2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014

2018-2019 Program Year

September 2018

Setting Up Your Child for School Success
Speaker: Monica Martinez, President, Partnership for Extraordinary Minds
Presentation Slides: Setting Up Your Child for School Success
Handouts: Back to School Kit; Back to School Checklist; Behavior Contract Example 1; Behavior Contract Example 2; Student Snapshot Template; MCPS Reorganization Explained; MCPS Reorg. explicada en español

2017-2018 Program Year

June 2018

Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts
Speakers: Eric Jorgensen, CFP, Turning Point Financial
Tia Marsili, Director of Trusts, The ARC of Northern Virginia

May 2018

Parent Panel and IEP Clinic
Consultants: Stacey Dworin, M.S., HLD Advocates, LLC
Amy Mounce, M.A., M.Ed.
Elizabeth Stoff, M.Ed.

March 2018

Community Safety and Interactions with Law Enforcement
Speakers: Officers from Montgomery County Police Department's Autism/IDD Outreach Unit

February 2018

Little Miss Precise: One Autistic Woman’s Journey of Self-Discovery

January 2018

Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum: A Family Experience
Speaker: Caron Starobin, LCSW-C

December 2017

Supports for Autistic Students at the University of Maryland, College Park
Speakers: Kathy Dow-Burger, M.A., CCC-SLP, Co-Director, University of Maryland Autism Research Consortium (UMARC)
Nancy Forsythe, M.A., Ed.S, Career Development Specialist, UMD
Nan Bernstein Ratner, Ed.D.-SLP, Director, University of Maryland Autism Research Consortium (UMARC)

November 2017

Maryland Online IEP System
Speaker: Philip A. Lynch, Director, Special Education Services, MCPS

October 2017

IEP Clinic
Speakers: Suzanne Keith Blattner, M.S. Ed., ITS-PALSS How to Write a Good Parent Report
Molly Whalen, Executive Director, District of Columbia Association for Special Education 5 Things Parents Should Know, Think and Care About in IEP Meetings
Consultants: Stacey Dworin, M.S., HLD Advocates, LLC
Lisa Morris, M.S. Ed., Weinfeld Education Group
Katherine F. Thomas, ESQ., Family Legal Advocacy Group
Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., Guiding Exceptional Parents, LLC

September 2017

Back2School: Get Organized!
Speakers: Wendy Taylor, M. Ed. Executive Director, Learning Essentials

2016-2017 Program Year

May 2017

Parent Panel on Services and Programs for Autistic Students in Montgomery County

March 2017

Interactive Screening of Be Safe
Speakers: Pathfinders for Autism
Montgomery County Police Department, Autism/IDD Outreach Unit

February 2017

Our Child Just Got an Autism Diagnosis: Now What?
Speakers: Susan Abrams, M.A. CCC-SLP, Center for Communication and Learning
Teri Kozlowski, OTR, ITS-Developmental Therapy Services
Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., Guiding Exceptional Parents

January 2017

An Evening with Self-Advocate Joel Carver
Speakers: Joel Carver, Co-Chair, Neurodiversity Student Group, College of William and Mary

December 2016

What Comes Next? Preparing Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum for the Path of Life
Speakers: Dr. David Black, Ph.D., Center for Assessment and Treatment

November 2016

Preparing for Kindergarten
Speakers: Lisa Grant, MCPS Special Education Program Specialist
Jennifer Strouble, Preschool Special Education Instructional Specialist, MCPS

Preparing for College
Speakers: Janet Price, College Living Experience

October 2016

IEP Clinic
Speakers: Lisa Grant, MCPS Special Education Program Specialist
Jennifer Strouble, Preschool Special Education Instructional Specialist, MCPS

Preparing for College
Speakers: Rich Weinfeld, Executive Director, Weinfeld Education Group
Consultants: Suzanne Keith Blattner, M.S. Ed., ITS-PALSS
Michael Gerton, Esq.
Amy Mounce, M.A., M.Ed.
Anjali Prakash, Esq.

September 2016

Understanding Children on the Autism Spectrum: An Afternoon for Friends and Family to Learn about Autism
Speakers: Eve Megargel, author of Learning to Kiss
Monica Adler Werner, Director of the Model Asperger Program, The Ivymount School

Book Club Discussion of Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
Speakers: Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., Guiding Exceptional Parents
Michael Gerton, Esq.
Holly F., xMinds Secretary

2015-2016 Program Year

May 2016

Verbal Behavior Programs for Students on the Autism Spectrum
Speakers: Cynthia Onder, MA., CCC-SLP/BCBA

March 2016

Financial Planning for Autism Families
Speakers: Eric Jorgensen, CFP

February 2016

How to Talk to your Child about His/Her Diagnosis
Speakers: Amy Alvord, M.Ed.
Jean Winegardner, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network

Using the STAR Curriculum to Talk about Sex with your Adolescents on the Spectrum
Speakers: Dr. Cara Pugliese, Ph.D.
Dr. Yael Granader, Ph.D.

December 2015

Opportunities at Montgomery College for Students Across the Autism Spectrum
Speakers: Sue Haddad, Montgomery College Chair of Disability Support Services
Shalawn Childs, Montgomery College Assistant Professor of Student Development

November 2015

Meet Glen Finland, author of Next Stop: An Autistic Son Grows Up
Speakers: Glen Finland, MFA

October 2015

Discover How Your Child Learns: Neuropsychological Evaluations
Speakers: Dr. Rebecca Resnik, PsyD

September 2015

Get Organized! Get Involved!
Speakers: Alison Hoffman (Parent, Carderock Springs ES)
Amy Marella-Carpenter (Parent, xMinds and Sligo Creek ES)
Monica Martinez (Parent, xMinds and Sligo Creek ES)
Bryan Osborn (Parent, Flora Singer ES)
Kara Tymon (Coordinator, Learning Center, Flora Singer ES)

May 2015

Public Safety for Autistic Children and Youth
Speaker: Scott Campbell, Board Member, Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC)

March 2015

Math Strategies for Students on the Autism Spectrum
Speaker: Jean Hickey, M.Ed.

February 2015

Sensory Processing and the Autistic Student
Speakers: Julie Schade, MA, OTR/L
Colette Silver, MS, OTR/L; ITS-Developmental Therapy Services

December 2014

Affective Collaboration and Dispute Resolution
Speakers: Brian Gruber, Esq., and Ashley Van Cleef, Esq.

November 2014

Safeguarding Your Child's Experience on the Internet
Speakers: Dr. Jamell White, Ph.D., and Andrew McGahan, JSSA

October 2014

Helping Students with Written Expression
Speakers: Esther Goetz, M.A., CCC/SLP
Katherine Hartley, The Katherine Thomas School

Technology Tools to Enhance Independence and Learning
Speakers: Dr. Katharina Boser, Ph.D.

September 2014

Organize and Connect for Success
Speakers: xMinds Board Members