A Strengths-Based Approach
to Supporting Autistic Kids
Join us in this live workshop on June 11th, 2023 at 2pm EST. You’ll learn a concrete process to help you generate more relevant, effective, strengths-based plans for your therapy sessions with confidence and ease. This workshop includes 2.5 hours of instructional time and a 15 minute break, with at run time of 2.75 hours. (Want the on-demand version? Grab it here.)
Continuing Education
from Learn Play Thrive
Learn a strengths-based process that will change
how you work
PART 1: Dive Deep into Autism Learning Styles
Go deep into how Autistic kids learn and experience the world based on the latest research and the experience of Autistic adults so that you can feel confident you understand your clients’ learning style way beyond the surface level.
PART 2: Take Your Clients' Perspective
Learn how to shift your perspective to truly consider the experience of your Autistic clients. This means looking beyond the behavior you can see and diving deep into how a child’s participation in daily routines is impacted by their learning style, interests, and strengths, as well as the demands of the environment.
PART 3: Plan Treatments with Confidence
Learn an autism-specific process that will allow you to generate a robust list of hypotheses and interventions every time you sit down with a new goal so that you can stop dreading treatment planning and start approaching it with confidence.
PART 4: Put It Into Action
Practice using this process together with Meg in this live training using cases that are relevant to your own practice so that you walk away with fresh ideas to apply right away and experience applying them to your actual work.
EXTRAS: Get Resources to Support You
Get a workbook and a filliable PDF of the process to complete together with teachers and parents so that you can feel you truly have expertise in using an autism-specific, strengths-based lens, and so that your work can have the greatest impact possible.
Want More Details?
Fill out the form below to join our email list for more info about the course and tons of free neurodiversity resources.
Access
Once you register, you’ll have access to all of the course resources four weeks to complete on your own time.
Continuing Education
This course is registered for .25 AOTA CEUs and will be registered for .25 ASHA CEUs as a live distance learning course.
FAQs
Information about completion requirements, accommodations, and more can be found in the FAQs.
This course is
for you if...
You currently work with Autistic kids (note this is the preferred language of the autistic community) on functional daily skills and want to be more effective in your work
You are tired of writing “The purpose of the behavior is to gain attention” and you want to write more relevant and useful hypotheses that truly reflect the lived experiences of Autistic people and the needs of your clients
- You currently work with Autistic kids (note this is the preferred language of the autistic community) on functional daily skills and want to be more effective in your work
- You are tired of writing “The purpose of the behavior is to gain attention” and you want to write more relevant and useful hypotheses that truly reflect the lived experiences of Autistic people and the needs of your clients
You want concrete tools (and a workbook!) to help you shape your interventions based on the strengths of your neurodivergent clients so that they can experience more ease, authenticity, and joy in participating in their life
- You want concrete tools (and a workbook!) to help you shape your interventions based on the strengths of your neurodivergent clients so that they can experience more ease, authenticity, and joy in participating in their life
Meet your
Instructors
Meg Proctor
Meg Proctor
M.S., OTR/L
Meg has worked in early intervention, schools, and clinics. She is a former faculty member of the TEACCH® Autism program, and she is the host of the Two Sides of the Spectrum Podcast, where she interviews autistic adults and other professionals striving to change therapy practice.
She is the primary instructor in The Learn Play Thrive Approach to Autism, where she fills up the toolboxes of OTs and SLPs with strengths-based strategies to use in their work. Meg also teaches Module 1 of the LPT Approach to Autism as a stand-alone live course, A Strengths-Based Approach to Autism.
*We use identity-first language as it’s the preference of most autistic adults and helps to reduce stigma.
FINANCIAL: Meg is the owner of Learn Play Thrive and receives a salary.
NON-FINANCIAL: Meg has friends and colleagues who are autistic.
Rachel Dorsey
Rachel Dorsey
M.S., CCC-SLP
Rachel holds a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked in school, clinic, and community-based settings with children and adolescents of all ages.
FINANCIAL: Rachel was paid a speaking fee for her contribution to The Learn Play Thrive Approach to Autism. Rachel receives commission from her course, Goal Writing for Autistic Students and for the Learn Play Thrive Neurodiversity Summit. She is paid a consulting fee by Learn Play Thrive as the SLP consultant. Rachel is a paid consultant for Responsive Feeding Pro, LLC. Rachel is the owner of Rachel Dorsey: Autistic SLP, LLC and receives a salary.
NON-FINANCIAL: Rachel is Autistic and has friends and family members who are Autistic.
Sarah Selvaggi-Hernandez
Sarah Selvaggi-Hernandez
MOT, OTR/L
Sarah’s previous professional experience includes assistant professor of pediatrics and mental health at Bay Path University, early intervention therapist in Springfield, MA, and occupational therapist at psychiatric residential treatment facility in East Windsor, CT. She now works as a full-time autistic advocate and sensory consultant. Sarah and her husband Jeremy also served as a therapeutic foster family for the State of Connecticut for nearly twenty years, and continue to provide therapeutic respite care for autistic children. Sarah can be found happy-flapping with her family in Enfield, CT.
FINANCIAL: Sarah was paid a speaking fee for her contribution to the LPT Approach to Autism. She receives commission for the sales of Ethics & Neurodiversity: Let’s Talk Sex. Sarah is the author of a book, Melt Like Ice Cream, for which she receives royalties. She is also owner of Living Sensory Wellness, Inc. and receives compensation for consultation services.
NON-FINANCIAL: Sarah is autistic and has friends and family members who are autistic. Sarah is an unpaid advisory board member for NeuroClastic, Inc. and Disability Rights Connecticut.
Please note: disclosure statements are contained in the Bio page for each speaker. Click on "READ BIO" above to review the disclosures.
I feel confident that it will change your practice.
– Meg Proctor, Founder of Learn Play Thrive
Course Objectives
A Strengths-Based Approach to Supporting Autistic Kids
Critique traditional models of Autistic learning styles using the framework of the Double Empathy Problem and research on the mental health outcomes of masking
Develop six or more specific hypotheses about how a child's difficulty participating in a learning activity or routine may be related to Autistic learning styles
Generate six or more intervention strategies to teach new skills and adapt the learning environment based on specific client’s strengths
- Critique traditional models of Autistic learning styles using the framework of the Double Empathy Problem and research on the mental health outcomes of masking
- Develop six or more specific hypotheses about how a child's difficulty participating in a learning activity or routine may be related to Autistic learning styles
- Generate six or more intervention strategies to teach new skills and adapt the learning environment based on specific client’s strengths
Training Agenda
PART 1: Autistic Learning Styles
30 minutes
Dive deep into what we know about how Autistic people think and learn based on the latest research and the lived experiences of Autistic people.
This includes the challenges that your Autistic clients are likely to experience as neurodivergent people in a world not designed for them, the harm of traditional behavioral approaches, and the strengths often associated with Autistic learning styles.
This portion is taught live by OT and LPT Founder Meg Proctor with recorded contributions from Autistic SLP Rachel Dorsey and Autistic OT Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez.
PART 2: Interpret Learning Needs, Write Hypotheses and Generate Interventions
2 hours (plus a 15 minute break)
Next, you’ll dive into the Interpreting Behaviors Process together with Meg and your other live participants!
Meg will walk you through the interpreting behaviors process step-by-step using the example of a child who throws toys during free time. She’ll show you how to use Autistic learning styles to write hypotheses and generate interventions.
The next part is when the learning really happens. Using the experience of a child who has trouble transitioning into school after recess, we’ll all work through the process together live in the workshop. You’ll be amazed at the hypotheses and intervention ideas that you are suddenly able to come up with!
- Meg will walk you through the interpreting behaviors process step-by-step using the example of a child who throws toys during free time. She’ll show you how to use Autistic learning styles to write hypotheses and generate interventions.
- The next part is when the learning really happens. Using the experience of a child who has trouble transitioning into school after recess, we’ll all work through the process together live in the workshop. You’ll be amazed at the hypotheses and intervention ideas that you are suddenly able to come up with!
Worksheet and Workbook
You’ll receive a worksheet that you can type into or print out and a workbook to make sure you get the most out of the training and can take it into your practice with confidence and skill.
Quiz Completion
In order to receive a certificate of completion, you must complete a quiz attesting that you completed the workshop and demonstrating mastery of the course content.
Receiving Credit
After you complete your quiz (multiple attempts are allowed) and the course satisfaction survey, you’ll receive your certificate by email. If you miss the live training, we’ll offer you a transfer into the recorded replay.
Frequently Asked Questions
This course is appropriate for professionals working with kids from early intervention through adolescence.
This is a live training that includes live lecture, short recorded videos, and a participatory process using the Zoom chat box. During the live training, you will learn the interpreting behaviors process, practice using it together during a structured case study, and then have time to ask any questions.
If you miss the live training, you may email us to be transferred into the recorded replay, which will also be available for CE credit. It will be available within one week of the live training. If you are not planning to attend live, please wait and register for the replay directly.
You must attend the entire 2.75 hour live training (2.5 hours of instructional time with a 15 minute break). You must attest to your attendance by completing an attestation. Then you’ll need to pass a quiz in the course in Thinkific with a satisfactory score of 75% or higher (multiple attempts are allowed). You will receive your certificate by email.
No refunds will be issued after you have registered. However you do have the option of transferring your registration to another learner or transferring to the recorded replay. If the live course is canceled by the instructor, you will be given the option of a full refund or access to a recorded version of the course.
All videos used in this presentation have closed captions and the live training will have live captioning enabled. If you need additional accommodation, please email admin@learnplaythrive.com prior to your training date. Accommodations will be made to support all learners in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
You can send an email to admin@learnplaythrive.com
Our courses are hosted in Thinkific’s web-based course platform. You can find the system requirements for Thinkific at this link. The live portion will use Zoom and the Zoom chat box. You can find the system requirements for Zoom at this link.
Why enroll today?
Continuing Education Credit
Receive 2.5 hours of continuing education credit through a live online course that will leave you feeling totally confident in your ability to generate more relevant, effective, strengths-based interventions.
Discount to LPT Approach
You’ll get a limited time offer for $59 off out full training, The Learn Play Thrive Approach to Autism, as this content is also included in module 1 of the LPT Approach to Autism.
Build your skills and your confidence with a process truly grounded in Autism learning styles.
This course will be available for ASHA CEUs from June 11th, 2023 to June 10th, 2028.
The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures.
