Presentations, Workshops and Trainings
CARE consultants provide a variety of school-wide presentations, staff and in-service workshops, and hands-on training sessions for those who work with students with and without disabilities. CARE consultants will also provide trainings and workshops to parents and caregivers on various topics. Trainings are tailored to meet the individualized needs of the district.

Comprehensive Team-Based Evaluations
CARE consultants have received extensive training on how to conduct comprehensive team-based evaluations for students suspected of having a disability. We can provide staff training on how to develop an evaluation plan, make decisions regarding which instruments to use, how to interpret the test results, as well as how to write a comprehensive team-based report.

Autism Assessment Instruments
CARE consultants who have received training on the use of various assessment instruments and have extensive experience serving on assessment teams in public school settings can tailor a training to meet the needs of each district.

• Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
• Childhood Rating Scale-2 (CARS-2)
• Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome (MIGDAS)

Functional Communication Training
CARE Consultants can provide trainings on how to increase the functional communication skills of students so that they can learn how to get their basic wants and needs met. When students who are low verbal or non-verbal are taught a more effective way to communicate with others, they are less likely to engage in problematic behaviors. CARE Consultants will model how to engage students so that they are motivated to make a simple pictorial exchange or use a communication device in order to gain access to the highly reinforcing object and/or material. It has been our experience that staff benefit from modeling and hands-on training regarding how to increase the functional communication skills of students on their caseload. CARE Consultants can also tailor small and large group trainings to provide staff members and parents with a basic overview of what functional communication skills are and why they are critical in order for students to become more competent communicators.

Social Skills Training
CARE Consultants have developed various training components related to increasing the social skills of students having difficulty making friends, participating in group activities and games, demonstrating age-appropriate play behaviors and engaging in prosocial behavior. Training in peer-mediated instruction and other established treatments can be provided. Students who are more socially competent are afforded more opportunities to participate in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) with non-disabled peers. CARE Consultants have also worked with school districts to develop different models of social skills training that fit the needs of the individual district. For instance, afterschool social skills groups, play groups, social skill classes, and individualized counseling sessions, and how to teach social skills contextually (in the environment as they occur).

Behavior Training
CARE Consultants under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) provide didactic and hands-on training on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and utilizing Positive Behavior Support (PBS) on an individualized and school-wide basis. CARE Consultants will provide trainings on how to conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) as well as develop, implement and monitor Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) for school teams.

Programming for Students with Significant Disabilities at the Secondary Level
Current educational practices must be especially responsive to the occupational programming needs of secondary level students with disabilities, including transitional and community placement. CARE consultants recognize secondary level students with disabilities need comprehensive occupational programming and curriculum planning to reach their goals and achieve their full potential. Today, secondary level students with disabilities face educational challenges posed by the increase in general education standards and differing state graduation and certificate exit requirements. CARE consultants are able to guide educators and parents of secondary students with disabilities through the many challenges confronting them.

Inclusive Education Practices
CARE Consultants are committed to supporting students with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment with the appropriate supports. Although public schools are designed to provide free and appropriate education for all students, this can present certain challenges for school districts. CARE provides consultation services to school districts to identify and implement "best practices" for inclusive education.

CARE will train personnel to recognize, understand, access, and implement the full range of services available to individuals with disabilities. Our consultants will also focus on a broad range of common issues ranging from academic and social exclusion to challenges students experience interacting with peers with disabilities, and the impact of inclusive practice on schools, families and communities.

In order for this to be successfully accomplished general education and special education staff as well as campus administrators will benefit from site-based training in the following areas to increase their capacity to serve all students. Follow along support in the form of technical assistance can also be provided to campus personnel once they have participated in the site-base training.

• Co-Teaching Models
• Differentiated Instruction
• Scheduling Students With Disabilities

Individualized Education Program Training
CARE Consultants have held a variety of positions within the public school setting and are skilled in training staff how to conduct formal and informal assessments and then linking assessments to the development of IEPs. They also provide training on how to develop standards-based goals and objectives that are measurable, functional and meaningful. They can provide training to school teams on how to establish grading guidance for students with disabilities. Following are examples of descriptions of specific types of IEP training that are available through CARE.

• Use of Formal and Informal Assessment
• Linking Assessments to IEP Development and Instruction
• Standards-based Goals and Objectives Training
• Grading Guidance for Students with Disabilities

Facilitated IEP Training
Facilitated IEP Training is considered to be the most effective process for schools and families to work collaboratively in the best interest of children. This training draws heavily on the work of facilitation theory and best practice in the field of facilitation. Federal law mandates group decision making for students with disabilities. Over the years, the focus of special education training has been primarily on the content of decision-making rather than the process and the critical role of the facilitator. This 2 day training focuses on processes used by groups and the importance of the facilitator as well as learning facilitation skills useful to every member of the IEP team.

Response to Intervention (RtI)
CARE consultants understand the Response to Intervention (RtI) Model. RtI may be broadly defined as an approach that uses students' response to high-quality instruction to guide educational decisions, including decisions about the efficacy of instruction and intervention eligibility for special programs, design of individual education programs and effectiveness of special education services.

CARE consultants are able to providing coaching, modeling and follow-along support to districts who are interested in implementing the RtI model.

The process of RtI involves:

• Screening for at-risk students
• Monitoring responsiveness to instruction
• Determining a plan of action using a tiered approach
• Monitoring student progress when once that plan is implemented
• Responding appropriately to the student's progress by making timely and necessary adjustments to instructional interventions.

Facilitation of Parent Meetings
CARE will facilitate the development and implementation of parent trainings provided by personnel who are knowledgeable about topics that are relevant to parents in Spanish and in English. They will also model for staff members how to develop and conduct effective parent meetings and support groups within the public school system. CARE consultants have developed trainings to address the needs of families who have children with Autism and related disorders; families and caregivers who have children that exhibit challenging behaviors in the home and community settings. Parent trainings are developed for school districts by conducting needs assessments and/or conducting focus groups with the families and then working with them to develop a priority for trainings.

School District Supports
CARE consultants always strive to provide the level of support needed to ensure student success through increased achievement independence or overall quality of life. As former public educators, CARE consultants are also dedicated to working with teachers, paraprofessionals, related service personnel and administrators to ensure they too have the tools and types of training needed in order to meet the individualized needs of diverse learners.

Following are the types of supports that are commonly provided at a campus level by CARE consultants who will readily model or provide concrete examples of any suggestions or recommendations when they provide specific support to students, teachers, paraprofessionals, related service personnel and/or administrators. The following list is not exhaustive and serves only as an example of the types of supports CARE consultants can tailor once the level of support(s) needed is determined:

• Student Support
  
• Classroom Support
  
• Teacher Support
• Paraprofessional Support
• Administrative Support
• Related Service Personnel Support

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