PaTTANpod

PaTTAN AI team would like to record a NAC 2024 Promo (commercial) for the upcoming conference to highlighting the session strands for Educators, Related Service Providers, BCBA.

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.

Sydney Evans and Stephanie Brennan describe their experiences at HELIX and the benefits of collaboration among classroom teachers and special education teachers and practitioners.

https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Sydney Evans is a first grade teacher at Whitemarsh Elementary School in the Colonial School District. She attended the HELIX conference for the first time with her colleagues, Stephanie, Michaelle, and MT. She found this conference to be meaningful and informative even as a general education teacher due to having the opportunity to teach students with exceptionalities in my classroom setting. Sydney enjoyed having this experience and loved getting to meet new people and share new findings.

Stephanie has been a life skills teacher for more than 15 years. She is passionate about helping students achieve their highest level of autonomy and independence through collaboration and creative problem solving. Stephanie has led her district in inclusive practices and community engagement, running a student- staffed restaurant out of her classroom for 10 years. Areas of expertise include child and family advocacy, behavioral support strategies, and interprofessional practice.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.

Michaelle Khatchadourian and Mary Therese (MT) Sabatino share how participating in HELIX supports self-reflection and collaboration.

https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Michaelle has been an occupational therapist for 35 years. She owns her own business and has contracted with the district for 11 years providing a variety of related services. Michaelle’s areas of interest includes sensory integration, use of assistive technology to support function, and mentorship. Michaelle loves her job and enjoys learning and collaborating with all disciplines to support the students.

MT is a school-based speech, language pathologist who has been practicing in the field for over 15 years. She has special interests in the areas of language and literacy development, assistive technology, advocacy for families of children with disabilities, mentorship, and interprofessional practice. MT is active in the Pennsylvania Speech-Language Hearing Association (PSHA) and co-chair of the schools committee.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Rebecca Schillack and Kathleen Mease discuss how attending HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities, impacted their efforts to support English language learners with disabilities.

Rebecca and Kathleen attended the 2023 HELIX conference as part of a team from Bensalem Township School District through a conference program promoting cross-department and cross-agency collaboration.

HELIX conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Miss Schillack is a Special Education teacher at Bensalem Township School District teaching students, within the Life Skills program, Functional Language Arts and Reading Strategies. Miss Schillack has worked as a Special Education Teacher for the Bensalem Township School District for 15+ years. She co-teaches a class with Ms. Mease, the English Foundations' teacher at Bensalem High School. The class includes students that have English language needs in addition to their individual disabilities.

Kathleen Mease is an ELD teacher from Bensalem High School. She primarily teaches newcomer English Language Learners, but also co-teaches ELLs who are within the Life Skills program. She works closely with a Life Skills teacher to help these students with reading strategies.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.

Shannon McMahon and Lorendana Martinez describe their experiences at HELIX and their ongoing efforts facilitating collaboration among Special Education and English Language Development educators and practitioners to support English language learners with disabilities.

HELIX conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Shannon McMahon is currently a Supervisor of Special Education for Bensalem Township School District. Mrs. McMahon has worked in the field of Special Eduction for over 25 years. This year Mrs. McMahon is working closely with the team at Bensalem High School in focusing on support for English Language Learners who have complex support needs.

Loredana Martinez, MS, CCC-SLP is a bilingual speech-language pathologist for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit .She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Pennsylvania state licensure in Speech-Language Pathology, and Teacher of Speech and Language Impaired certification in Pennsylvania. Loredana has 32 years experience working in brain injury rehabilitation, acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term care, and school-based settings. She has been a member of the BCIU’s Multilingual Learner team since 2007.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Missy Garber and Kathleen Lopez discuss how HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities, enhances ongoing collaboration among educators and practitioners involved in professional mentoring.

https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Missy Garber, Ph.D. is an itinerant teacher of students with visual impairments with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown. She was formerly the Director of the Teacher of the Visually Impaired Preparation Program and Co-Director of the National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairment at Salus University where she currently serves on the Blindness and Low Vision Studies Advisory Board. She also serves on the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Education of Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired (PACES-BVI). Dr. Garber has published several peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters and presented at regional and national conferences. In addition to PA certification as a TVI, Dr. Garber is a Utah-endorsed teacher of the deaf-blind. She is also the parent of a young adult who is blind.

Kathleen’s educational credentials include: a Master’s Degree in Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and a Dual Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Education for Special and Elementary Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Also, she is a Certified Reading Specialist (K-12), Certified Elementary Educator (K-6), and Certified Special Educator of Visually Impaired (Birth-age 21).

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Natalie Steltzer describes her ambitions to become an educational interpreter and experience providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation at HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities. Natalie attended the 2023 HELIX conference as part of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education’s Attract Prepare Retain (APR) initiative.

PaTTAN Deaf and Hard of Hearing Initiative: https://www.pattan.net/Disabilities/Deaf-and-Hard-of-Hearing HELIX Conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Natalie is a Junior majoring in American Sign Language and English Interpreting and minoring in Early Childhood Education at Mount Aloysius College. She is working towards becoming an educational interpreter.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Daisy Wishard and Marlee Stake share their experiences as first-time attendees and student interpreters at HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities. Serving as student interpreters allowed them to practice their American Sign Language(ASL) interpretation skills in a real-world setting while contributing to the accessibility of the conference.

PaTTAN Deaf and Hard of Hearing Initiative: https://www.pattan.net/Disabilities/Deaf-and-Hard-of-Hearing HELIX Conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Daisy Wishard is a junior at Mount Aloysius college majoring in American Sign Language and English Interpreting. Her passion for wanting to be in the Interpreting field came about at a very young age. Her upbringing as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), has allowed her to be exposed to Deaf culture and the Deaf community. Daisy has been given the opportunity to interpret for her parents out in public which has deeply rooted a strong passion of wanting to become fully educated and improve her skills to work in the Interpreting field as a Certified Interpreter.

Marlee Stake is a senior in the American Sign Language and English Interpreting Program at Mount Aloysius College. After graduating in the Spring, she plans on focusing on community interpreting, with a strong interest in medical interpreting.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

In this segment of a two-part episode, Rachel Collins and Hilary Collins share perspectives from HELIX 2023, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities. Rachel and Hilary also discuss resources available to educators and practitioners who support students who are Deafblind.

Texas DeafBlind Project: txdeafblindproject.org PaTTAN Deaf-Blind Initiative: https://www.pattan.net/Disabilities/Deaf-Blind HELIX Conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-Conference

Rachel began her career as a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing in 1998. She quickly fell into deafblind education and served as a self-contained teacher for students who are deafblind for 10 years and as an itinerant teacher of students who are deafblind for 12 years after that. She joined the Texas Deafblind Project in 2022 and is currently one of the Deafblind Education Consultants on the team.

Hillary Keys is the Early Childhood Deafblind Education Consultant for the Texas Deafblind Project. She has worked as a classroom teacher, itinerant TVI/TDB, and Deafblind Specialist at a regional and statewide level. She is passionate about finding the best ways for children, especially those with complex needs, to interact, play, and experience joy. While she has diverse educational interests, Active Learning approach and early childhood development and learning are areas of strength. Hillary is the past chair of the Multiple Disabilities and Deafblindness Division of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) and was also recognized by Texas AER with an award for her work in Active Learning.

Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net