One-Day PD Seminars Menu

Program

Held at the Holiday Inn Boston-Dedham (see directions to the left)

8:15am - 2:30pm

 

 

Executive functions, the array of metacognitive and self-regulatory skills mediated by the frontal lobes, have a profound impact not just on attention and organization, but on virtually all aspects of academic and social functioning. An emerging body of research has shown that students across a broad range of learning and emotional disability conditions (and even many ‘nondisabled’ children) struggle with several aspects of executive skills. In order to truly understand and effectively intervene in the difficulties so many students display in classroom settings, it is essential for educators to develop a strong working knowledge of executive functions. This highly interactive seminar examines the neuropsychology of a broad range of executive functioning skills, with emphasis given to the academic and behavioral implications of EF/self-regulation deficits in school settings. The primary purpose of the training is to build participants’ understanding of the scope/nature of frontal lobe processing difficulties, while providing practical strategies for intervention in the classroom.

 

Download Seminar Brochure (pdf)
 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify the specific brain functions associated with the development and exhibition of executive functions
  • Describe the range of executive functioning difficulties commonly displayed by children on the ADHD and other mental/learning disorder spectrums
  • Show the manner in which executive functions facilitate (and impede, if deficient) the acquisition of reading, math, written language and social skills
  • Apply evidence-based strategies and other best intervention models to improve the academic and social functioning of students with executive functioning struggles

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This seminar is applicable for teachers, special educators, psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, literacy specialists, school and district level administrators, and parents of students on the ADHD and EFD spectrums.


 

WORKSHOP LEADERS

 

kaufmanSarah Ward, PhD, MS, CCC/SLP, will lead this workshop and is Co-Director at Cognitive Connections LLP and co-author of the innovative 360 Thinking executive function program. She regularly presents nationally and internationally on the topic of executive functions to a variety of professional and parent organizations. Ms. Ward holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. She has presented to and consulted with over 475 public and private schools in Massachusetts and across the United States on how to implement executive function based strategies into the classroom setting. Awards received include the MGH Expertise in Clinical Practice Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Faculty in Excellence Award from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions (2002, 2011).

 

 

kaufmanKristen Jacobsen, MS, CCC/SLP, will assist with this workshop and is Co-Director at Cognitive Connections LLP. Ms. Jacobsen has co-authored the innovative 360 Thinking approach to facilitate executive functioning skills. She has also co-authored executive function articles and educational products, including the Academic Planner and Tracknets, as well as the Time Tracker Program and Get Ready*Do*Done instructional approach. She provides trainings and workshops for teachers to deliver effective executive function based instruction that can reach all learners in their classrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr. Christopher Kaufman has been replaced by Sarah Ward and will be assisted by Kristen Jacobsen.