Virtual Social Thinking Trainings Available

ALL SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. 

We have a limited number of scholarships for Montana public school educators to attend online Social Thinking Trainings. (A description of the Social Thinking trainings can be found here.)

These trainings will be available on the following dates, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 5: Teaching Thoughts, Theories and The Group Plan

Friday, November 6: Teaching Thinking with Eyes, Body in the Group and Whole Body Listening

Thursday, November 12: Assessing Peer-Based Collaboration and Play to Provide Specific Treatment Pathways

Friday, November 13: Advancing Social Learning with Five Concepts to Promote Executive Functions

Tuesday, December 1, 2020: Individualizing Social Emotional Learning and Treatment Decision Making

Wednesday, December 2, 2020: Teaching Different Developmental Ages - Who Needs What When?

Things you must know before you request a scholarship: 

OPI renewal units will be provided after verification from Social Thinking that you have completed the training.  

We have established a separate registration process from the Social Thinking online process. If you register for a training and pay Social Thinking, we cannot reimburse you. 

If you have any questions, please email Doug Doty at ddoty@mt.gov. 

 We will provide notice within a few days whether you have been accepted to attend a training. 

Live Webinar on October 20: The Middle School Survival Guide for Students with ADHD and Executive Function Deficits

 Life in middle school is hard for all students, but especially for those with ADHD. Developmentally, adolescents are searching for independence — focusing more on their peer relationships and often pushing parents away. In addition, academic and social expectations change dramatically in middle school: Students must meet the demands of multiple teachers, maintain focus during longer days, and manage more homework and projects. These challenges often exceed the developmental capacity of the ADHD brain’s executive functions.

Have hope! The first key to middle school success is understanding how ADHD brain development lags behind many of teens’ challenges. The second key is problem-solving from the perspective of the ADHD brain’s needs. We do this by identifying and externally supporting the weaker and slower-developing executive function skills of the ADHD middle-schooler.

In this webinar, you will learn: 

• How the brain’s executive function development connects to expectations for independent homework and seat-work
• How parents can support the development of their child’s executive functions
• How to teach your child to develop time awareness and use external tools to get things done
• How to use a school planner to develop the life skill of future thinking

Webinar - Rev Up Your Child’s Executive Functions for a Successful School Year

Tuesday, August 11 at 1 pm ET.

Not available August 11? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.

After a long summer of relaxed schedules, unstructured time, and no homework, the transition back to school is rarely smooth — especially for children with ADHD and especially in a year riddled with uncertainty and concern. You and your child may be riding an emotional roller coaster straight into the fall, which impacts executive functions among other critical learning functions.

In this hour-long webinar, learn practical ways to get your child’s brain back in “school mode” so they are ready for a successful school year, no matter how that looks. If you have tried teaching executive functioning strategies that never seem to “stick,” there is good news: This webinar will offer evidence-based approaches to reboot your child’s brain to listen, pay attention, and follow through at school.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How to “turn on” your child’s brain for listening, focus, and paying attention
• How to “Zone the Home” for a smooth transition back to school
• Simple mindfulness strategies to boost EF
• Effective approaches to increase follow-through when you ask your child to do schoolwork.

Register here at ADDitude. 

Archived Webinar - Executive Function Tools and Strategies for K-12 Students

Students of all ages with an array of disabilities struggle with executive function skills. This workshop will explore a variety of tools and strategies to support the needs of K-12 students.

View the archived webinar here at the PACER Center. 

Webinar - Tools for Success: Technology to Support Young Adults with Disabilities at College and on the Job

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 — 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM CST

Location: Online Web Streaming

This workshop will feature a wide range of technology to support youth with disabilities at college and on the job. Demonstrations will include tools and apps for executive function, computer access, reading, writing, and notetaking.

Register here at the PACER Center. 

Webinar - Succeed at Work: Tools that Support Executive Function and Focus on the Job

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 — 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CST

Location: Online Web Streaming

This workshop will showcase technology to support executive function at work. Topics will include managing time, staying organized, completing tasks, and maintaining focus. Demonstrations will include timers, task managers, and smart pens.

Register here at the PACER Center. 

Archived Webinars - Executive Function Series :

Part 1: Planning Phase - Schedule & Task Management

Learn about a variety of tools and strategies for managing schedules and tasks using calendars and task lists. Presented strategies and tools may be appropriate for middle to high school, college students and beyond who are able to use mainstream calendars and task lists. The first hour will be a fast-paced presentation on strategies and demonstrations of a variety of tools on various platforms such as Chrome, Web-based, iPads, Android, etc. The last half hour will include an in-depth demonstration on Google Calendar, Google Tasks, and Trello.

View the webinar here. 

Part 2: Executing the Plan - Time & Focus

Learn about a variety of tools and strategies for managing time and attention (including task initiation and follow-through). Presented strategies and tools may be appropriate for middle to high school, college students and beyond who are able to use and navigate mainstream clocks, timers, alarms, time tracking, distraction blocking tools, etc. The first hour will be a fast-paced presentation on strategies and demonstrations of a wide variety of tools on various platforms such as Chrome, Web-based, iPads, Android, etc. The last half hour will be used for an in-depth demonstration on a variety of tools (including Time Timer, MultiTimer, and others).

View the archived webinar here. 

How to Improve Emotional Self-Regulation Among Children with Autism and Attention Disorders

Before beginning the lesson, it’s important to note that the child should already be capable of identifying and labeling emotions. The activities should be initiated when a child is in a good mood. This lesson is also meant to be taken in stages with the child moving to the next step after they have successfully developed a mastery of the preceding step.

1. Create an emotional levels chart.

Create a visual aid that depicts the different levels of emotions that a child may feel, allowing the child to create their own labels for each level. For example, levels can be labeled “feeling good,” “a little upset,” “upset” and “very upset.” The chart should have two columns with the emotional levels in one column. Title the other column, “I feel this way when…” and leave the rows blank for the child to fill in.

Read more here from OnlinePsychology@Pepperdine, the online Masters in Applied Behavioral Analysis program from Pepperdine University.

Archived Webinar - Using Smartphones, Watches, and Wearables to Support Executive Function for All Ages

This workshop will explore ways that smart phones, smart watches, and other wearable can support executive function skills for people of all ages. Participants will learn ways to increase time awareness and focus, how to use reminders, explore tools to organize and prioritize, and discuss task initiation and completion. The tools and strategies demonstrated will benefit people with disabilities such as ADHD, executive function disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and blind or low vision.

View the archived webinar here.

Archived Webinar - Strengthening Working Memory (Executive Function) in the Early Years: Designing Environmental Scaffolds and Child-specific Interventions

Executive functioning, an important area of growth during the early childhood period, is critical for school readiness and success. This webinar will focus on strengthening working memory, an essential component of executive functioning. The session will present easy-to-use environmental scaffolds, growth-promoting instructional experiences and child-specific interventions woven into the daily routines to promote working memory in all young children, including those who have or at risk for developmental delays.

Find the archived webinar here.

Archived Webinars from the Autism Research Institute

Access the webinars here. 

Archived Webinars: Strengthening Executive Function in the Early Years: Designing Environmental Scaffolds and Child-specific Interventions – A 3-Part Series

Executive functioning, an important area of growth during the early childhood period, is critical for school readiness and success. This three-part webinar series will present easy-to-use environmental scaffolds, growth-promoting instructional experiences and child-specific interventions woven into the daily routines to develop and strengthen executive functioning in young children, those who have or at risk for developmental delays.

Participants will be able to: Increase their awareness and understanding of the growth of executive functioning in young children and how crucial these skills are for their development, learning and social competence.

Gain skills in creating growth-promoting environments and personalized instructional interventions to develop and strengthen executive functioning – working memory, cognitive flexibility, self-control – in young children, those who have or at risk for developmental delays. 

Learn how to engineer easy-to-use learner-specific scaffolds and adaptations to increase access, engagement and participation of young children with special needs to enable their attainment of social-emotional, language and cognitive competence, and school readiness skills.

Part 1

Part 2 

Part 3

Facing the Frontal Lobe: Strategies to Support Executive Function Skills in Students with Planning, Organization, Emotional Control, Working Memory and Attention Needs

Billings
June 12, 2018
Region III CSPD

Participants in the workshop will explore the impact of Executive Functioning on student learning and social interaction. The workshop is designed for all educators as attention is given to those skills needed by kindergarten through middle school students to be successful in a general and special education classroom. Participants will learn about the five domains of cognitive skills and will be given resource ideas and strategies that are designed to support strong cognitive skills in students. The strategies presented focus on skills that promote effective organization and time management, task completion, independent work, student goal setting and accountability. Additionally, the intervention ideas also provide a foundation to assist student self-monitoring, impulse control and emotional management. 

This workshop is full, the waiting list is full and registration has closed.

Archived Webinar - Wearables as Supports for Executive Functioning and Independence

In this session, you will learn about a number of wearables and smartwatches in order to help you select the device(s) that best meets your access needs while staying on budget. Following an overview of the built-in accessibility features of these devices, you will then learn about a number of apps that can assist in improving executive functioning capabilities and promoting independence for a variety of learners. These include apps for managing time and information, staying on task, and successfully completing daily living goals.

View the archived webinar here. 

Archived Webinar - Staying Organized at Work: Technology Tools for Task Management and Focus

This workshop, for transition-age youth and adults, addresses the use of technology to support task management and focus. Whether you have ADHD or simply struggle with organization, learn about tools and apps to help you succeed at work.

Watch the recording here. 

Teaching Self-management

Self-management interventions help learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) learn to independently regulate their own behaviors and act appropriately in a variety of home, school, and community-based situations. With these interventions, learners with ASD are taught to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, accurately monitor and record their own behaviors, and reward themselves for behaving appropriately. As learners with ASD become more fluent with the self-management system, some of the implementation responsibilities shift from teachers, families, and other practitioners to the learners themselves.

Find a short manual here.  

‘I Thought I Was Lazy’: The Invisible Day-To-Day Struggle For Autistic Women

My inability to properly plan ahead and complete daily tasks has dwarfed my personal growth and well-being since I moved away from home seven years ago. I live in a constant state of disorder, expressed through missed appointments, forgotten text messages, and errands and assignments that take twice as long than my peers to complete. Even tidying the garbage littered across my apartment feels too overwhelming. My poor organizational and cleaning skills have fractured my relationships, prevented me from thriving in jobs, and in the process, destroyed my self-worth.

I tried various planners and organizational apps. Nothing worked. Frustrated, I reached out for help multiple times, relaying to various therapists my struggles with organization and cleanliness and other ailments — such as insomnia, a tendency to get lost in obsessive thoughts, and an inability to switch between tasks. Not one specialist connected the dots. They viewed disorganization and forgetfulness as easily amendable, and never searched for the source of my struggles.

Read more here. 

Archived Webinar - From Portable to Wearable Supports for Daily Living

Devices from Apple, Google, Pebble and others offer a great deal of customization through a number of built-in accessibility features as well as apps that can be installed to support a number of individual needs. For this session we will focus on the use of wearables as a support for executive functioning, our ability to plan and executive key tasks related to daily living. We will explore a number of built-in features and apps for setting up and managing calendars, to do lists, reminders and other tools that can help all of us stay on track as we seek to complete important personal goals. In addition to these aids for daily living available on a number of wearables ranging from fitness devices to smart watches, we will explore the availability of accessibility features such as screen reader support, magnification and other display adjustments for those who need them to interact with their devices.

Watch the webinar here.

Archived Webinar - Organizational Strategies for Students with ASD in Middle School and Up

Does your Middle or High Schooler struggle with Executive Functioning tasks? Is disorganization or complicated planning hindering their ability to get more out of their programs or classes? Join us for a discussion on strategies to help build organizational skills and strategies for students with ASD. 

View the webinar here.

Archived Webinar - AT and Apps to Support Learners with Autism

Assistive Technology can support learners with autism who may struggle with executive function skills such as scheduling and reminders, organization and time on task, attention and focus, social skills, as well as behavior monitoring and sensory breaks. In this webinar we will demonstrate and discuss various apps and AT options, including wearable technology to support students with autism, to foster engagement, inclusion, independence and success in the educational environment. 

Watch the archived webinar here.