High-Functioning Autism: Proven & Practical Interventions for Challenging Behaviors in Children, Adolescents & Young Adults

April 16 - Billings
April 17 - Bozeman
April 19 - Missoula

$219.99   Single Registration                                    

$199.99   Single Registration: Advance Price (ends 3/27/2018)                                        

$199.99    2+ Group Rate: per person

Course Description:

This intensive, full-day seminar provides proven intervention strategies, essential treatment tools, and behavioral techniques to help you analyze behaviors and actions, identify consequences for behaviors, and teach new skills to children, adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism (HFA). Walk away with practical intervention techniques for social success, behavior changes and overcoming challenging co-occurring behaviors that deliver success through adulthood. The challenging co-occurring issues to be addressed are:

• Social skills
• Sensory
• Depression
• ADHD
• Psychotropic medications
• Communication
• Anxiety/Rigidity
• Meltdowns
• OCD
• Non-compliance

Gain valuable insight into common psychotropic medications, including both the helpful effects and potentially problematic side effects, that these individuals are prescribed. We will explore HFA and the new DSM-5® diagnosis of Social-Pragmatic Communication Disorder. You will receive the necessary tools to gain effective collaboration between clinicians, educators and parents. Through case studies, video clips and class participation you will leave this seminar with the confidence to identify actions that cause impediments in change, utilize more successful consequences for behaviors, and teach new skills to children, adolescents, and young adults with HFA. Don’t just manage these individuals; provide interventions that can lead to successful independence into their adult years!

Register here. 

Please note: This training is provided by PESI and we will not be offering attendance scholarships as we are unfamiliar with the presentation/presenter. 

Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-medication Approaches to the Most Challenging Behaviors

March 19 - Billings
March 20 - Great Falls
March 21 - Missoula

$219.99

Single Registration

$199.99

Single Registration: Advance Price (ends 2/27/2018)

$199.99

2+ Group Rate: per person

Course Description:

Children and adolescents with ODD, ADHD, Asperger’s, anxiety, mood and disruptive disorders provide constant clinical and parenting challenges. Attend this seminar and learn new, effective non-medication strategies for your client’s most challenging behaviors including:

• Tantrums
• Running out/away
• Noncompliance
• Nagging
• Refusing to work/help
• Yelling/screaming
• Bullying
• Panic/anxiety reactions
• Lack of follow through
• Not following directions

You will walk away with immediate strategies for out of control behaviors and techniques for emotional regulation along with long-term treatment strategies to help kids at home and school. Amanda Crowder, LCSW, is a clinical expert and has worked with the most challenging kids both in clinical and school settings. Through the use of case studies and action oriented handouts, you will leave this seminar with solutions to turn your most challenging kids around.

Find more information here. 

Please note: This training is provided by PESI and we will not be offering attendance scholarships as we are unfamiliar with the presentation/presenter. 

Mental Health Issues in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Helping Children and Adolescents Succeed

February 21 - Missoula

February 22 - Bozeman

February 23 - Billings

$219.99

Single Registration

$199.99

2+ Group Rate: per person

$30.00

Cordinator

Join child/adolescent behavioral expert, Jay Berk, PhD, and learn how to best manage the students at your school diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), mood disorders, anxiety and depression. You will walk away with concrete, yet practical, strategies to successfully intervene with their serious behavioral issues, such as:

• Anger and outbursts
• Cutting and self-injury
• Defiance
• Impulsivity
• Sensory issues
• Meltdowns and tantrums
• Obsessive compulsive
• Truancy
• Rigidity
• Electronic addiction

Through case studies, video clips and dynamic class discussion you will learn:

• 30 second teacher strategies to manage challenging and disruptive behaviors
• New ways to reduce the costs of out-of-district placements
• How to engage students in class, increase productivity and reduce truancy
• Behavioral assessments and strategies for the IEP team
• Side-effects of common psychotropic medications
• How skill deficits from mental health conditions create behavioral difficulties
• Characteristics of at-risk students’ mental health problems
• Strategies to gain collaboration with clinicians

Leave the day with the “magic dust” you have been looking for to expedite rapid and effective changes in these children and adolescents!

Find more information here. 

Please note: This training is provided by PESI and we will not be offering attendance scholarships as we are unfamiliar with the presentation/presenter. 

Archived Webinar - AT and Apps to Support Math for Diverse Learners!

Let’s talk math apps and assistive technology tools to support access to math assignments for diverse learners! This engaging session will focus on supporting diverse learners on all platforms and devices, using iOS apps (iPhone/ iPad) and Google Chrome Apps & Extensions (Laptops, Chromebooks, Windows) to supplement math curriculum and skills in the classroom. Many schools are implementing 1 to 1 programs or “Going Google,” with Google Apps and Chromebooks. This session will address supporting diverse learners on ALL devices, using apps, extensions, and free web resources, as well as tactile/physical tools & AT equipment to support and develop the math skills that students may find challenging. AT for accessing math assignments in accessible formats will be discussed, including digital, enlarged, and tactile formats. Apps, tools, and assistive technologies will be demonstrated to support foundational math skills, as well as more complex math skills in areas such as Algebra, Geometry, Word Problems, Fractions, Math drills, Automaticity, and more. Access and support for all students, including those with Dyslexia, Specific LDs, who are Blind or have Low Vision, Physical Disabilities, and CVI will be introduced.

View the archived webinar here.

Archived Webinar - Assistive Technology (AT) Tools for Writing

For some students, writing can be a very hard skill to master. Whether a student struggles with getting their thoughts down on paper, spelling, grammar, or bibliographies, assistive technology or AT can help. Through the use of AT, students can minimize their frustration with writing by using ‘alternative pencils’ or a different way of writing via tools that support various aspects of the writing process to show what they know. 

This workshop for parents will focus on assistive technology to aid in writing for students with disabilities of all ages. Tools that will be demonstrated include Smartpens, apps, Chrome extensions, and more.

Watch the recorded webinar here. 

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. 

How Are Children Tested For Autism? It's A Complex Process

Human beings fall along a spectrum of neurodiversity, and for that reason, many experts no longer consider autism spectrum disorder (ASD) the developmental tragedy depicted in '90s television and Lifetime movies. In fact, falling somewhere along that spectrum can be a pretty amazing sign of individuality and difference. That said, children with ASD often face unique challenges, and they can truly benefit from diagnosis and targeted support in early childhood. How are children tested for autism? The "gold standard" assessment is rigorous, involved, and, when performed by an experienced professional, a helpful tool for self-understanding.

Read more here. 

Spectrum stories: Shifting cultural views about autism abroad

In this episode, host Jacob Brogan talks to autism researchers and families with children on the spectrum in France and Ethiopia. However different the two countries may be, advocates in both places are working to overturn outdated beliefs about autism that blame parents and block access to evidence-backed services and treatment.

Listen/read more about this at Spectrum. 

HEALTHCARE TOOLKIT: Patient Centered Care Tools for Autistic Adults

Primary Care Resources for Adults on the Autism Spectrum and their Primary Care Providers

This web site has information and worksheets for adults on the autism spectrum, supporters, and healthcare providers. It focuses on primary healthcare, or healthcare with a regular doctor.

The resources on this site are meant to improve the healthcare of autistic adults. They were made by the Academic-Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) through a series of research studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. AASPIRE hopes that you will find these resources helpful.

Find more information here. 

AUTISM INFORMATION FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS

POLICE OFFICERS AND OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS MAY ENCOUNTER OR BE ASKED TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO A PERSON WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS OF AUTISM AND KNOWING EFFECTIVE WAYS TO APPROACH A PERSON ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM CAN MINIMIZE SITUATIONS OF RISK OR VICTIMIZATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL, AS WELL AS THE RISK TO THOSE INTERVENING.

There are good resources here from the Autism Society and the Association for Science in Autism Treatment.