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Marie Ossi, OTR, an occupational therapist with a private practice in New Canaan, will introduce participants to Brain Gym, an educational sensori-motor program developed by Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D. Using movement to enhance learning, it helps each of us maximize our potential. The movements are similar to those that children naturally experience during their first three years of life, following the developmental steps for eye-, ear-, hand-, and the whole body-coordination, and focusing on seeing, listening, writing and whole body movement.
During the past 25 years, Brain Gym has been used in 87 countries by therapists, teachers and families. Its targeted outcomes are increased self-esteem, enhanced motivation, improvements in concentration, focus, organization, memory, academics, responsibility, attitude, physical coordination, and the ability to identify and avoid stress.
Ms Ossi, a native of Canada, holds degrees in human and health sciences, music and occupational therapy, and is a certified Brain Gym consultant and instructor and a Reiki Master. She has worked as a music therapist, as on OT at Giant Steps, Montreal, and at Norwalk Rehab, where she was assigned to the Norwalk Public Schools for two years, before beginning her own practice in 2000.
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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Rae Suba, OTR/L, pediatric occupational therapist and Executive Director of Child's Play Clinic, LLC, Westport, will help parents and teachers better understand sensory processing and its critical importance in helping all children focus, attend and reach their functional and academic potential. From her over 16 years' clinical and teaching expertise in sensory processing, sensory defensiveness, sensory diet design and motor development, Ms Suba will offer new insights, strategies and tips for supporting your child's sensory processing. Rated "New Canaan's Top Presenter Ever" by SPED*NET New Canaan!
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue (Community Room), Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, http://www.spednetwilton.org , Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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Nancy Schwartz, PhD. CCC/SLP, a speech and language therapist in private practice in Fairfield County for 32 years, will give families, teachers and home care workers simple strategies to use in everyday life to enhance children's communication and thinking skills. Dr Schwartz has a wealth of experience helping children with language problems learn to talk, especially those with autism and/or apraxia. Clinical Director of the Communication Clinic of Connecticut (CCC), and, previously, the Director of the Scottish Rite Institute for Childhood Aphasia, in Los Angeles, Dr Schwartz is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), holds a certificate in Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), and has taught at universities in New York, CT and California, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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Lynne Guilmette, M.Ed., Chief Administrator of Meliora Academy, Meriden, CT., has dedicated herself to serving families of children with autism spectrum and related disorders. In this workshop, she will provide both teachers and parents with useful strategies for using visual supports throughout the day, placing strong emphasis on the development of language and communication, relatedness, cognitive flexibility and social cognition in the context of functional real-life activities. Ms Guilmette provides intensive and comprehensive educational services using innovative, integrated models designed specifically to reduce the fragmented learning, which often occurs with children on the special needs spectrum.
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue (Community Room), Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, http://www.spednetwilton.org, Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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Nancy O'Hara, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Center for Autism and Integrative Health, Wilton, CT. and an internationally recognized expert in the field, will discuss factors influencing the increase in childhood diagnoses of asthma, autism and ADHD. A board-certified pediatrician, Dr. O'Hara is dedicated to the integrative and holistic care of children with neurodevelopmental and autism spectrum disorders. She was a past Assistant Medical Director of physician training for Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!)® and a Physician Mentoring Director for DAN! in Europe. Prior to her medical career, Dr. O'Hara taught children with autism.
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue (Community Room), Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, http://www.spednetwilton.org, Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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Gail Mangs, Esq., an Educational Consultant with the CT State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, will discuss your child's rights, legal protections and legal processes. Attorney Mangs, a graduate of Clark University, where she majored in History and Education, received her M.A. in Education from Northwestern University and earned her J.D. from the University of Connecticut. She has served as a Due Process Hearing Officer with the State Dept. of CT for the past eleven years and, prior to that, worked as a Teacher/Program Coordinator with Headstart.
10:00 a.m. to noon, at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Co-sponsored by SPED*NET Wilton, Norwalk Public Schools, and Norwalk SPED Partners.
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