Course Level 

Intermediate

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Audience 

OT, PT, SLP, and interested others

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Course Description

Join this virtual day-long workshop for an inspiring and collaborative discussion with Irene Ingram and Patricia Oetter.  Together with participants, this interactive conversation will bring to life the therapeutic elements of successful intervention. No matter the context, whether the setting is at a camp, clinic, school, home or within the community, intentional interventions can be identified for each child. Moderated by Kim Barthel, these 6 hours of learning will involve short presentations, panel-guided discussions, videotape analysis, break-out rooms, and engagement with participants.

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Learner Objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify components of novelty that contribute to dysregulation and the use of adaptive self-protective strategies

2. Examine elements of daily structure within multiple contexts that support regulated transitions and progressive capacity for exploration and learning

3. Use clinical reasoning skills to discuss videotape case examples of environmental adaptations within multiple contexts to facilitate safety, exploration, and mastery

4. Determine relationally supportive strategies, through videotape case analysis, that would be appropriate to facilitate safety, exploration and mastery within the multiple contexts presented

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Agenda

9:00 am CDT – 10:30 am CDT: Creating Safety Within Novelty 

Novelty is a part of everyday life, irrespective of the context and environment. The instructors will provide an understanding of the neurobiology of threat arising from novelty and uncertainty, resulting in self-protective behavioural strategies. Coming to camp, to school, to a clinic or any new situation creates sympathetic arousal evoking both excitement and anxiety. Presenters and participants will examine the balance between external control and structure with freedom and exploration, for both children and adults in novel contexts. Participants will leave this section with expanded skills in supporting transitions with function in situations where they themselves may feel vulnerable and uncertain.

 

10:30 am CDT – 10:45 am CDT: Break

 

10:45 am CDT – 12:15 pm CDT: Developing Structure to Match the Context 

The instructors will examine the art of modifying day-to-day and moment-to-moment structure, building each child’s empowered sense of autonomy. The intention is to be scaffolding support, increasing flexibility, and decreasing verbal instructions - to be moving the locus of control away from the adults over time towards supporting the child in developing their own internal working model. Presenters and participants will examine video examples to clinically reason the adaptation of these elements of therapeutic intervention across various settings. 

 

12:15 pm CDT – 12:45 pm CDT: Lunch Break

 

12:45 pm CDT – 2:15 pm CDT: Modifying the Environment for the Just Right Challenge 

Analysis of the environment is a significant aspect of clinical reasoning both at camp and in any therapeutic setting. Discussion will explore how a range of environments can be altered across time to create safety and comfort, confidence, risk taking, curiosity, exploration, and mastery.

 

2:15 pm CDT – 2:30 pm CDT: Break

 

2:30 pm CDT – 4:00 pm CDT: Therapeutic Use of Self 

Attuned, intentional therapeutic use of self is one of the most powerful elements in creating safety and comfort, generating opportunities that inspire curiosity and support mastery. Through knowing oneself and harnessing the wisdom of our balanced knowledge and intuition, as clinicians we can increase our abilities to read a child in the moment and modify our co-regulatory influence accordingly, to empower them towards meeting their goals.

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Instructional Methods

The speakers will be using a lecture with slides, experiential labs, panel discussion and question and answers from the original live webinar.

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Course Requirements

On-Demand Access: The participant must complete the course in its entirety. Following the passing score of 80% on the post-course quiz, the participant will be immediately issued a course completion certificate that can be downloaded or printed.

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Continuing Education

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