This in-service highlights the characteristics of Language Processing Disorder (LPD) across several ages and grade levels, the diagnostic process, and the functional academic and social impact of LPD.   Modification and accommodation suggestions that can be implemented within a variety of environments will also be discussed.

This in-service will help teachers and other professionals better understand when and why children may have frequent temper tantrums, be increasingly frustrated, or be experiencing “meltdowns”.   Specific contextual situations will be discussed, and strategies will be provided to help both children and adults navigate tough/stressful situations.

In this hands-on experiential workshop, practical movement activities based on the Brain Gym® program will be presented. These exercises will support stress free learning and can be applied to children of various ages and ability. In this in-service you will learn six Brain Gym movements which stimulate the brain/body connection, exercises to enhance your energy, balance, coordination and organization, how to change your stressed-out “survival” brain to   “calm-thinking” brain, and create confidence to meet any new learning challenge.

Executive functioning is defined as the cognitive process that regulates an individual’s ability to organize thoughts and activities, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and make decisions.  It is an umbrella term for the cognitive processes that serve ongoing goal directed behavior. Proper executive functioning skills are essential for social and academic involvement.  If you notice concerns around your child’s attention, initiation, mental flexibility, working memory, inhibition, or planning and organization he or she may be demonstrating executive functioning deficits.  This in-service will explore on the impact of executive functioning deficits, including attention, initiation, mental flexibility, working memory, inhibition, planning and organizing and provide strategies to address these areas of concern and help support an optimal learning environment for kids of all ages and abilities.

This in-service will outline the foundations needed for fine motor development, as well as provide you with simple and creative activities you can do at home, at work or in the classroom to promote the growth of these important skills. The areas focused on in this in-service include postural strength and control that provide the foundation for fine motor development, the mechanics of the hand needed for refined movements, and strategies and tools to improve fine motor skills and help the student become more confident with fine motor activities and handwriting

This informative and interactive workshop will provide a better understanding of why some children struggle with eating and highlight suggestions to help make mealtimes less stressful. Underlying causes for many eating struggles including sensory sensitivities, decreased body awareness, muscle strength, and poor oral motor skills will be identified. This in-service will give you a better understanding of oral motor development, how sensory processing impacts eating, and discuss strategies to help move towards greater mealtime success.

This informational and interactive will help all participants identify sensory processing issues in children and adolescents.  It will outline the typical behaviors and challenges confronting these individuals and review strategies and tools to help the student feel more in control of his or her body to perform daily activities more efficiently at home, school and in the community.

This in-service s designed to inform participants about the many factors that can impact a child’s regulation. Attendees will build observational skills and learn to differentiate what lagging skills may be impacting the child’s participation, as well as specific strategies to both accommodate for and improve the child’s skills. Strategies discussed may include adjusting interactions, sensory accommodations/activities, building time awareness, and more.

This in-service will help participants identify and understand when and why a child is having difficulty interacting with their peers. We will discuss the definition of social language and how it plays a role in our everyday life.  In addition, this in-service will help identify symptoms of a social communication disorder, clarify your role in the social language assessment process, make treatment considerations, write functional social-emotional goals, and provide the tools to implement strategies and visual aids to help support a child’s social language skills.

This is an interactive in-service discussing the essential role that vision plays in a child’s daily learning.  The importance of ocular motor and binocular skills will be discussed and helpful vision resources will be provided.    Attendees will learn about eye dominance and how it directly impacts academic skills such as reading, as well as how it helps you determine the most appropriate seating within the classroom.

This in-service is designed to inform participants about the various types and uses of augmentative communication tools that can be used to increase independent communication and reduce difficult behaviors. We will discuss the reasons for using augmentative supports for kids at all levels and examples of how visual tools can increase a child’s understanding of language, time and changing environments. Specific ideas and examples will be shared for creating low tech home and school made visual supports for use with children at different levels of functioning. We will also review new and popular technologies such as the iPad and how it can be used as a communication tool.

This in-service will provide participants with an comprehensive understanding of school-based services. Areas addressed will include differences between outpatient and school-based services, what are the types of services available in schools, who is a part of the multidisciplinary team and what role does each individual serve, what are an IEP and a 504 plan, how to get started, what questions to ask, what accommodations to advocate for, and what to expect throughout the process. Our children will often make more substantial progress towards their goals with supports in place across multiple settings, whether it be at home, in an outpatient community setting like SST, and within the school system. This in-service aims to increase awareness and promote confidence for attendees to identify potential school services available to the child and the tools to advocate for such services in order to best support their child’s needs.

This in-service will raise awareness about the impacts of screen time on childhood development. Attendees will take away information on the impact screen time has on cognitive, linguistic, and emotional development and offer indoor, outdoor and on-the-go games, toys, and play strategies to support the gradual reduction of screen time in children’s lives.

This in-service will guide listeners through the foundation skills needed for development of first words up through the acquisition of first words. Play, attention, and imitation skills will be discussed as well as how to model language to foster development of language across settings. This in-service will guide listeners through the foundation skills needed for development of first words up through the acquisition of first words. Play, attention, and imitation skills will be discussed as well as how to model language to foster development of language across settings.