College of Education News

Attend the 5th Annual Richard L. Simpson Conference on Autism

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Currently, more than 16,000 children who attend school have an autism diagnosis or autism special education eligibility.   

The Richard L. Simpson Conference on Autism helps educators learn more about how to teach people with autism.  

For the first time, the conference is coming to Missouri State University.  

This learning and networking opportunity will take place Oct. 5-6 at Plaster Student Union.  Anyone interested in autism is welcome to attend.  

The conference includes two keynote sessions, a workshop, three breakout sessions and two lunches. 

Registration is required and is open through Sept. 29. Early bird registration is open until Sept. 22.  

Regular registration costs $215, and early bird registration costs $175. 

Register for the conference 

History of the conference

Richard L. Simpson was a beloved Kansas University (KU) faculty member. He taught many educators across the Midwest about teaching students with autism before he passed away in 2017.  

He was a pioneering member of the team that established the Midwest Symposium on Leadership in Behavior Disorders (MSLBD), a multistate effort for educators trying to improve behavioral outcomes for students.   

The MSLBD spawned the Richard L. Simpson Conference on Autism, which focuses more narrowly on autism. The name of the conference was a tribute to Simpson after he passed away. 

The conference has been held yearly on the KU Edwards campus in Overland Park, Kansas. However, Project ACCESS teamed up with MSLBD to bring this year’s conference to Missouri State. This will allow more rural educators in southwest Missouri to attend. 

“At Project ACCESS, we like to focus on the different abilities instead of disabilities of our friends in the autism community,” said Mike Garton, staff member at Project ACCESS and instructional tech support specialist at Missouri State. 

“Each year at Rich Simpson, one of the keynoters is a person with autism, and we never cease to be amazed by the delightful, talented folks that we have the good fortune to meet. Please join this year’s group of educators who are striving to better serve these students.”

Furthering the COE’s mission 

More than 10,000 Missouri special educators are responsible for assuring children with autism receive what federal legislation refers to as Free and Appropriate Public Education.  

The College of Education at MSU serves a pivotal role in preparing educators to help students with autism to: 

  • Achieve independence. 
  • Master the necessary communication skills to self-advocate and function in a social world. 
  • Experience life-outcomes of happiness and self-fulfillment.    

Attend the Richard L. Simpson Conference on Autism to expand your toolkit and help children with autism thrive. 

About the conference 

Gaining access to the world

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Imagine walking down a sidewalk, getting on a bus or boarding a plane.  

Now imagine accomplishing them without sight.  

Missouri State University’s orientation and mobility (O&M) program trains students how to assist individuals with visual impairments. This includes providing individuals with the tools and experience they need to navigate the world independently.  

Missouri State also offers the blindness and low vision teacher education (B&LV) program. The program ensures that teachers can provide the accommodations necessary for students with visual impairments to excel in the classroom. 

“Blindness and low vision are low incidence disabilities, so they can get pushed aside,” Dr. Shari Scott, B&LV program coordinator, said.  

“Even if you have just one person who needs Braille or access to large print, it’s worth providing that support.”  

The O&M and the B&LV programs at MSU recently received national accreditation from the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI). 

The difference access can make  

Providing visually impaired students with accommodations in the classroom is crucial to allowing them to participate in everyday life.  

Dr. Christopher Craig, deputy provost at MSU, learned this at a young age when attending the Missouri School for the Blind. He credits the school with much of his success in discovering how to navigate his environment despite his visual impairment.  

“Part of what I’ve been able to do in my life, including being deputy provost, is because I had a strong skill base for learning how to cope and communicate,” Craig said. “Every kid deserves to be taught reading by a qualified teacher.” 

The blind and low vision certification ensures that students with visual impairments can manage classroom materials like textbooks, course websites and other media that is consumed visually.  

As the skills needed for success go beyond the classroom, the orientation and mobility program covers everything from cane skills to public transportation and metro travel. 

To get an O&M certification, students spend more than 20 hours under a blindfold learning the skills they will be teaching to individuals with visual impairments.  

“Even if someone can read Braille and access the world digitally, they may not feel comfortable hopping on a plane and going to Brazil,” Scott said. “Learning orientation and mobility opens up the world.”    

Explore the O&M program  

A broader vision  

Craig began developing these programs at MSU with the hope that they would produce the specialized instructors needed to better serve people with visual impairments.  

“I started this program in Missouri because there were children with visual impairments who needed greater care. They weren’t learning Braille, communication skills or how to use assistive technologies,” Craig said.  

“There also was nothing in Missouri to help these children learn how to physically get around.”  

With proper accommodations, people with visual impairments can meet their full potential alongside their sighted peers.  

“Having a job brings self-fulfillment and self-actualization,” Scott said. “If you have a sensory deprivation, such as hard of hearing or blindness, you can benefit from a specialized instructor to help you navigate functional skills. 

“One of my former students was the first blind student to go to Columbia University in New York. The things he is doing in journalism today are totally amazing.” 

MSU is bringing these necessities to students who need them, providing opportunities for them that would otherwise be inaccessible.  

“This is bigger than just the university,” Scott said. “The K-12 kids in Missouri who don’t have instructors are front and center for us, but preparing specialized instructors goes beyond that. We are part of a global endeavor to improve accessibility.”  

About the accreditation 

While the B&LV program receives its teacher-certifying credentials from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the AERBVI accreditation endorses the program as effective preparation.  

For the O&M program, the AERBVI is the certifying body. The accreditation allows for students in MSU’s O&M program to graduate fully licensed.  

MSU is one of just 12 universities with an accredited O&M program across the United States. 

Learn more about the accreditation 

Creating pathways for paraeducators

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Missouri is facing a teacher shortage.  

Information from Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shows that special education teachers rank in the top three certification areas in need of fully certified teachers to fill vacancies across the state. 

Faculty in Missouri State’s  College of Education are striving to create a solution to this shortage. They developed Pathways for Paraprofessionals, an alternative pathway to certification for paraeducators in Missouri schools.  

Paraeducators assist special education teachers throughout the school by supporting individualized education plans across academic and behavioral realms. 

“Paraeducators are already working in special education and already have a desire to work with kids with special needs,” said Dr. Reesha Adamson, associate professor in the department of counseling, leadership and special education (CLSE) at MSU. “We had to think about how we can support this population of individuals in accessing a degree.” 

Eliminating barriers 

The Pathways for Paraprofessionals program is funded as part of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. It’s designed to remove many of the barriers that prevent paraeducators from returning to college and completing their degree. 

“Pathways for Paras is a great way to ‘think outside of the box’ as we attempt to increase the number of people who will become teachers,” Dr. Jon Turner, associate professor in the CLSE department, said.  

Learning at work 

While it is not uncommon for paraeducators to be in the traditional degree program, the traditional path is not always conducive to students who work full-time.  

“We created a track where school districts partner with us to develop cohorts within their districts,” Adamson said. “The track is unique because about half of the classwork for those final two years is taught at the school district.”   

Bringing the classwork to the districts has several benefits, allowing teachers to focus on the curriculum in the schools where they already work. 

“They’re able to talk about best practice as it applies to their school district’s curriculum and then walk out the door and immediately apply those practices to the job that they’re doing every day,” Adamson said.  

Finding financial resources 

One of the biggest barriers for nontraditional students is a lack of financial assistance.  

“Many potential teachers cannot travel the traditional route to get a teaching degree,” Turner said. “They need a job while they pursue their degree and just can’t afford to attend college full-time.”   

The U.S. Department of Labor recognizes paraeducator as a skilled apprenticeship, allowing Pathways for Paraprofessionals to be designated as an apprenticeship program. 

This opened funding opportunities, making higher education achievable for nontraditional students who are already working as paraeducators.  

“For paraeducators who are interested in this program: Do not let anything stop you from achieving your dreams of higher education,” Adamson said. “There are so many resources out there. Our goal is to try to make this as affordable as possible for each individual in this program.” 

Explore the Pathways for Paraprofessionals track 

Decision to move back home pays off

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Taking the local path toward success

After starting college at a small, liberal arts school in Ohio, Mary Ortman wanted to find a more affordable option for her education.

Enter her hometown institution, Missouri State University.

“I moved back here because it was going to be a lot cheaper (to go to school at MSU), so I loved it,” she said. “I loved being a part of studies and going to classes and learning things and having the professors really care about you.”

And the outcome?

Four years after transferring to MSU, Ortman had earned her bachelor’s degree (special education/cross categorical), her master’s degree (special education – autism spectrum disorder emphasis) and landed a teaching job in the Springfield (Mo.) R-12 School District.

Learn more about ASD graduate programs

A mentor, a relevant educational experience

As an undergraduate and graduate student in the Department of Counseling, Leadership and Special Education (CLSE), Ortman received the guidance and support she needed.

With Dr. Linda Garrison-Kane as her advisor, Ortman conducted research and gave presentations at a handful of national and regional conferences.

  • International Conference of Applied Behavior Analysis
  • Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders
  • Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Conference

As an undergrad, she presented findings from a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) at a College of Education symposium.

“I had classes with Dr. Garrison-Kane since I think my second or third year here and she really just took me under her wing as far as conferences and data and everything,” Ortman said.

Ortman researched many aspects of special education teaching, including the benefits technology can have on special education students in the classroom. She’s put her degrees to practice in her current job at Ozark Middle School.

Alex Beckman and Mary OrtmanFrom friends and classmates to colleagues

Any person who has job hunted knows the importance of networking and having an “inside” source.

For Ortman, that person was her friend and former classmate, Alex Beckman.

Beckman began teaching at Ozark Middle School in 2011. When a special education teaching position became available in 2015, Beckman reached out to Ortman, who had taught for two years in Springfield.

Ortman and Beckman built a friendship at MSU as classmates, talking about everything and anything in special education.

“We took a couple of classes together and I think we sort of connected with our weirdness,” Ortman said. “And we went to a lot of conferences together and we just hung out at conferences. We both have an interest and passion for special education.”

Congratulations to Dr. Megan Boyle

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Dr. Megan Boyle’s in-depth research into treatment options for children with autism spectrum disorders is featured in the 2021 issue of Mind’s Eye. The full story is available on the site now.  

Here is an excerpt:  

Wandering and bolting are both considered eloping – a term used for leaving an area without permission. It’s a problem behavior, especially for children with autism. 

That’s why Dr. Megan Boyle, associate professor of special education at Missouri State University, researches the whys behind this largely under-studied behavior. 

She’s a board-certified behavior analyst, runs a clinic for children with autism spectrum disorders and prepares the next generation of educators for behavior issues in the classroom. 

Read the full story  

Congratulations, Dr. Boyle!