I wanted to share that we are doing a Facebook Live training series. The idea began because of the challenges during the current COVID-19 crisis. Given the current situation across the world, many parents and caregivers now find themselves suddenly acting as educators for their behaviorally challenging children. We have heard from many parents, especially those with disabled and behaviorally challenging children that are having a difficult time. We wanted to help!
This gave us the idea that perhaps we could do something to help in these challenging times. We know some people doing amazing work, what if we could offer some sort of free training to parents and caregivers? Something like this might be helpful to those that are feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for their new roles. The training might also be a good way to encourage participants to share new models and approaches with their schools.
We have a great lineup of speakers, who will be giving live presentations over the coming weeks. Please share these with other parents, teachers, and advocates.
Mona Delahooke, Ph.D.
Understanding Beyond Behavior in Challenging Times
Our special guest Mona Delahooke, Ph.D. will be talking about the hope that comes from understanding how we can manage stress from a Polyvagal (body-brain) perspective.
Thursday April 30th @ 3:30 (EST)
Live on Facebook
Mona Delahooke, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 30 years of experience caring for children and their families. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting families of neurodiverse children, adolescents and adults.Dr. Delahooke holds the highest level of endorsement in the field of infant and toddler mental health in California, as a Reflective Practice Mentor (RPM). She is a frequent speaker, trainer, and consultant to parents, organizations, schools, and public agencies. Dr. Delahooke has dedicated her career to promoting compassionate, relationship-based neurodevelopmental interventions for children with developmental, behavioral, emotional, and learning differences. She is the author of Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges (PESI, 2019), and Social and Emotional Development in Early Intervention: A Skills Guide for Working with Children (PESI, 2017). Her popular blog, at www.monadelahooke.com covers a range of topics useful for caregivers and childhood providers.
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.
Moving from Crisis Management to True Crisis Prevention: New Lenses, New Timing, and New Practices
There are many factors that have contributed to an over-reliance on restraint and seclusion procedures in schools. There’s no question that many students are unavailable for learning, are not medically or behaviorally stable, and respond to frustration in ways that are extremely aggressive and violent. But there are other factors that have little to do with characteristics of the kids. For example, much of the training that school staff receive to help them prevent crises are actually primarily focused on managing crises. Staff have also been led to believe that such training helps keep them and their students safer, when there are actually no data supporting this claim. And many staff are still viewing challenging behavior through old, inaccurate lenses and still relying on traditional behavior management procedures, which can actually precipitate challenging episodes. Moving in a different direction requires new lenses, new timing, and new practices.
Thursday May 7th @ 3:30 (EST)
Live on Facebook
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He also developed and executive produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose, released in 2018. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now Founding Director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance. He is also adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Greene has worked with several thousand behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers, and he and his colleagues have overseen implementation and evaluation of the CPS model in hundreds of schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, with dramatic effect: significant reductions in recidivism, discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, and use of restraint and seclusion. Dr. Greene lectures throughout the world and lives in Portland, Maine.
Christopher S. Feltner
Patience in a Time of Panic
This will be a session designed to give families and caregivers a basic understanding of what Trauma is, how it affects the brain, and how it can affect behavior. Given this understanding, we’ll look at some ways to provide support and a trauma-informed approach in the home during this pandemic.
Thursday May 14th @ 3:30 (EST)
Live on Facebook
Christopher S. Feltner is the Training and Performance Architect for Ukeru Systems and Grafton Integrated Health Network based out of Winchester, VA. He has provided trauma-based training and consultation across the US and in Canada and Australia.
Allison Hoffmaster
Balancing Act: A Mother’s Story
In this session Allison will share how she has made creative adjustments in her home during this pandemic. Allison will share how to use a comfort vs. control approach within your home. She will discuss her experience juggling work and teaching a child with special needs at home.
Thursday May 21st @ 3:30 (EST)
Live on Facebook
Allison Hoffmaster is a working mother of a child with special needs. She has been balancing working from home and teaching her daughter during this pandemic. She is a Learning Engineer for Ukeru systems, which allows her to create a trauma informed environment at home.
Robin Roscigno
Concrete Strategies to Support Executive Functioning for Parents and Professionals
Is your child struggling with organization, task-completion, motivation and/or attention? Covid-19 has disrupted many routines and structures that neurodivergent children rely on, causing many parents and kids to be frustrated and overwhelmed with this new normal. This informational webinar will provide parents and educators with valuable information about executive functioning—what it is, why its hard for many children, and what they can do to support kids during these times and after. Participants will walk away with several useful, actionable strategies they can put in place right away.
Thursday May 28th @ 3:30 (EST)
Live on Facebook
Robin Roscigno is a scholar/practicioner specializing in education for Neurodivergent children. She is a PhD candidate at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education and consults with school districts and parents on a range of topics. Most recently, Robin was awarded the Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholar in Disabiliy Studies from the Society for Disability Studies for her article “Semiotic Stalemate: Resisting Restraint and Seclusion through Guattari’s Micropolitics of Desire” which combined her scholarly interests with her anti-restraint and seclusion activism.
More workshops will be announced in the coming months…
