Educators Learn to Teach Verbal Behavior in their Classrooms

April 10, 2005

April 8, 2005 - Plano, Texas

April is Autism Awareness Month! This month, educators showed their

commitment to teaching communication to children with autism. The North

Texas Autism Education Center (NTAEC) and the Wayman Learning Center

welcomed 40 educators to their 3-day workshop this week. This workshop,

" Teaching Verbal Behavior in a Classroom Setting " was presented by Kelle

Wood, M.Ed., Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Zecchin,

M.S.Ed., Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst (BCABA). This workshop

is presented only a few times a year, all over the world. This was the

first time for it to be presented in North Texas.

The workshop attendance was limited to allow professionals hands-on teaching

practice and individual attention and feedback. Attendees represented two

Texas Education Service Centers (ESCs), 8 North Texas school districts, and

the Autism Treatment Centers of Texas. Texas professionals also received a

25% discount to the workshop thanks to generous donations from our community

to the NTAEC. Both ESC professionals asked to schedule similar training in

their own region for their school districts. The NTAEC looks forward to

partnering with them to provide this training. Educators also traveled from

as far as Canada, Indiana, and South Carolina to attend this workshop.

One of our goals at NTAEC is to increase autism and ABA awareness. We are

very proud of Senator Florence Shapiro, who filed and passed Texas Senate

Bill 124. This bill requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to establish

a committee of parents and professionals to conduct a study of the rule

concerning the content of IEPs for students with autism; and consider

whether any other considerations, such as applied behavior analysis, should

be included in the rule. The bill is now waiting to be heard in the Texas

House of Representatives. We will keep you posted on their progress.

Our next professional workshop is Monday, April 11 at no charge. The

frequently-requested workshop is " Developing IEP Objectives: How to write

objectives that are observable, measurable, and based on student

assessment " .

For more information about NTAEC, please visit us on the web at

Thank you,

Kim

North Texas Autism Education Center

(469) 682-0350

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