Workshop: When Actions Speak Louder Than Words

A new workshop by the authors of the book When actions speak louder than words: Understanding the challenging behaviors of young children and students with disabilities will be presented on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010, at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community in Bloomington, Indiana.

Join the authors in a day-long workshop where participants will learn to build an understanding of how different behaviors are communicative, to understand what their messages might be and how to begin to interpret those messages, and to provide positive approaches for supporting behavior.

For more information, contact Donna Beasley at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. Call 812-855-6508.

Getting the Most out of IEPs

Need some quick tips and strategies on IEPs? Want to get the student more involved in the whole IEP process? Getting the Most Out of IEPs: an Educator's Guide to the Student-Directed Approach has these helpful topics and more. With a wide range of case studies to read, this book offers helpful big-picture views of the IEP process across 7 stages, from school-directed to student-directed. The book is designed to help teachers ensure that students receive customized, highly-effective plans, empowering the students themselves to take a leading role in directing their education and their future.

Interested in checking out this title? Email us! Or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Life skills activities

Life skills activities for secondary students with special needs, second edition, is a wonderful resource for teachers and parents with a child in middle school or high school. Author Darlene Mannix covers topics for all ages such as academics, character traits, and problem-solving skills as well as sensitive subjects for older students such as alcohol, suicide, and sex. This 513 page volume has a whopping 27 chapters! A little something for everyone!

Email us to check out this resource. Or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Supporting the IEP Process

Want to create a positive climate in IEP meetings? Feel compelled to build bridges when emotions run high? Want to learn how to honor everyone's differences and use them creatively? Then this is the book for you! In Supporting the IEP process: a facilitator's guide, author Nicholas Martin talks about these things and more. Martin suggests that a skilled and unbiased facilitator can make all the difference in IEP meetings, particularly when team opinions clash. Facilitators can help lay the groundwork for better meetings which, in turn, promote better student outcomes. The book offers a step-by-step guide to filling the role of facilitator and supporting the entire IEP process.

Contact us if you're interested in checking out this title. Or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Friendly Facts

Do you have an elementary-aged child who is having trouble making friends? Got someone who doesn't know how to be a friend to others? Pick up Friendly facts: A fun, interactive resource to help children explore the complexities of friends and friendship for extra help. This workbook is specially designed to help children understand what it means to have a friend and what it means to be a friend. It has many clarifications and definitions, even down to the difference between a true-blue friend and a fair-weather friend.

Contact us to check it out. Or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you!

Health Matters

Being in good health matters to everyone, but for those with developmental disabilities, it might be harder to keep. That's why it's so important for adult day and residential agencies, schools, and other organizations to develop a framework for good health promotion. With the book, Health matters for people with developmental disabilities: Creating a sustainable health promotion program, agencies and organizations can do just that. Author Beth Marks offers advice and suggestions for implementing every stage of program development.

Indiana residents can contact us to check out this book.

Others can use worldcat.org to find the book in a library near you!

Direct Support Professionals meeting

Direct Support Professionals of Indiana (DSPIN), a new organization creating positive change and building a qualified workforce of direct support professionals, is holding their first Statewide Member Meeting on July 12 at Easter Seals Crossroads, Indianapolis from 10:00-2:00 p.m. All Indiana direct support professionals are invited to attend!

This one‐day meeting will provide opportunities for networking, education and professional development. The meeting is free and you don’t have to be a member of DSPIN to attend. Lunch will be available for $5. Registration is REQUIRED by July 7. For more information, contact JoAnna Moskal at joanna@inarf.org or Shannon Gilbert at sgilbert.mail@gmail.com.

American folk art

Artwork by and on behalf of individuals who have mental illnesses will be the subject of a display at City Hall during the month of July. The theme of the artwork on display is “This land is our land…American folk art” and includes a variety of subjects, such as landscapes and cityscapes, using a variety of media including decoupage, paint, ceramic and textile. A public reception will take place Thursday, July 15 from 4 to 5:30 pm.

The exhibit will run July 2—30 in the City Hall atrium, which is located in the building's main entrance at 401 North Morton Street. The exhibition hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday, as well as additional evening or weekend hours when City Hall is open for meetings. For more information about the exhibit, contact Robin Carrothers at robin.carrothers@centerstone.org

The City of Bloomington is committed to providing opportunities for Bloomington and area artists to exhibit artwork in the City Hall Atrium. For more information on the exhibition program, contact Miah Michaelsen, the City's Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, at or (812) 349-3534.

Holiday Hours

In observance of the Independence Day holiday,
CeDIR will close at 3:00 pm today
and will re-open at 8:00 am on Tuesday, July 6th.

Have a safe and fun 4th of July!

Easy and fun differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction is the name of the game! In From tutor scripts to talking sticks : 100 ways to differentiate instruction in K-12 inclusive classrooms, authors Paula Kluth and Sheila Danaher pack the fun and creativity into 224 pages. Included in the book are 100 strategies designed by teachers to help make inclusion work. Every student in the classroom will benefit from these kid-tested techniques.

Email us if you're interested in checking it out. Or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you!