On Saturday, November 4, 2023, Sumner County Special Needs Collaborative hosted its first Town Hall event. The Town Hall-style forum was created to help parents be the best advocates for their students and to increase access to information.
First, participants had the opportunity to walk around to the different agency booths and learn about their services and programs. The agencies represented were: Mindful Voices Autism Consulting, ABS Kids Therapy, Tutor Doctor, The Arc Family Engagement in Special Education, Author and Advocate Mary Jackson, Autism TN, Champions of Autism, and We Rock The Spectrum Kids Gym.
Next, participants got to hear from four expert speakers on topics related to "Autism & Schooling. Susan Carr from The Arc spoke about "Family Engagement in the IEP." Attendees learned about parental rights and the IEP process. Then Chrissy Schenk from Mindful Voices Autism Consulting spoke about "Communication and AAC devices for nonverbal students." Attendees learned about AAC devices and some of the misconceptions about their use. Next, Mary Jackson spoke about "Services in School" and attendees learned tips on advocating for their students. Finally, Stacy Buzako from Champions of Autism spoke about "Accommodations and Modifications" and attendees learned about the differences between the two and got to see examples of them.
Finally, the speakers gathered together with Brittany Alden from ABS Kids to form an expert panel and attendees were able to ask questions in a Q&A format.
Overall, the event was very informative and we were so thankful to the business who donated door prizes, our sponsors, and Gallatin Shalom Zone for hosting the event. We plan to have more Town Hall Events in the future. To recommend a topic, you can comment below or email us at: sumnercountyspecialneeds@gmail.com.
Thanks to the sponsors: