Motivation, which is controlled by a complex brain system,
creates and guides goal-directed behavior. For many bright children
with learning differences, initiating and sustaining motivation poses a
special challenge and can contribute to underacheivement in school, as
well as failure to complete daily responsibilities. Dr. Stixrud will
summarize some research on motivation that has informed his thinking
about practical strategies to foster motivation at home and at school.
Dr. William R. Stixrud is a licensed psychologist who has been in
private practice as a neuropsychologist since 1985. He specializes in
the evaluation of children, adolescents, and adults with various types
of learning disabilities, AD/HD, and social/emotional difficulties.
Dr. Stixrud also teaches and lectures on a variety of subjects
including, but not limited to, the effects of stress on the brain,
homework and appropriate workloads for school-aged children,
self-esteem, and brain development. Prior to entering private practice,
Dr. Stixrud served as a staff neuropsychologist at the Children's
National Medical Center and the Georgetown University Medical School.
He currently is a member of the Clinical Supervisory Faculty at
Children's Hospital and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at
the George Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Stixrud also
holds an appointment on the Clinical Faculty of the Division of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School. He
received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Educational
Psychology, interned at the Children's Hospital of Boston through
Harvard University, and completed his post-doctorate work at Tufts
University. He currently lives in Silver Spring with his wife and dog.
We always invite you to renew your membership for the school year at any time or join us as a new member with your $25.00 tax deductible contribution to IDL.
Non-members, we ask you to bring a $5.00 donation
Please join us !!
PLEASE RSVP with us at info@gifteddifferentlearners.org
Linden-Linthicum church is located in Clarksville on Route 108, directly next to the River Hill Village Center.
CALENDAR: 2009-2010 School Year
(Note: some sessions are subject to change, IDL does not 'endorse' any speaker but provides information and local resources for parents)
Laurie Dietzel is co-author of "Late Lost and Unprepared.." a book written with Dr. Joyce Cooper-Kahn that helps parents and their children with a variety of executive function disorders tap into their potential by dealing with how to 'prepare' and organize.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Introduction to IDL and UDL: Overview and new Directions plus--Meet and Greet
(from 7-7:30)
IDL President, Katharina Boser, Ph.D.
September is always a difficult month to meet with back to school nights. We look forward to seeing those of you who don't have a conflict. As usual, we will have resources available and will spend some time on questions/concerns.We will introduce new members to the main mission and goals of the group and bring books and web resources for viewing and learning. We also will discuss new ideas and directions for children who are 2e in Howard County (LD/ADHD committee etc.) and beyond (UDL advocacy) and the upcoming Conference, "Diamonds in the Rough".
This first meeting will not only
reinforce and provide and overview of 'best practices' for children
who are twice exceptional but highlight and explain some relatively new
concepts in the field such as UDL. Presented by IDL president, Katharina Boser
Lots to learn and to catch up on!-
We will also provide details about the upcoming events and speakers this year.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Daniel Eisner, OT Living Logically
TOPIC: How to Coach Yourself and Your Children through any Challenge
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Here are
just a few things you will learn
How
to manage (and teach others) stress in real time.
How
to improve the quality of "homework time."
How
to find your own solution is the midst of any challenge..
How
to communicate in the most effective way possible to achieve immediate results.
How
to consistently make decisions with clarity and confidence.
Dan Eisner
is a Certified Life Coach and an Occupational Therapist with over twelve years
experience. After working solely as an OT for 9 years, Dan came to the
realization that he could most effectively influence the lives of the people he
serves by incorporating a deeper level of involvement through improved
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and in helping his clients to develop their own EQ.
The positive response that he received both personally and professionally led
him down the path of Life Coaching.
Monday, November 9, 2009:
Chris BugajLoudon County, VA Technology integration specialist
TOPIC: Eight is Enough: Ways to use what you've got
Strategies to help a student achieve can be found all around us in the many tools that we already have available. Implementing a tool that is already available is usually less restrictive, more effective and efficient for students than imposing something new. Together we will explore eight applications using technology that is probably already available (or can easily be made available) to students in their educational (and home) environments to address reading and writing. Bringing your own laptop is welcomed but won't be a necessity, as the audience will be active participants in the experience.
Christopher R. Bugaj, MA CCC-SLP earned his Bachelor of Science in Education at the State University of New York at Fredonia and earned his Masters of Arts in Speech Pathology at Kent State University.Chris is the host of the A.T.TIPScast, an award-winning podcast on the implementation of assistive technology in public schools as well as the co-author of The Practical (and fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools being published by the International Society for Technology in Education in February of 2010. Chris is an active member of the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association and an adjunct professor at George Mason University. He currently works as an assistive technology trainer for Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia and lives in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia with his wife and two children.
TOPIC: Preparing your Different Learner for College
Fran Bowman has been in the field of special education for 34 years and is author of a guidebook that specializes in teaching reading to dyslexic students. She is part of the graduate education faculty at Goucher College and is helping to launch a new program for students with dyslexia and executive function. Her presentation will focus on the kinds of testing and application issues, schools, technological preparation and time tables for completion that need to be considered to maximize success. She will discuss differences between colleges for LD students and regular colleges with embedded services. Parents will learn about college counseling services available through the public and private schools. Ms. Bowman will also highlight how to best handle college visits. This presentation will be of great interest to parents of children who are in middle school and high school.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Joe Potesky MV Financial Group, Bethesda MD
TOPIC: Health Insurance issues for your 2e child
Joe is director
of Employee Benefits with MV Financial Group in Bethesda, MD. He has
been in the financial services industry for 20 years with experience
with individual planning and group benefits. He has
clients nationally who he has advised in the procurement of the health
insurance both for businesses and individuals. One of his engagements
is a national physician placement firm with self-employed professionals
all over the country that need to address personal health insurance. As
the proud parent of three children with IEPs, Joe has a huge amount of
personal experience with trials and tribulations that people face when
getting their health insurance needs met.
He will focus this presentation on the following topics:
Healthcare
Laws
Coverage
Options
Getting
Claims Paid
Financing
Strategies
Joe is a cum laude
undergraduate in Finance and an MBA from the University of Maryland,
College Park. In addition, he has his JD from the University of
Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, MD. Joe's professional
designations include a Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU) and a
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).
What Brain Research Tells Us About Motivating Children and Adolescents
Motivation, which is controlled by a complex brain system, creates and guides goal-directed behavior. For many bright children with learning differences, initiating and sustaining motivation poses a special challenge and can contribute to underacheivement in school, as well as failure to complete daily responsibilities. Dr. Stixrud will summarize some research on motivation that has informed his thinking about practical strategies to foster motivation at home and at school.
Dr. William R. Stixrud is a licensed psychologist who has been in private practice as a neuropsychologist since 1985. He specializes in the evaluation of children, adolescents, and adults with various types of learning disabilities, AD/HD, and social/emotional difficulties. Dr. Stixrud also teaches and lectures on a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, the effects of stress on the brain, homework and appropriate workloads for school-aged children, self-esteem, and brain development. Prior to entering private practice, Dr. Stixrud served as a staff neuropsychologist at the Children's National Medical Center and the Georgetown University Medical School. He currently is a member of the Clinical Supervisory Faculty at Children's Hospital and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Stixrud also holds an appointment on the Clinical Faculty of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Educational Psychology, interned at the Children's Hospital of Boston through Harvard University, and completed his post-doctorate work at Tufts University. He currently lives in Silver Spring with his wife and dog.
Monday, March 8, 2009
Maria Dixon, CCC, SLP
University of Maryland, Department of Speech Sciences
TOPIC: Navigating the Social World: tips and strategies for your 2e child
Maria V. Dixon, M.A., CCC-SLP. Maria Dixon is a Clinical Instructor at The University of Maryland and is a Clinical Instructor at The University of Maryland, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences.
In school, twice-exceptional children with social language problems can
have the double duty of learning the explicit curriculum along with the hidden
curriculum of social interaction with peers. The hidden curriculum can
often be the bigger battle for 2e children. As children advance in
school, higher expectations on their understanding of the hidden curriculum can
impact their success. How can we provide children with the tools
necessary to negotiate the labyrinth of social interactions with
peers? In this talk, we will discuss some of the challenges of the
hidden curriculum, how language can exacerbate or mitigate these issues and how
to use children’s strengths to navigate the social landscape they face.
Maria Dixon is a licensed and certified
Speech-Language Pathologist employed as a Clinical Supervisor in
Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Maryland Hearing and Speech
Sciences Department. Prior to the University of Maryland, she was a
Clinical Assistant Professor at Purdue University’s Speech, Language and
Hearing Sciences Department. At both of these universities, Maria has
designed and implemented social language groups for children young children
through adolescence who have social language difficulties. While at
Purdue University, Maria worked collaboratively to create a summer orientation
program for admitted freshman with special issues, such as with autism spectrum
disorders. Maria’s clinical and research interests include child and adolescent
language disorders; Autism Spectrum Disorders; and Clinical Supervision and
Administration
Autism Speaks, Innovative technology committee chair and IDL president
TOPIC:Technology Tools for the Twice Exceptional Learner (Part II)
Please join Sarah Wayland, researcher at University of Maryland's Center
for Applied Speech and Language and moderator of GT-special, and
Katharina Boser, cognitive psychologist with expertise in technologies
for learning and president of IDL, as they discuss how assistive
technologies and Universal Design can give your student greater access
to the curriculum and independent learning skills. We will be discussing
tools that can help a wide range of different learning concerns from
language impairment (receptive and expressive), to reading and writing
as well as thinking. We will present ways to bring out your student's
exceptional skills in the areas of most interest to them so they can
gain confidence in their 'gift'. We will discuss tools for executive
function impairments and social skills and talk about how tools that
help to foster 's strengths need to be adopted while balancing the
accommodation with remediation as necessary. Come with questions and a laptop!
Further resources will be provided.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Rescheduled Dr. Stixrud Presentation (see description in February above)
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