AASR Live

New guidance from the United States Department of Education warns against ‘informal removals’ and finds no evidence supporting restraint and seclusion to improve behavior. In this special AASR Live event we will discuss the new guidance and take questions from the live audience.

Cheryl Poe is the founder and owner of Advocating 4 Kids, Inc. a Special Education Advocacy organization that provides resources, information, and workshops to parents and professionals with a special focus on addressing needs of Black and Brown children and those from lower-socio economic status.

Cheryl holds a Master of Arts Degree in Urban Education and Counseling. She also has completed over 15 credit hours of post graduates hours in psychology. In June of 2004, she completed the Nation Group Psychotherapy Institute at the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington D.C. in the study of Group Psychotherapy. Mrs. Poe completed a two-year term as the Student Outreach and Recruitment Committee Chair person for the Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society Board of Directors and was awarded with the Jefferson Cup for leadership in her role. 

Cheryl is the mother two boys with learning disabilities. Ms. Poe prides herself on understanding the struggles that parents face when dealing with special education issues. Ms. Poe is diagnosed with ADHD and learning disabilities and received special education services in as a child! Mrs. Poe is a passionate advocate who has walked the walk as a parent of a Black American child with a disability and understands the fears, trauma and struggles that parents face. Her oldest child was a victim of a school system that failed to believe he deserved the services needed to be successful and who used his race as a factor to treat him less than.

Guy Stephens is a lifelong resident of Maryland, a father, a husband, and an advocate for children’s rights. His journey in advocacy began as a parent, advocating for appropriate accommodations and supports for his neurodivergent son. In 2018 Guy completed the Parents’ Place of Maryland’s LEADers training, a parent leader program to develop leadership skills among parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs. In 2019 Guy completed the Maryland Coalition of Families Family Leadership Institute (FLI) a 60-hour intensive training program for parents and caregivers of school-age children with mental health needs. Guy is currently a member of the Board of Directors for The Arc of Maryland. Guy is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and presented at their 2020 annual conference. Guy is actively working to change policies and practices around the use of restraint and seclusion at the local, state, and federal level.

Guy is the Founder and Executive Director for the ​Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR). Restraint and seclusion are outdated crisis management techniques used in schools across the nation. These interventions disproportionately impact disabled, Black, and Brown children. The practices are dangerous and can lead to significant trauma and injuries to students, teachers, and staff. AASR’s mission is to educate the public and connect people who are dedicated to changing minds, laws, policies, and practices so that restraint and seclusion are reduced and eliminated from schools across the nation. AASR believes that our schools should be moving towards neurodevelopmentally informed, trauma-sensitive, biologically respectful, relationship-based ways of understanding, and supporting all students.

Guy believes that we can do better for all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and if we can we must. He understands that we need to embrace neurodiversity and neuroscience to create safe and inclusive environments to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all.

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Neurosequential Model in Education: A principal's journey.

Lynda Knight-de Blois is principal of Glenview School in Wellington and Co-lead of the Porirua East Kahui Ako ( network of schools). She has a Master of Education, specializing in Special Needs and Pacific learners, and has trained with Dr. Bruce Perry in the Neurosequential Network, completing the Neurosequential Model in Education Trainers’ Certificate in 2021. She is beginning the NME Advanced Trainer program this year. She is passionate about sharing what she has learned about neuroscience, learning, behavior, and wellbeing and has led neuroscience workshops in Porirua and Wellington.

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Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is Founder and Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. An award-winning psychologist, Dr. Ablon is Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of three books, Changeable, hand-picked by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain for their Next Big Idea Club, The School Discipline Fix, and Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.

Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. One of the world’s top-rated thought-leaders and keynote speakers, Dr. Ablon teaches educators, parents, clinicians, managers, and leaders a very different approach to understanding and addressing challenging behavior of all types and in all people. Dr. Ablon has helped hundreds of organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. 

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Join us for a special presentation by Dr. Charles Bell titled "Exploring Students' and Parents' Perceptions of School Punishment and its Impact on Families."

Charles Bell is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University and the author of Suspended: Punishment, Violence, and the Failure of School Safety. His research explores students', parents', and teachers’ perceptions of out-of-school suspension, seclusion, restraint, and school safety measures. Professor Bell works with local and state politicians to improve school discipline transparency and establish laws that protect families from harmful disciplinary practices.

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We will be joined by Diane Cooper-Gould who will talk about how she helped form a Special Education PTA and how SEPTAs can provide support for children and families.

Diane is a dyslexic mother of two neurodiverse children and a lifelong advocate for those in need. Diane has a passion for supporting individuals with disabilities and their families. She believes that it is critical that all people are empowered to reach their full potential.

Diane's disability advocacy began in 2013 when she founded an online support group for caregivers of people with disabilities. What began as a small group of 12 individuals has since grown to over 250 members across
the United States and Europe. Soon, Diane began to realize that though our specific circumstances might vary, we all faced similar challenges navigating the special education system and disability services. In 2015 Diane and another Fairfax County Parent decided to join forces to start an organization that could advocate for systemic change and improvements for students with disabilities and their families. This labor of love became Fairfax County Special Education PTA, which launched in April 2017. Diane has been on the Board of Fairfax County SEPTA since its inception, served two years as the Inaugural President, and currently serves as Advocacy Chair. Our advocacy is on behalf of the over 30 thousand students in Fairfax County Public schools who have a disability and are served by either 504 Plans or IEPs as well as their families and the professionals who work with them. 

Initiatives of particular focus for our SEPTA led are changing the FCPS policies on restraint and seclusion, advocating for special education students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementing best-practice literacy instruction based on the science of reading for all students regardless of ability, the implementation of programs with fidelity and accountability, and accessibility in resources and programming for all students.

Additionally, Diane has created or co-created, and taught numerous courses related to special education advocacy for a variety of organizations including, VA Parent Education Advocacy Training Center (PEATC), Virginia PTA, NoVA District PTA, and Fairfax County SEPTA. Course topics have included: Navigating Special Education - 504s and IEPs, Building a Community of Support, Organizing your IEP records, Working Collaboratively with an IEP Team, Social/Emotional needs of Dyslexic Students, Tips for 2e Parents, Successfully Leading a Support Group, Supporting Special Education Students in Inclusive Classrooms, and Travelling Tips for Families of Students with Disabilities.

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Inclusive education means all children in the same classrooms, in the same schools. It means real learning opportunities for groups who have traditionally been segregated. By building systems to support all learners in the general education classroom students not only have access to the most equitable academic education but all students learn to value the unique contributions that students of all backgrounds bring. Join us and learn the legal and research basis that supports inclusive education for all students! 

Sara Jo is a Ph.D. student studying Inclusive Special Education at Syracuse University. Sara Jo is a trained 1-12 inclusive special educator. Her work centers students with “complex” support needs in inclusive settings, inclusive higher education, education policy, decentering whiteness within education, breaking down hierarchies with disability, and pre-service inclusive educator training. 

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Join us for a special interview with Dr. Mona Delahooke to discuss her new book "Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids".

Mona Delahooke, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 30 years of experience caring for children and their families. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting families of neurodiverse children, adolescents and adults.Dr. Delahooke holds the highest level of endorsement in the field of infant and toddler mental health in California, as a Reflective Practice Mentor (RPM). She is a frequent speaker, trainer, and consultant to parents, organizations, schools, and public agencies. Dr. Delahooke has dedicated her career to promoting compassionate, relationship-based neurodevelopmental interventions for children with developmental, behavioral, emotional, and learning differences. She is the author of Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges (PESI, 2019), and Social and Emotional Development in Early Intervention: A Skills Guide for Working with Children (PESI, 2017). Her popular blog, at www.monadelahooke.com covers a range of topics useful for caregivers and childhood providers.

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Neurodiversity-Affirming Care: Revolutionizing the way we understand, assess, and support autism spectrum conditions.

Dr. Alex Klein, PsyD is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in child and family therapy, neurodevelopmental differences such as autism spectrum conditions and ADHD, and parenting. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has training in child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy and assessment with clients who present with a range of diagnoses. He works at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and also has a private practice. His primary interests include neurodiversity-informed care, couples and family therapy, parenting challenging children, pathological demand avoidance (PDA), social justice, trauma, education, and the supervision and training of graduate students. A former teacher and school-based therapist, Dr. Klein consults with school districts to help develop more appropriate learning environments for challenging students. Dr. Klein's greatest joys are spending time with his family and friends, music, and exploring the outdoors with his wife and twin daughters in the Bay Area.

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All students, means all students
a special interview with Lee Collyer.

Lee Collyer serves as Director, School Health and Student Safety at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in Olympia, WA. Lee has 15-plus years’ experience leading and designing programs for students and families in various educational and residential environments. He has presented and trained professionals nationally on topics such as positive behavior support, youth readiness, special education, poverty, classroom management, crisis management, seclusion and restraint elimination/reduction, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.

At my core, I work from the firm belief that all students, means all students. Raised by a public school teacher in rural New England, with a 10 year pit stop in Oakland, CA, my entire career has been spent partnering with and advocating for historically marginalized students and families in public, private and institutional settings--I have extensive experience helping non-profit, district and building teams develop and sustain systems and strategies to effectively support all students across all three tiers of intervention.

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Learn about a seclusion inspire art exhibit and hear from the artist about what inspired the exhibit.

"Breaking the Rules: A Minor Spatial Inconvenience" doubles as an architectural maze and an immersive mixed-media installation. By recreating seclusion and restraint using architecture, the installation expresses a personal issue of the artist and speaks to an undiscussed social issue: is seclusion the solution or is there a solution to seclusion, amongst our nation’s schools? 

Immersing the audience via sculpture, collage, 16mm film, and audio, the artist hopes to impart education around the lack of existing policy. Through education, she hopes to foster empathy regarding the application and motivate federal and/or state governments to implement policies regarding seclusion and restraint. 

In relation with the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR), Breaking the Rules seeks to advocate for the civil rights of students with learning disabilities and begs for a revision to the artist’s story.

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