Trainings covered dual diagnosis, a complex and often-overlooked condition that can interfere with a child’s ability to learn.
A group of 87 special education teachers and professionals from east and north Texas recently completed training as part of Project TEDD: Training Educators in Dual Diagnosis, an initiative to address a state need for K-12 educators who specialize in teaching students with dual diagnosis of an intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) and a mental health condition.
Participants completed a workshop hosted by Texas Tech University's Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities to learn necessary skills for recognizing, understanding and working with individuals with dual diagnosis. The workshop also prepared trainees to teach those same skills to others.
“We are excited to announce our Project TEDD graduates, and we thank them for their commitment to serving children who have a dual diagnosis,” said Devender Banda, Project TEDD director and professor of special education at Texas Tech. “Because of their hard work, more Texas students will get the support they need to thrive and feel fully included in their communities.”
A total of 70 school districts in Education Service Center (ESC) Regions 6-10 were represented at the trainings. A list of participants from each ESC Region can be found on the TEDD website.
“This training provided a new perspective on student behavior and how to approach the needs of the students we serve in a more holistic manner,” said Ruth Rohrbach, a behavior specialist at Winnsboro Independent School District (ISD). “Often the mental health needs of our most vulnerable students are overlooked due to a lack of understanding and training. Project TEDD seeks to remedy this problem by training trainers throughout Texas who can take the information to their entire districts, especially leadership and special education staff.”
Project TEDD participants also included a team of educators from a special education program in Plano ISD called Rise, designed specifically for students with dual diagnosis.
“This training helps us reinforce many of our current practices or make adjustments to ensure that our students are getting the most positive and effective support,” said Mackenzie Casall, executive director of student support services at Plano ISD.
I/DDs are severe, chronic disabilities that occur before the age of 22, such as autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. A dual diagnosis refers to individuals with an I/DD who concurrently experience a mental health condition.
Project TEDD provides training in the areas of identification, referral, assessment and behavior and academic best practices. Participants also learn crisis intervention, working with families, collaboration and communication. This new knowledge enables educators to make meaningful changes in their school districts and support collaboration with agencies outside school settings serving individuals with dual diagnosis.
Project TEDD was launched in 2020 with a five-year goal of partnering with all 20 ESCs in Texas to deliver direct training to 400 special education professionals who will themselves provide training to at least 2,000 other educators, parents and related service professionals.
“Fortunately, we have had several teachers across the five regions exceed our expectations by already training 94 other individuals in their districts about dual diagnosis," said Stephanie Barbre, project manager for Project TEDD. "We are excited that our initial outreach for the year is off to a strong start, and we hope to meet our annual goal of reaching 500 more individuals by March.”
Applications will open in April for year four of the program, which will cover ESC Regions 11-15. Project TEDD is open to anyone who works in K-12 special education, including teachers, licensed specialists in school psychology (LSSPs), educational diagnosticians, school counselors, special education counselors and behavior specialists.
Project TEDD is coordinated by Texas Tech and funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD). The mission of TCDD is to create change where all people with disabilities are fully included in their communities and exercise control over their own lives.