Register for Summit 2021 Now!

Saturday, October 23, 2021

 Registration is open!

Summit was birthed out of NCHE’s desire to support and encourage those educating exceptional children at home. Come and be refreshed, equipped, and encouraged by our wonderful Summit speakers and the opportunity to fellowship with other parents homeschooling children with learning differences or other special needs.

Cost: Attend for just $55 for individuals and $60 for couples when you preregister! Prices at the door will be $75/$80

Location: Oaklawn Baptist Church, 3500 Kernersville Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27107

 

Summit Registration includes all workshops, breakout sessions, lunch, and snacks.

 

Summit Schedule

Check in & onsite registration 8:15 – 8:45
Main session: 9:00-10:00
Breakout 1: 10:10-11:10
Breakout 2: 11:20-12:20
Lunch: 12:20-1:00
Breakout 3: 1:10-2:10
Breakout 4: 2:20-3:20
Coffee break: 3:20-3:35
Final main session: 3:45-4:45
Closing: 4:45-5:00
 
 
 
 

Summit Workshops Just for You!

Transition to Adult Life: Action Steps : My child with special needs is turning 18.  What do I need to do?

Medicaid Waiver Explained : What is it and why does my child need it?

Special Needs Planning Overview: A 30,000 foot view of the components needed to provide for two lifetimes of support.

Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts: A discussion of these essential planning tools.

Homeschooling Teens Who Struggle: This workshop addresses some of the challenges associated with teaching struggling or atypical learners at home in the high school years. Do you have questions such as “How do I award my child with special needs a diploma?” or “What do I do since my child with dyslexia can’t read typical high school level material?” Faith discusses alternative coursework, specialized curricula and learning materials, assistive technology, transcript options, possible graduation guidelines, high school programs for special learners, and post–high school options. She also offers tips for navigating the process of applying for testing accommodations for College Board tests.

Developing and Drafting Student Education Plans: Does your child have a learning disability or severe special needs? Have you pulled your child out of public school where he used to have an IEP (individual education plan)? Participants of this workshop learn the purposes and benefits of an SEP (student education plan), the homeschool version of an IEP. This workshop also provides guidance on drafting an SEP. Participants look at sample student education plans and receive a template of a Student Education Plan as well as a resource list of books that will assist them in drafting their own homeschool student education plan.

Teaching Struggling Learners at Home: Nuts and Bolts for Success: This workshop offers practical resources, lists of materials, and curricula to equip you as you work with a struggling learner in your homeschool.  Faith explains multi-sensory teaching methods, direct instruction, modeled teaching, and “scaffolding” instruction. She also shares ideas for designing a unique home instruction program tailored to your child’s specific challenges.

What every Homeschooling Parent Needs to Know about Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: This workshop addresses a crucial but frequently misunderstood topic related to special needs homeschooling. In this power-packed workshop, Faith explains the difference between accommodations and modifications, describes 504 Accommodation Law, and answers homeschooling parents’ most frequently asked questions, including: Can I give accommodations to my child on end-of-the-year standardized tests? What type of documentation is needed to do so? How do homeschoolers apply for special testing accommodations for college entrance exams? What documentation is required by the College Board and ACT in order for my high schooler to be considered for and granted special testing accommodations? Should high school students with disabilities discuss and disclose their diagnosis during the college application process? Can my college student receive accommodations? What accommodations are colleges required to provide to students with disabilities? Faith also shares a disability resource guide for teens and young adults.

Reading Feels IMPOSSIBLE….Does My Child Have Dyslexia? What Does That Even Mean?:  When a homeschooled child seems to flounder for no easily identified reason, parents often exhaust themselves in their search for answers. Dyslexia can be one of many diagnosis in a plethora of issues impacting learning. At some point a parent may wonder if there might be a learning disability at the root of their child’s struggle, and if starting there is key. Kristen has designed this workshop to help parents sort out the difference between routine struggles and those that could well be a learning disability. What is Dyslexia? If you think it is only transposing letters…you need to come to this workshop! We will also explore reasons you may or may not decide on formal testing and how to go about doing that.

1/3 of all Learners Struggle Because of the Way They are Taught….Many Parents Will Recognize Themselves! – Visual-Spatial Learner?? How Your Child May Learn Differently:  Aha! That moment when you finally hear your child being described and you don’t feel so alone. What does it mean to be a visual-spatial learner? Visual imagery plays a significant roll in their learning. If you show them directions to a model airplane…they are overwhelmed before you begin…BUT, show them the model first and the directions make sense! Come learn more on how these learners thrive and ways that you can adjust your teaching and curriculum to reach them.

Teaching Children That Struggle:  A learning disability or learning challenge presents many unique obstacles to any parent teacher as they search for the most effective way to teach their child. Based on solid research, this workshop is designed to present teaching strategies and adaptations that have been shown to effectively meet the needs of students who struggle with various learning disabilities.

Multi-sensory Teaching: A Game Changer Everyone Should Understand:   For decades, learning specialists have understood the power of multi-sensory teaching. Often associated with learning disabilities, this dynamic teaching strategy has found a home in many non-disability settings as well. This workshop is designed to explain the research-based thinking behind multi-sensory teaching methods. Practical suggestions will be given for adding this powerful strategy to your own classroom.

What Moms NEED for the Special Needs Learner Journey:  Whether you have an official diagnosis, or simply suspect that something is just not clicking the way it should, your journey with a special needs learner is unique. Beyond the search for an effective curriculum, there is much more to learn in order to be the most effective parent/teacher for your beloved child. Join us for a helpful and encouraging discussion of the challenges and hopes you can find with a special needs learner.

 

 

Summit Featured Speakers

 

Kristen Eckenweiler

Kristen Eckenwiler graduated with honors from the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Masters degree in Reading.  Kristen left the classroom to write reading curriculum with her husband who has a Doctoral Degree in Reading. Homeschool families were in dire need of material they could relate to when their child struggled to learn to read. Kristen has worked with families of struggling learners consistently for the last 19 years while she has stayed home to homeschool her two sons. She knows the heart of a homeschool parent because she has one!  She is not the specialist that will imply in any way that your child cannot succeed and soar at home. She stays very busy testing, tutoring, and providing a variety of products and services through her educational business, The Struggling Reader.  Kristen has been speaking at conferences all over the United States in the areas of Reading, Reading Challenges, Best Teaching Practices for those that Struggle, What is Dyslexia? and Encouragement for the parents in the trenches. She is a firm believer that EVERY child can learn…so they are Learning DIFFERENCES, not Disabilities. She brings both a wealth of knowledge and a visible passion to all of her workshops.

Kristen Eckenweiler, The Struggling Reader

 

Candise Miller

Candise Miller has used her educational and career experiences to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She began working with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2010 as a respite care provider with the guidance of a supervising special education major with a behavior analytic approach. The ground work for her future aspirations were set here. In 2016, her experience in providing direct ABA therapy began as she assumed the role of a behavior technician. This is where her love for understanding challenging behaviors took flight. This motivated Candise to pursue her master’s in education with a focus in ABA. Upon finishing her coursework and supervision, she became a BCBA in 2019. Through Candise’s educational and career experiences, she gained her passion for working with families to decrease maladaptive behaviors in the home by increasing communication and adaptive skills within the home. She has expanded her experiences of ABA to the school setting as well. She works with teachers to apply basic behavior analytic strategies within the classroom to students on the spectrum. If you find Candise outside of work, you might see her packing a bag for an outdoor adventure with her husband and 15 month old daughter. She is currently looking forward to their annual fall camping trip and seeing her little one soak in the new experience

Candise Miller, ABA Therapist

Faith Berens

Faith’s own learning struggles and diagnosis of dyscalculia compelled her compassion for other bright but struggling students. A fifteen year teaching career before she became a homeschool mom included both public and private schools, tutoring, and working as a reading specialist. Her specific area of expertise is the identification and remediation of reading difficulties. As an extroverted-introvert who is a lifelong learner and an avid reader, her 2008 transition to homeschooling her own two children was a natural one. Faith currently applies her passionate advocacy for special needs students as she speaks at homeschooling conferences across the nation and internationally. She also serves as Special Needs Consultant for Homeschool Legal Defense Association in addition to having her own in-home, private practice as an educational diagnostician. Faith’s articles have been published in several national homeschooling magazines, and she has been the guest of several homeschooling podcasts.  Faith holds the following credentials: B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from West Virginia University; M.Ed. in Reading from Shenandoah University; Certification as a trained dyslexia intervention specialist through the National Institute of Learning Differences; Certification in Equipping Minds Cognitive Curriculum.

HSLDA Special Needs Consultant

A Special Needs Plan Representatives

A Special Needs Plan Inc. is a nationwide special needs planning advisory firm founded to serve special needs families, often struggling with the worry that comes with planning for the future care and financial well-being of their loved ones. For more information, see link below.

A Special Needs Plan  

 

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