Resource Center Program hosts local, state and national experts
The Resource Center Program is offering its biennial U-Empowered Conference, a workshop for parents, grandparents and professionals Saturday, April 8. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with registration beginning at
8:30 a.m. at the Willmar Senior High, 2701 30th St. NE, Willmar, Minn. Advance registration is required for receiving lunch. Scholarships for parents are available upon request.
The conference theme is ?ÄúHidden Disabilities-Know Your Child?Äù and brings local, state and national experts to west central Minnesota. The event includes the choice of nine small group sessions, a resource fair and featured speaker, Tom Iland of Saugus, Calif. He was diagnosed with Autism at age 13. In his inspiring message for parents, professionals and self-advocates, he shares his mantra of three things really matter in life ?Äì Know Yourself. Love Yourself. Be Yourself. Self-advocates need to do these things to be successful, especially as teens or adults. He travels around the nation, helping others set goals and achieve things that may seem impossible now.
Participants may choose three small group sessions from nine options:
?Ä¢ ?ÄúBehaviors: Is it Defiance or Anxiety??Äù with Amy Carrison, PsyD, LADC, Autism Society of Minnesota
?Ä¢ ?ÄúBiomedical Interventions for ASD & ADHD?Äù with Dee Alleckson, APRN/CNP, Wyndgate Health
?Ä¢ ?ÄúAdvocating for IEPs and 504 Plans?Äù with Amber Johannes, parent and special education teacher and Andrea Fladeboe, special education assistant director
?Ä¢ ?ÄúSensory Processing Overload?Äù with Teresa Pettit, Greater Minnesota Families
?Ä¢ ?ÄúZones of Regulation?Äù with Kristin Schmidt, LICSW, Willow Creek Counseling
?Ä¢ ?ÄúHow and When to Seek Public Assistance?Äù by Sarah Mauser, Disability Linkage Line
?Ä¢ ?ÄúCommunicating Through Play?Äù with Claudette Larson, LICSW, RPT, Willow Creek Counseling
?Ä¢ ?ÄúWhen to Tell a Child about a Disability?Äù by Tom Iland, Keynote Speaker
?Ä¢ ?ÄúLife with Autism: Teen & Young Adult?Äù by Dawn Brasch, Autism Society of Minnesota
Read full descriptions at www.wcimn.org/trcp/events.
Shawn Swenson, The Resource Center Program Board Chair shares, ?ÄúParents feel very alone in their journey when they are raising a child with special needs. Oftentimes, they are unaware of the local resources available to them or they may feel overwhelmed. This year?Äôs U-Empowered Conference addresses many of the questions we respond to at our parent support groups. We are very proud to be bringing these local, state and national experts to our community and giving parents a day to learn as much as they can to help their child and family.?Äù
This event is made possible by The Resource Center Program of WCI, which serves families raising children with developmental delays or a disability in west central Minnesota. Along with workshops and family fun events, The Resource Center Program hosts free support network groups in Willmar, Benson, Litchfield and Olivia and provides mini grants, weighted blankets and social skill development and friendship clubs such as Lego Club and Peer Connect.
To register, stop by WCI (across from Bill Taunton Stadium), 1300 22nd St SW in Willmar, or call The Resource Center Program at (320) 444-1523. Registration information is also available online at www.wcimn.org/trcp/events. Online tickets can be purchased at www.uempowered.bpt.me.
Event sponsors include the Governor?Äôs Council on Developmental Delays and Disabilities, Otto Bremer Trust, and United Way of West Central Minnesota. Additional business and individual donor support is encouraged to help parents and teens attend. To donate or to be a vendor at the Resource Fair, call Linda Mathiasen, The Resource Center Program Coordinator at (320) 444-1523.
WHERE: Willmar Senior High, 2701 30th St. NE, Willmar
WHEN: Saturday, April 8,
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Registration and light breakfast at 8 a.m.
COST: $30 parents; $45 for professionals. Scholarships for parents are available. Includes resource fair, large and small group sessions, breakfast, lunch and snack. Door prizes will be given at the end of the event. Professionals will receive a certificate for 6 hours of CEUs.
WHO: Open to the public.
Parents, grandparents, educators, professionals and community. Teen and young adult self-advocates are encouraged to attend.