CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS: HOW DTs EMPOWER FAMILIES AND BECOME A PART OF THEIR STORY

The IDTA is proud to announce our 9th annual conference exclusively for the developmental therapists in the field. This will be an excellent opportunity to connect with your peers, gain tips to further your practice, honor the achievements of Developmental Therapists with the Wehman Award of Excellence and The Benny D Rising Star Award, and celebrate all that has been accomplished in our field.

We are excited that you have made the commitment to join your fellow DT colleagues to continue to expand our knowledge together and learn from leading experts in our field. 

This page will serve as your portal to everything that you may need throughout the day. Here you will be able to do things such as:

Keynote Speaker:  Dr.  Sadia Batool

Sadia Batool, born and raised in Dubai is a physician by qualification with a current focus on supporting families and professionals in the Early Childhood Systems. Her passion for the Early Childhood field stems from her personal experience of receiving life-changing Early Intervention services for her daughter. She is a recipient of several professional and Family Leadership trainings in Pennsylvania and at the national level. Sadia is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning Policy Fellowship and the 2023 National Prenatal to Three Leaders Fellowship from the Rockwood Leadership Institute. She currently serves as a family and professional representative on a variety of local, state-wide, and national organizations serving families and children including serving as the Governor appointed parent Co-chair to the Pennsylvania State Interagency Coordinating council. Sadia is committed to supporting families navigate the system of services, supporting family leadership development and meaningful family engagement. In 2021, she joined the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning as the Early Childhood Family Lead for Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Health Integration Prenatal-to-age Three Project, a Federal grant Pennsylvania received from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to focus on cross-sector collaboration and partnership, health system transformation, state-level policy and fiscal innovation, family leadership, and advancing equity.

Tweety Yates

Tweety Yates, Ph.D. is retired from the University of Illinois, Department of Special Education but has continued to work on the Early Intervention Training  Program (EITP) grant. She is also a member of the Pyramid Model Consortium faculty and has been actively involved with the Pyramid Model for over twenty-five years. Through previous grant funded projects, Tweety has developed numerous materials for early interventionists, teachers, childcare providers, parents and early childhood faculty. Her primary interests are parent-child interaction, social emotional development and early literacy. She has provided consultation and training for over 40 years and has worked as an early interventionist, teacher, and facilitated parent-child groups.

Sabrina Robertson

Sabrina Robertson Is an early childhood expert with more than 30 years of experience working with young children. Sabrina is the founder and owner of SDC Consulting, a professional development company. Sabrina earned a Certificate of Advance Study in Curriculum and Instruction and a M.Ed in early childhood education from National Louis University. Sabrina has a Professional Educators License (PEL) and an endorsement in Learning Behavior Specialist (LBS1) and English as a Second Language (ESL). Sabrina is a credentialed developmental therapist and evaluator.

Sabrina describes herself in her bio as follows:

"Sabrina is the ultimate 'child whisperer'! Sabrina has made it her mission to help little ones grow and thrive. As a seasoned special education expert, she's got the patience of a saint and the sense of humor of a stand-up comedian.

When she's not busy being a superhero for young minds, Sabrina moonlights as a professional presenter, sharing her wisdom and wit with audiences everywhere. Her talks are equal parts informative, engaging, and LOL-worthy – think TED Talk meets comedy club!

With a heart of gold and a mind full of creative strategies, Sabrina is the go-to guru for all things developmental therapy and special education. So, if you're looking for an expert who's equal parts knowledgeable and entertaining, you're in the right place!"