California MAP
California MAP
Working Together

Professional Development Opportunities Supporting Children with Disabilities: Virtual Conferences and Webinars

Find descriptions and links to upcoming virtual conferences supporting inclusion of young children with disabilities. Smaller bites of professional development are available with links to different webinars with an array of options to expand your knowledge in educating all children.

California Conferences

National Conferences

Upcoming Webinars

2024-2025 Beginning Together Webinars: Save These Dates!

Visit the Beginning Together Website for more information and flyers that will become available in the future.

  • September 26, 2024 - Communicating with Families When Concerns Arise
  • November 14, 2024 - Supporting Children with Behavior Adults Find Challenging
  • January 23, 2025 - Inclusion Works Part 1
  • March 6, 2025 - Inclusion Works Part 2
  • April 24, 2025 - Inclusion Works Part 3
Head Start Upcoming Events

These events are opportunities from across the early childhood field that may be of interest and helpful to the Head Start community. Some of them may charge a fee. Inclusion in this list does not imply endorsement from the Office of Head Start (OHS).

Recorded Webinars and Conference Sessions

2021 Early Edge California – Designing the TK World: Ensuring Equity for Dual Language Learners (DLLs)
  • October 20, 2021 Part 1: How to Design Your TK Classroom to Support Dual Language Learners
  • November 3, 2021 Part 2: Effective Classroom Practices for Equitably Serving Preschool-Age Dual Language Learners
  • November 10, 2021 Part 3: Dialogue with Early Learning and TK teachers: Learning how to transform challenges into opportunities

Please join us for a 3-part webinar series focused on supporting and affirming the needs and assets of preschool-aged Dual Language Learners, who represent a large and growing population of young children in California. This series, intended for teachers and administrators, will provide participants with practical strategies and takeaways to apply to their own contexts. The series will also feature expert practitioners from the field, who will share their experiences and key resources.

Building Blocks for Including and Teaching Young Children with Disabilities (Video)
Brookes Publishing | September 2019 | Lenth: 1 hour

This edWebinar provides information about the development, use and latest revision to Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs, a multi-tiered framework for planning and providing individualized support and instruction for young children with disabilities or other special needs. Learn about the four levels of support as well as practical, research-based practices for use in inclusive classrooms and other early learning environments. Become familiar with our various forms and resources for planning, teaching, and monitoring children’s progress. This presentation is of interest to preK teachers and school and district leaders, and early childhood faculty, early childhood special education faculty, and curriculum and instruction department chairs.

DEC and ECTA Equity Series: In Pursuit of Equity in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education

“This (free) five-part series will be offered live as well as recorded and available on the DEC website for future viewing.”

“Various experts in the field of early childhood special education and early intervention will discuss how to disrupt the pervasive inequities of our systems. Topics will include troubling notions of "at risk," challenging biases about families in home based services, suspension, and expulsion in early childhood settings, counteracting racism and ableism in early childhood systems, and engaging in systems change in pursuit of equity. Sessions will be offered live as well as recorded and available on the DEC website for future viewing.”

The June 7, 2021 webinar is with Dr. Rosemarie Allen. Dr. Allen takes a gentle approach to educating us about bias, race, and microaggressions in early childhood. She uses her personal experience to enlighten us and then provides actionable recommendations on what we can do to be anti-racist.

Early Start Online: Transition from Early Start

Transition From Early Start is a free self-paced online course focused on the transition of services for children with disabilities out of Early Start, early intervention, at age three. This course features 10 modules that focus on state and federal regulations governing the transition process, strategies for supporting families throughout their child’s transition, and the roles and responsibilities of Early Start Service Coordinators, local education agency (LEA) staff, family support personnel and parents. Modules are between 8 and 25 minutes long and takes approximately 2 hours to complete the entire course. No pre-registration is required.

Just login or sign up at CPEI Online. Check out other free online courses while you are there!

Equity Chat Series
  • Presented by: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)

The Equity Chat Series is designed to provide a forum to further dialogue on equity topics in order to support more equitable systems and strengthen culturally responsive IECMHC practices to reduce disparities and improve child outcomes. Recorded webinars and handouts are posted on this site. Below are the titles of the first three webinars in the series:

  • Equity Chat on Systemic Racism and the Consultative Stance
  • Equity Chat on the IECMHC Equity Toolkit
  • The Revised IECMHC Competencies: Examining the Role of the Consultant in Advancing Equity in IECMHC
Experiencing Inclusion Through the Pyramid Model
  • Date: March 19, 2021
  • Length: 54 minutes

The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children is designed to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities within community programs. In states where there is a focus on increasing the use of high-quality inclusion practices, the implementation and scale-up of the Pyramid Model offers an effective approach. Join us for a webinar featuring new products and resources focused on increasing the use of inclusive practices in Pyramid Model programs to better support children diagnosed with disabilities or needing individualized supports. Learn about important research, statewide implementation potential and an assessment used to support inclusive practices in the classroom.

Family Child Care At It’s Best (FCCB)

Family child care and family, friend, and neighbor providers are a critical source of support for working families. The Family Child Care at Its Best program delivers high-quality, research-based workshops that help home-based caregivers improve their knowledge, skills, and quality of care for working with mixed-age groups of children. FCCB is now offering two types of training:

  • Facilitator Training NEW! Trainers, coaches, and community leaders who provide support to family child care or family, friend, and neighbor providers can learn how to facilitate FCCB workshops and gain access to all necessary curriculum to offer FCCB workshops.
  • Direct Service Workshops are offered at no cost to the host agency. Simply complete the request form to choose from the available topics, languages, and date(s) you are looking for. You conduct outreach and registration, and FCCB does the rest! We will provide you with a flyer template, all needed materials, and an instructor to lead your selected workshop. Availability is based on current funding.
Head Start ECLKC: Inclusion Webinars
Head Start ECLKC

This 4-part webinar series focuses on practices that support the inclusion of children with disabilities or suspected delays and their families in Head Start programs. Experts and practitioners discuss how to create environments that support learning for all and share resources available on ECLKC.

A key goal of inclusive programs is to be aware of areas where each child has individual learning needs and match the type and amount of instruction we provide. This takes careful planning and happens through an ongoing process of providing individualized instruction, collecting data on how a child responds, and making data-informed decisions about how to adjust the level of support so the child can keep learning.

In Head Start, we call this ongoing cycle, Teach-Assess-Adjust! Join us to explore how disabilities services coordinators can help education staff to use the Teach-Assess-Adjust process to use highly individualized instruction. Discover resources - including a brand new mobile app! - that can support ongoing use of the Teach-Assess-Adjust cycle.

This webinar will have English and Spanish captioning.

Highly Individualized Practice Webinar Series

This webpage holds high-quality recorded webinars directly focused on resources and professional development related to inclusion. Here is a sample:

  • Inclusion Resources to Boost Professional Development
    Find out about best practices in the field of adult learning. Discover a range of resources from the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) and the Head Start Center for Inclusion (HSCI) websites. Learn how to use these resources for professional development and training with Head Start education, disability services, and mental health staff. These resources are useful for programs that operate virtually as well as those returning to in-person programming.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) for Everyone
    Discover ways to support young children with identified disabilities or suspected delays as they acquire science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) skills. Examine effective teaching practices to help them access and explore STEAM materials and concepts. Learn practical strategies to plan the learning environment and embed individualized learning opportunities related to STEAM.
Highly Individualized Practice Webinar Series
Head Start ECLKC

Find effective strategies that teachers, home visitors, and coaches can use in their efforts to support children with disabilities or suspected delays. The webinars in this series include:

  • Preventing Suspension and Expulsion of Children with Disabilities or Suspected Delays
  • Supporting Interactions for Children with Disabilities or Suspected Delays
  • Environments That Support High Quality Inclusion
  • IDEA 101: Partnering with Service Providers to Support Effective Inclusion
National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations – Recorded Webinar: Indicators of High Quality Inclusion: A Comprehensive Set of Tools
The Early Childhood Education Environment (ECEE) Indicators detail the key elements that are necessary for implementing high-quality inclusive practices in early childhood settings. They are designed to assist personnel in providing effective supports and services to young children with disabilities. It is assumed that all federal and state legal requirements are in place. These indicators are not meant to examine federal and state requirements. They are intended to enhance high-quality inclusive practices implemented by early care and education personnel. The ECEE Indicators detail 9 key elements that are necessary for implementing high-quality inclusive practices in early childhood settings. They are designed to assist personnel in providing effective supports and services to young children with disabilities. ECTA and the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations introduced the ECEE Inclusion Indicators in the fall of 2019 in the webinar, Indicators of High Quality Inclusion: A Comprehensive Set of Tools. On this web page you’ll have access to the archived webinar as well as related tools and information to support your understanding of the Indicators.
Program for Infant-Toddler Care (PITC) Past Webinar Events

Among the many high quality webinars that are available at this site, you can find the 2021 Webinar Series: Exploring Updates to Inclusion Works!, Second Edition: Universal Design for Learning and Practices to Support Best Practices for Inclusive Programs. Both are presented by Linda Brault.

Sesame Street in Communities: Webinars
Develop strategies for working with families. Certificates of completion available. Webinars in both English and Spanish.
Supporting Children with Disabilities Who Are Also Dual Language Learners
  • Presented by: Head Start, National Center for Quality Teaching and Learning
  • Length: 1 hour

In this hour long webinar, discover myths and facts about and ways to support children with disabilities who are also dual language learners (DLLs). Listen as presenters share high-quality screening practices to determine if a child who is a DLL needs further evaluation. Explore teaching practices for promoting engagement once a child has been identified as having a disability.

Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP) Archived Virtual Events

SIP provides a wealth of recorded trainings, podcasts, webinars, and other resources including content on Universal Design for Learning, equity in special education, designing inclusive preschools, a paraeducator series, and more. 

Teacher Time Series: 10 Tips for Creating Supportive Environments That Can Prevent Behaviors That Challenge Us
Head Start ECLKC | Published: August 11, 2022

You can prevent challenging behaviors in preschool-aged children by being intentional about and proactive in creating a supportive, inclusive environment. This special Teacher Time episode focuses on useful tips for setting up the physical environment, establishing routines, making expectations clear, and more. Taking these kinds of steps can support  children as they engage with their learning environment and transition from one task to the next.

Teacher Time Series: Infant Toddler Inclusion and Belonging
Head Start ECLKC

The new season of Teacher Time (2020–2021) focuses on inclusion and belonging with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families. Learn ways to support child and family inclusion and belonging in the learning environments and through learning materials. Three episodes are dedicated to infant and toddler teachers and family child care providers, and three episodes are for preschool teachers and family child care providers. Watch teachers and family child care providers use effective strategies to ensure all children and families can fully engage in learning opportunities and typical activities and routines across home, educational, and community environments.

These three episodes focus on supporting inclusion and belonging with infants, toddlers, and their families:

Technical Assistance Resources for Part C Eligibility
December 2023

Working Together to Support All Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Webinar Series

This webinar series highlights how federal agencies, State agencies, local programs, and families can work together to support infants and toddlers with disabilities' growth and development. Presenters will share new materials that highlight a vision for serving all infants and toddlers with delays and disabilities and provide strategies and resources on implementing an equitable and comprehensive system that identifies, locates, and evaluates infants and toddlers with delays and disabilities. 

Understanding Inclusion Training Modules for Families and Caregivers
  • Presented by: Early Choices
  • Date: February 2021
  • Language: Available in English and Spanish

The Understanding Inclusion series contains 6 topics that explore key ideas about inclusion in early childhood. The series covers a range of topics from defining inclusion to understanding the benefits to advocating for inclusion. This is a series of bite-size videos with embedded resources and activities to help understand, promote, and advocate for inclusion for children birth to age 5. Developed for families with family input, it is just as meaningful and useful for practitioners working with families who have children from birth to 5.

In each module topic, a topic guide is available for reflecting and applying what you learn to your own experience. The guide also has additional resources to explore the topic further.

We hope this series supports you on your journey of inclusion and provides you with resources that you can share and build upon.