Day Two – Friday, April
20, 2001
NLD/ASPERGER's -
Similarities/Differences - Where to Draw the Line
and
COGNITIVE
BEHAVIOR THERAPY
Tony Attwood, PhD
(Brisbane, Australia)
NOW WHAT? - Developing an
Educational Program
for the Student with NLD
Sue Thompson, MA, CET
(California, USA)
APA continuing education
credits expected
(12 for both days), in process.
~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS AND THEIR
PRESENTATIONS
BYRON P. ROURKE, Ph.D.,
FRSC
(Ontario, Canada)
About the Speaker
Professor of Psychology and a University Professor at The
University of Windsor, and a member of the faculty of the School of
Medicine, Yale University.
Has served as President of the International
Neuropsychological Society, the Division of Clinical Neuropsychology of the
American Psychological Association, the American Board of Clinical
Neuropsychology, and the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology.
Co-founder and co-editor of three journals.
First recipient of the Research Award of the Ontario
Psychological Foundation for Distinguished Contributions to Clinical
Neuropsychology.
According to the Canadian Psychological Association Awards
Committee, Dr. Rourke’s research into NLD has had a "direct,
positive, and pervasive influence on clinical practice and has significantly
enhanced knowledge of the field."
His latest major work, Syndrome of Nonverbal Learning
Disabilities: Neurodevelopmental Manifestations, provides evidence of
the manifestations of NLD in many types of neurological disease, disorder,
and dysfunction. The workshop will focus on NLD, a syndrome that persists
into adulthood. Emphasis will also be placed on the diagnostic and treatment
process. In addition to describing the clinical features of this syndrome, a
model to explain the syndrome’s dynamics will be described. The model
involves an extension of theoretical tenets, some integration with Piagetian
developmental theory, and some relationships to age-related developmental
changes in neuropsychological test performance.
About the Presentation
Children with NLD exhibit outstanding neuropsychological
deficits in visual-spatial-organizational, tactile-perceptual, psychomotor,
and nonverbal problem-solving skills, within a context of clear assets such
as rote verbal learning, regular phoneme-grapheme matching, amount of verbal
output, and verbal classification. Problems in the linguistic dimensions of
content and function (pragmatics) are especially apparent. Children with NLD
experience their major academic learning difficulties in mechanical
arithmetic and most dimensions of science, while exhibiting advanced levels
of word-recognition and spelling.
The workshop will focus on the NLD syndrome. In addition
to describing the clinical features of this syndrome, a model to explain the
syndrome’s dynamics has been proposed (the "white matter"
model). The model involves an extension of the theoretical tenets of
Goldberg and Costa (1981), some integration with Piagetian developmental
theory, and some relationships to known age-related developmental changes in
neuropsychological test performance.
DeAnn
Hyatt-Foley, M.Ed
(Texas, USA)
About the Speaker
DeAnn Hyatt-Foley has lived in Lubbock, Texas for seven years
with her husband, Matt and her son, Ryan. She received her Master Degree in
Special Education from Texas Tech University.
Since 1993, DeAnn has been the Area Development Director
for the PATH (Parent Training and Information Center for the state of Texas)
Project which is funded through the Department of Education in Washington,
D.C..
Currently serving on the Board of Directors for the
Asperger Syndrome Coalition for the United States (ASC-U.S.), DeAnn is the
founder and president of the Lubbock Asperger Syndrome Support Organization
(LASSO).
DeAnn has written articles on education law for Carol
Gray’s Morning News, The Source and The Connections
newsletters and is co-author with husband Matt of the essay, "First
Advocates", which is published in the book Asperger Syndrome
by Klin, Volkmar and Sparrow.
A dynamic presenter with a great deal of knowledge and
experience to pass on to attendees, DeAnn has presented workshops on
education law at Yale University’s Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome Conference
and throughout Texas.
About the Presentation
This presentation will provide a basic overview of IDEA 1997.
Some differences between 504 and IDEA guidelines will be explained.
Assessment, eligibility for IDEA, and writing IEP goals and objectives will
also be discussed. The presenter will illustrate some of the common mistakes
professionals and parents make when developing educational plans for the NLD
student.
TONY ATTWOOD, PhD
(Brisbane, Australia)
About the Speaker
Author of Asperger’s Syndrome, a book relied upon
around the world (translated in Japanese and soon available in Danish) in
the effort to understand AS.
Graduated (Ph.D.) from the University of London, England.
In Brisbane, Australia, started a diagnostic and treatment
clinic for children and adults with Asperger’s Syndrome with Dr. Brian
Ross, Child Psychiatrist.
In HIGH demand as a presenter, Dr. Attwood spends a
considerable amount of his time traveling to present workshops and papers at
national and international conferences.
About the Presentation
Children and adults with NLD and/or
Asperger’s syndrome are prone to develop secondary mood disorders. A
primary psychological treatment for mood disorders is Cognitive Behavior
Therapy (CBT). CBT has been designed and refined over several decades and
proven to be effective in changing the way a person thinks about and
responds to feelings such as anxiety, sadness and anger. The treatment
program focuses on aspects of Cognitive Deficiency in terms of the maturity,
complexity and efficacy of thinking and Cognitive Distortion in terms of
dysfunctional thinking and incorrect assumptions. Thus it has direct
applicability to clients with NLD/Asperger’s syndrome.
Dr. Attwood will discuss the
assessment of mood disorders and the use of affective education, cognitive
restructuring, stress management, and self-reflection in the use of CBT.
SUE THOMPSON, MA, CET
(California, USA)
About the Speaker
Educational Therapist and Consultant who currently
specializes in training educators and educational therapists to understand,
develop programs for, and provide appropriate educational interventions and
services for individuals with NLD.
In demand as a speaker because of the depth of her
knowledge and the passion she brings to her topic. Sue's presentations are
always engaging and interactive.
Has developed her expertise through over 25 years as a
classroom teacher and special educator in California public schools and
eight years in private practice.
Author of numerous articles on learning and behavior, and
author of The Source for Nonverbal Learning Disorders (formerly I
Shouldn't Have to Tell You!).
Teaches graduate level courses and provides teacher
in-service training, workshops, and presentations for professionals and
parent groups both nationally and internationally.
Sue Thompson is the recipient of numerous honors, awards,
and commendations, including the California Learning Disability
Association's Award of Merit in recognition of her "dedicated
service on behalf of children and adults with learning disabilities,"
the Star Academy's Education Award 2000 "for her outstanding service to
learning different children," and a Resolution commending her as an
"expert educator and innovator in the field of nonverbal learning
disabilities," which was passed and adopted by the Marin County Board
of Supervisors (California) in February 2000.
About the Presentation
Don't miss this opportunity to expand your understanding
of NLD and to learn new strategies for enhancing the education of
individuals with NLD. This presentation will focus on the neurobehavioral
characteristic of this potentially devastating syndrome and offer some
positive approaches for developing a successful educational program.
For the student with NLD, the demands of everyday life and
school can prove to be totally overwhelming and may appear insurmountable at
times. If a child exhibits right hemispheric deficiencies, he/she can be
helped to lead an easier, less perplexing life through supportive and
flexible educational planning.
Conference attendees will be presented with instructional
implications for teaching the child with NLD, as well as exploring current
research to help develop practical interventions for servicing the child
with NLD in an educational setting.
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