Please contact us for more information about our current workshops or creating a custom workshop for your district.
ACCEPT offers on-site and live zoom professional development workshops to address the unique needs of educating a diverse range of student learners in public schools.
Our presenters have expertise in a wide range of topics in the field of education and inclusive practice. Drawing from current best practices, including DESE recommendations and relevant research, we use a variety of active-participation techniques to keep participants engaged.
Sample of Current Available Workshops:
How Special Education Team Leaders Can Be Prepared for IEP Meetings
Specially Designed Instruction, Differentiation & Co-Teaching
- Trauma-Informed Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
- Transition Planning
- The Concepts & Strategies of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for Educators
- Maximizing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in the School Setting: Strategies to Take AAC Beyond the Speech Room
- Registered Behavior Technician (RBT®) Training Course for Paraprofessionals
**All workshops are also available in a live online format via Zoom
Customized Workshops/ Series:
ACCEPT Consultants are available to create customized Professional Development options tailored to your staff’s needs. Common options include half-day PD, full-day PD, and multi-session PD series (spanning the school year), as well as opening day Keynotes. ACCEPT Consultants also offer follow up job-embedded coaching/consultation to support individuals in incorporating new skills into practice. Pricing for customized workshops is available upon request.
Current Available Workshops
How Special Education Team Leaders Can Be Prepared for IEP Meetings
This training is designed for team leaders to elevate their expertise in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The focus will be on professional best practices before, during, and after the IEP meeting. We will also discuss some communication and conflict-resolution techniques to skillfully manage difficult or sensitive topics and build genuine partnerships with parents and guardians, ensuring a high-quality, individualized program for every student and the team they are working with.
Fading Support
Focused on the process of fading supports for students receiving special education services, this workshop will explore why and how to fade both academic and behavioral supports in order to reduce learned helplessness, strengthen executive functioning skills, and move students toward greater independence in authentic learning environments. The session will address legal considerations related to fading support and will examine the progression from intensive supports to more generalized, consultative models that promote skill transfer and real-life application.
Participants will practice taking an existing support plan and developing a thoughtful fade plan, ensuring fading is systematic, data-informed, and student-centered. Special attention will be given to communicating proposed changes effectively with families and team members, addressing concerns, and building shared understanding.
Specially Designed Instruction, Differentiation & Co-Teaching
This workshop is designed to support educators in strengthening their use of specially designed instruction (SDI), effective co-teaching practices, and purposeful differentiation to meet the needs of diverse learners. Using Anne Beninghof’s research-based books as mentor texts, participants will explore practical, classroom-ready strategies that align with inclusive practices and high-impact instruction. This session is ideal for general education teachers, special education teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators seeking to strengthen inclusive instruction and collaborative teaching models.
Safety Care Training
Safety-Care training for schools offers prevention-focused crisis management for K-12 staff, teaching de-escalation, physical safety, and behavioral support skills to reduce restraints and injuries, aligning with PBIS/MTSS frameworks to create safer, more positive environments for students with challenging behaviors. It emphasizes verbal and non-verbal strategies, physical management techniques (like the Small Person Stability Hold for younger kids), and proactive classroom structures, making it suitable for teachers, aides, administrators, and even transportation staff.
Trauma-Informed Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
Trauma has a pervasive impact on a child’s development, often manifesting in challenging behaviors at school that interfere with his/her ability to learn. Best practices in accordance with Federal and State mandates require schools to conduct Functional Behavior Assessments for students who exhibit challenging behaviors in order to develop effective Behavior Intervention Plans. This workshop will examine the underlying principles behind Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and review how FBAs can be used to decrease or prevent problem behaviors in schools. A specific focus will be placed on conducting FBAs for students with trauma histories and aligning assessment practices with a Trauma-Sensitive Schools framework. Participants will be provided with a step-by-step guide for conducting FBAs in schools, including learning how to identify which challenging behaviors to address, selecting members of a FBA team, measuring behavior, gathering information using various interview forms and screening tools, directly observing and recording challenging behavior, analyzing data, and planning an intervention. A variety of different assessment tools will be shared and practiced during the workshop, including recommended assessment procedures based on students’ learning profile and presenting problems. Additionally, sample reports and behavior plan templates will be shared with an emphasis on building participants’ knowledge of function-based behavioral interventions. directly observing and recording challenging behavior, analyzing data, and planning an intervention.
Transition Planning
This workshop is designed to support educators, administrators, related service providers, and transition specialists in developing high-quality transition plans. Participants will deepen their understanding of state and federal requirements with a focus on effective transition planning. They will explore best practices for creating plans aligned with students’ strengths, interests, and preferences. Participants will learn how to use age-appropriate transition assessments, engage students and families as active partners, and coordinate with community agencies. Through practical examples, case studies, and interactive activities, attendees will gain tools and strategies to improve compliance, strengthen IEP transition components, and promote equitable, student-centered planning.
The Concepts & Strategies of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for Educators
Using a multi-tiered system of support model (MTSS), this hands-on workshop will introduce participants to the key components of successful SEL practices in school communities. Participants will leave with a clear vision for high-quality SEL implementation, a deeper understanding of the benefits of these practices, and ways to embed SEL opportunities into daily classroom routines and instructional approaches. An emphasis will also be made on strategies for collaboration with general education teachers and special education teachers/related service providers as a means of creating a more robust SEL framework within the school culture. A variety of learning activities will be integrated into the workshop to support the content and to actively engage participants.
Maximizing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in the School Setting: Strategies to Take AAC Beyond the Speech Room
This workshop will explore augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in the school setting, with a focus on expanding AAC to all aspects of our students’ school day. We will begin with the guiding principles and best practices of AAC, in addition to legal requirements related to regulations and guidelines set forth by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Practical ideas for implementation using low-, mid-, and high-tech AAC strategies in the classroom will be explored, with an emphasis on supporting students with a range of learning needs in inclusive settings. Additionally, common classroom AAC challenges will be discussed, as well as potential solutions using an interdisciplinary team intervention model.
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT®) Training Course for Paraprofessionals
Description: This course will introduce participants to basic concepts and principles of Applied Behavior Analysis as they relate to children and adolescents. Participants will become knowledgeable about evidence-based interventions, based on the principles of behavior, for intervening on behalf of students within the public school setting. Specific topics include assessing behavior, strategies to reduce challenging behavior, skill acquisition, data collection, documentation and reporting, and professional conduct/ethics. This is a fully online course that follows the topic schedule and learning objectives identified on the Registered Behavior Technician™ (RBT)* Task List. *Note: This training program is based on the Registered Behavior Technician Task List and is designed to meet the 40-hour training requirement for the RBT credential.The program is offered independent of the BACB.