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Wellness
Community Connections in Physical Education 
Presenter: Megan O'Connell-Copp and Kelsey Linsenberger
Adapted Physical Education Teachers
Perkins School for the Blind
  • At Perkins, we prioritize building strong partnerships with the community to provide enriching, inclusive experiences for all our students. Community fitness and recreation classes help to build a student's toolbox to promote independence and awareness of community-based education experiences. This class was designed to bridge students' physical education with real-world recreational and fitness opportunities, giving them hands-on experience in community settings like local community centers, parks, fitness centers, and accessible sports programs. Throughout this presentation, we discuss how some of the following promote independence, bridge between school and the community, and can meet the needs of each individual student: customized equipment, specialized instruction, environmental modifications.
  • Recorded at the "Focus" Conference on October 7, 2025
  • CEUs: ​None available; Certificates of Attendance by request
  • Length: 51 minutes
  • If ASL Interpretation is needed, please contact [email protected]. 
  • Resources:
  • REGISTER to view this free session. Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration. 
Friends Matter! One Friend Can Change Your Whole Life
Presenters: Zach Rossetti- Associate Professor, Boston University, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
Maureen O’Rourke King- Parent/Regional Trainer, Department of Developmental Services, Southeast Region
Self-Advocates:  Colleen Goff, Brenda Hunt, John Shimkus, Tricia Phillipe
  • Friendships are personally valuable and developmentally important relationships for all people, yet friendships between individuals with and without intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) and vision loss remain infrequent. This panel presentation will share personal stories of social successes and challenges, as well as research-based strategies to promote authentic friendship between individuals with and without I/DD and vision loss.
  • Recorded at "Focus" Conference on October 3, 2023
  • CEUs: ​None available; Certificates of Attendance by request
  • Length: 53 minutes
  • REGISTER to view this free session. Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration. 
​Supporting Caregivers: Using Guided Imagery Focused on Relationships to Improve Mood
Presenter: Felipe A. Jain, MDDirector of Health Aging Studies, Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General HospitalAssistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical SchoolMember of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard-MIT
  • Providing care to a person with a chronic or debilitating illness, whether as a family member or professional, can be challenging and stressful. Caregivers often struggle with a balance between empathizing with the pain of the person living with illness and maintaining their own personal sense of wellness. The balance between providing appropriate care for the realities of illness and holding normal “expectations” for what the person living with illness can do is sometimes unclear. Finally, caregivers often have difficulty maintaining a balance between attending to their care recipient’s needs and engaging in healthy and fulfilling activities for themselves. The stresses of caregiving challenge the caregivers’ ability to understand the care recipient, the dynamic and changing social situation, and themselves.
  • Recorded at "Focus" Conference on October 3, 2023
  • CEUs: ​None available; Certificates of Attendance by request
  • Length: 51 minutes
  • REGISTER to view this free session. Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration. 
Building a Healthy Meal  (#3 in Nutrition Series) See "You Are What You Eat"  and "Anatomy of a Food Label" below.
​Presenter: Marcia Richards, MEd, RD, MCHES
Anatomy of a Food Label (#2 in Nutrition Series) See "You Are What You Eat" below. 
​Presenter: Marcia Richards, MEd, RD, MCHES
  • In this prerecorded session you will learn:​​
    • Health impact of overweight/obesity and prevalence among individuals with vision impairment
    • Review of information found on food labels including ingredients, health claims, nutrient claims, nutrition fact panel, Daily Value, and portion size
    • Resources for facilitating label reading for individuals with vision impairment
    • Focus on added sugar and how this impacts weight management
    • Portion size
    • Resources (links) and tools for individuals with vision impairment to assist with accurate portioning
  • Recorded for "Focus" Talks on July 25, 2022
  • CEUs: none
  • Length: 20 minutes
  • Resources: REGISTER to view this free session.  Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration. 
 
You Are What You Eat (#1 in Nutrition Series) See Anatomy of Food Label above. 
Presenter: Marcia Richards, MEd, RD, MCHES
 
New Ways Caregivers Can Benefit from Guided Imagery: A Focus on Mentalizing, Mindfulness and Connectedness
Presenter:  Felipe A. Jain, MD,  Director of Health Aging Studies, Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
  • Providing care to a person with a chronic or debilitating illness, whether as a family member or professional, can be challenging and stressful.  Caregivers often struggle with a balance between empathizing with their care recipient’s pain or distress and maintaining their own personal sense of wellness, between providing appropriate care for the realities of illness versus holding normal “expectations” for what their care recipient can do, and between attending to their care recipient’s needs and engaging in healthy and fulfilling activities for themselves.  The stresses of caregiving challenge the caregivers’ ability to understand the care recipient, the dynamic and changing social situation, and themselves.  One approach that can help caregivers thrive is that of using mindful guided imagery techniques to facilitate greater self and other understanding, or balanced mentalizing, while recognizing concepts of connectedness emerging from a modern physical understanding of the structure of the universe to provide solace and inspiration.  Dr. Jain will outline this approach, the evidence for its use in caregivers based on research at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Harvard Medical School, and measurable changes in brain connectivity that result from practicing these techniques.
  • Recorded for "Focus" Talks on February 22, 2021​
  • CEUS: None available; Certificates of Attendance by request
  • Length:  44 minutes                                     
  • Resources: Free website with Mental Imagery Therapy (MIT) techniques: https://fernhillcenter.org  
  • REGISTER to view this free session.  Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration. ​   
Friends Matter! One Friend Can Change Your Whole Life
  • Presenters: Colleen Goff, Training Consultant; Maureen O'Rourke King, M.Ed., DDS SE Region Learning and Development; Luke Hutter Ross, Trainer; Zach Rosetti, Ph.D., Boston University, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
  • Friendships are personally valuable and developmentally important relationships for all people. Yet friendship between individuals with and without intellectual developmental disabilities or vision loss remain infrequent. People with intellectual disabilities can really be faced with challenges of loneliness on a higher level.  This panel discussion will share thoughts on friendship and strategies for growing friendships.  
  • Recorded for "Focus" Talks on November 5, 2021
  • CEUS: None available; Certificate of Attendance by request
  • Length: 59 minutes
  • Register to view this free session. Please Note: The date you will see when registering for the "Focus" Talk is the date that the presentation was recorded. All "Focus" Talks are available for viewing immediately after registration.
Let's Get Moving: Exercise Considerations During COVID
Presenter: Matt LaCortiglia, M.Ed, CSCS, CIFT, Adapted Physical Education Teacher
Deafblind Program, Perkins School for the Blind
For more information please contact: 
Lisa DiBonaventura,  M.A.,  COMS
Statewide Director Vision & Vision Loss Services
Department of Developmental Services  (DDS)
131 Emerald Street, Wrentham, MA 02093
Email: [email protected]
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"Focus" on Vision and Vision Loss: Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Intellectual Disability