Adolescence. Developmentally, this time is called the transition to adulthood, and we as teams develop plans, outline trajectories, and write goals to facilitate the process. We teach the importance of both academic and social skills, but at the end of the day it's not uncommon to hear, "No thanks, I'm just gonna design video games so I don't really need to learn that other stuff." No matter where we travel around the globe, we answer similar questions about helping teens transition from childhood to young adulthood. Parents and professionals welcome information on realistic planning and preparation to guide our students to better prepare for the social demands of the adult world.

This transition can overwhelm individuals born to social learning challenges, even if they are considered bright and have solid to strong language skills (e.g., ASD level 1 & 2, ADHD, twice exceptional, learning disabilities, nonverbal learning disabilities, specific language impairment, sensory dysregulation, etc.). This course focuses on helping parents and professionals (including teachers, counselors, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, etc.) prepare for—and respond to—this transition. Specifically, we will relate research-based concepts to an exploration of the more nuanced expectations that come with the emergence into adulthood and the strategies to help individuals develop a more mature social mindset.

The day is organized into five chapters:

Chapter 1: Learn to understand a teen’s perspective of their own and others’ social minds and related expectations, individualized learning of strengths and weaknesses, the social-academic connection, the power of our inner-coach, the power of our self-defeater, the connection to cognitive behavioral therapy, social competencies, and the Five Levels of Social Conformity.

Chapter 2: Adulthood and independence don’t always go together. We will define and explore many levels of achieving independence. We will also review how the law changes as a student moves out of K–12 education and into adulthood.

Chapter 3: Briefly explore the different levels of the social mind and tips for teaching and job coaching our more literal-minded individuals. A case study will be reviewed.

Chapter 4: Discuss our clinical experience and related research in working with students who seem resistant to social-emotional learning and working as part of a group. In this very popular chapter, we will examine the perspective of the resistant (self-protective) learner as it relates to the strategies that encourage self-learning and increased collaboration and those sure to meet further resistance. Student examples will be shared along with other resources we find helpful.

Chapter 5: Teach teens who have subtle but significant social learning challenges to establish and manage their own public relations and self-management campaigns. We will also discuss related mental health challenges such as social anxiety. Strategies to encourage motivation and guide learning about one’s own executive functioning, the perspective of self and other, friendship, and the subtleties of social communication will be reviewed with another case study, related video, and hands-on lessons.

All information draws from peer-reviewed published research but is translated into hands-on strategies, clear frameworks, and concepts to explore and discuss. The goal of this course is to help all parents and professionals develop a larger toolkit to better assist students to learn about their own executive functioning, sharpen their perspective taking, and begin to manage their own social lives. We focus on the fact that a successful treatment* program is one that helps the student achieve his or her own goals. This course receives stellar reviews!

*Treatment refers to using conceptual and strategy-based frameworks to help individuals improve their social competencies.

1. Describe how to use the Learning Strengths and Weaknesses visual guide to encourage conversations about treatment* direction with older students and adults.
2. Describe two (2) or more types of situational conformity and the importance of executive functioning in meeting our social goals.
3. List at least four (4) stages in the Levels of Independence that are needed to manage oneself in late adolescence and young adulthood.
4. Describe three (3) or more behavioral and learning characteristics of individuals who are Resistant/Self-Protective Social Communicators.
5. Explain how teaching students/clients to develop their own public relations campaign can teach social interpretation (input) and encourage social skills (output).
6. Explain the difference between teaching approachability and teaching friendship skills.

*Treatment refers to using conceptual and strategy-based frameworks to help individuals improve their social competencies.

This agenda may change without notice.

7:30-8:30	Use social competencies to problem solve how to sign in, find a seat, and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while getting to know fellow attendees
8:30-10:15	Chapter 1: How to work with teens to better understand themselves and others, the social-academic connection, the connection to cognitive behavioral therapy and Social Thinking’s Five Levels of Social Conformity
10:15-10:30	Break
10:30-12:00	Chapter 2: Exploring independence and how U.S. law changes once students turn 18 years old Chapter 3: How job coaches can help our literal, rule-based learners
12:00-12:50	Lunch provided
12:50-2:15	Chapter 4: Exploring the thinking and motivation behind our more resistant social learners. Treatment ideas and strategies to encourage increasing participation from this type of student.
2:15-2:25	Break
2:25-3:45	Chapter 5: Strategies for helping our students with subtle but significant social learning challenges develop their self-management and public relations campaigns. Exploring related mental health issues—specifically, social anxiety.

At this conference, earn continuing education units/credits/clock hours at no additional cost! Each course offers 6 hours of instruction and each attendee will be given a certificate of attendance and a course agenda for their records.

 

We are proud to be a continuing education provider for Speech-Language Pathologists, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Clinical and School Psychologists, and Certified Counselors, such as Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, and others.

 

We offer continuing education units/credits/clock hours through:

• ASHA: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• CES: Commonwealth Educational Seminars
• NBCC: National Board for Certified Counselors
• And more!

 

Click here to see more Continuing Education Information