32. Student Led IEPs: Description and Implementation
Speakers: Heather Saus, M.Ed., Elizabeth Young, AuD, Jennifer Craig, AuD, Erin Campion, M.Ed. , Amanda Winnor
Session Handout:
Presentation Slides
B.E.S.T Handout Slides
Session Description:
This session will focus on Student Led IEPs and how to implement them. We will use research and data to show the importance of including the student and family in this process. Student-led IEPs help to promote transition skills and self-advocacy, highlight competence, and student development. Westmoreland IU 7 will discuss their implementation and provide examples of their successes with student-led IEPs. Participants will gain background knowledge, engagement tools, rationale, and the ability to incorporate these strategies in their classrooms.
Credits: Act 48, ACVREP, ASHA, Psych
Audience: Special Education Teachers, Teachers who work with students who are blind or visually impaired, Teachers who work with students with hearing loss, Teachers who work with students who are Deaf-Blind, Teachers/other professionals who work with students who have sustained a traumatic brain injury, Speech therapists, General Education Teachers, Supervisors/Administrators, Assistive Technology Specialists, Occupational Therapists and/or Physical Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, School Counselors and/or School Psychologists, Parents, Guardians, Family Members, Paraprofessionals, Anyone working with a student in special education
Speaker Bios:
Heather Saus received her bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education, with a dual certification in Elementary Education, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For the first four years of her teaching career, she worked in Virginia. While there, she continued her education by obtaining a master’s degree in Special Education at Old Dominion University. In 2002, she was hired by the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit as an Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She has over 20 years’ experience working with students who have hearing loss.
Dr. Elizabeth Young is the educational audiologist for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7. She obtained her Doctorate of Audiology degree from West Virginia University in 2017. She is a member of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Young’s interests include pediatric audiology, hearing assistive technology, and student transition services. She serves as the coordinator of the B.E.S.T (Building Experiences for Student Transition) Program. The B.E.S.T. Program is offered to students in Westmoreland County that receive Deaf/Hard of Hearing Services and/or Vision support services. The program focuses on student transition, including but not limited to, college tours, culinary lessons, resume building, and student-led IEPs. She lives in West Virginia and enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
Dr. Jennifer Craig has spent the majority of her professional career at The Western PA School for the Deaf as the Educational Audiologist, Outreach and Parent Infant Coordinator as well as serving as a clinical supervisor and part time professor at The University of Pittsburgh teaching Audiology Assessment, Educational Audiology and Anatomy and Physiology of Hearing before joining PaTTAN as an Educational Consultant. Jennifer did her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh where her experiences led her to a path in hearing health care and deaf education. Jennifer’s professional goals include promoting outcomes comparable to hearing peers for all children who are deaf and hard of hearing, deaf /blind, communication access, and seamless cooperation between clinic and school needs as well as family involvement.
Erin Campion, M.Ed. is the Parent Consultant at the PaTTAN Pittsburgh office and the Parent Coordinator for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Initiative at the PaTTAN Harrisburg office. She is also an office lead on the Family Engagement Initiative and serves on the Secondary Transition Initiative. Prior to joining PaTTAN, Erin was a classroom teacher for almost 20 years, teaching students from preschool through college. She has a Masters in Education from Regent University and has served on several statewide advisory boards within deaf education and the field of disabilities. She is a happily married mother of four: two deaf/two hearing, two boys/two girls, and has one beloved grandchild!
Amanda Winnor earned her undergraduate degree in Hearing & Speech Sciences from the University of Maryland in 1999 and her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from West Virginia University in 2000. In 2011 she obtained her Supervisor of Special Education Certification from the University of Pittsburgh and then earned her Doctorate in Education Administration and Leadership in 2022 from Pennsylvania West University. She also holds her Superintendent Letter of Eligibility. Dr. Winnor has worked for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit for over twenty years as a speech-language pathologist and special education supervisor in early intervention and school-age programs. Currently, she oversees the School-Age Speech Language Program and Sensory Impairment Program at the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit. Dr. Winnor is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence and her PA State License in Speech-Language Pathology.