Category: Special Populations, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, Webinars With Closed Captioning Category: Special Populations, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, Webinars With Closed Captioning (show less)

Description: Practitioners proofread their reports to check for spelling, grammar, and writing mechanics. But do they check for inclusive, bias-free, and neurodiversity-affirming language? School psychologists should use inclusive language to avoid perpetuating prejudicial beliefs or demeaning attitudes in their writing. This requires avoiding language that perpetuates harm or offense. This presentation will cover topics including person-first versus identity-first language, avoiding condescending terminology when describing different abilities, describing different levels of functioning based on needs, avoiding false hierarchies such as centering neurotypical development, and using respectful language to describe family circumstances that play a role in a child’s presentation at school.
 
Learner Objectives
 
This session will help participants:

1. Describe the impact of using neurodiversity-affirming language in report writing.
2. Apply an inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming, and bias-free writing style. 
3. Apply report-writing strategies that empower parents to participate in the IEP process.