Building Effective Executive Functioning Skills

Description

Executive functions are those elusive skills that we expect every student to have, yet we do not have a focused curriculum to “teach” them. It is supposed to be ready to apply to academics by the age of four, yet many students struggle to become organized, to have efficient study ethics, or the ability to inhibit their frustration to continue their work tasks.  

This two-day workshop will explain the different executive functions we need to thrive in classrooms, workplaces, and social and recreational situations. We will include the influence of early childhood development, sensory processing, and its impact on learning and executive efficiency. Assessment of executive functions will include a questionnaire tool that supports assessment. Activities and techniques (sensory, motor, and developmental) are included to support adaptive functioning in classrooms as well as in social circumstances.  

This workshop will be interesting for any age group, multiple diagnostic categories and the practical nature of information will leave the workshop participant feeling equipped and ready to apply the very next day. 

Contact: [email protected]

Outline/Agenda

Day 1 - December 2

9:00-10:30am                         Overview of Executive Functioning Skills 

10:30-11:00am                       Break 

11:00-12:30am                       Skillset 1: Organization and Planning (Definition and strategies)                   

12:30-13:30pm                       Lunch 

13:30-15:30pm                       Skillset 2: Attention and Working Memory  (Definition and strategies) 

15:30-15:45pm                       Break 

15:45-17: 00pm                      Skillset 3: Emotional Regulation (Definition and strategies) 

Day 2 - December 3

9:00-10:30am                        Math and Reading Skills (Strategies included) 

10:30-11:00am                      Morning Break 

11:00-12:30pm                      Social Skills (Strategies included)    

12:30-13:30pm                       Lunch 

13:30-15:30pm                       Assessment and Developmental Hierarchy (Includes activities and strategies) 

15:30-15:45pm                       Break 

15:45-17:00pm                       Developmental Hierarchy continued (Includes activities and strategies) 

Learning Objectives:

The workshop participants will be able to: 

1. Describe and intervene with at least 10 different executive functioning skills that could potentially inhibit the students from achieving their optimal learning potential. 
2. Be equipped to identify strengths and weaknesses in students and be able to target collective profiles in group activities 
3. Identify 7 steps of a sensory-developmental hierarchy that would support student readiness to apply themselves to learning 
4. Practically apply 10 to 20 activities that would support student’s ability to learn, while also supporting the curriculum within a fun, and engaging learning environment  
5. Be empowered in their intervention to achieve their goals in enabling students to learn 

Who should attend this workshop? 

• If you are a therapist supporting students in developing the skills to attend in the classroom, participate in academics and thrive in social capability 
• If you are teacher needing support in understanding and supporting students in your classroom to be effective in applying themselves to the learning environment 
• If you are a psychologist supporting students through assessment and needing to “connect the dots” to bridge test results into effective strategy suggestions 
• If you are a caseworker or student advocate that needs to know more how to best support the educational team in assessment and strategies 

Provider Name: The Maude Le Roux Academy 

Presenter: Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, Expert DIR/Floortime Trainer 

Bio: Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, is an international trainer with regards to a variety of different courses. She is an accomplished occupational therapist with great affinity for learning and understanding the human brain. She was born and raised in South Africa and graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town in 1984. Maude and Charl Le Roux moved to the USA in 1993 and opened a private practice, A Total Approach, in September 2001. Maude specializes in Sensory Integration services as it applies to functional activities of daily living, including improving the ability of children / students of all ages to partake in his/her learning environment.  

Maude designs her own live and online courses in addition to training for other agencies such as ICDL. She works with a team of occupational therapists and speech language pathologists in her practice. She is well known for her experience and work with children who carry a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum, Attachment, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Dyslexia/ Learning Disabilities. Maude is a mentor to many therapists, including OT and DIR professionals internationally. She opened The Maude Le Roux Academy online in January 2019. Maude has presented at conferences in a variety of settings across the US and has an extensive international following. She has co-authored the book, The Listening Journey, with Francoise Nicoloff, and her second book, Our Greatest Allies, is available on Amazon.com.  

Target Audience: Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Psychologists, Educators 

Educational Level: Intermediary 

Instructional Methods: PowerPoint, Group Discussion, Video 

Contact Hours: 11 hours, 30 minutes 

Questions? Contact: [email protected]