2007 - 2008 Training Workshops
Developmental Disabilities

As a part of the Statewide Developmental Disabilities Staff Training Program, The North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities has organized teleconferences, workshops, and conferences described in this brochure to meet training needs of the direct service staff, managerial and supervisory staff, individuals with disabilities, and their families. Pre-registration should be completed two weeks prior to the workshop. If space is available when the workshop begins, those who did not pre-register will be allowed to enroll. Checks should be made payable to Minot State University.

Continuing Education: Complimentary Social Work CEUs are available for workshops that meet the ND Board of Social Work Examiners criteria for continuing education. All workshops offer Minot State University CEUs based on the number of contact hours. The recording fee for MSU CEUs is $20.00.

Hotel Reservations: Some hotel room blocks are held only until one month prior to the event. At that time, rooms are released to the general public and the hotel may not honor the state rate or hold a room for participants in MSU scheduled events. Please make your reservations early and ask for the MSU room block. In most cases, the name of the workshop will help the reservation clerk find the appropriate room block.

Connecting Individuals with Disabilities and Community Members
Presenter:  Angela Amado, Ph.D

Sites & Dates:
            Comfort Inn, Bismarck on September 6, 2007
            Audubon Room, MSU Student Union, Minot on September 7, 2007 (sleeping rooms reserved at the Grand International)   
            Development Homes, Inc., 3880 South Columbia Rd. Grand Forks on September 10, 2007 (sleeping rooms reserved at the C’mon Inn)
            Research 1, 1735 NDSU Research Park Drive, Fargo on September 11, 2007 (sleeping rooms reserved at the Candlewood Suites)    

Time: 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Registration Fee: $60.00

Connecting Individuals with Disabilities and Community Members by Angela Amado.  Full community participation includes relationships with a wide variety of people, and valued social roles as a community citizen.
Topics include: 1. Successful strategies in planning, connecting, and supporting individuals in having more friendships and community involvement.  2. Expanding the variety and types of social roles of persons who receive services 3. The role of staff as “community connectors” 4. Supporting community members in being friends with individuals with disabilities; 5. Agency structures which support more relationship-building, community connectedness, and valued social roles for the people served. The emphasis is on direct “how-to” methods.


Customizing Employment for Individuals with High Support Needs
Presenter: Steve Savage

Site: Comfort Inn, Bismarck

Date: November 8, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Registration Fee: $60.00
Do you work with people who have a hard time competing in the job market? Customized employment can help you discover critical information about your customer and develop techniques to customize jobs and job development. Explore customized employment strategies including job creation, resource ownership, and supported self-employment. Meeting the needs of both the individual job seeker and the employer may be the strategy you need to assist people who have found access to employment difficult.

The Impact of Movement Differences and Sensory Processing Challenges
on the Abilities of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Presenter: Kim Davis, M.S., Research Associate at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Sites & Dates:
            Comfort Inn, Bismarck on February 27, 2008
            Research 1, 1735 NDSU Research Park Drive, Fargo on February 28, 2008 (sleeping rooms reserved at the Candlewood Suites)
            Development Homes, Inc., 3880 South Columbia Rd. Grand Forks on February 29, 2008 (sleeping rooms reserved at the C’mon Inn)

Time: 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Registration Fee: $60.00

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological disorder that impacts each individual differently, and sometimes dramatically. For some individuals there may be sensory processing difficulties; for others movement differences may challenge participation. Both sensory and movement challenges can impact communication, the ability to control body movements and how one relates to the environment. Any of these can be interpreted as challenging behaviors. This presentation will discuss both sensory integration challenges and movement differences and the impact on employment

Train the Trainer to Train the Staff in Therapeutic Intervention
Presenter:  Ron Odden

Sites:                                       Dates:                         Times:
Comfort Inn, Bismarck April 9, 2008                9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
            AND
Comfort Inn, Bismarck July 10 (follow-up)       9:00 AM – Noon

Registration Fee: $60.00

This workshop is designed to provide participants with the skills, competencies, training strategies, and techniques necessary to train other direct service staff in therapeutic intervention. It focuses on etiological and situational factors, cultural influences, and historical perspectives of abuse. It identifies factors and situations leading to violent and/or disruptive behaviors and examines positive steps to deal with these situations.  Confrontation avoidance is emphasized and therapeutic and physical intervention techniques and methods to resolve conflicts following the “least restrictive model” are encouraged and practiced.

North Dakota Association of Community Facilities Annual Conference

Dates:       April 23-25, 2008
Site:          Fargo - Doublewood Inn

Registration Fee:  $150