Fanlight Productions is a leading distributor of the most recognized high quality video and DVD resources on the social issues of our time, with a special focus on:

• healthcare
• mental health
• professional ethics
• aging and gerontology
• disabilities
• the workplace
• gender and family issues

Founded over 30 years ago, Fanlight’s goal is to make available a select collection of educational programs which are emotionally and intellectually engaging in their approach and accurate and up-to-date in their content. Fanlight’s videos and DVDs present contemporary perspectives on the issues of concern and challenges faced by our audiences.

The Fanlight Productions Collection includes videos and DVDs that have been honored by organizations as different as the Academy Awards to the Health & Science Communications Association, and from the DuPont-Columbia Journalism Award, to the Assocication on University Centers on Disabilities.

To view the entire Fanlight collection visit www.Fanlight.com.

The first step in leveraging your workforce is ensuring that you spread disability awareness.  Today’s dynamic workplace is one where many individuals of many abilities must interact and work with one another.  Engaging in disability training is one way to spread awareness, as many disability programs start with an educational overview of different conditions, communication practices, and etiquette guidelines.

Once employees are made aware of the rich differences they share with their peers, they can move to more specific areas of disability training, such as disability etiquette.  Etiquette training increases the ability of one employee to communicate with another in a respectful and considerate manner, regardless of either one’s abilities.  This is important for several reasons.  First, workers are more likely to communicate with one another when feeling respected within their environment.  This breeds efficacy, or the feeling that one is capable of bringing about change.

Second, courteous communication practices help employees communicate with one another in a non-offensive way.  This contributes to creating a respectful environment, and likewise to instilling a sense of efficacy in workers, but has another benefit:  risk mitigation.  Organizations that regularly train for disability maintain a heightened level of disability awareness that prompts appreciation for the differences among peers.  Ongoing training likewise keeps communication skill sets sharp, ensuring employees respect one another in the workplace.  Without training for disability, an organization cannot hope to create a respectful and functional diverse workplace.  This opens the door for a host of negative side effects including harassment lawsuits, discrimination claims, and other distracting and detrimental outcomes.

Training to enhance workplace skills is a sure bet for productive growth this year.  Training initiatives must be conducted with persons with disabilities in mind, however.  Disability training plants the seed of awareness.  From awareness grows respect, appreciation, and inclusion—3 fundamental principles of communicative and profitable work environments.

There are many ways to transition into a skilled career as a young person.  Apprenticeships, work-based learning programs, and associate’s degrees are just three ways to pursue opportunities for employment.  These paths are each explored in the Succeeding Without College DVD resource from Program Development Associates.  This indispensable resource helps viewers consider the abundant alternatives to college and decide which option is best.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are an excellent way to link employers with individuals who are ready to dive into the workplace.  The Internet has become a valuable resource for employers to post apprenticeship opportunities, and for young people to find apprenticeship opportunities in their field of interest.

Work-Based Learning

Work based learning takes a hybrid approach to education, combining traditional the traditional learning environment with hands on work experience.  This provides the ideal environment for individuals to showcase their abilities, as well as to learn firsthand whether or not a particular work environment is aligned with their personal values and abilities.

Associate’s Degree

The Associate’s Degree is perfect for the individual who does not want to pursue a four year undergraduate college degree but nonetheless has a particular field that they wish to study.  Moreover, individuals who choose this path will be well positioned to transition to a college to attain an undergraduate degree if they so choose.

Making the change from teenager to young adult is difficult, and choosing the correct opportunity is critical.  The Succeeding Without College DVD is an essential resource for young adults who are considering alternatives to a college education.  This resource explores various skilled career options, highlighting skills and essential qualities for success along the way.

Products for Caregivers

In our previous article, we discussed the challenges those with disabilities face in finding employment that is both congruent with ability and provides a high level of satisfaction.  As a follow up, PDA is excited to share the discounted resources now available to caregivers and those with disabilities who need assistance finding employment.  The Barriers to Employment Special is a two piece bundle that will help individuals identify the personal obstacles, formulate strategies to overcome them, and plan for career advancement.

Barriers to Employment Success DVD

The first disability product in this bundle, the Barriers to Employment Success DVD, helps those with disabilities identify specific obstacles that need addressing.  From lacking a professional resume to inadequate job experience, this DVD teaches viewers to rise above their problems by recognizing that they are not excuses.  Rather, they are simply problems with solutions.  Using five different categories of obstacles to frame such pissues, this disability education product helps those with disabilities develop the right attitude and resources to analyze their options and form an actionable plan to gaining employment.

Barriers to Success Inventory

Solving a problem is rarely the most difficult part of moving forward.  Rather, it is identifying the problem to be solved that is most difficult.  The Barriers to Success Inventory is one of the most intuitive and effective tool for persons with disabilities to implement in identifying hurdles to fulfilling employment.

Spanning several distinct dimensions of lifestyle, this disability resource uses 50 basic questions to uncover the most difficult challenges beset upon the individual being surveyed.  Once these challenges are identified, the Inventory helps the individual develop an actionable plan for overcoming the challenges while pursuing employment and career opportunities.

The Barriers to Success DVD and Inventory are superb complements and valuable tools to accompany persons with disabilities and their caregivers in seeking employment.  Both are available through this Program Development Associates Employment Special along with other resources listed under the Specials or Clearance section of the PDA website.

Prepare for Workplace Harassment

Workplace bullying and harassment is an inevitability that organizations simply must prepare to handle.  Individuals who are predisposed to leveraging threats, power, and other forms of status can always infiltrate an organization, no matter how rigorous and thorough the employee-recruiting process.  Moreover, individuals may develop these tendencies over time, well after having been recruited, trained, and promoted within an organization.  The best way to handle harassment in the workplace is to anticipate its occurrence and train each member of the organization to recognize and diffuse these detrimental situations.

A Costly Proposition DVD

Program Development Associates offers the DVD resource A Costly Proposition to help companies build harassment awareness among their members.  This resource provides viewers with six different situations, without narration or conflict resolution of any kind.  Viewing the scenes without constructive guidance allows viewers to assess and discuss the situations, building a full understanding of how the situation can be identified and disarmed.  After discussion, viewers move to the supplementary material of the DVD and are presented with an abundance of information detailing the losing nature of workplace harassment including potential legal ramifications.

PDA urges organizations to insulate themselves from potential downfall by thorough preparation and training.  Workplace Harassment videos are a good start for organizations that aim to develop a harassment policy and best practices for employees.  Taking proactive measures now may prevent the occurrence of severely detrimental incidents through the long term life of a business.

(i) http://www.corporationcampus.com/investors/facts.asp

Diversity in the Workforce and Stereotypes

Stereotypes affect both the person acting as well as the individual receiving.  The Diversity:  Face to Face D.V.D. helps employers and employees recognize signs of stereotyping with the goal of identifying and diffusing it before severe problems arise.

Finding Similarities

Next, the role of similarities in a group is explored.  The motivation to pin point differences among people is dispelled.  Instead, viewers are challenged to consider what common ground they share with one another.

Managing Workforce Diversity Through Unity

Next, the diversity D.V.D. uses similarities as a basis to cultivate a newfound sense of organizational unity.  Each member of the organization will be challenged to bond in a way that seeks a common goal and purpose.

Benefits of Diversity Training

This featured diversity product ends with an exploration of the benefits of diversity in the marketplace of today.  A talented pool of individuals with varying abilities has much to offer in our global and digital business world, and the Diversity D.V.D. surveys this idea through the eyes of workers in inclusive, diverse workplaces.

An instrumental part of training diversity is building courteous and respectful behavior among all members of an organization.  A richly varied group of individuals cannot function cooperatively without mutually respecting one another.  Program Development Associates’ diversity resources provide the perfect medium for employers and employees alike to learn more about the importance and benefits of working within a large and heterogeneous group.  This month P.D.A. offers the Diversity: Face to Face D.V.D. to help organizations recognize, embrace, and monetize their diversity.

Finding unique individuals to help carry a group to an end goal is a difficult challenge.  Fortunately, the Civil Rights movements of the early and mid 1900s revolutionized the cultures of businesses large and small.  Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities increasingly gained recognition for their inherent value, deepening the talent pool from which organizations could draw.  The archaic ideals of the 1800s and early 1900s have become footnotes in the history books.  No longer are men the breadwinners, women the homemakers, and the minorities the disadvantaged.  Further, advances in technology have made the workplace more accessible, particularly for individuals with mental and physical impairments.

Even more daunting than finding a talented workforce is the task of managing workplace diversity to maximally achieve that end goal.  This difficulty is faced by a host of different leaders in various organizations, from collegiate coaches to Fortune 500 Executives.  However, recruiting talent is only the beginning.  Distributing, uniting, and retaining talented individuals is a long term process that will graduate mere managers to the level of wildly successful, esteemed leaders.

While a richly varied talent pool in an organization’s culture is of paramount importance, a leaders ability to unite and retain that talent is the critical it factor. Diversity awareness and respect is the foundation on which any endeavor to unify a diverse mass must be built.  Herds of unique individuals with equally unique ideas and solutions are of little value if the herd cannot move together.  In this way today’s business leader is under more pressure than ever to educate employees of their coworkers’ differing backgrounds, ideologies, and lifestyles.

Diversity awareness training fosters an understanding of the multitude of differences that make each person a one-of-a-kind individual.  With awareness comes education, and with education sprouts the opportunity for appreciation.  To further encourage appreciation among employees, leaders within an organization can engage in regular workforce and employee diversity training.  Diversity training seminars and workshops offer an invaluable occasion for individuals to learn about one another and cultivate a respect for ethnicities, ideals, and traditions that differ from their own.

The ultimate end goal for any diversity training program is to perpetuate a feelings of reciprocal awareness and respect among employees.  Without both awareness and respect, leaders cannot hope to have employees work effectively.  In a business environment laden with dynamic challenges, organizations simply cannot afford to have anything other than a unified and diversified talent pool.  Disability and inclusion training D.V.D.s, C.D.s, and other resources offer a vital first step towards developing diversity awareness programs to bring employees together, maximizing output, and enrich their work experience.

Unemployment for individuals with disabilities has risen, despite the strong legislative push to abolish discriminatory hiring practices.[i] A clear reason for this contradictory outcome is a general lack of the proper disability education and advocacy among managers, an argument advanced by the Federal Manager Association’s Unnecessary Boundaries study.

Fortunately, the hardest hurdles have been cleared.  The Federal government has led by example through the 1990s, starting with the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  President Clinton furthered efforts with his Executive Order 13163, a commitment to award 100,000 Federal jobs to persons with disabilities by 2005.  Organizations are now responsible to follow suit, not only by equitable hiring practices, but also by establishing inclusive work environments where persons with disabilities receive the supports necessary to advance and grow.

The first and most essential step in providing support for an employee with a mental or physical impairment is to evaluate their level of competency.  The mysterious and complex nature of mental illness coupled with a personalized manifestation per individual places extreme importance in management’s ability to assess employees and their varying abilities before attempting to create environmental supports to encourage their growth.  A multitude of tools are available for gauging competency and can be classified by how employees’ abilities are measured.  Self-report instruments, for example, rely on the employee’s ability to display aptitude through written questionnaires or workplace simulations.  Observer rating instruments, on the other hand, rely on an observer to rate an employee’s aptitude based on how well he or she displays an ability to perform specific tasks, either through written questionnaires or simulated work situations.

Self-report instruments are most useful when a mental health professional is helping a person develop social skills across a variety of social contexts.[ii] While a work environment is considered a social context, self-report instruments are not ideal as they require the involvement of a trained mental health professional.  Observer rating instruments, by contrast, work well in the business context.  The observer need not be a professional counselor or psychologist.  They must, however, have a substantial opportunity to observe and learn about the employee and his or her condition prior to administering an assessment.[iii] Managers and other Human Resources personnel are ideal candidates for the role of an observer as they have ample opportunity to get to know new hires before administering an observer-rating assessment.

Once the competency of an employee with a disability is ascertained, management can begin to tailor the company culture in a way that maximizes the employee’s ability to participate, communicate, learn, and develop.  Disability job and career development tools are available to help organizations assess the competency of their workers, and they represent vital tools in creating an inclusive work environment.  Other disability training and education resources can be utilized to spread awareness in a diverse organization, a necessary complement to helping persons with disabilities develop as professionals among their peers.

[ii] http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-71316809/measuring-rehabilitation-outcomes.html

[iii] http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-71316809/measuring-rehabilitation-outcomes.html

Without courteous communication, the inclusion model breaks down.  As a result employees may feel disrespected, undervalued, incapable of performing job related tasks, and unfulfilled.  Thus, disability training programs must first and foremost equip employees with the knowledge and skill to communicate with one another, regardless of mental or physical differences.

Tremendous responsibility rests on the shoulders of able-minded individuals to get to know coworkers with disabilities in order to facilitate courteous communication.  Disability education programs are essential in providing employees with information about specific conditions as well as corresponding etiquette guidelines.  As Program Development Associate’s new training DVD (dis)Ability Awareness makes clear, effective communication hinges on individuals and their ability to relate to one another.  Managers and disability training consultants must keep this fine distinction in mind for two important reasons:

Humans Categorize by Nature

Human beings categorize individual elements of reality simply in virtue of having a conscious mind that strives to make sense of things.   As humans categorize, prejudices are formed to efficiently assimilate the overwhelming amount of sensory inputs encountered daily.  While these shallow snap judgments allow for the processing of an immense amount of sensory inputs, they fall short in that people tend to favor their own category while undervaluing things that are perceived as different.

Humans Exhibit Affective Display

According to the American Psychological Association, Affective Display is a person’s ability to display thoughts, both conscious and unconscious, through verbal and nonverbal communication.  Tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions may all indicate an individual’s conscious or unconscious feelings, regardless of the message they intend to transmit.

Since the categorical nature of the human mind creates prejudices and the Affective Display phenomena communicates these preconceptions regardless of the communicator’s intent, disability education in the workplace must work to rid employees of predetermined thoughts about persons with physical or mental impairments.  Once the slate is clean, education and training programs have to help employees understand one another on a personal level.  General background information on certain conditions and corresponding social etiquette provides a substantial starting point.  However, able minded individuals must endeavor to understand coworkers with disabilities on a personal level.  Once this deep level of understanding is ascertained, employees are well suited to respectfully interact with one another.

Once coworkers with disabilities are understood on an individual and personal basis, networking can occur to further the inclusion of the office environment.  Asking a coworker what one may do to make them feel included or offering to escort them to a department meeting are two examples of simple acts that can help solidify and develop friendships that perpetuate value for the company as a whole.

Inclusion training DVDs are an unparalleled medium for helping employees understand how their preconceived notions may affect and ultimately hinder their ability to communicate with their coworkers.  Program Development Associates also carry a diverse set of disabilities training resources to assist businesses in creating a company culture where diversity is valued, respected, and embraced.

Reference: American Psychological Association (2006). VandenBos, Gary R. ed., APA Dictionary of Psychology. Washington, DC.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Freds_Roman_Holiday_DVD-pid956.html

Resource #: FSRD979W

Fred's Roman Holiday DVD

Fred’s Roman Holiday is the story of an elderly man who early in his life was labeled with a developmental disability.  His poignant return to Rome late in his life embodies the lost oppurtunities of a human being confined to a state facility. 

The film sequel to the multi-award-winning film Fred’s Story (1996), in which Alfredo Calabrese described living against his will for decades inside Mansfield Training School – then one of Connecticut’s institutions for people with mental retardation.  Fred shared the joy of the freedom of his new life once the institution had closed.

Opening scenes in Fred’s Roman Holiday reprise Fred’s Story to provide a context for Fred’s ordeal inside the institution.  But Fred’s friend, Gayle Kranz, knew that Fred had a dream that went beyond those in Fred’s Story.  She had met Fred at Mansfield Training School twenty years earlier and knew that Fred had always longed to go to Rome.  To Fred, Italy was a magical place.  Three years after the release of Fred’s Story she organized this trip.

On the way to Rome, the viewers meet Fred’s other traveling companions: Gayle’s niece, Neesham; Kathy, an academic in the field of inclusive education; and Fred’s close buddy and caretaker, Bob.  These people join Fred in quest to find the office of Benito Mussolini, the disgraced dictator who had become the focus of Fred’s mysterious, lifelong fascination.  Their collective search evolves into a profound exploration of what sustains a person’s strength through years of hardship, loss of identity, and institutional control.

When Fred last reveals the source of this ironic and misunderstood fascination, the viewer understands Fred’s attempts to cope with dashed dreams of romance and freedom.  Fred has touched the hand of history, and he would never forget how it felt and how special he knew he was, despite all the world has done to him.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Communication_Skills_DVD-pid953.html

Resource #: HCCDC913W

VOLUME 6 OF THE COMMUNICATION SERIES

Communication Skills DVD

Communication is a process of creating shared understanding that includes speaking, listening, and non-verbal cues.

This program describes the importance of positive communication skills and teaches effective methods for creating clear, respectful exchanges.

When you train your home care staff in positive communication skills, it increases their ability to relate effectively and improves the quality of life for patient/client.

Topics covered include:
• Verbal and non-verbal communication
• Active listening
• Asking open-ended questions
• Clarification
• Pacing
• Obstacles to communication
• Communicating with someone who has hearing loss
• Uncomfortable conversations
• Honoring your client’s feelings
• Ageism: What is it? and How to avoid it
• Importance of professional appearance

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Autism_Aspergers_Syndrome_Addressing_Sensory_Issues_Brain_Function_Social_Skills_Job_Skills_Medications_And_More_DVD-pid500.html

Resource #: AASD099W

FORMERLY – WAY I SEE IT: A PERSONAL LOOK AT AUTISM & ASPERGER’S

Autism & Asperger's SyndromeDVD

Bring Dr. Temple Grandin into your home or classroom! She serves as inspiration and role model to hundreds of thousands of families and people with autism.

In this unique video, she eloquently and candidly describes the challenges she has faced and offers no-nonsense ideas on how others dealing with autism can meet these obstacles and improve the quality of their lives.

Backed by her personal experience and evidence-based research, Temple shares her valuable insights on a wide variety of topics, and offers useful do’s and don’ts.

Addresses:
• Sensory Sensitivities and Ways to Remedy Them
• Accommodating Neurological Differences
• Disability versus Just Bad Behaviors
• Alternative versus Conventional Medicine
• Employment Advice

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?American_Sign_Language_Clip_and_Create_CDROM-pid960.html

Resource # : ASLF939W

VERSION 5

American Sign Language Clip and Create 5 CD-ROM

New Features for Clip and Create 5 include:
• Over 5,555 sign pictures (more than 1,500 new signs)
• Sign-O pictures are larger
• Print the User’s Guide
• Access the categories from Custom Print section
• More categories of signs to choose from
• Print the pictures in grid and individual form directly from the dictionary

The Custom Printing section allows you to create various types of materials (e.g., single and double-fold cards, stationary, 2-5 page banners, labels). Once you have selected the type of material you want to make, you can import sign clipart from the dictionary, use shapes or draw freehand, add text, import other images, and of course, save, and/or print your creation. A layering feature allows you to decide which pictures to move to the front, and which to move to the back. Each of your creations can be saved within the program, or as a bitmap, to be used in other programs.

ASL Clip and Create 5 contains seven templates that can be customized by using any of the vocabulary in the dictionary. Make your vocabulary selections, and get instantaneous crossword puzzles, word searches, SIGN-O cards, fingerspelling scrambles, and ABC order worksheets. An Alternate Display button allows you to retain the same vocabulary but create different worksheets. All templates can be saved within the program or as bitmap files!

There are four games on this software too:

• Con-SIGN-tration requires the player to match a sign picture with its English word equivalent. There are nine categories of words and two levels of challenge. The game keeps score of clicks and matches, and entertains with an animation when the game is complete. Because it randomizes every time it is played, there is always a new challenge.

• Spell Well can be played on any of six categorical gameboards. Use the keyboard on the screen or your own to spell the English word equivalent of each sign picture that appears. Your game piece will follow the trail until you reach the end, when an animation appears.

• Match Madness is a vocabulary matching speed game. You have four gameboard choices. Once you have picked your gameboard, you can choose your level of challenge by deciding how many words will appear simultaneously (2-6). Click on the word that matches the sign picture that appears. To win, make 10 correct matches before the third item drops.

• Sort It Out! focuses on categorization skills. A menu appears that asks you to decide the number of categories into which you must sort pictures containing signs and words. After choosing your number of categories, a screen appears with that number of categories and the names of the categories. The

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Shouting_Wont_Grow_Dendrites_DVD-pid947.html

Resource #: SWGD929W

20 TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING A BRAIN-COMPATIBLE CLASSROOM

Demonstrate how teachers can increase students’ academic achievement through proactive classroom management!

Shouting Won't Grow Dendrites DVD

Designed around the successful format of Marcia L. Tate’s best-selling book Shouting Won’t Grow Dendrites, this comprehensive multimedia presentation offers staff developers all the materials they need to help novice and experienced teachers reduce classroom problems and cultivate a physical environment conducive to learning. Workshop leaders will be able to demonstrate how teachers can significantly improve learners’ performance by developing a classroom management plan; delivering successful brain-compatible lessons; responding effectively to chronic behavior problems; and using easy-to-implement strategies such as:
• Constructive classroom conversations
• Classroom rituals
• Music and movement
• Lighting
• Humor

Featuring 20 practical and proven techniques, Shouting Won’t Grow Dendrites: A Multimedia Kit for Professional Development provides:
• The 140 page companion book, Shouting Won’t Grow Dendrites, covering the critical elements of managing a brain-compatible classroom
• A 70-minute, content-rich VHS video that features Marcia L. Tate discussing brain-friendly strategies and master teachers demonstrating research-based techniques in the classroom
• A companion DVD with navigation menus and bullets for easy stop-and-search control of the video content
• A step-by-step 72 page facilitator’s guide that connects the core content of the book to the video/DVD and includes segment prompts, workshop outlines, extended workshop activities, key points, and discussion questions

This all-in-one package is indispensable for staff developers, principals, and district administrators conducting training on brain-friendly classroom management practices to improve student outcomes.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?More_Power_Instruction_in_Co_Taught_Classrooms_DVD-pid948.html

Resource #: MPID918W

More Power: Instruction in Co-Taught Classrooms DVD

More Power: Instruction in Co-Taught Classrooms, builds on the six co-teaching approaches Dr. Friend made famous in the Power of  Two DVD by presenting seven key dimensions of effective instructional practices across K-12 settings. This next generation of co-teaching empowers teachers and gives students a richer and deeper classroom experience. This DVD incorporating evidence-baced strategies, demonstrates how to get more power from your co-teaching to improve outcomes for all students. It includes a 27 page digital facilitator’s guide.

The seven dimensions shown are:
• Assessment & Planning (23:30)
• Content, Materials, & Technology (26:00)
• Instructional Environment (19:40)
• Instructional Presentation (19:00)
• Student Participation (15:30)
• Evaluation of Performance (19:10)
• Adult Interactions (18:10)

Bonus Section: Brief review of the 6 co-teaching approaches—the scaffolding on which this DVD is constructed.

Getting the Most From This DVD:  Each of the sections is designed to be viewed separately, and in any order. We encourage creative professional developers and others using this program to match co-teachers’ needs to appropriate video segments and draw on the digital facilitator’s guide to encourage discussion of the many ideas presented.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Visual_Strategies_Workshop_DVD-pid933.html

Resource #: VSWD924W

A LIVE PRESENTATION OF LINDA HODGDON’S POPULAR AND INNOVATIVE WORKSHOP.

Visual Strategies Workshop DVD

The Visual Strategies Workshop is a 5-video set filmed at a live presentation of Linda Hodgdon’s popular and innovative workshop. It provides lots of information about how to use visual strategies and it is packed with samples and examples of visual strategies that have proven successful with students who experience Autism Spectrum Disorders and other moderate to severe communication or behavior challenges. The information in the Visual Strategies Workshop is pertinent for every educator or parent who provides support for these students.

Will teach you to:
• Identify significant factors in student learning and functioning style that affect communication
• Informally assess the student’s communication strengths and challenges
• Recognize specific situations where communication breakdowns can affect student understanding, behavior, and participation
• Create and use specific visual supports that have significantly improved student communication, behavior and participation.  

DVD 1: 35 minutes – Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders and Communication
DVD 2: 30 minutes – Informally Assessing Communication: Students, Partners, and Environments
DVD 3: 35 minutes – Samples & Examples of Visual Strategies
DVD 4: 34 minutes – More Samples & Examples of Visual Strategies, Visual Strategies at Home: Parent Interview
DVD 5: 25 minutes – How to Create Visual Tools, Potpourri of Commonly Asked Questions

Package includes a FREE CD with a collection of supplementary materials including:
• Reproducible handouts for each video program
• Discussion questions
• Test questions
• Plus lots of other support materials to help you receive maximum benefit from this training package
• Stored on a CD for easy duplication

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?ADHD_ADD_ODD_DVD-pid936.html

Resource #: AAOD999W

Part of Foster Parent College

ADHD, ADD & ODD DVD

Children with ADHD and related conditions are plagued by impulsiveness, lack of focus, and/or physical hyperactivity. These behaviors can make it difficult for children to succeed at home, at school, and in the community.

In this course, Dr. James Kagan offers insights and positive strategies for resource parents coping with kids diagnosed with ADHD, ADD or ODD. He discusses symptoms, diagnosis, medication, power struggles, keeping things positive and advocating for the kids.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Children_With_Autism_DVD-pid935.html

Resource #: CWAD999W

Part of Foster Parent College

Children With Autism DVD

The growing number of children diagnosed with autism increases the possbility that foster, kinship, and adoptive parents wil face this challenging disability.

Dr. Robert Nickel, Professor of Pediatrics and nationally respected authority on autism, offers insight into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) based on his many years of experience as a developmental pediatrician.

This course examines the core deficits of autism: communication, social skills, and play. Also covered are develomental delay, Functional Behavior Assessment, Asperger syndrome, and medical issues commonly experienced by children with autism.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Instructional_Coaching_Multimedia_KIT-pid930.html

Resource #: ICMD929W

Provides targeted professional development on the “nuts and bolts” of instructional coaching!

Instructional Coaching Multimedia KIT

Designed to complement Jim Knight’s best-selling book Instructional Coaching, this comprehensive multimedia presentation provides staff developers with the necessary materials to demonstrate the principles of a partnership approach for coaching teachers to improve classroom instruction.

Facilitators will be able to show aspiring and experienced coaches how to get teachers on board, observe teachers, provide model lessons, and engage in reflective conversations. Workshops will include group discussions about:
• Incorporating the essential components of coaching
• Fostering positive communication between coaches and teachers
• Understanding the relationship between effective teaching and behavior
• Content knowledge, direct instruction, and formative assessment

Featuring a research-based, job-embedded approach to instructional intervention that can make a substantive difference in students’ learning experiences, Instructional Coaching: A Multimedia Kit for Professional Development provides:
• The companion book, Instructional Coaching, with an in-depth examination of techniques that can dramatically refine classroom practices
• A companion DVD with a navigation menu for easy stop-and-search control of the video content
• A step-by-step facilitator’s guide that connects the core content of the book to the video/DVD and includes segment prompts, workshop outlines, extended workshop activities, key points, and discussion questions

Appropriate for groups of any size, this all-in-one multimedia resource helps staff developers, principals, and district administrators provide professional development that strengthens coaching capacity, instructional effectiveness, and schoolwide performance.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Work_Readiness_Inventory-pid932.html

Resource #: WRIN934W

Work Readiness Inventory

Employers want to hire individuals who are work ready. People who are work ready have the basic skills, attitudes, and knowledge required in nearly every job. Today’s job market calls for workers who are responsible and adaptable, who have basic skills (such as reading and writing), who understand how to communicate and interact with others, who follow rules, health and safety requirements, and who are self-motivated and self-confident. However, employers find that more and more applicants and new hires are not work ready. As a consequence, more and more programs are created to train new workers.
 
Identifying areas of concern is often the first step in helping an individual become work ready. The Work Readiness Inventory (WRI) does just that. It is an assessment designed to help workers recognize and address the demands of the workplace by identifying their readiness concerns or areas of weakness. Research shows that readiness assessments can also assist in the career planning and decision making process, leading to more informed choices.
 
This 36 item self-report identifies levels of concern in six areas crucial to work readiness:
• Responsibility
• Flexibility
• Skills
• Communication
• Self View
• Health and Safety

Self-scoring and self-interpreting, the assessment comes with a worksheet for improving one’s work readiness and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and score. Ideal as an intake assessment or as a pre-test/post-test, the WRI can help coaches, counselors, and administrators quickly assess an individual’s overall work readiness and identify those barriers and concerns requiring additional training and attention.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Financial_Literacy_Inventory-pid934.html

Resource #: FLIN936W

Financial Literacy Inventory

The Financial Literacy Inventory (FLI) is designed to help individuals with these initiatives and measures a person’s basic knowledge with regards to money management. This 60 item assessment feeds into five scales: Income and Careers, Banking and Budgeting, Credit and Debt, Saving and Investing, and Rights and Risks.

The FLI helps individuals determine how much they know about effectively managing their money, giving them both individualized scores on each of the scales as well as an overall assessment of their financial literacy. The FLI then offers guidance on how to improve the individual’s financial literacy and manage their money better through specific suggestions and online resources. Finally, the FLI provides a personal finance checklist and goal-setting worksheet for individuals to better plan their financial futures.
 
This inventory is based on the national standards created by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, the Institute for Adult Financial Literacy, the FDIC’s Money Smart program, and the Indiana Financial Literacy Education standards for high school seniors.
 
The FLI gives test takers a benchmark to motivate them to revise their spending habits and learn more about their financial options. It also gives counselors, coaches, and other professionals the chance to step in and alleviate key financial hurdles that will stand in the way of their client’s success. Self-scoring and self-interpreting, the FLI takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Barriers_to_Employment_Success_DVD-pid931.html

Resource #: BESD911W

Barriers to Employment Sucess Video DVD

Whether individuals are looking for a job or working to keep the one they have, they are bound to face obstacles. Some won’t have a resume or reliable transportation. Others may lack the education or experience needed to advance on the job. These are just a few of the barriers that people face in the world of work every day, but they can be overcome.

To successfully find and keep jobs, people must prevent their problems from becoming obstacles or excuses. This video takes viewers through the five categories of barriers that often stand between individuals and employment success.

This program also helps viewers develop the attitudes, resources, and know-how to meet their needs, analyze their options, and take action. As a result, viewers will be better equipped to overcome their barriers and achieve long-lasting success and security in the world of work.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Aged_Care_Meaningful_Activities_for_People_with_Dementia_DVD-pid893.html

Resource #: AGMD912W

Part of the Aged Care Series

Aged Care: Meaningful Activities for People with Dementia DVD

Balancing practical know-how with medical theory, this program examines the needs of patients with dementia and explores a range of fulfilling activities that foster self-worth and belonging.

After an insightful look at dementia and its symptoms, the video illustrates both one-on-one and group activities and identifies which recreational pursuits are best suited to a particular level of dementia.

A well-equipped nursing home in Australia serves as a working model for developing activities programs, rounding out this excellent resource for aged care and dementia care training.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?How_the_Special_Needs_Brain_Learns_DVD_SET-pid929.html

Resource #: HSND229W

A MULTIMEDIA KIT FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

How the Special Needs Brain Learns DVD SET

Demonstrate how teachers can promote increased retention and cognitive flexibility for students with special needs! Based on the second edition of David A. Sousa’s best-selling book How the Special Needs Brain Learns, this multimedia presentation offers staff developers the materials to help teachers improve learning outcomes for students with learning disabilities and other common challenges. Facilitators can present a framework for identifying, accommodating, and motivating learners with special needs and guide discussions on topics that include:
• Creating a positive emotional climate and using techniques to raise students’ self-esteem
• Meeting learners’ needs through differentiation
• Applying effective strategies to address specific learning difficulties in speech, reading, writing, and mathematics
• Supporting students with attention, behavioral, or autism spectrum disorders
• Fostering effective general/special education teacher collaboration

Featuring activities that promote independent learning for students with special needs, How the Special Needs Brain Learns: A Multimedia Kit for Professional Development provides:
• The companion book, How the Special Needs Brain Learns, Second Edition, a research-based approach for working with students with learning challenges
• A 44-minute, content-rich VHS video that features David A. Sousa discussing the impact of current neuroscientific findings on instruction for students with special needs and teachers demonstrating what brain-based strategies look like in the classroom
• A companion DVD with a navigation menu for easy stop-and-search control of the video content
• A step-by-step facilitator’s guide that connects the core content of the book to the video/DVD and includes segment prompts, workshop outlines, extended workshop activities, key points, and discussion questions

Use this invaluable all-in-one package to enhance your school or district’s capacity to appropriately serve the needs of students with learning difficulties and help ensure their path to a successful future.

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?How_to_Grade_for_Learning_DVD_SET-pid928.html

Resource #: HGLD929W

A MULTIMEDIA KIT FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

How to Grade for Learning DVD SET

Demonstrate how teachers can link grading to standards to promote student achievement! Designed around the third edition of Ken O’Connor’s best-selling How to Grade for Learning, this comprehensive multimedia presentation offers staff developers the necessary materials to help K–12 teachers apply effective grading strategies that support learning and encourage student success.

Participants will be able to examine and reflect on their own methods and ensure that grading practices:
• Honor the learning process and include students in both learning and assessment
• Reflect definitive information about a student’s academic strengths and weaknesses
• Accurately measure achievement only, separate from behavior
• Are consistent and aligned with performance standards that are clearly communicated to students

How to Grade for Learning, K–12, Third Edition: A Multimedia Kit for Professional Development provides:
• The companion book, How to Grade for Learning, K–12, Third Edition, which defines the relationship between content standards, performance standards, assignments, assessments, and grades
• A 53-minute, content-rich DVD featuring Ken O’Connor presents essential elements of effective grading models and offers a navigation menu for easy stop-and-search control of video content
• A step-by-step facilitator’s guide connecting the book’s content to the DVD and including segment prompts, workshop activities, and discussion questions
• A CD-ROM providing a digital copy of the entire facilitator guide and overheads for easy use during presentations

This all-in-one package will be indispensable for staff developers, principals, and district administrators leading professional development to help teachers develop grading methods that accurately reflect each learner’s academic achievements.