Positive Behavior Supports Workshop
March 20th, 9:00am- 4:00pm
Please join us on Wednesday, March 20th for an all-day PBS workshop. Your trainers, Laura O'Rourke (Behavior Bridges) and Shaun Wood (Wise), will be leading a hands-on workshop that will focus on developing both an understanding of the fundamentals of behavior and the skills to deploy creative accommodations and supports.
This workshop is for both new and experienced employment consultants.
Morning coffee and lunch will be provided.
Positive Behavior Supports in Supported Employment
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) systems are empirically validated approaches to reducing challenging behaviors by understanding what they communicate and teach functional skills that meet the same need. To reach the mission of typical employment for all people who experience disabilities, supported employment professionals need to understand the fundamentals of behavior, to develop function-based hypotheses, and deploy creative and smart accommodations and supports in community settings.
Meet the Trainers:
Laura O'Rourke, M.Ed, BCBA
Laura is the founder and Executive Director of Behavior Bridges, LLC. She has a master of science in special education, has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2006, and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Over the past 15 years, Laura has spent much of her time working with individuals across the lifespan who have autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability addressing challenging behaviors and skill building. Laura has experience in home, school, community, work, and center based settings. Individual technical assistance experience includes: job skills training, functional behavior analysis, environmental modifications and supports, proactive behavior supports, task analysis, communication training and crisis intervention. Laura's aim is to equip individuals with the tools and strategies they need to independently identify and navigate their employment goals. Laura has had the pleasure of providing consultations, workshops and services across the United States and internationally. She has taught graduate level courses and has been a guest lecturer for several universities. Laura currently enjoys serving as a behavior consultant, therapist, and trainer at the individual and program level across the state.
Shaun Wood, M.Ed, BCBA
Shaun is a community developer who is passionate about social justice and equality of opportunity, and has worked to support people with disabilities since 2002. Since then, he continues to work in schools, people’s homes, and job sites helping to build inclusive communities. Shaun is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a certified Employment Specialist. He served in the United States Peace Corps in Bulgaria and surrounding countries, and has both his M.Ed. in Applied Behavior Analysis and his B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights from the University of Washington. Shaun is particularly interested in using ABA, emerging technology, reflective processes, and mentorship to drive employment outcomes. When he isn’t working, he enjoys tending to his garden, drinking black coffee, staring at his topical fish tank, and jogging circles around his small hometown of Burien, Washington.