Due to snow blizzard and school closures, this session is CANCELLED. 
It is rescheduled to Friday, February 9, 2018. 

Executive Function Skills to Increase Student Independence: 
Thinking in an Organized Way, Planning Ahead,
& Managing Materials in the Classroom/Home 

Presenter:  Sarah Ward, MS CCC-SLP, Cognitive  Connections, LLP 

Session: 18-228401 

Description: The presentation on executive function skills includes dozens of practical strategies focused on helping students increase their independence. As students move from elementary to middle to high school it is ever more important for students to have organizational skills, the ability to think in an organized manner, and to use these “higher order thinking skills.” Participants will learn many practical strategies to teach students how to identify the big picture, to integrate information, to make inferences, to improve their speed of processing and to problem solve.

Students also struggle to keep their materials neat and organized and then quickly become overwhelmed by the process of cleaning and maintaining systems of organization. Participants will learn how to set up and organize a classroom and locker/cubby spaces to create an environment that fosters the development of executive function skills. Learn functional strategies to help student think in an organized way about systems, manage classroom materials and personal belongings in personal and shared spaces, and access resources when they are “stuck” or need help initiating.

Self-regulation skills are critical for thinking and planning ahead. Participants learn practical strategies for teaching children forethought, awareness skills, to “know the goal,” to initiate tasks, to inhibit impulses and to complete tasks.

See and Sense the Passage of Time is a fundamental skill that students who tend to procrastinate need to develop! Learn how to help them accurately and effortlessly estimate how long tasks will take, change or maintain their pace, and carry out routines and tasks within allotted time frames. Help students adopt a mindful approach to homework and to use schedules Long Term Project Management is a challenge for students with executive dysfunction as they struggle to see into the future to plan ahead for completing the smaller parts of the project. Learn how to help students visually break large projects into smaller steps, to estimate time to complete and schedule these steps, to visually learn the impact of procrastination and to prioritize steps of the project.

Audience:  Regular and Special Education Teachers, Therapists and Specialists - focus on working with students in Grades 5–12; (lower grades are welcome). 

PDPs/Hours: 6 hours 
Registration fee:  $229 NRC member districts.  $249 non-member districts. 
Register by: December 08, 2017 

About the Presenter:  Sarah Ward, MS CCC-SLP, is the Co-Director at Cognitive Connections, LLP and co-author of the innovative 360 Thinking executive function program. Sarah regularly presents nationally and internationally on the topic of executive functions to professional and parent organizations. In addition to working directly with students in her private practice, she has presented to and consulted with more than 450 public and private schools in Massachusetts and across the U.S. on how to implement executive function based strategies into the classroom setting.