AC21 - D4 - Assume Competence: Working Better with Parents with Intellectual/Developmental Disability and their Young Children

Lindsay is a mom of 2 girls. She is a strong self-advocate for her kids and others. She has (formally) worked with the ARC of Hamilton County and Hamilton County Developmental Disability Services. Lindsay is a Partners in Policy graduate. She is also a graduate of PATHS (Providing Alternative Thinking Strategies). Lindsay has presented at many conferences, workshop and a webinar. Her experiences as a parent are appreciated by parents and professionals.

Dr. Elliott is a clinical psychologist who currently serves as the Senior Director, Clinical, Training & Evaluation Services, at Easter Seals Vermont. In that position, she is responsible for statewide training of all contracted providers of family-centered practices for Department for Children and Families Vermont, supervision of psychologists and clinicians providing clinical consultation to staff, supervision of child-parent psychotherapists, and program evaluation projects. She is a rostered Child Parent Psychotherapist who serves families in their homes as possible and works to elevate the voices of parents involved with the child welfare system. She is a National Trainer in Family Time/Visit Coaching, a Fellow with the Institute for Social Innovation of Fielding Graduate University, and a Board Member of The Association for Successful Parenting.

Dr. Nicole Brisson is the owner and director of Sage Haven Associates, a private practice that provides consultation, training, and assessment services to meet the needs of parents and children with disabilities involved in the child welfare system. Dr. Brisson is a licensed mental health counselor and holds a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in psychology and specialization in intellectual and developmental disabilities. She developed and taught a course at the University of Vermont on child welfare and parental disability and holds a consulting and assessment contract with the Vermont Department for Children and Families. Dr. Brisson testifies in court and conducts competence-based parenting evaluations for parents with disabilities throughout the country. She was named as a nationally recognized expert in assessing parents with disabilities by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services. Her work was cited in their joint letter regarding the investigation of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, which in turn resulted in the release of a technical assistance report to child welfare agencies nationwide regarding the rights of parents with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.