News & Events

Tell us about the conference, workshop or training you attended.

What are people saying about our conferences after attending them?

Each year the Anne Carlsen Center hosts conferences, workshops and training sessions, examining a wide array of topics for parents, professionals and interested groups. Below is a sampling of what some of these attendees had to tell us:

Learning another approach to autism
Jennifer Miller
Bismarck Public Schools
K-6 Special Education
I am learning another approach to autism … another way to reach kids, especially when it comes to the social piece. I am learning more about how to make eye contact with them, for example, and paying attention to facial expressions.

New way to think about communicating
Beth Jones
Bismarck Public Schools
Special Ed Coordinator
This is a new way to think about communicating with a child. Gestures, facial expressions and emotion are important and can be integrated into any kind of activity.

I’ll be able to help provide more support
David Kosmatka
Central Middle School, Devils Lake
Social Worker
This has been beneficial in that I have learned more about autism than what I knew before. In the future, I’ll be able to help provide more support and guidance.

New information is very helpful
Debbie Gietzen
Souris Valley Social Services
With autism on the rise, any new information is very helpful. This (conference) focuses on spending more time with parents and helping them have a more integral role in programming. Because each student’s needs are so different, having one more methodology to pull strategies from is very helpful. (With RDI) it’s not just about looking at the symptoms, it’s about looking at the root causes.

Connect on their level
Joe McNeil
Standing Rock Reservation
Parent
(Relationship Development Intervention) fills in the emotional component, which can be hard to get when you have a child with autism. I’m learning how to slow down the interaction and connect on their level … letting the child be part of creating the relationship. I think that’s what I will benefit most from at this conference.

Strategies that make sense
Sheila Halvorson
Dakota Prairie School District
Speech Language Pathologist
I’ve learned a lot. I plan to try the strategies I’ve learned today. These approaches sound great … they make sense. This is the second workshop hosted by ACC that I have attended. They have both been very helpful

Provides some new ideas
Robert Gleason
Jamestown
Parent
This provides some new ideas and approaches for enhancing communication with my daughter. I am always looking for new approaches.

Learn new techniques
Robbie Gregoire
East Grand Forks
Area Special Education Cooperative (14 schools)
Most of the children I work with have autism. For me, I was motivated to come here to learn new techniques. My job involves consulting one-on-one with parents. I want to be able to teach them how to work with their children. I’m looking forward to bringing back what I’ve learned today and sharing it with other staff members.

This has been very validating
Jami Edwards
Parent
This (conference) has been very validating. It makes sense. It some cases, these are things I am naturally doing. I know now that I am on the right track. Still, I can pay more attention to what (my daughter) is saying and react to it differently.

Provided some fresh ideas
Beth Coppin
Jamestown
Anne Carlsen Center
Speech Language Pathologist
Focusing on the social aspect of communication can be difficult, but (Dr. James MacDonald) has provided some fresh ideas on how to try different approaches with students.

These techniques will be helpful
Patrick Uhrich
BIA Dunseith Indian Day School (K-8)
Special Education Instructor
This is very helpful information – and not just for teaching late-talking children. For students who are very shy and introverted, these techniques will be helpful, too. Today I’ve learned that I need to patiently wait for a response… and accept the response even if it’s not the response I’m after.

This has been very helpful and relevant
Kelli Beckmen
Dickinson Early Childhood Center
Speech Language Pathologist
He (Dr. James MacDonald) has provided a lot of information on verbal and nonverbal play therapy. He really focuses on the precursors to language, which we don’t hear much about in college. This has been very helpful and relevant to working with pre-school age students.

This is helpful advice
Renee Hulm
Cannonball Elementary
Special Education/Early Childhood Education teacher
This was informal and practical. We’re not being promised miracles. Instead, this is helpful advice on how to engage a child … and keep that child on task. The videos are also wonderful.