Ellie is autistic and when her classroom assignment came for moving her to her new class, Ellie’s new teachers were concerned they wouldn’t know how to support Ellie in engaging with her classmates, responding to larger emotions, or respecting her neurodivergence.
Fast forward three months, Ellie’s classroom was filled with collaborative ‘wire art’ (Ellie loves electrical wiring) with Ellie and her classmates adding to this art and learning about wiring. Ellie’s teachers supported and respected Ellie’s interests and communication style - engaging in a whole classroom education approach to understanding neurodiversity and different communication styles.
Teachers, therapists, and other adults play such important roles in the lives of our children. This is why we offer training workshops to help give teachers, therapists, support staff, and others the knowledge they need to best serve the children in their lives. All of our trainings are interactive and encourage educators to dive deep into considering the perspective of the children they serve.
Most workshops are 90-120 minutes in length but can be adjusted to meet your needs. Please contact us directly to discuss pricing, special requests, and custom workshops.
Intro to Neurodiversity - What it is and why it matters
Maybe you’ve heard about neurodiversity or maybe this term is completely new. This course is a perfect introduction to neurodiversity and how to respectfully and empathetically support neurodivergent children in your class. Learn the terminology, harmful myths, and ways to spark a whole group discussion and respect of neurodiversity.
Honoring the Neurodivergent Perspective
In this course, we examine how to put our knowledge about neurodiversity into practice. What does it mean to ‘honor neurodiverent perspectives’ and how do we do that? Navigate scenarios designed to highlight how the double empathy problem and monotropism (new terms? Start with our Intro to Neurodiversity course) relate to group interactions and classroom routines. Learn how to support whole classroom changes and to teach all neurotypes how to communicate with each other.
Emotional Regulation - It’s not just Self Regulation
‘Difficulty with emotional regulation’ is one of the biggest concerns shared by classroom teachers, parents, and other professionals. How do we support children who need additional support to regulate their energy levels during the day? For some children, learning to understand and alter emotions and energy states is tough. To make things worse, this children are at increased risk for internalizing the view of being the ‘bad kid’. Learn evidence-based strategies to support children and adults in learning skills necessary to confidently transition from co-regulation to self-regulation.
Sensational Sensations
Sensations help us know when we’re hungry, if our body is hurt, and when we’re starting to feel really mad and frustrated. When working towards emotional regulation and identifying emotional states, we need to talk about sensations. Learn the basics of sensations and how we can support children (and yes, even preschoolers!) in noticing and recognizing the sensations within their own body.
“But Then They’ll All Want…..” - Supporting individual needs
“If I give Johnny a fidget, then they’ll all want one”. “If Bexley can walk around during group time, everyone will walk around during group time”. Familiar concerns? The good news is that you can provide needed supports for individual children without having to give the same supports to the entire class. Learn how to introduce, implement, and reinforce common supports while feeling confident that the needs of everyone in your class are being addressed.
Pre-emptive Problem Solving
You know those days when a child enters your classroom and you can just tell they’re going to have a hard day? This workshop provides tools and strategies to solve problems before they even occur - setting your child and your classroom up for success.