This is a full day of sessions and discussions for Behavior Professionals.

Instructor: Shanya Luther, Founder and Director of Among Friends (pronouns: she/her)

It is important to know how to support someone who identifies as LGBTQ and experiences I/DD. Do you feel equipped to provide a safer space for sexual and gender minorities? Will you know what they are telling you about their identity and how that impacts their needs? Would you know what questions to ask and how to explore definitions with the person you support?

People who are LGBTQ+ are often marginalized and omitted from the dominant narrative about sexual development – and may even be afraid or unsure how to tell you about their needs. This training will help equip you to demonstrate an openness, respond thoughtfully, and give you strategies to support someone to explore their own identity.

Instructor: Kelli Downey (pronouns: she/her)

“All behaviors communicate a need.” You’ve heard the saying, you know it’s true, and yet sometimes you might find yourself feeling burned out trying to put that knowledge into practice. This interactive training lets us take a step back and provides tools to better understand ourselves and our responses to those behaviors that are challenging. We will explore the goals of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and discover ways to build supports that align with those goals. This training provides (virtual) space away from our day to day experiences so we can bring awareness to our thought patterns, reactions, and stress responses that are present when supporting others. This is a key foundation needed to help us respond with intention opposed to reacting to challenging behaviors.

The training includes resources and strategies designed for service providers supporting people who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, the content is applicable to anyone who is in a role where they are providing direct services to others.

Instructor: Shanya Luther, Founder and Director of Among Friends (pronouns: she/her) This training is designed for anyone supporting someone who experiences I/DD or neurodiversity. Self-stimulation can be awkward and embarrassing to talk about, but it is also the safest expression of a person’s basic, biological sex drive. It is critical to learn how to talk about and support this private topic in a professional manner – whether in team meetings, with family members or support workers, or with the person you are working with.