Social Thinking Returns to Montana

August 9th and 10th
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Big Horn Resort - Billings

Register here.

OPI renewal units (6) and ASHA CMH (5.5)  per day will be available.

Speaker:  Kari Zweber Palmer

August 9th:

ZOOMING IN: Strategies for Concrete Learners( kinder - young adult )

Delve into the needs of our more literal learners who may have diagnoses such as ASD, ADHD, language learning or sensory integration challenges. They are often perplexed by the abstractions of the school curriculum, show marked difficulty in reading social cues, and are often aloof and less organized. Discover how best to teach individuals based on their age and how to enhance learning in the inclusion-based classroom. Explore lessons that translate abstract social concepts into concrete ideas that can help improve social understanding over time.  Audience members love the many video examples and treatment tools! Read more

What You Will Learn

1. Describe four core characteristics of Challenged and Emerging Social Communicators and explain why these students struggle to learn social and academic concepts in groups and as a result require different social thinking lessons from Nuance Challenged Social Communicators. 
2. Develop a lesson for an individual with characteristics of an Emerging Social Communicator. The lesson will include visual support(s) and/or worksheets to translate abstract concepts to more concrete ideas. 
3. Describe at least one additional treatment approach to use in conjunction with Social Thinking for individuals who function as Challenged and Emerging Social Communicators. 

August 10th:

ZOOMING IN: Strategies for Individuals with Subtle but Significant Social Problems( kinder - young adult )

Explore the needs of nuance-challenged social communicators who may have diagnoses such as Asperger's syndrome, ASD, ADHD, or social anxiety. They are often in mainstream education and struggle with the intricacies of social relationships, homework assignments, and working in peer-based groups. Discover effective strategies that encourage nuanced perspective taking and executive functioning while attending to the person's mental health. Take with you nuance-based social learning lessons for use in both treatment plans and in the mainstream classroom.

What You Will Learn

1. Describe four core characteristics of those considered to be Nuance Challenged Social Communicators and how to consider those characteristics in group planning. 
2. Describe how to develop strategies for use in school and home settings, differentiating cognitive behavioral treatment from applied behavior analysis. 
3. Develop lessons or a group of lessons geared toward students with more nuance-based challenges. The lessons will include the creation of worksheets to translate abstract concepts into more concrete ideas. 
4. Create a social learning activity that can be used in an inclusion-based learning environment to engage all students in the classroom.