New England Early Intervention Conference 2017

2017 CALL FOR PROPOSALS Due Date: January 15, 2017 Conference: June 14-15, 2017 Westin Hotel Portland, Maine

New England Early Intervention Conference 2017 Sponsored by Maine Child Development Services and Early Start Maine, we invite you to submit a proposal for the New England Early Intervention Conference 2017, the 1st Annual Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families, at the Westin Hotel in Portland, ME.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Title 12 word limit Abstract A brief overview of the session, roundtable, or workshop you are proposing. This will be used in the conference program. (50 word limit) EI Recommended All potential presenters must identify EI Recommended Practices that will be addressed Practices (Use DEC during the session. DEC Recommended Practices may be found at: http://www.dec- Recommended Practices sped.org/recommendedpractices for guidance). Description The description must include clearly stated learner outcomes or objectives for your session. The proposal should include alignment to the EI Recommended Practices you have highlighted. The content should lead to productive outcomes for young children and their families across a spectrum of diversity (ability, cultural, linguistic, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, among others). Proposals should be relevant to family members, early interventionists, early childhood and early childhood special education professionals, related service personnel, and policy makers representative of cross-sector personnel. Strong proposals will include a description of evidence of the effectiveness of the content or how the information presented adds to the research. Additionally, strong proposals will include a description of how the content supports a deeper understanding of the EI Recommended Practices you have highlighted. (500-word limit) Expected Participant Identify measurable participant outcomes describing the impact on participants in terms of Outcomes the highlighted EI Recommended Practices. This information will be used to help evaluate your proposal during the review process. (100-word limit)

SESSION TYPE

Conference Sessions 15–18 concurrent conference sessions are offered during each time slot. Length of session (60–120 minutes) is determined by the Program Committee (maximum of six presenters). Poster Sessions Posters are offered during a 75-minute period. Each poster is displayed on a 4’ x 8’ board with presenters available for discussion. Student Poster Sessions Student posters must be submitted by individual(s) currently enrolled in either a graduate level or undergraduate level program. Faculty advisors may be listed as a co-presenter. Pecha Kucha Sessions Sessions featuring several Pecha Kucha presentations will be scheduled at various times during the conference. Pecha Kucha presentations are short, focused, energetic talks where presenters have 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds. These sessions provide a great opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers in a condensed timeframe. Presenters have just 6 minutes and 40 seconds to explain their ideas before the next presenter takes the stage. Fifteen minutes for questions will be included at the end of all presentations giving audience members time to ask questions of the presenters.

FOCUS YOUR PROPOSAL

Target Audience The NEEI Conference attracts a diverse group of attendees, and we seek proposals that are specifically targeted to these five groups: administrators, faculty, families, practitioners, and researchers. Content Level To ensure a well-rounded program and provide content that appeals to new attendees as well as those who have a sophisticated understanding of early intervention/early childhood special education, each proposal must identify the level of content provided: introductory, intermediate, or advanced. Age Level The NEEI Conference seeks proposals addressing the age range from birth through age 5. Proposers will be asked to identify the following age levels: B-3, 3-5, B-5.

CONFERENCE STRANDS

Practice This strand emphasizes approaches, models, and interventions linked to improved outcomes for young children and their families. Proposals addressing evidence of EI Recommended Practices that are designed to plan, revise, and evaluate intervention effectiveness are encouraged. Included in this strand are curriculum models and instructional approaches that support the implementation of EI Recommended Practices, specifically in community-based inclusive environments. Also included in this strand are recommended assessment practices that reflect culturally and linguistically responsive approaches to information gathering that are appropriate for the child’s age and level of development and include family for decisions around eligibility, ongoing assessment of learning targets, and program planning. Family and Practitioner This strand emphasizes approaches, processes, and resources that promote family-guided Collaboration interventions inclusive of family-centered practices, family capacity-building practices, and family and professional collaboration. Practitioners build trusting and respectful partnerships with families. These practices include consultation, coaching, and other approaches used to enhance the skills and abilities of family members to work together to achieve mutually agreed upon goals and outcomes that promote child and family competencies. DEC Recommended Practices include engaging families in opportunities that support and strengthen parenting knowledge and skills in ways tailored to family preferences. Research This strand emphasizes research addressing a wide range of early childhood topics. Proposals should include detailed descriptions of participants; research questions; rigorous quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodology description; relevant findings and anticipated outcomes; and implications for use of DEC Recommended Practices. Also included in this strand are evaluations that include descriptions of the collection, synthesis, and interpretation of information aimed toward community or individual programs. Professional This strand emphasizes approaches, models, and interventions used to support the Development understanding and implementation of EI Recommended Practices. This strand includes a wide range of facilitated learning opportunities in community-based inclusive settings (including the home) resulting in positive outcomes for families and young children of diverse abilities and backgrounds. Policy This strand emphasizes content, methods, or approaches that address systems-level issues, systems change, legislative mandates, policy development or the implications of policy for practice, and program administration and management related to young children with disabilities and their families from a variety of backgrounds (cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, religious, ethnic, immigrant status, among others). Sessions may address EI Recommended Practices across practices.

SUGGESTED TOPICS Not limited to the following:

Autism Substance-exposed infants Disability specific practices Behavior management Feeding/Nutrition Working with caregivers with mental health concerns Infant mental health EI recommended practices Trauma Cultural and/or Linguistic diversity Sleep Adverse childhood experiences Art and Music for EI Visual impairment, deafness, hard of hearing, deafblindness Transition from EI to 3-5 Parent/family perspectives/partnerships Inclusive classroom practices Administration/supervision in EI Assessment in EI Teacher accountability/effectiveness Social/Emotional practices Personnel preparation/professional development in EI RTI for EI/ECE Multiple disabilities Tribal families/communities Military families Fatherhood involvement Attachment Brain development Early literacy Poverty Reflective approaches to practice Regulation Relationship-based practice Screen use Language development (including dual language)

Both research ideas and evaluation proposals can be submitted to other strands if these strands are a better match. For example, a research question could be addressed in the Policy strand or a promising practice could be evaluated in the Practice strand. However, presenters may only submit one proposal to a strand and not submit the same proposal to multiple strands.

TIMELINE

January 15, 2017 Due Date for All Conference Proposals (closes at 11:59 PM EST) March 1, 2017 Notification of Acceptance (notice will be sent via email to lead presenter only) March 15, 2017 Due Date for Presentation Confirmation by Lead Presenter March 15, 2017 Due Date for Early Bird Presenter Registration (all lead and co-presenters must register for conference) April 1, 2017 Registration closes at 11:59 PM EST

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted online. You are encouraged to complete, edit, and revise your proposal offline before submitting through the automated proposal system. Step-by-step instructions and detailed submission instructions are listed on the Call for Proposal information document. Technical assistance will be provided via e-mail at [email protected] E-mail addresses used in proposal submissions must be valid through the end of the conference in June. This is how we communicate with our presenters. If an e-mail address is invalid, potential presenters will not receive communications or notifications regarding the status of their proposals. Submission deadline for all proposals is January 15, 2017. Late proposals will not be accepted. The same proposal can only be submitted for one session type. Individuals can only appear as the lead presenter on one proposal for each session type. A lead presenter may appear as a co-presenter on other proposals. Individuals may only be listed as presenters if they will be physically present at the conference and presenting their materials. After submitting a proposal, you will receive a confirmation notification. It is always advised to draft your proposal offline. Proposal submitters will receive notification of their acceptance or rejection to the NEEI Conference via email. Accepted presenters will be required to complete and sign a presenter agreement describing the details of their session before they will be confirmed as a NEEI 2017 session. All presenters (including co-presenters) must register for the conference. A discounted registration fee for presenters is available. However, the discount is only available to presenters who register by March 15, 2016. Registration closes April 1, 2017 at 11:59 EST.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL ONLINE

Proposal submissions will be accepted online at https://new.umaine.edu/neeic/home/call-for- proposals/cfp-form/. Submit a proposal for a session, poster session, student poster session, or roundtable discussion. The online proposal submission system is easy to use.

QUESTIONS

NEEI Conference staff members are pleased to answer your questions and assist you throughout the proposal submission process. Please contact us if you have any questions about submitting your proposal or our online submission process or if you would like to know more about how NEEIC proposals are reviewed.

Contact:

Deborah L. Rooks-Ellis, Ph.D. Assistant Professor/ Early Intervention & Autism University of Maine 207-581-2352 [email protected]