Best Practices in Assessment & Treatment of Children, Adolescents & Families

Transcription

1 Best Practices in Assessment & Treatment of Children, Adolescents & Families Inaugural Statewide Conference for School Personnel, Private Practitioners and Parents March 6, 2015 at NJPSA Conference Center in Monroe Township, NJ (Central/Northern New Jersey) March 27, 2015 at EIRC in Mullica Hill, NJ (Southern New Jersey) Presented by EIRC and Behavior Therapy Associates

2 Schedule Welcome Keynote Creating a Climate for Student Success in Classrooms and Schools Dr. Maurice Elias Morning Breakout Sessions Social Skills Best Practices Michael Selbst, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Mark Cooperberg, Ph.D., Rory Panter, Psy.D. Behavior Management Best Practices: Behavior Problems Resource Kit Michael Asher, Ph.D., ABPP and Debra Salzman, Ph.D. Autism Spectrum Disorder: Best Practices for Educational Programming Rita Gordon, M.Ed., BCBA, Lisa Spano, Psy.D., BCBA-D, Amy Golden, M.S., BCBA Organizational Skills Training: Best Practices for School Success Meir Flancbaum, Psy.D. and Steven Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP Lunch Afternoon Breakout Sessions: Repeat of Morning Sessions Panel School and Home Collaboration for Success Behavior Therapy Associates Staff available for Q&A Closing Remarks and Certificates

3 Keynote Speaker Maurice J. Elias is Professor, Psychology Department, Rutgers University, Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab, and Academic Director of The Collaborative Center for Community- Based Research and Service at Rutgers. He is Past President of the Society for Community Research and Action/Division of Community Psychology (27) of APA and has received the SCRA Distinguished Contribution to Practice and Ethnic Minority Mentoring Awards, as well as APA s National Psychological Consultants to Management Award, the Joseph E. Zins Memorial Senior Scholar Award for Social- Emotional Learning from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the John P. McGovern Medal from the American School Health Association, and the Sanford McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education. Prof. Elias lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students emotional intelligence, school success, and social-emotional and character development. Among Dr. Elias numerous books are ASCD s Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators, the Social Decision Making/Social Problem Solving curricula for grades k-8, the new e-book,emotionally Intelligent Parenting (via Kindle and Nook) and a book for young children: Talking Treasure: Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children ( 2012). Forthcoming is The Other Side of the Report Card, a guide for how schools and districts can integrate social-emotional and character development systematically into their ongoing student report cards (Corwin Press). He also writes a blog for educators and parents for the George Lucas Educational Foundation at With colleagues at the College of St. Elizabeth, he is developing an online credentialing program for Direct Instruction of Social-Emotional and Character Development programs in classroom, small group, and after school settings, and for School-Focused Coordination of Social-Emotional and Character Development and School Culture and Climate.

4 Breakout Session One Social Skills Best Practices Presented by: Michael Selbst, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Mark Cooperberg, Ph.D., and Rory Panter, Psy.D. The ability to acquire, display and generalize appropriate social skills is critical for all students. Numerous skills contribute to social success, including: problem solving, play skills, social-pragmatic language, conversational skills, self-control, emotional regulation, and perspective taking. Yet, providing social skills instruction for students of various age ranges and skill levels can be challenging for educators, mental health professionals and parents. This workshop will include practical strategies aligned with best practices, including key components for group social skills training, promoting generalization, reinforcement, social problem-solving curricula, video modeling, etc. Workshop Objectives Participants will be able to: 1. State and write 4 types of social skills deficits. 2. Identify at least 5 evidence-based strategies that contribute to success in social skills and problem-solving. 3. State and write the five steps associated with POWER-Solving. 4. Identify at least three components of applying social skills across environments.

5 Presenters Michael C. Selbst, Ph.D., BCBA-D is Director of Behavior Therapy Associates. He is a Licensed Psychologist and a Certified School Psychologist in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the Doctoral level. Dr. Selbst has co-founded and is the Executive Director of HI-STEP Summer Social Skills Program, an intensive 6-week day program for children to improve their social skills and problem solving ability, and the Executive Director of the Weekend to Improve Social Effectiveness (W.I.S.E.). He has extensive experience working with pre-school aged children through adults. Dr. Selbst provides individual and family therapy, behavioral parent training, social skills training, school-based consultation, functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans, psychological and psychoeducational evaluations, evaluations of autism spectrum disorder including the ADOS-2, expert / independent evaluations, and needs assessments of autism programs. He has led numerous workshops, including at local, statewide, national and international conferences, as well as for parent advocacy groups and school districts. Dr. Selbst has collaborated with three of Behavior Therapy Associates' doctors to co-author the Behavior Problems Resource Kit: Forms and Procedures for Identification, Measurement and Intervention. With Steven B. Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP, Dr. Selbst has co-authored the social skills curriculum, POWER-Solving : Stepping Stones to Solving Life s Everyday Social Problems. Choose your conference date (or attend both dates to hear all four breakout sessions) March 6th at NJPSA or March 27th at EIRC

6 Presenters Mark Cooperberg, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in children and adolescents at Case Western Reserve University after completing his pre-doctoral internship at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. Dr. Cooperberg is Clinical Instructor at the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers University. He has worked at Behavior Therapy Associates for over 10 years, and has expertise in working with individuals with AD/HD, autism spectrum disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. He specializes in providing comprehensive Psychoeducational Evaluations. These evaluations identify students strengths (including giftedness) and needs (including learning disabilities) and yield comprehensive recommendations to maximize the student s opportunities for success in and outside of the classroom. Dr. Cooperberg provides individual and family therapy for individuals of all ages as well as Behavior Parent Training. He conducts weekly Social Skills Training Groups for children and adolescents throughout the year. Dr. Cooperberg also provides Behavioral and Social Skills Consultation in numerous school districts throughout the state, while conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and writing Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP). He is co-author of the Behavior Problems Resource Kit: Forms and Procedures for Identification, Measurement and Intervention. Dr. Cooperberg is also a qualified Cogmed coach, a computerized training program that improves individuals memory and attention. Register online at

7 Presenters Rory A. Panter, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey at Behavior Therapy Associates. She has extensive experience providing therapy and evaluation/testing services to children and adolescents and their families, including individuals with a wide range of diagnoses. Dr. Panter has a special interest in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety disorders, and behavioral parent training. She conducts social skills training groups and behavioral parent training groups throughout the year and also provides individual and family therapy for individuals of all ages. She provides behavioral consultation to various school districts and conducts Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans. Dr. Panter conducts psychoeducational and psychological evaluations, which are aimed at determining a child s strengths and needs, diagnosis, and the appropriateness of current programming at school and in the home. She also conducts evaluations of Autism Spectrum Disorder, including administration of the ADOS-2. She presents workshops for parents and professionals on a variety of topics, including the topics listed above. Dr. Panter is the Program Director of the North New Jersey Campus of HI-STEP Summer Program. This program is an intensive six-week day program for children to improve their social skills and problem solving ability. Featured workshops are relevant to all grade levels!

8 Breakout Session Two Behavior Management Best Practices: Behavior Problems Resource Kit Presented by: Michael Asher, Ph.D., ABPP and Debra Salzman, Ph.D. This workshop is designed to teach participants to identify specific behaviors for change, assess their importance, and generate hypotheses regarding the function(s) of the problem behaviors. A step-by-step model will be presented, including problem identification, user-friendly data collection procedures, identifying the function(s) of behavior, designing interventions that match the function of the behavior, implementing interventions and monitoring progress via data collection. Interventions are categorized to address the target or challenging behaviors and social skill deficits that may be identified. Practical, evidence-based antecedent and consequence interventions will be discussed. The focus will be on support and practice, fostering change in different settings, and generalization of skills. Vignettes will be used to facilitate participants learning. Workshop Objectives Participants will be able to: 1. Identify, pinpoint and define specific behavioral and social problems. 2. Assess the function(s) that motivate behavior, target interventions, and identify appropriate reinforcers. 3. Identify management procedures to address behaviors in the home, classroom and community settings. 4. Establish a thought-feeling connection and organize interventions to facilitate social learning.

9 Presenters Michael J. Asher, Ph.D., ABPP is a clinical psychologist and has been at Behavior Therapy Associates, P.A. since He serves as Coordinator Consultation Services. Dr. Asher is Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he supervises Psychiatric Fellows and teaching course on Child Cognitive Behavior Therapy as well he is a field supervisor for the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Dr. Asher is the co-author, with Steven B. Gordon, of Meeting the ADD Challenge: A Practical Guide for Teachers, The ADHD Forms Book: Identification, Measurement and Intervention and with Steven B. Gordon, Michael C. Selbst and Mark Cooperberg, Ph.D. the Behavior Problems Resource Kit: Forms and Procedures for Identification, Measurement and Intervention (Research Press). His current focus with Steven B. Gordon and Michael C. Selbst is the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy treatment manual for children, ACT 4 Kids: Living a Valued Life. Debra G. Salzman, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and is licensed in New Jersey. Dr. Salzman has been at Behavior Therapy Associates since Dr. Salzman received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She completed her doctoral internship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Salzman has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and adults. She has a special interest in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders, social skills deficits, past and present childhood sexual abuse, disruptive behavior disorders, depression, coping with trauma, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, selective mutism, social phobia and training parents on behavior management strategies to improve child behavior. Dr. Salzman is a field supervisor for the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and Yeshiva University. Dr. Salzman has conducted numerous workshops on the topics of behavior therapy with children, adolescents and families.

10 Breakout Session Three Autism Spectrum Disorder: Best Practices for Educational Programming Rita Gordon, M.Ed., BCBA, Lisa Spano, Psy.D., BCBA-D, Amy Golden, M.S., BCBA With the prevalence of autism on the rise, it is most important for schools to provide evidence-based programming to effectively educate students with autism spectrum disorders. This workshop will present the critical components that are necessary for schools to include when meeting the needs of these students with a focus on the following: identifying Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives based on an assessment of a student s skill level; evidencebased practices to promote skill development, mastery, generalization and maintenance; and data collection procedures to monitor a student s progress. Workshop Objectives Participants will be able to: 1. Identify assessments for measuring skills of students with autism spectrum disorders. 2. Identify important components for writing behavioral goals and objectives for Individual Education Programs (IEPs). 3. Identify at least 3 evidence-based treatment procedures to target behavioral goals and objectives. 4. Identify data collection procedures to measure progress of students.

11 Presenters Rita F. Gordon, M.Ed., BCBA is a special educator and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2003, employed at Behavior Therapy Associates. Ms. Gordon received her Master s degree in Special Education from Rutgers University after completing a Special Education Fellowship in autism at Eden Autism Services. She is recently retired from The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center (DDDC) at Rutgers University after 32 years of service. As the founder and director of Outreach Services at the DDDC she established many services and programs for the autism community to include school-based consultation and program evaluations, home-based Applied Behavior Analysis programs, behavioral parent training, assessment services, early intervention services through New Jersey Early Intervention Services (NJEIS), a satellite classroom for learners with autism spectrum disorders in a public school setting and a college support program for students on the autism spectrum at Rutgers University. Ms. Gordon has extensive experience in consulting to school districts, providing program evaluations, conducting functional behavior assessments and in staff training using the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Ms. Gordon currently supervises several candidates towards their certification as behavioral analysts. Ms. Gordon has conducted numerous workshops on the topics of autism and applied behavior analysis as well as presenting at various conferences both locally and nationally. Ms. Gordon is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), New Jersey Association for Applied Behavior Analysis (NJABA), The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Division of Early Childhood (DEC).

12 Presenters Amy Golden, M.S., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She received her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University. Ms. Golden previously served as the Parent Services Coordinator at Autism New Jersey and has also worked in private practice as a Behavior Analyst. She also worked as Clinical Supervisor at the Wisconsin Early Autism Project (a Lovaas research replication site) and at the Lovaas Institute in New Jersey. Ms. Golden has extensive experience designing and supervising home-based ABA programs, providing parent training, and consulting in public schools. She has presented workshops for families and professionals on autism, ABA, social skills, communication and functional behavior assessment. She is also the Program Director of the southern New Jersey Campus of HI-STEP Summer Program. This program is an intensive five-week day program for children to improve their social skills and problem solving ability. Ms. Golden co-authored a booklet: Autism: Start Here, What Families Need to Know. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis (NJABA), and Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA). Ms. Golden also serves on the Public School Workgroup of NJABA. Lisa Spano, Psy.D., BCBA-D is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the Doctoral level. Dr. Spano graduated summa cum laude from Montclair State University with a Master s of Arts degree in Educational Psychology and a specialization in clinical children and adolescents. She holds a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in developmental disabilities from Long Island University, C.W. Post. During that time, she completed field work at Alpine Learning Group and was supervised by Bridget Taylor, Psy.D., BCBA-D. Dr. Spano has extensive experience using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and its teaching techniques to work with children with behavior difficulties in Early Intervention through late adolescence. She specializes in treating children within their natural home and school environments and provides ongoing training to parents, teachers and support staff. Dr. Spano s areas of expertise include Childhood Disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She develops and monitors ABA programs for home and school settings that utilize evidence-based technology and procedures. Dr. Spano s goal is to improve the quality of life for every child and adolescent whom she meets. This is usually achieved by increasing the child s independence and social connectedness to parents, teachers and peers.

13 Breakout Session Four Organizational Skills Training: Best Practices for School Success Meir Flancbaum, Psy.D. and Steven Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP Problems with organization can lead to academic, social, and familial difficulties for typical learners as well as those who receive a special education classificiation. While parents and professionals often see the need to teach organization skills, they may have limited expertise in the concrete steps to provide such training. This workshop will provide an overview of behavioral strategies to improve children s ability to stay organized and plan effectively. Emphasis will be placed on Organizational Skills Training (OST), an evidence-based treatment originally developed for learners diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Workshop Objectives Participants will be able to: 1. Name the three components of organizational skills training. 2. Identify a child who would benefit from organizational skills training. 3. Identify at least one skills training module to implement.

14 Presenters Meir Flancbaum, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey and New York, employed at Behavior Therapy Associates. Dr. Flancbaum earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University and completed his internship in child and adolescent psychology at the New York University Child Study Center/Bellevue Hospital Center. He has also provided clinical services and received specialized training at the Child/Adolescent OCD, Tic, Trich, and Anxiety Group at the University of Pennsylvania and the Institute for ADHD and Disruptive Behavior at the NYU Child Study Center. Dr. Flancbaum provides clinical care, school-based consultations, and professional development workshops focusing on the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents and adults with a variety of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Dr. Flancbaum provides cognitive-behavior therapy for youth with Tourette syndrome, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, disruptive behavior, and autism spectrum disorders. He also consults to several schools in New Jersey and New York, where he provides counseling, conducts functional behavioral assessments, develops behavior and social skills intervention plans, and provides ongoing teacher consultation and training in classroom management and social skills training techniques. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Flancbaum is the Assistant Research Director at the Tourette Syndrome Program at Rutgers University and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is a frequent workshop presenter for mental health professionals, parents, and school personnel. Sponsors Behavior Therapy Associates provides clinical services, consultation, and training using evidence-based approaches within the context of sensitivity and compassion, while recognizing the uniqueness of each individual and setting. Learn more by visiting their website at

15 Presenters Steven B. Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP is the Founder and Executive Director of Behavior Therapy Associates in Somerset, New Jersey. He is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey (NJ License #936) and is a Diplomate in Behavior Therapy from The American Board of Behavioral Psychology and a Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. In addition Dr. Gordon is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and is a Contributing Faculty member at The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University. Dr. Gordon sees children, adolescents, families, couples, and adults with a wide range of problems associated with living a meaningful life. He also consults to private and public schools, conducts workshops on the topics of behavior therapy with children, adolescents and families, and has written numerous articles and book chapters. Dr. Gordon has also co-authored four books with the most recent being The Behavior Problems Resource Kit and POWER-Solving : Stepping Stones to Solving Life s Everyday Social Problems. Sponsors The Educational Information and Resource Center (EIRC) is a public agency specializing in education related programs and services for schools, parents, communities, and nonprofit organizations. See more of what EIRC offers at

16 Best Practices in Assessment & Treatment of Children, Adolescents & Families Register for the inaugural statewide conference online at Choose a date and reserve your seats for $ per person. Participants can register for both dates to attend all four breakout sessions. March 6, 2015 Location: Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. NJPSA 12 Centre Drive Monroe Township, NJ March 27, 2015 Location: EIRC South Jersey Tech Park 107 Gilbreth Pkwy, Ste 200 Mullica Hill, NJ Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. For more information or questions, please contact: Ray Dinovi at rdinovi@eirc.org