Special Education Service Agency

Webinar: Tactile Communication Across the Spectrum
2026-01-27 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Anchorage)
Click HERE to register!
Day 3 of the Tactile Sign Language Webinar Series. This session will address a variety of concepts that increase the autonomy, access, and literacy skills of young learners with dual sensory loss, including coactive movement and co-presence. Specific focus will be on Protactile Language principles, a touch-based language developed by DeafBlind adults, and its applicability to young learners.
Learner Objectives 1. Participants will learn the concepts of coactive movement and co-presence that provide increased access and autonomy to young learners who are DeafBlind. 2. Participants will recognize the benefits of touch at an early age to encourage the development of trust, social awareness, and early literacy skills. 3. Participants will learn successful “non-traditional” touch strategies, as modeled by DeafBlind adults.

Webinar: The Power of Touch for Learners who are DeafBlind
2026-01-20 11:00 - 12:30
Click HERE to register!
Day 2 of the Tactile Sign Language Webinar Series. This session will provide an understanding of the power of touch for learners with combined hearing and vision loss. Aspects of the neuroscience behind touch will be reviewed, as well as respectful hand use.
Learner Objectives 1. Participants will recognize the role that neuroscience plays in relation to touch for all learners. 2. Participants will learn how the emotional and distinctive aspects of touch cannot be separated in the processing of information. 3. Participants will identify the benefits of touch at an early age to encourage the development of trust, social awareness, and rapport.

Webinar: Understanding Learners with Various Sensory Needs
2026-01-13 11:00 - 12:30
Click HERE to register!
Day 1 of the Tactile Sign Language Webinar Series. This session will provide an overview of the various lived experiences of students with combined hearing and vision loss. Various etiologies will be described to provide a broad understanding and the implications of multi-sensory loss on the learning process and availability for learning.
Learner Objectives 1. Participants will recognize the potential impact that dual sensory loss has on young learners with complex needs and language acquisition. 2. Participants will identify etiologies/complex syndromes that have a potential impact on availability for learning. 3. Participants will list strategies that are considered best practices in deafblind education that will assist in increasing a child’s access to communication and language development.

SESA FY26 Winter Board Meeting
2025-12-11 09:00 - 12:00 | 2600 Denali St suite 200, Anchorage, AK 99503 & Zoom
Topic: FY26 SESA Winter Board MeetingTime: Dec 11, 2025 08:30 AM AlaskaJoin Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/81624444628?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 816 2444 4628Passcode: [REDACTED]

Webinar: ABCDEs of Water Safety for Children with Autism presented by Dayna Harvey
2025-11-13 12:00 - 13:00
Click HERE to register!
Learn about strategies, resources, and hands-on tools to help keep your child with autism safe in and around all water environments.

Webinar: What's New in Chromebook Accessibility!
2025-10-30 11:30 - 13:00
Click HERE to register!
Attendees will gain an understanding of the latest Chromebook assistive technologies. We will explore assistive technology such as enhanced low vision and magnification tools, Chromevox, the built-in screen reader, live captions, improved dictation, reading mode with read aloud in the Chrome browser, and new accessibility settings. Participants will discover how Chromebooks empower individuals with diverse abilities, fostering greater independence and inclusion. Real-world examples and a Q&A session will offer practical insights and solutions.
Presented by Mariah MoonChromebook & Android Large Screen Accessibility Product Manager Lead·Google

Webinar: Facilitating and Supporting the Social-Emotional Development of Learners Who Experience Deafblindness - Session 2 presented by Dr. Susan Bashinski
2025-10-28 11:00 - 12:30
Click HERE to register!
Although this session could prove beneficial as a “stand-alone” session, it will likely be much more beneficial if the participants attend session #1, also. This second session will incorporate and build upon concepts presented in the first. Key content will include: • Elements important to building trusting relationships• Ways in which to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of relationships with peers, family members, and educational team members• Benefits of participating in group work in general education classrooms• Strategies for supporting natural social interactions between learners who experience deafblindness and the groups named immediately above • Strategies for teaching peers to meaningfully interact with a learner who experiences DB

Webinar: Facilitating and Supporting the Social-Emotional Development of Learners Who Experience Deafblindness - Session 1 presented by Dr. Susan Bashinski
2025-10-27 11:00 - 12:30
Click HERE to register!
This session will include foundational information regarding the domains of social and emotional development for learners who experience deafblindness. The presenter will discuss both the content central to the domains of social and emotional development, as well as strategies for facilitating learners’ skill development in these areas. Key content will include: • Importance of emotional development and the role of social skills to both school and post-school success • Criticality of trust when working with learners who experience deafblindness • Interconnectedness of trust and social-emotional development • Building a learner’s positive self-image • Connecting the identification and communication of one’s own feelings to a positive self-image • A close examination of social skill development: what, how, when, and where these skills can and should be introduced and practiced • Ways in which to partner with families to facilitate social skill development

Webinar: Making Materials Clear: Practical Cognitive Accessibility for Alaskan Classrooms presented by Rain Breaw Michaels (CPWA)
2025-10-16 11:00 - 12:30
Click HERE to register!
As educators, we know that barriers to learning and comprehension aren’t always visible. Students with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or other cognitive disabilities and differences often struggle not with the content itself, but with the way it is presented in digital documents, emails, and online tools.This hands-on session, led by Google Staff Design Manager and cognitive accessibility expert Rain Breaw Michaels, will cover immediate, actionable strategies to improve the clarity and usability of every lesson.What you will learn:Quick Wins for Readability: Discover the simple document settings (fonts, spacing, color contrast) that reduce cognitive load for all students.The Power of Chunking: Learn how to organize complex information into smaller, digestible ‘chunks’ using headings, lists, and visual cues, making long, complex documents, assignments, and presentations easy to navigate.Mastering Built-In AT: Get live demonstrations and practice using the free, powerful accessibility tools already built into your Chromebooks, Chrome browser, and Google Workspace for Edu (Docs, Slides, etc.). This includes text-to-speech features, reading modes, and custom display settings.Designing for Independence: Understand how these practical design techniques don’t just help with meeting compliance standards, but actively support student executive function, memory, and comprehension.The goal of this training is to give you a checklist of practical strategies you can apply the very next day to create a more inclusive, accessible, and successful learning environment for all of your students.

Accessing the Wide World of Print Webinar Presented by Leslie Weilbacher, ATP
2025-10-02 11:30 - 12:30 | https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_39JJcOW1TRSJiUfa0KWKRQ
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_39JJcOW1TRSJiUfa0KWKRQ
Join us to explore different ways to access print. From magnification and large print to digital resources and text-to-speech. We will look at what makes a document accessible and where to get more resources to support print access.

The Low-Hanging Fruit of Assistive Technology Webinar Presented by Yue-Ting Siu, TVI/O&M, Ph.D
2025-09-18 11:30 - 13:00 | https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GiXjIF_9QFuOYr9S_KCsqg#/registration
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GiXjIF_9QFuOYr9S_KCsqg#/registration
Despite IEP recommendations for assistive (or access) technology (AT), many students with disabilities do not willingly embrace using technology that sets them apart from peers. This can occur due to mismatches between recommended technology and what a student is ready for, or well-intentioned but misguided introductions to AT. As a result, students with limited “buy-in” do not use the AT they need to fully engage with information in the classroom and community. In order to mitigate students’ resistance to using AT, readily (and often freely) available technologies for text-to-speech, magnification, and picture-based communication can be introduced first to develop students’ confidence and access habits. By leveraging so-called “low-hanging fruit”, students can be empowered to experiment with AT on their own terms while developing their sensory efficiency skills for more sophisticated AT usage.
This presentation will identify solutions that teachers, related service providers, parents, and paraeducators can implement immediately with students who can benefit from AT. Themes of empowerment and self-determination will inform recommendations for student-centered introductions to technology and highlight examples of how students can feel valued in the entire AT journey from assessment to instruction. The ultimate goal of the presentation is to provide practical, immediately usable, and easy-to-implement strategies for introducing and teaching AT to students. With emphasis on a more self-determined learning curve with AT, practitioners and students alike can feel less overwhelmed by technology and embrace new tools and ways of information engagement with joy and excitement.

Manual event example
2025-08-21 08:00 - 17:00
