Workshop Descriptions

What people say about Michelle's DYNAMIC Workshops:

“Michelle's work is invaluable!  Her expertise is matched by her enthusiasm, practical ideas, and engaging speaking style. Parents and professionals arrive with questions, and leave with answers and ideas of their own!  Anyone looking for a workshop to recharge their enthusiasm and reignite their commitment to teach social concepts and skills, will leave with a wealth of new information and insight. “

Carol Gray, educator and developer of “Social Stories” and “Comic Strip Conversations”.

“ Michelle's workshops are upbeat, well-organized and incredibly informative. Her blend of humor, real-life stories and factual information keeps everyone alert and engaged throughout the workshop.” Jane Bindl Oi, a parent

Of all those who attended a national conference in 2003 sponsored by Linguisystems, of the 245 evaluations received 153 audience members stated that the workshop exceeded their expectations and 84 stated that the workshop fully met their expectations. 215 stated that the overall presentation was “excellent!”.

Descriptions of the 5 different workshops Michelle presents:

•  Social Cognitive Deficits Across the School and Home Day: The ILAUGH Model of Social Cognition.
  

  Designed for parents & professionals to understand the inner mind of persons high on the Autism Spectrum (Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS or High Functioning Autism), with ADHD, Non-Verbal Learning Disability or have no working diagnosis but they fit the clinical picture! Participants will learn not only functional treatment strategies they can use both at school and at home, but they will also better understand why these students' react and respond the way they do.

  On this day we will introduce the I LAUGH model of Social Cognition which helps to demonstrate how social processing difficulties impact not only social skills but also the ability to work as part of a group and focus on specific academic tasks such as written expression, reading comprehension and organizational skills for many of our students.

  We will also address how best to approach writing IEP goals that impact real, albeit, slow change in how students understand the world around them. Concepts related to assessment will also be introduced and the problem with using only standardized tests to qualify these students will also be explored. This workshop is noted for its depth in explaining WHY students with social skills difficulties have related academic challenges, which impact them across their school and home day.

  For workshop administrators who are sponsoring a workshop Michelle is given, please download the following information for the ILAUGH DAY to use for applying for CE 's and for advertisements for the workshop days.

• The Nuts and Bolts of Starting Social Thinking Programs: Practical Strategies for Assessment and LIFE.
  

  Attendance at “Understanding Social Thinking Across the Home and School Day” is required to fully appreciate the information presented on this day.

  This workshop is designed for parents and professionals to gain more specific knowledge about assessing and teaching our students at home and at school. On this day the audience will be required to work in small group activities and engage in active dialogue about informal/qualitative assessment and treatment techniques that will be specifically described for use in the classroom, home and in the therapy room.

  Given that all people who live and work with these students are constantly engaged in their own “diagnostic treatment”, the day will begin with a video illustration of an informal assessment procedure that helps parents and professionals to more fully understand their child's range of social thinking strengths and weaknesses. Information reviewed in this assessment process will directly help with the planning of functional treatment plans. This information is useful not only for the speech language pathologist but also the paraprofessional, parent, classroom teacher, etc.

  In the afternoon, participants will learn more specifically about how to develop a “ME Binder” to teach a student about his own IEP; Social Behavior Mapping, a user-friendly strategy to help explain to students why behavioral expectations exist in all places but vary from activity to activity. Strategies will be reviewed for running social thinking groups, participants can practice these in small group experiences.

  This workshop has helped to illuminate how to break down abstract concepts into more concretely defined teachable moments!

  For workshop administrators who are sponsoring a workshop Michelle is given, please download the following information for the Social Thinking Program Day to use for applying for CE 's and for advertisements for the workshop days.

•  Thinking About You Thinking About Me.
  

  All participants, whether they be parents or professionals leave this workshop day with not only new insights into the treatment for their students but also with a new awareness of their own intuitive perspective taking skills. Michelle believes that when adults learn more their own social thinking skills they become better teachers to students who need coaching to develop these skills.

  Persons with social cognitive deficits, which include those with diagnoses such as Asperger Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, PDD-NOS, NLD and ADHD often have difficulty efficiently considering and responding to the perspective of those around them. Perspective taking is referred to as “Theory of Mind” in the research. This workshop will explore how central the skill of “perspective taking” is to all social contact and interpretation, be it non-verbal or verbal.

  This workshop day is an exploration of what it means to be able to "take perspective" and how a deficit in this area impacts students heavily in every environment in which they participate be it school, home, community, and/or work. Perspective taking as a social executive functioning skill will be discussed. Michelle will introduce a model of explaining 3 different levels of perspective taking deficits along with overall prognosis for each of these levels.

  Functional educational strategies to facilitate growth in thinking about how other people think and the related social skills will be reviewed to teach to students who function higher on the autism spectrum or with related deficits. A four-step model of developing social communication skills will be introduced. The audience is encouraged to be active participants across the day. Videotape examples of treatment strategies will be heavily utilized.

  For workshop administrators who are sponsoring a workshop Michelle is given, please download the following information for Thinking About You Day to use for applying for CE 's and for advertisements for the workshop days.

• Organizing Strategies to Prepare for Homework and the Real World: An Interdisciplinary Treatment Approach.
  

  The vast majority of students with social cognitive deficits have immense difficulty developing organizational skills to manage the increasing complex expectations of life in upper elementary, middle, high school and into their adult years.

  Organizational skills are a set of executive functioning skills that develop through experience and minimal prompting for neurotypical students. These same skills can be mammoth, overwhelming tasks for even our most intellectually sharp students with social cognitive deficits. The impact of poor organizational skills is immense, affecting one's outcome in school as well as at home and work.

  Weak organizational skills are poorly understood and often written off as pure laziness on the part of a “smart” student. Relatively little support is given to teach students to develop these critical skills that carry over into their future jobs as adults.

  In this workshop we will explore two different types of organizational skills: static and dynamic. We will then break apart the concept of dynamic organizational skills into 10 concrete steps. Each step is vital towards the completion of what is considered a “homework assignment”; an educational strategy will be reviewed to accompany each step of the process. A large handout will be provided to support this teaching method.

  This workshop has been enthusiastically received by parents, counselors, psychologists, speech language pathologists and all persons who teach students in regular or special education. While this workshop was designed to help understand students with social cognitive deficits it has proven to be relevant for all students and young adults. Mainstream teachers have embraced this information!

  Audience members will be active participants in exploring their own participation in carrying through with organizational tasks. The audience will also be encouraged to share experiences and thoughts on how to help develop further programs of this nature with in schools and homes. This information is cutting edge!

  For workshop administrators who are sponsoring a workshop Michelle is given, please download the following information for the Organizational Day to use for applying for CE 's and for advertisements for the workshop days.

• Implementing Social Thinking Concepts and Vocabulary into our School and Home Day: A Day to Develop Team Creativity
  

  This brand new workshop allows parents and educators to learn more about teaching social thinking and related skills to students. We will explore how social thinking concepts develop the infrastructure for students to meet the educational standards, demonstrating how key these concepts are to reading comprehension, written expression, etc.

  We will define many social thinking concepts and how to apply the “social thinking vocabulary” across the school and home day. Conference participants work in teams to develop new creative social thinking lessons to fit their teaching environment. The focus of the day will be on making the teaching realizable across a variety of environments with the focus on helping students to carry the concepts out of the treatment room and into their real lives. The social thinking lessons will be taught in the order they are being introduced in Michelle’s new book, “A Social Thinking Curriculum for School Aged Students” due out in November 2005.

  Furthermore, we will explore how to work as part of an educational team. How do we share the workload when helping these kids?

  This workshop is intended as a more advanced course for those who have attended my previous workshops (explained above) called: Social Cognitive Deficits Across the School and Home Day: The ILAUGH Model of Social Cognition; The Nuts and Bolts of Starting Social Thinking Programs: Practical Strategies for Assessment and LIFE; and Thinking About You Thinking About Me, or for those who have read my books.

  Hopefully workshop participants will leave the course fully prepared to infuse more social thinking concepts into their school and home day.

  For workshop administrators who are sponsoring a workshop Michelle is given, please download the following information for the Implementing Social Thinking Concepts Day to use for applying for CE 's and for advertisements for the workshop days.

Intended population discussed in workshops:

The core focus of these presentations is on the literate child (generally 8 years old through adulthood), however information is also helpful for those living and working with younger children as well. The bulk of the strategies presented will be for school aged children and young adults.

Intended Audience:

Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, Clinical and Educational Psychologists, Administrators, MFT's, LCSW's, OT's, PT's, Nurses, Instructional Aides, and family members of students with social cognitive deficits.

Continuing Education Units For SLP's, Michelle G. Winner is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide continuing education activities in speech-language pathology and audio-logy. This program is offered for .6 CEU per workshop day, intermediate level, professional area. ASHA CE Provider approval does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures.

Other CEU's may be available depending on your region of the country.

2003 - August - Social Thinking Day- Albuquerque Workshop -