Strategies to Nurture Resilience and Tenacity Across the Lifespan
Robert Brooks, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Harvard Medical School

Building upon the strength-based approach they have proposed and advocated for years with its focus on reinforcing self-discipline, motivation, hope, and resilience in children and adults, Dr. Robert Brooks and his colleague Dr. Sam Goldstein, have introduced the concept of tenacity. The latter is composed of seven interrelated inborn instincts. These instincts, which are different from fixed patterns of behavior as seen in other species, represent an intuitive way of thinking and acting that contribute to our accomplishments, social relationships, optimism, compassion, resilience, and even survival. In this keynote, Dr. Brooks will identify these seven instincts and offer specific strategies that parents, caregivers, and professionals can use to nurture these forces across the lifespan to improve the lives of both children and adults. Many examples will be used to illustrate the instincts and strategies to reinforce them.

Extend your learning from this keynote with Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success, a new book by Sam Goldstein and Robert B. Brooks, that describes and explains the concept tenacity—the self-determination necessary to fuel and maintain resilience and self-discipline. It provides practical strategies and examples for fostering tenacity in children for a more flexible way of thinking and/or acting throughout their lives to not only cope and persist, but to excel when thrown off course by life’s many twists and turns.

Tenacity Through the Lens of the Social Thinking® Methodology
Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP; Founder and CEO of Social Thinking & Pamela Crooke, PhD, CCC-SLP; Chief Strategy Officer

It seems we all need a little help or support at times. Having and relying on a self-selected mentor or wise friend can promote resilience and tenacity (Brooks, 2021). And developing social competencies, such as social problem solving, self-advocacy, and sharing of one’s vulnerabilities can provide the roadmap for guiding a mentor in how to better understand and provide support. In this keynote, we will provide visual supports and frameworks from the Social Thinking Methodology to connect specific teaching concepts to foster development of social competencies that are clearly critical to building tenacity in our post-pandemic lives.

Topics will include but not be limited to:

• Understanding the power of WE-based thinking in working with a mentor.
• Determining how to know if you have a problem.
• Defining the exact nature of the problem.
• Knowing what it means to solve this problem.

Who Should Attend

The Social Thinking Methodology is used by a wide variety of professionals; including speech-language pathologists, special and general education teachers, social workers, counselors, clinical and school psychologists, occupational therapists, behavior specialists, and school administrators to name a few. It’s also used by family members and caregivers across settings.

Objectives for Strategies to Nurture Resilience and Tenacity Across the Lifespan

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe characteristics of a strength-based approach, especially in working with children and adults with learning and social thinking problems
2. List the seven instincts of Tenacity and the role they play in our development and adaptation
3. Explain strategies for nurturing these seven instincts throughout the lifespan

Objectives for Tenacity Through the Lens of the Social Thinking® Methodology

Participants will be able to:

1. Define the power of WE-based thinking to define and achieve one’s own goals.
2. Define why imagining another’s perspective and feelings is critical during social problem solving.
3. Using the thinksheet, “Solving Problems Before They Become Problems,” define three or more steps toward social problem solving.

Agenda

All times are in Pacific.
This agenda may change without notice.

9:00-9:05 am Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP; Founder and CEO of Social Thinking
Dr. Pamela Crooke, PhD, CCC-SLP; Co-developer of the Social Thinking® Methodology and Social Thinking Chief Strategy Officer
Welcome and introduce Dr. Robert Brooks

9:05-10:20 am Dr. Robert Brooks, PhD; Clinical Psychologist, Harvard Medical School
Strategies to Nurture Resilience and Tenacity Across the Lifespan

10:20-10:30 am Break

10:30-10:55 am Continue keynote: Dr. Robert Brooks, Strategies to Nurture Resilience and Tenacity Across the Lifespan

11:00-12:10 pm Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP; Founder and CEO of Social Thinking
Dr. Pamela Crooke, PhD, CCC-SLP; Co-developer of the Social Thinking® Methodology and Social Thinking Chief Strategy Officer
Tenacity Through the Lens of the Social Thinking® Methodology

12:10-12:45 pm Question and Answer panel with Dr. Robert Brooks, Michelle Garcia Winner, Moderator: Dr. Pamela Crooke

Each year our Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference is special! Attendees from the around the world explore practical concepts and strategies to help them continue to develop their own competencies when working with neurodiverse and neurotypical students and individuals.

Spanning three days with 3.5 hours each day of illuminating instruction and discussion, this year’s 14th Annual Social Thinking Global Providers' Online Conference will address topics important for the times: Diversity, Resilience,Tenacity, Social Competencies, and Hope! It’s impossible to develop resilience and tenacity without social competencies and hope. We’ll also address diversity—how support systems and treatment materials should be informed by differences in cultures, race, and learning styles to create information that is meaningful and helpful to all. We are delighted to welcome three guest keynote speakers who will provide concepts and strategies to give interventionists, as well as the individuals they support, social competencies and hope!

1. Dr. Shameka Stanford, PhD, juvenile forensic speech-language pathologist from Howard University, will address how we can support students with social learning challenges at risk for being swept into the “confinement pipeline.”
2. Dr. Robert Brooks, clinical psychologist and author, will define seven core elements of resilience and tenacity, as well as discuss strategies to support their development.
3. Dr. Nancy Rappaport, psychiatrist and author, will describe developmental techniques for addressing children’s worries and anxiety, as well as explore strategies to connect with neurodivergent youth, including those who have experienced trauma.
4. Dr. Pamela Crooke and Michelle Garcia Winner, creators of the Social Thinking® Methodology, will also provide keynotes each day to address diversity, tenacity, resilience, social competencies, and hope through the lens of our Social Thinking Methodology, which focuses on the development of social competencies.

All keynotes will be available for recorded replay viewing/reviewing through July 9, 2021.

Click here to see if you can receive CE credit by Profession and by State

We are proud to provide access to continuing education credit for:

• Speech-Language Pathologists (livestream and recorded)
• Educators (livestream and recorded)
• Social Worker (only for watching livestream)
• Counselors (only for watching livestream)
• Clinical and School Psychologists (only for watching livestream)
• ...and others!

Livestream Events Accessing Certificates of Attendance and/or CE certificate(s)

Immediately following the livestream course, an email will be sent with a link to verify your attendance. After receiving your response, we will email an access link to the certificate of attendance and other CE documents if applicable. An online form will be available to SLPs at that time to submit their ASHA info to claim ASHA CEUs.

Note: mental health professionals can only receive CE credit if they watched the live version of the courses (approval is pending). The recorded copy is not eligible for mental health CE credit.

See Detailed CE Info