Conferences and Workshops

We will bring our expertise to you

Each of these workshops and trainings is available upon request. Please contact the Anne Carlsen Center at 1-800-568-5175 for more information.

Adapt Your Child’s Work and Play Environments

This session is less about the individual with a disability, and more about techniques for the caregivers and how to care for a person with a disability effectively. Participants in this workshop will become familiar with a wide array of items they can make and implement after returning home or to the work environment. The presentations will begin with a period of discussion and finish with participants choosing a make-n- take project to make. This project will show the ease and cost efficiency for adapting a child’s environment.

Body Mechanics and Transfer Techniques

This conference will identify safe and effective ways for various body parts to interact when moving and lifting objects. Participants will receive hands-on practice with techniques following an in-depth discussion and demonstration of these specific practices.

Ergonomics

Participants will get an overview of what ergonomics is and why it is important in the workplace. Common injuries from cumulative trauma disorders and back injuries will be discussed. Participants will learn proper lifting guidelines and the importance of good posture. Office ergonomics and the setup of work stations will also be reviewed. Depending on the audience, hands-on practice can be added.

Handwriting from A to Z

Handwriting combines mastery of communication skills with control of muscles and is a skill needed for an independent and rich life. Participants will increase their understanding of the importance of early developmental activities for a child and their impact on handwriting. They will learn about the complexities of the process and the underlying mechanisms needed to learn to write. Participants will get an overview on the differences in teaching handwriting among teachers, the impact over time that poor handwriting may have on a students, and how to work with left-handed students.

Learning How Your Senses Work Together

This workshop teaches about the seven basic senses, why these senses are important to development and learning, and what characteristics a child with a sensory dysfunction may display.

Safe and Efficient Eating for Students with Disabilities

After completing this presentation, participants will understand the effects of environment, positioning, sensory status, and oral-motor skills on the child’s ability to eat safely and efficiently. Participants will also learn to recognize swallowing problems that exist and the need for intervention.

Using Visual Supports to Enhance Communication

Visual suppers should be an integral part of the life of a student with disabilities, such as autism. They can be used to assist students with communication, academics, behaviors, social skills, activities of daily living. Participants will learn how students can function at a higher level and increase their independence through the use of visual supports.

Understanding Cortical Vision Impairment

Participants will investigate Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI), a condition in which the eyes and optic nerves appear healthy, but the individual does not have normal vision or visual perception. The session will also show potential causes of CVI and describe the unique behavioral characteristics. The levels of CVI and ideas for intervention will be shared, along with techniques to adapt the child’s environment.

Get a Job- Get a Life!

This multi-level workshop can be offered as an overview or participants or as an in-depth examination. A presenter will give detailed descriptions of effective job developments, job carving, and client placement as ways to help individuals reach success in the workplace. The presenter will share ideas for creative job experiences, provide sample forms to be used, show examples of students at work and share tips for adaptive equipment and visual cues.

Transition Tips and Other Stuff to Think About

The presenter of this workshop will share practical and economical tips and techniques for life skills, social skills, community participation, leisure, and life-long learning. Participants will learn a wide array of ways to assist an individual with a disability to be more independent and to better advocate for themselves.

Success in a Suitcase

This program will illustrate recreation and leisure activities that can fit into a suitcase. These suitcases are full of examples and ideas that will be helpful as you prepare an individual with a disability for community leisure opportunities or recreation activities.

GRASPing for More

This presentation will assist professionals who want to start- or enhance- a vocational services program. It also provides useful forms and tips for student interest surveys, and provides ideas for unique vocational sites. The presentational will provide an overview of GRASP. This assessment has been provided by the ACC since 1996 and is usually completed in the individual’s home community. Results of this assessment can be shared with adult providers, school personnel, employers, etc., to aid in developing a transition plan.