEC Conference inspired me to stay connected with DEC and hence I joined the DEC Family Committee and the DEC Committee on Inclusion, Equity, and Social Justice." Sadia B. “This scholarship, combined with funding I received from my state’s DD Council, allowed me to attend my first DEC Conference. I went to the conference hoping to attend some good sessions and learn things that would help me be a better parent and advocate, and I did, but the real value for me was meeting other parents and professionals from all over the world who valued my perspective as a parent, who wanted to include me in their councils and committees, and who continue to serve as resources for me when I have questions or need help. I also got the chance to meet and spend time with DEC Family Committee members, who all encouraged me to share my experiences and helped me navigate the conference itself. Now I can’t wait to attend my first in-person conference as a member of DEC and the DEC Family Committee!” Matt N.