Presentation Descriptions

 

Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: Fostering the Better Side of Human Nature in Classrooms and Families

Ross Greene, PhD (Keynote)

 

Presentation with Q&A: Dr. Ross Greene’s evidence-based Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model – as described in his books The Explosive Child and Lost at School -- has transformed the understanding of treatment of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in countless families, schools, and therapeutic facilities. With the release of his most recent book, Raising Human Beings, Dr. Greene has turned his attention to all kids, with a particular focus on teaching the skills that define the better side of human nature: empathy, appreciating how one’s behavior is affecting others, resolving disagreements without conflict, taking another’s perspective, and honesty. These skills have never been more important, and research indicates that solving problems collaboratively and proactively teaches these skills with any kid. And – despite academic initiatives that have made it harder for educators to be the socialization agents they’ve always been -- that’s something that parents and educators have boundless opportunities to teach, model, and practice every day. Participants will describe the advantages of solving problems collaboratively (rather than unilaterally) and proactively (rather than reactively). Practitioner evidence is from research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies.

 

The Whole Novel Approach

Ariel Sacks

 

Presentation with Q & A: This workshop provides an introduction to the theory of the whole novels method through a simulated experience of a whole novel study, followed by a debrief and question and answer session. Participants will gain an understanding of the theory and practices of the whole novels method, and leave with concrete strategies that can be implemented right away in the classroom. Practitioner evidence will be presented. Ariel is the author of the book Whole Novel.

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Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Ali Mattu, PhD

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Presentation with Q & A: This presentation will discuss how anxiety presents in ASD, its functional assessment, and its treatment, including strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and Positive Behavior Support (PBS). Although there are numerous studies demonstrating successful treatment of anxiety in neurotypical populations, less is known about how to assess and treat anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Case studies of both individuals with and without intellectual disability will be presented. Participants will delineate 6 ways presentation, assessment, and treatment of anxiety in youth with ASD differs from neurotypical youth with anxiety. Evidence will be presented from Dr. Lauren Moskowitz’ research and clinical experience.

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Strengths-Based Advocacy Strategies for 2e Students

Terry Friedrichs, PhD, EdD, Maggie Downham, MA, and Anish Kulkami

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Presentation with Q & A: Recent years have witnessed increased focus on the characteristics, testing, and instruction of twice-exceptional students. Yet, effective 2e advocacy remains less studied. In this session, presenters draw on their years of hands-on 2e assessment, instructional, and advocacy training and experience to explain two significant sets of advocacy strategies for these students. Dr. Friedrichs speaks here on particular advocacy approaches — in creating and reacting to assessment/evaluation, IEP, and 504 plans — which have been validated both through personal experience and through a critical analysis of the last 40 years of gifted, special education, and legal literature. In this session, Mr. Kulkarni expands upon his 2e News summary of five categories of IDEA openings that 2e advocates can use to attain attention to twice-exceptional student strengths. By the end of Dr. Friedrichs’ segment,  attendees will be able to describe three educational advocacy strategies that can assist twice-exceptional advocates to attain more attention to 2e student strengths. By the end of Mr. Kulkarni’s segment, attendees will be able to explain five specific openings in IDEA for attending to student strengths, in the Child Find, assessment, IEP, instruction, and transition phases. By the end of Ms. Downham’s section, attendees will be able to describe three legal advocacy strategies to assist 2e students to achieve attention to their strengths. Practitioner evidence is from educational advocacy and from exceptional-child/legal literatures. Policy literature is from readings of IDEA and from its that law’s interpreters.

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Twice-Exceptionality and Relevance to Occupational and Speech and Language Therapies

Emily Vizza, CCC-SLP and the clinical team from The Quad Preparatory School

 

Presentation with Q & A: The term “twice-exceptional” (2e) is being used to describe an increasing number of school-age students who demonstrate both areas of giftedness and learning differences or disabilities. Given the various profiles that fit within the definition of 2e learners, providing appropriate occupational and speech-language therapy for this population requires a variety of converging and individualistic factors that should be considered. For this unique population, integrated therapy provides the opportunity to target similar goals from multiple perspectives, which can be effective in enabling student success in daily life activities and generalization of skills across multiple contexts. Participants will be able to identify areas of intervention related to the fields of occupational therapy and speech-language pathology that are commonly observed in 2e students, describe examples of flexible therapy approaches to serve 2e students, and discuss integrated approaches between occupational and speech-language therapists to benefit 2e students. Practitioner evidence will be presented.

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Life with Sensory Processing Disorder

Rachel Schneider, MA, MHC

 

Presentation with Q & A: This presentation will focus on Schneider’s experiences as an individual with delayed-diagnosis Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) from childhood, through diagnosis at age 27, and to the present day. It will include personal anecdotes and photos, as well as the thoughts, therapies, tools, and techniques that have been pivotal to her interpersonal and professional successes. By putting a face to SPD, she hopes to help humanize this neurological difference, as well as make participants aware of the ways in which people with SPD can live relatively typical lives with the right supports in place. Participants will gain understand the complexities of growing up w/o a proper diagnosis, importance of self-acceptance and accommodation, and the positive aspects of SPD from practitioner evidence.

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Developing College and Career Readiness Skills Through an Interest Based Highly Personalized Educational Model

Chris Wiebe, EdD

 

Skill Building Workshop: This session will explore the strides of a student-driven learning model — The “Young Expert Program” — to not only develop skills and knowledge in a student’s area of interest, but also to prepare students for college and future careers. When given primary control of their learning trajectories, students tend to fall on a continuum between momentum-driven productivity to cognitive inertia. No matter the extent of their initial engagement, students inevitably encounter the challenges and areas for development that stand between them and their goals in any context. As they pursue a project of their own design, students work with faculty coaches to identify and understand these obstacles, developing strategies to overcome them and develop the autonomy that prepares them for higher education and careers. This session expands conversations about college readiness beyond high school requirements, grade point averages, and standardized test scores to show the importance of engaging students in self-driven, meaningful work of their own design that cultivates the skills they will need in college and beyond. Participants will understand and apply the value and benefits of a highly personalized learning model and its potential for developing skills of initiative, self-direction, adaptability, autonomy, self-efficacy, clear communication, and self advocacy. They will appreciate the necessity of a pedagogical shift from education as knowledge transference to education as knowledge construction in the context of personalized learning, and will analyze provided case studies to extract generalizable principles for building critical college readiness skills. Practitioner evidence will be presented.

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Why Spatial? Spatial Thinking as a Fundamental Learning Tool

Amy Shelton, PhD

 

Presentation with Q & A: Spatial thinking represents a broad category of cognitive skills that enable us to manage, manipulate, reason about, and organize information about spatial relationships in real and imagined spaces. These skills have been associated with various aspects of academic and career achievement, including performance and retention in fields associated with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Recent work with advanced learners from different backgrounds and environments has explored the role these fundamental skills might play in identifying students with the potential for academic achievement. Focusing on these skills may offer insights into ability that more traditional curriculum-based tests cannot capture, opening new doors to both characterizing students and developing educational opportunities that foster the needs of the diverse range of advanced learners.  This presentation will provide both background and tools for fostering these skills in formal and informal learning settings. Participants will gain knowledge of spatial skills as markers of academic potential, and learn ways to both leverage and foster spatial reasoning skills in school and at home. Evidence presented will include research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies.

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STEM to STEAM: Project Based Learning Environment to Design Thinking (first come/first serve, 16 max)

George Delagrammatikas, PhD

 

Presentation with Q & A: This presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities observed during the Summer STEM experience at Cooper Union. Examples of the different projects will be detailed and recommendations for incorporating these methods to out-of-school-time enrichment programs will be offered. Participants will detail 5 points from the intervention frameworks from NYC landscape study, explain the data collection technique; survey results in 3 sentences or more, and describe 5 student outcome analysis methodologies. Evidence will be presented from survey data; landscape study; description of pedagogical interventions.

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Neuropsychological Reports Demystified

Erica Miller, PhD

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Presentation with Q & A: This presentation will discuss the goals, purposes, and methods of neuropsychological assessments, including a discussion of how data gathered can be linked to academic and clinical treatments/interventions. This presentation will review the mains types of data used, the cognitive, academic, and social-emotional domains assessed, as well as how to identify patterns of strengths and weakness from a statistical standpoint. Practical interventions and a case sample will also be reviewed. Participants will be able to identify relevant sections of a neuropsychological evaluation, understand the normal curve and where performances fall based on the normal curve, identify the difference between normative and relative strengths/weaknesses, understand the relationship between cognitive strengths/weaknesses and how this manifests when learning or in social situations

 

Model for STEM Skills Among Teens with ASD

Ariana Riccio, MA, Beth Rosenberg MA, MS Ed

 

Presentation with Q & A: This session will present information about the Tech Kids Unlimited model, which enhances teen technical knowledge, job skills, and SEL plus a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) curriculum model built for students with special needs. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by socio-communicative difficulties and restricted, repetitive behaviors and/or focused interests. Focused interests can motivate people with autism to obtain expertise in their interest areas which are often expressed through a systematic approach to learning and an affinity for computers, mathematics and science. Created with the goal of bolstering STEM skills among teens with ASD, this model provides previously unavailable opportunities for youth with ASD to develop authorial computing skills. The current study, an evaluation and iteration of TKU’s summer curriculum for adolescents with autism, highlights program design, students’ own goals for the future, and successful instructional techniques to facilitate learning. A curriculum adaptation focused on incorporating principles of Universal Design based on evaluation results is presented with data from teens and parents over two years of study.

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Evidence Based Identification and Intervention Strategies for Twice Exceptional Students

Megan Foley-Nicpon, PhD (Keynote)

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Presentation with Q&A: Evidence-based identification and intervention strategies are important for practitioners to consider. In this presentation, I will discuss recent research findings regarding identification of and intervention with twice-exceptional students, and outline how these findings translate into meeting their educational and social/emotional needs. I will discuss resources to help teachers, counselors, and parents be successful when interacting with this diverse population of students. Participants will gain understanding of best practices for identification and intervention; ability to link findings with practice in educational/home/therapy settings through the presentation of evidence through research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies.

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Sensory Processing, Regulation, and Relationship: Where to Intervene

Sarah Schoen, PhD, OTR/L (Keynote)

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Presentation with Q & A: There is an increasing awareness of the role of sensory processing, regulation and relationship in human development. This presentation will discuss the interdependency among these components as dynamic systems that affect a child’s ability to participate fully in daily life.   A better understanding of atypical sensory processing patterns is essential to understanding the impact on functional engagement and skill development. Elements of the STAR Frame of Reference will also be discussed as a mechanism for supporting development when challenges arise. Participants will describe interplay of sensory processing, regulation and relationship, define Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) subtypes, and identify key features of STAR intervention. Research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies will be presented.

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Time to Consider Medicine? Keys to Success in the Treatment of Attention, Anxiety, and Behavioral Disorders

Melissa Nishawala, MD

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Presentation with Q & A: Parents are faced with a mountain of information and misinformation about psychiatric medicines for children and adolescents. This workshop will give parents the facts about how medicines work and the tools they need to make this important decision. While designed for parents, this workshop will also meet the needs to educators and clinicians.

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Evidence Based Treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Vasco Lopes, PsyD

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Presentation with Q & A: This topic will focus on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the typical and subtle ways in which it can impact a child's functioning. It will also discuss the ways in which parents and teachers can help support challenges that stem from their child's ADHD. Participants will describe five ADHD symptoms, delineate five executive functioning issues, and list four ways to support and scaffold demands for children. Evidence-based treatment approaches from the CBT literature will be presented.

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The Empowerment of Failure

Paula McCreedy, MEd, OTR-L and Prudence Heisler, MA, OTR-L

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Presentation with Q & A: The Empowerment of Failure is a discussion about the importance of redefining “failure”.  In this discussion we will appraise the idea of allowing learners to experience the full range of natural consequences of their choices. We will explore how concepts of growth and resilience contribute to this appraisal.  The necessity of allowing a child to experience positive as well as negative consequences will be pondered. We will invite discussion about how experiencing consequences of one’s actions correlates to improved flexibility, learning and success.  Research supports a link between one’s tolerance of trying something new when efforts aren’t working to actual goal-achievement. Methods for supporting a child’s capacity to sustain goal-directed behaviors will be examined. The neurological processes that strengthen positive goal-directed behavior will be reviewed.  The presenters will weigh the influence of positive and negative habits as they impact learning, productivity and functioning. Strategies to support a child’s endeavors to succeed by struggling through “failure” will be offered. Participants will learn scaffolding strategies for goal-directed behavior and brain functions role in decision making, and redefine failure through the presentation of practitioner evidence.

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Current Changes, Challenges, and Considerations in Gifted Education

Elissa Brown, PhD

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Presentation with Q & A: Educators in gifted education have experienced dramatic changes over the last decade in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  Have these changes served to support or impede services to gifted learners? This session will provide an overview of the major changes and current issues in gifted education with a special emphasis on excellence and equity and the implications for gifted education with regards to content, instruction, program delivery, assessment, and accountability.  Appropriate resources for teachers and administrators will be shared. Participants will gain understanding of the complexities of gifted education in the current local and national context and develop strategies for advocating for gifted learners. International studies of gifted students, professional experiences, and policy development will be presented.

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New Directions in the Science of Understanding and Treating Social Competence in ASD

Matt Lerner, PhD

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Presentation with Q & A: Dr. Lerner will provide a brief history and overview of interventions designed to address social challenges among school-age and teenage youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He will introduce the concept of “therapeutic mechanisms” in the context of these interventions, revealing subtle but crucial differences in various models, and using these differences as a way to ask questions about what types of treatments might works best for which individuals. Finally, he will knit these insights together via the presentation of cutting-edge research on social competence, which aims to advance evidence-based understanding and treatment of social challenges in ASD. Participants will develop a basic understanding of the theoretical assumptions underlying social competence and interventions for youth with ASD, discover the distinction between social knowledge and social performance problems, and the unique implications of each for intervention design and content, and learn about emerging lab- and community-based research designing to optimize social competence interventions by better characterizing the type of deficit experienced by each individual and designing intervention to match empirically-derived treatment profiles through the presentation of practitioner evidence.

 

SOS for Parents in the Trenches

Debbie Reber

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Presentation with Q & A: Behind every kid who is differently wired is likely to stand one or more frustrated, isolated, perhaps even burnt out-feeling adult. There are millions of us around the world. We’re everywhere, but often feel completely isolated raising our neurologically atypical kids. In this practical and actionable talk, Debbie shares ten powerful “tilts,” a.k.a. practical ideas to help parents shift their thinking and actions in a way that will help them feel more confidence and peaceful about their everyday reality, create a stronger family dynamic, and give their extraordinary children what they need to thrive. Participants will recognize areas of non acceptance of their child, become more "fluent" in their child's language, and learn how to develop a self-care practice through practitioner evidence.

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Accommodations for 2e students in traditional schools

Jacqui Byrne

 

Presentation with Q & A: What accommodations given to students at 2e schools, and incorporated into the school environment itself, are translatable to traditional and public schools? Jacqui Byrne, Founder of FlexSchool, will cover accommodations for academic support, executive functioning, sensory issues, emotional support, and college testing. She will discuss accommodations you may never have heard of that could help your child or a child in your classroom. Participants will gain understanding of breadth of accommodations available for academic, emotional, sensory, and executive functioning support. Evidence presented includes expert opinion, case studies, and retrospective/prospective cohort.

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Sexuality in Teens with ASD

Matt Roth, PhD

Skill Building Workshop: This workshop will outline the specific challenges teens with ASD face during adolescence, specifically with sexuality development. Participants will identify five teen’s strengths and areas of weakness and list four strategies to aid sexuality development. Research from the field as well as qualitative data from clinician led interventions will be presented.

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From Access to Assets: Strength Based Visions for Inclusive Science Education

Sami Kahn, JD, PhD

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Presentation with Q & A: Science arguably has unmatched potential for providing opportunities for students to demonstrate a variety of strengths, develop particular areas of interest, and nurture positive attitudes toward science, all of which are critical to informed citizenship whether students pursue careers in science or not. This session will describe research on two young adults who were labelled with disabilities in childhood as they reflect on their K-12 science experiences with particular attention paid to how their strengths, clearly evident now as they embark upon their careers, were and were not capitalized upon. Then, drawing from other models, these individuals’ experiences will be re-envisioned to demonstrate how particular aspects of the Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) could be implemented to reflect strength-based models of education. Participants will learn the key tenets of strengths-based teaching and then apply these to STEM teaching for 2e students.  Research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies will be presented.

 

The Power of Yet

Nancy Tarshis, MA, MS, CCC-SLP

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Presentation with Q and A: Stress in life is a given. As clinicians we need to help children develop tools to cope with stress and life’s other challenges. Children with social & learning challenges experience even more than every day stress. Teaching children better perspective-taking and problem solving will help them be more resilient. Participants will be able to describe a resilient view and how it impacts development and learning, describe the key components of the learning pit and see how understanding this concept will help our children to be more resilient learners, and learn key strategies to help children be beer problem solvers. Recent literature and clinical experience will be presented.

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Assistive Technology (AT): Solutions for Increasing Learner Independence and Classroom Participation

Mark Surabian

 

Presentation with Q&A: Remediation and therapy for learning and neurological challenges take time, whereas technology compensates immediately to enhance learner confidence and access through actual participation until the impact of the former takes hold. AT is an effective solution to keep learners with challenges "engaged and responsible" for their own classwork and helps them perform at levels more accurate to their real potential throughout their educational careers. This presenter will briefly discuss why AT is often overlooked as a support to enhance learner participation; describe the impact of AT on student outcomes with real case studies; and provide an overview of effective AT tools used for dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other learning challenges. Participants will explore assistive technologies for the reading, writing, math, note-taking, and the organizational needs of students. Practitioner evidence includes mention of actual peer reviewed studies on AT for learning.

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A Path to Pride and Success

LeDerick Horne, PhD (Keynote)

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Presentation with Q & A: Within this presentation, LeDerick Horne will share his own experience as a student with a learning disability who was able to graduate from college with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics. LeDerick is now one of the nation’s most sought after speakers dedicated to improving the outcomes of youth with disabilities.  LeDerick will give advice to help all students develop positive identities as people with disabilities. Strategies for helping students reach their transition goals will as be shared as well as advice on helping students develop positive relationships in school and the adult world. Research from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies will be presented.

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Linking Social Learning to Academic Learning (Institute A)

Debbie Meringolo, MA, MS

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Presentation with Q & A: The presentation will focus on the ILAUGH Model of Social Cognition. ILAUGH is an acronym for Initiating Communication, Listening with Eyes and Brain, Abstract and Inferential Thinking, Understanding Perspective, Getting the Big Picture, and Humor & Human Relatedness. The ILAUGH model demonstrates not only why people with social learning challenges have weaker social abilities but also how social interpretation is linked to academic tasks such as written expression, conversational language, reading comprehension, and organizational skills. Participants will explain social learning challenges impact reading comprehension problems and how gestalt processing relates to written expression through the presentation of clinical evidence as well as some research.

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The Quad Prep Model in Action (Institute B)

Kimberly Busi, MD

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Presentation with Q & A: Meeting the needs of twice-exceptional children - gifted and high-potential learners with learning differences - is particularly challenging in most traditional educational settings. In this session, Dr. Busi will describe the elements of a new school model she founded for twice-exceptional students in New York City. With cornerstones of clinically informed social-emotional learning (SEL) and academic integration, personalized learning, parent and outside-support network “for real” school partnerships, and systems optimized for flexible adaptation, The Quad Preparatory School’s model enthusiastically seeks to break professional silos in order to best serve twice-exceptional children. Learn how such a model, if perfected, could more widely be applicable to create truly inclusive school environment, learn of three programmatic and three structural elements that have proven effective for meeting the needs of 2e students, and identify at least one element that they can immediately implement in their practice. Evidence presented will be from practitioner experience. Dr. Busi is employed by The Quad Preparatory School.

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Unwrapping Creativity

Nicole Cavaliere, MS Ed

In education today, creativity and innovation are at the forefront of learning. 21st century learners need to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. In our twice-exceptional population specifically, creativity often drives their problem solving abilities and can help them to feel more confident and successful. Creativity is an essential part of their learning and must also be an essential part of our teaching. Participants will unwrap creativity so we may further understand and nurture the unique gifts of our students through creative and critical thinking, problem solving, and most importantly, fun! Participants will learn how to integrate opportunities for creativity into lesson plans and daily activities design project based lesson and activities that encourage innovation. Research from various studies in gifted education and creativity will be presented.

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Neurodiversity in the Workplace: A Case Study

José Velasco

SAP launched its industry leading Autism at Work Program in 2013 with a goal of tapping into a traditionally underutilized and rich source of talent. Five years into this purpose-driven journey of discovery and transformation, the impact on business, lives and community have gone well beyond original expectations. Join us to learn about the background, motivation, structure, roadmap and impact of this innovative program.

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Gifted and Sensory Needs

Max Melby

Current cognitive science findings are helping educators understand both the biological and psychological underpinnings of learning, but sometimes the complexity those findings makes it even more overwhelming to meet the needs of 2e learners. The goal of this session is to build a clear understanding of the sensory needs of 2e learners and provide time and space to begin developing an action plan to inform practice at the instructional, professional, and community levels. Grow understanding of the sensory needs of 2e learners based available research and practices at Arete Academy.

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Performance by Asperger’s Are Us

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(COMING SOON...)

Preparing for Life After High School (Institute A)

Lisa Marfleet  Alexa Wallerstein, Leigh Richards, J.D., and Rachel Elmer