Cindy Medici, Michael Muldoon

Speaker Bio:

Throughout her twenty-plus years in education, Cindy Medici has advocated for equity, belonging, and acceptance for students with disabilities. As a FIN facilitator, she has worked with many schools to develop collaborative systems and processes for including students with ASD. Most recently, she co-authored, with Dr. Phyllis Jones, a set of lessons for developing Peer Supports in Elementary classrooms. These lessons are being used by General Education teachers to prepare all students to effectively learn and live together.

As the regional facilitator for the Florida Inclusion Network at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Mike Muldoon provides educators and families with information, technical assistance, and learning opportunities on a variety of topics related to inclusion/access to general education curriculum for students with disabilities, including students with autism spectrum disorders.  Prior to working for FIN, Mike served as the Florida Department of Education’s statewide program specialist for low-incidence programs including programs for students with autism, mental handicaps, and deaf-blindness.  Mike also has extensive classroom experience working with students with intellectual disabilities and ASD. 

Title Session 1/3:

Tips and Strategies for Including Students with ASD in the General Education Classroom

Description:

Do you want to build more inclusive opportunities for students at your school? We will be sharing ideas for including students with ASD gathered from inclusive schools throughout the state of Florida. We will also review a process for developing a more inclusive school with support from FIN.

Objectives:

1) Describe five or more strategies for including students with ASD in the general education classroom.

2) Identify benefits of planning for school-wide change.