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Training and Speaking on Special Ed

With Ayo Jones

Professional development should be interactive, engaging, and relevant to a teacher.
That’s what I strive to provide.
I want participants to leave armed with effective strategies, adapted materials, and an implementation plan to make it all work for them and their students.

Join Me In Person!

  • 2024, July: Early Childhood Special Education Conference. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2024, April 16: Digital Coaching in Early Childhood Special Education. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2024, March 26: Improved Instruction in ECSE. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 29: Meaningful Math for CAN Students. Region 6 ESC. Huntsville, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 27: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 5 ESC. Beaumont, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 26: Literacy for CAN Students. Region 5 ESC. Beaumont, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 21: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 3 ESC. Victoria, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 20: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 20 ESC. San Antonio, Texas. Register Now!
  • 2024, February 16: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 15 ESC. San Angelo, Texas.
  • 2024, February 15: Community Instruction for CAN Students. Region 15 ESC. San Angelo, Texas.
  • 2024, February 14: T-TESS in the Low-Incidence Classroom. Region 10 ESC. Richardson, Texas.
  • 2024, February 14: Digital Coaching, How to Amplify Your Impact. Region 10 ESC. Richardson, Texas.
  • 2024, February 13: Meaningful Math for CAN Students. Region 11 ESC. White Settlement, Texas.
  • 2024, February 9: Literacy for CAN Students. Region 14 ESC. Abilene, Texas.
  • 2024, February 8: Meaningful Math for CAN Students. Region 17 ESC. Lubbock, Texas.
  • 2024, February 7: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 16 ESC. Amarillo, Texas.
  • 2024, February 5-6: Featured Presenter. TCEA Convention. Austin,Texas. (*Creating Accessible Digital Content for SWDs, *Differentiating Instruction with Digital Tools, *Amplifying Thinking Routines in Special Ed, and *Assistive Technology for SWDs)
  • 2024, February 1: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 18 ESC. Midland, Texas.
  • 2024, January 31: Community Instruction and Collaboration. Life Skills Institute- Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.

See Where I’ve Been…

2023 Training Events

  • 2023, December 12: Differentiation in Early Childhood Special Education. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, November 29: Loving Literacy for CAN Students. Region 6 ESC. Huntsville, Texas.
  • 2023, Nov 1/Oct 25: 6 Steps to Success in Early Childhood Special Ed. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, October 11: T-TESS Evaluations for Early Childhood Special Ed. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, September 19: Differentiation for CAN Students. Region 6 ESC. Huntsville, Texas.
  • 2023, August 9: Featured Presenter. Rolling Plains SSA, Texas.
  • 2023, August: From Chaos to Order: Productivity Hacks for Special Ed. SpEd Summit
  • 2023, July 11-13: Session Presenter. TPT Forward Conference, Massachusetts.
  • 2023, July 6-9: Session Presenter. Teacher Seller Summit, Virtual.
  • 2023, June 29: Keynote Speaker. Special Education Instructional Conference, Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, April 18: CBI, Collaboration & Communication. Life Skills Institute. Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, March 4: Keynote Speaker. Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas.
  • 2023, Mar 1/Mar 22: Instructional Hierarchy when Teaching SWSDs. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2023, February 20: Digital Coaching with Video & Videoconferencing. Region 10 ESC. Richardson, Texas.
  • 2023, February 16: Differentiation for Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities. Region 9 ESC. Wichita Falls, Texas.
  • 2023, February 15: Meaningful Math for LID Students. Region 14 ESC. Abilene, Texas.
  • 2023, February 13: Meaningful Math for LID Students. Region 16 ESC. Amarillo, Texas.
  • 2023, February 9: Differentiation for Students with LID. Region 17 ESC. Lubbock, Texas.
  • 2023, February 7: Meaningful Math for LID Students. Region 5 ESC. Beaumont, Texas.
  • 2023, February 6: Loving Literacy with LID Students. Region 5 ESC. Beaumont, Texas.
  • 2023, Jan 5/Jan 12: 6 Steps to Success in a LID Classroom. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.

2022 Training Events

  • 2022, December 13: Standards, Strategies, and Functional Skills. Life Skills Institute. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, Oct 6/Oct 20: Improved Instruction for LID Students. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, July 15: Differentiation for LID Students. Region 14 ESC. Abilene, Texas.
  • 2022, June: Antecedent-Based Interventions. Texas Autism Conference. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, May 10: Pedagogy for Teaching LID Students. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, April 11: Digital Coaching to Amplify Your Impact. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, April 7: Literacy for Students with Low Incidence Disabilities. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, March 11: Featured Presenter. Life Skills Institute. Region 3 ESC. Victoria, Texas.
  • 2022, Feb 15/Feb 22: Instructional Hierarchy when Teaching in LID. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, February 10: Standards and More in Life Skills. Life Skills Institute, Houston, Texas.
  • 2022, January 6: Paraeducator Partnership in LID Classrooms. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.

2021 Training Events

  • 2021, December 8: Featured Speaker. Leadership Conference – Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2021, Nov 10/Nov 17: Improved Instruction in LID. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2021, October: 6 Steps to Success in LID. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2021, June: Antecedent-Based Interventions. Texas Autism Conference. Houston, Texas.
  • 2021, May 10: Meaningful Math for Students with Significant Disabilities. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.

Pre-2021 Training Events

  • 2020, Featured Speaker. Texas Complex Access Network (TxCAN) in Partnership with the Texas Education Agency.
  • 2020: Session Presenter. Special Ed Teacher Training. Vidor ISD, Texas.
  • 2019: Speaker. Instructional Technology Leadership Academy. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2019: Session Presenter. Special Ed Teacher Training. Vidor ISD, Texas.
  • 2018: Meaningful Math for SWSDs. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2018: Loving Literacy for SWSDs. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2018: The Teacher-Para Partnership in Self-Contained Special Ed. Region 15 ESC. San Angelo, Texas.
  • 2018: Speaker. Digital Learning Conference. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2018: Speaker. Texas Assistive Technology Network Conference. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2017: Improved Instruction for SWSDs. Region 8 ESC. Pittsburg, Texas.
  • 2017: Speaker, Special Education Conference. Region 17 ESC. Lubbock, Texas.
  • 2017: Guest Speaker. New Teacher Cadre. Sam Houston University. Huntsville, Texas.
  • 2017: Presenter. Technology & Curriculum Conference of Aldine (TCCA). Aldine ISD, Texas.
  • 2017: Speaker. Texas Assistive Technology Network Conference. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2016: Presenter. Technology & Curriculum Conference of Aldine (TCCA). Aldine ISD, Texas.
  • 2016 Guest Speaker. New Teacher Cadre. Sam Houston University. Huntsville, Texas.
  • 2015: Adapting Novels for Students with Disabilities. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2014: Loving Literacy for SWSDs. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas.
  • 2014: Adapting Novels for Students with Disabilities. Region 4 ESC. Houston, Texas. 2014: Literacy for Students with Significant Disabilities. Region 3 ESC in Conjunction with the Texas Education Agency, Texas.

Train with Me Virtually!

Did my Texas Tour miss your neck of the woods? No worries, you can catch me virtually from the comfort of your classroom!

I have a ton of micro-learning opportunities for FREE in association with the Texas Education Agency and their SpEd Support Network. Maybe one of these sessions is for you:


Are You a Digital Creator? I’m Here For You Too!

I’ve spent a lot of time creating digital resources, websites, and content over the last decade-plus… and I’ve learned a few things. Let me show you some shortcuts, efficiency hacks, and best practices that will have you designing like a pro in no time!

Summer Sessions

TBD

Looking to get in on some summer PD all about being a better digital creator? Join my email list and I will let you know when I book new sessions!

TpT Forward

TpT – Boston

Leveling Up Your Products: 10 Ways to Differentiate and Add Value (Catch the Replay)

Anytime

Noodle Nook

Mastering Mockups in PowerPoint

Learn how to transform your mockups from meh to marvelous and up your online game and sales too.

Anytime!

Want Me to Join You?

Having an in-service day, teaching conference, or training event and want me to join you? Drop me an email at ajones@noodlenook.net and give me the details so I can send you a personalized bid.

You may be interested in one of these training sessions:

Great Sessions to Request Today!

Meaningful Math for Students with Complex Access Needs

This hands-on training sets you up for success!

Throughout this training, you are prompted to make activities and test out strategies with your students and their needs in mind. There are also tons of samples to see and role playing too. This training goes way beyond time and money, but there are strategies for those skills too. No matter the level of student you’re working with, your Math game will be on fire!

What attendees have said:

“Wow! I never thought to do some of the things that you talked about in your training with my students, but after sitting through the class and then taking all the games and activities we made back to my room, I had to try them with my kiddos to see what happened. They LOVED it- even kids that don’t like math or needed a lot of support. Everything we problem solved for my students worked. It has made a world of difference. Thanks.”  – Steven H. from Pittsburg, Texas

Literacy for Students with Complex Access Needs

This is not that training.

Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities like Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy deserve great first-time English instruction, but with so many different ability levels, levels of support, and individual goals it can be hard to put it all together. In this training, you will get strategies and activities to guide students from the pre-emergent level to the conventional level through all the pillars of reading outlined by the National Reading Panel.

Several strategies are demonstrated with video from actual classrooms and multiple activities are practiced in the session.  We also plan on scheduling in your classroom so you can meet all the different needs of your students. When you leave this training, you are equipped to succeed in reading and literacy instruction!

What attendees have said:

“The parents of my students are really concerned about them making gains in reading. I was a little freaked out. After this training I feel so much better. I never really understood how to teach reading much less how to teach reading to the students in my class- I came from alternative certification and this is my first year in the classroom. Now I understand how the pillars work and how to help my students actually make gains.”  -Kayti S. from Houston, Texas

The Teacher-Para Partnership

Whether your team is made up of seasoned vets or spanking new paraeducators, everyone can benefit from this training. It covers characteristics and strategies for students with the most common disabilities present in self-contained classrooms, it covers data collection as well as prompts and cues, and it covers classroom expectations for teachers and paras.

Note: This training has been presented to teachers alone, paras alone, and teachers & paras together- It always gets rave reviews! No matter where you are starting from, your team will be stronger and more effective after this training.

What attendees have said:

“I usually hate coming to these things, but this time the presenter was on point! The activities kept everything lively and there were several things I could take back with me and legit do. That’s what PD is supposed to be, right?”  -Tangi P. from San Angelo, Texas


And specific topics can be created by request, just ask! I have experience presenting at the campus, district, collegiate, and statewide levels and consistently receive positive feedback from teachers, administrators, coordinators, and specialists who walk away better equipped to handle the challenges a special needs classroom can present. Email me today at ajones@noodlenook.net to get in touch.