Full Course Description

Yoga to Improve Sensory, Self-Regulation and Motor Skills in Kids: Autism, ADHD, Developmental Disorders, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy

Are you struggling to gain the interest and cooperation of kids who have difficulty with motor skills, sensory processing, or behavior/emotional problems during your therapy sessions or in your classroom? Would you like to have some fun and effective new techniques to add to your bag of tricks?

Join Kathryne Cammisa, MHE, OTR/L, for this recording as she shows you the powerful and positive impact yoga can have on the kids you work with who face challenges with sensory processing, motor incoordination, neurological disorders, ASD, ADHD, emotional/behavioral issues, and learning disorders. You will learn to integrate poses and techniques into your classroom or clinic regardless of your level of yoga experience.

You will learn new, interactive yoga practices to enhance:

Motor skills
Muscle length and strength
Focus for learning
Body and self-awareness
Nervous system regulation
Cooperation with others

Through hands-on exercises, case studies, and videos – you will leave fully equipped to implement simple, fun & effective techniques to improve physical, sensory, and self-regulation skills in the kids you work with in therapy or the classroom!

Note: We encourage you to practice along with the presentation! Consider dressing comfortably and having a yoga mat or towel handy.

Program Information

Objectives

Communicate therapy goals reflecting each of the five components of well-balanced yoga practice.
Implement yoga poses/techniques to improve strength & balance and range of motion.
Select yoga poses/techniques to improve self-regulation and social & emotional skills.
Design simple, well-balanced, yoga routines for children with special needs.
Adapt yoga poses & techniques for a variety of settings, abilities & age levels.
List the 5 components of a well-balanced yoga practice.

Outline

Yoga Poses and Techniques For: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Breathing exercises for awareness & regulation
Poses to calm & relax the nervous system
Partner poses for facilitating dyadic cooperation
Meditation for strengthening attention
LAB: Practice techniques

Exercises for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)

Breathing exercises for calming the nervous system
Centering exercises for reigning in attention & bringing energy levels down
Facilitating focus via balance & core strengthening poses
Relaxation for calming the body & mind
Meditation to improve attention span
LAB: Practice techniques

Behavior and Emotional Problems

Addressing resistance
Precautions for dealing with childhood trauma, abuse and neglect

Developmental Coordination Disorder

Breathing exercises for assisting with focus
Promote motor planning via sequenced poses
Relaxation for relieving anxiety
LAB: Practice techniques

Special Needs: Cerebral Palsy & Increased Tone

Breathing exercises for awareness & strengthening the diaphragm
Elongate flexors/adductors for improved range of motion & movement
Stretch hamstrings for improved posture
Relaxation for increasing body awareness
Meditation for assisting with focus & visual motor skill
LAB: Practice techniques

Downs Syndrome & Low Tone

Breathing to invigorate the nervous system
Body awareness activities
Poses for strengthening core muscles
Meditation for focus & awareness
LAB: Practice techniques

Yoga Games

Body awareness
Creativity
Gratitude
Trust and cooperation
Quiet games
Listening and focus
Partner poses
LAB: Practice techniques

Adapt Yoga for Different Age Groups & Settings

Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers, School age
Clinic, classroom, home

Target Audience

Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists
Special Education Teachers
General Education Teachers
School Administrators
Educational Paraprofessionals
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapy Assistants
Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
School Psychologists
Marriage and Family Therapists
Case Managers
Nurse
Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children ages 0-21

Copyright : 04/24/2020

Attachment & Emotional Regulation Techniques for Kids: Calm the Nervous System & De-Escalate Difficult Behaviors

Frustratingly, therapy and educational goals are often derailed by children becoming instantaneously dysregulated in emotion, thought and behavior.

While it only takes a few seconds for a child to throw a blood-curdling tantrum it can take 45 minutes to deescalate – by then your time together is almost up.

Now imagine a reserve of practical strategies to deal with difficult behaviors in children. Interventions that will quickly empower children to make good choices, think before they act and choose their best behavior, most of the time.

Join Kathryne Cammisa, MHE, OTR/L, in this recording and learn effective strategies to teach children crucial self-regulation skills that will help them to:

resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli
calm themselves down when they are upset, and
consciously adjust to changing expectations and frustrations without a tantrum or outburst.

You will walk away with techniques such as relaxation, mindfulness, social stories, video modeling, visualization, and affirmations for children of a variety of ages and abilities, including Sensory Processing Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning disabilities, behavioral or emotional deficits, and other special needs.

Learn strategies that are necessary for children to sustain self-regulation so that they can become more independent and successful in all areas of their lives!

Program Information

Objectives

Articulate how attachment style impacts children’s self-regulation and its effect on behavior and learning.
Communicate the neurophysiological and social impact of anxiety and stress in children.
Implement customized strategies that sustain self-regulation in children of a variety of ages/abilities.
Demonstrate techniques that calm the nervous system in children such as alternate muscle contraction and progressive muscle relaxation.
Design interventions including social stories, video modeling, mindfulness, visualization and affirmation techniques to promote positive behavior in children.
Create and implement programs to deal with a variety of challenging behaviors in children including tantrums, sensory issues and sleep and elimination problems.
Integrate behavior modification techniques to reduce challenging behaviors in children.

Outline

The Neurobiology of Regulation

Attachment & How Relationships Impact the Brain
Mirror Neurons
- Therapeutic implications & techniques
Oxytocin
- Therapeutic implications & techniques
Attachment styles & their impact on behavior
Attachment & attunement to support & empower therapeutic relationships
Therapeutic use of self with difficult kids

Effects of Anxiety & Stress on Self-Regulation

Stress response patterns as survival strategies
Consequences of stress on mental & physical functioning
Anxiety & brain research
Moving from fight, flight, freeze to rest & digest for better learning
Quick stress busters for kids

Strategies to Support & Sustain Self-Regulation

Developmental sequence of self regulation
Strategies for each stage
Scaffolding: moving kids from where they are to the next level

Calming the Nervous System

Techniques for infants to young adults
Quick relaxation breaks
Formal relaxation strategies
Stress reduction lab: practices for lower to higher functioning individuals

Empower & Motivate Kids for Emotional Independence

Game-Changing Interventions for Positive Behavior from the Inside Out
- Mindfulness
- Social stories
- Video modeling
- Visualization
- Affirmations
- Building confidence
- Developing autonomy & intrinsic motivation

Techniques to Deal with Difficult Behaviors

Minimize or Eliminate:
- Tantrums
- Elimination problems
- Troubling sleep patterns
- Eating issues
- Transitions
- Sensory issues

Utilizing Behavior Modification Techniques for Effective Interventions

Positive discipline
Alternatives to punishment
Gradual exposure to broaden tolerance
Self management to empower kids

Self-Regulation Problem Solving Lab

Case studies to link what we have learned to your caseload

Target Audience

Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists
Special Education Teachers
General Education Teachers
School Administrators
Educational Paraprofessionals
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapy Assistants
Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
School Psychologists
Marriage and Family Therapists
Case Managers
Nurse
Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children ages 0-21

Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and Clinical Virtual Reality (VR): New Technologies for Treating Sensorimotor Impairments

Virtual Reality (VR) has now emerged as an efficacious tool in many areas of assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation in children and adults!

Join Albert “Skip” Rizzo as he walks you through how VR technology creates controllable, multisensory, interactive 3D stimulus environments while offering clinical assessment and intervention options that are not possible using traditional methods. This session provides exemplars of how VR can be used across a range of childhood health conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, sensorimotor impairments, and more! The capacity of VR to create emotionally evocative and cognitively engaging embodied experiences makes knowledge of its use in clinical care essential for 21st Century clinicians!

Program Information

Objectives

Defend the rationale for the use of VR in the assessment and training of cognitive, motor and psychological health conditions in children including those with autism, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and sensorimotor impairments.
Argue how recent advances in the creation of virtual humans can be used in clinical applications for training healthcare providers and for various patient-facing applications like social skill training.
Support the rationale for the use of VR in the assessment and rehabilitation of a wide range of clinical disorders including, Phobias, PTSD, Alzheimer's, Stroke, and addictions.
Choose technology applications for clinical use with children, not simply by knowing of specific applications, but by understanding what features and potential added value they may provide.

Outline

Introduction to Virtual Reality (VR)

Definitions and Rationales
Immersion and Interactivity
Theoretical/practical rationale for clinical VR

New Tools for Clinical Treatment, Training, and Research – Cases Examples

VR in the assessment and treatment of cognitive, motor and psychological function
- Autism, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and sensorimotor impairments
VR Exposure Therapy for Anxiety Disorders, PTSD
VR distraction approaches for pain management and discomfort reduction
VR motor and cognitive function assessment and rehabilitation
Intelligent virtual humans for role play training for social skills and building relationships
Limitations of the research and potential risks

The Future of Clinical Virtual Reality Across the Lifespan!

Technology
Costs
Marketplace
Growing Clinical and Scientific Community

Target Audience

Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Speech-Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapists Assistants
Teachers/School-Based Personnel
School Administrators