AASR Live

Please join us for “Rooted in Hope: An Interview with Katie McDonald.” Katie McDonald is an educator, consultant, and therapist with over 22 years of experience in trauma-responsive schools, neuro-informed teaching/parenting, and emotional well-being. Katie has dedicated her career to empowering educators and families through a deep understanding of resilience, often called the science of hope. Su...

Please join us for “Leveling the Playing Field in School Safety: Lauren Sukhu Shares What She Learned from Her Honors Thesis Project.” Lauren Sukhu, from Dallas, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S.A. in biology, a minor in Hindi, and a certificate in evidence and inquiry. A member of the Polymathic Scholars Honors program, she conducted research at Dell Medical School on e...

Please join us for “The Problem with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports” with Rebecca Engle. Rebecca Engle is an autistic educator, author, and speaker based in Texas. She is the founder of Stitches and Stanzas, where she blends creativity, advocacy, and education to support neurodivergent individuals and the people who teach and love them. Rebecca is an international best-selling auth...

Please join us for “Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference: A Discussion with Tracy Leonard.” Tracy Leonard serves as the Executive Director of the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN), bringing extensive experience in child advocacy, prevention, and trauma-informed education. Before stepping into the Executive Director role, Tracy served as ATN’s Board President (2023–2025), helping guide...

Please join us for “Building a Trauma-Informed School: What to do When All Your Students Are Traumatized” with Kathleen Hilchey. Kathleen Hilchey spent over 10 years in the classroom and 10 more in camping. She is a conflict specialist and a Qualified Mediator. She also founded a trauma-informed student-directed school called The Village School. Most importantly, she is the mom of 3 beautiful kids...

Please join us for “Multi-tiered Systems of Support for Adults: A Discussion with Dr. Lori Desautels.” Dr. Lori Desautels began teaching undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education at Butler University in 2016. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for eight years, where she started the Educational Neuroscience Symposium, which is now in...

Please join us for “The Early Years Guidebook: A Discussion with Emily Read Daniels and Chrissy Dagostino.” Emily Read Daniels is the author and creator of The Regulated Classroom™. Daniels is an internationally recognized trainer and has served thousands through in-person and virtual professional development training, workshops, conferences, webinars, and keynote addresses. Daniels and her work h...

Please join us for “Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Discussion with Jenn Wisdahl and Kristen Eriksen.” Jenn Wisdahl leads strategy and operations at FASD United, the national organization supporting people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and promoting healthy pregnancies. With FASD impacting 1 in 20 Americans, a critical part of her role involves the national legislat...

Please join us for “Applied Self-Reg for Education Assistants: A New Book by Susan Hopkins and Kristin Wiens.” Susan Hopkins is Executive Director of The MEHRIT Centre, Dr. Stuart Shanker’s organization and the home of the Self-Reg framework. An international leader in Self-Reg, she co-creates online courses with Dr. Shanker that have reached thousands of educators worldwide. With more than 25 yea...

Please join us for “When 'Doing Well' Is a Warning Sign: The Cost of Holding It Together at School” with Courtney Hart. Courtney Hart, LCSW-C, is the founder of Healing Hart Wellness, where she specializes in supporting ADHDers and Autistic people through evaluations, parent consultation, and therapy. Courtney also writes two newsletters on Substack: one focused on supporting parents and...

Please join us for “Providing Neurodiversity-Affirming Support: A Relational Neuroscience-Informed Child and Youth Care Perspective” with Nancy Marshall.  Nancy Marshall (she/her) (PhD, MA CYC, RSW) is a Child and Youth Care (CYC) practitioner, a registered social worker (RSW), an educational consultant, and a part-time instructor in the Faculty of Education at York University teaching Disability...

Please join us for “Understanding the Impact of Restraint and Seclusion: A Parent Panel Discussion.” Chantelle Hyde Chantelle’s advocacy began with her desire to support families after learning that her daughter was locked in a room at school. She has appeared on Global News and CTV W5, sharing her family's journey. With a background in adult education, business, and Self-Reg Foundations, she...

Please join us for “Facing the Fantasy, Finding the Way Forward: A New Book from Doris and Rick Bowman.” Bringing together their combined experience and expertise in the fields of both mental health and education, Rick and Doris Bowman, affectionately known by schools and agencies around the country as “Team Bowman”, provide speaking, training, consultation, and coaching services to both education...

Join us for “What Social Psychology Says About Behaviorism, and Five Things to Try Instead” with Dr. Arielle Silverman. In this presentation, Dr. Silverman will share research and theory from social psychology explaining why behaviorism (rewards and punishments) so often fails to improve children's long-term behavior. She will then discuss five strategies to use in place of behaviorist method...

Please join us for “Fighting Ableism and Exclusionary Practices in Schools: A Conversation with Kara Dymond.”  Kara Dymond, Ph. D., is a late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD advocate, teacher, researcher, and award-winning teacher educator from Toronto, Canada. Her work supporting autistic students inspired her books Creating a Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom (2025) and The Autism Lens (2020). Kara res...

Please join us for “Lighting Up the Learning Brain: An Interview with Jessica Sinarski.” Jessica Sinarski, LPCMH is an award-winning author, dynamic speaker, and the founder of BraveBrains. She has spent her entire career working with children who have challenging behaviors and the caring adults in their lives. She loves spicy food, Diet Coke, and her sweet, silly family…not in that order. Jessica...

Please join us for “No Restraint: Disabled Children and Institutionalized Violence in America's Schools, an Interview with Dr. Charles Bell.” Dr. Charles Bell is an award-winning associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University. His research explores how out-of-school suspension, seclusion, and restraint impact families and teachers throughout th...

Please join us for “Building Neuroinclusive Spaces Where Every Child Belongs” with Lauren Hough Williams. Lauren (she/her) is a neurodiversity and inclusion specialist and an experienced special educator and is the Executive Director of the Program for Neurodiversity and Inclusion, or “PINE.” PINE educates and empowers schools and communities to embrace neurodiversity, creating inclusive, accessib...

Please join us for “Understanding Autism in Context: A Discussion with Dr. Peter Vermeulen.” Peter Vermeulen, PhD, has a Master's in Psychology and Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Leuven, Belgium (1985) and a PhD in Psychology and Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands (2002). From 1987 until 1998, he worked for the Flemish Autism Association, first as a h...

Please join us for “We Don't Need a 2.0 Version: Creating Neuroinclusive Schools by Rejecting Behaviorism and Neuronormativity” with Jenna Goldstein. Jenna Goldstein, MS/CAGS, Certified School Psychologist, is an AuDHD woman, school psychologist, and parent to neurodivergent children – the '3' perspectives of her practice, 'ND3'. As such, Jenna brings a 360-degree view of...

Please join us for “Reducing and Eliminating Restraint and Seclusion in Your State: An Interview with Cassie Atallah.” Cassie Atallah is a Trauma Informed Changemaker with 10 years of teaching experience and 12 years of experience parenting her gifted, autistic son, who has become her greatest teacher. She has dedicated much of her time to learning about healthy, equitable approaches to extreme be...

Please join us for “Uncovering Cross Creek: From Survival to Screen” with Jessy Greer. Jessy Greer is an actor, writer, and producer with over ten years of experience in entertainment. After moving from Houston to Los Angeles to study at AMDA College of the Performing Arts, she quickly established herself in the comedy scene, sharing the stage with comedians like Amy Schumer and Margaret Cho. Jess...

Please join us for “How to Assess the Hidden Meaning Behind Behaviors” with Staci Neustadt and Susan Golubock. Staci Neustadt, CEO of Making Sense of Autism®, is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with over 20 years of experience providing individual and group therapy, training, mentorship, and leadership. In 2019, Staci joined Susan in developing the Neuro Strengths Based Support for Autism f...

Please join us for “Assistive Technology: to Innovate and Integrate Your Future” with Sam Shepherd. Sam Shepherd is the founder of 3DA, a nonprofit that advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities across the country. 3DA focuses on providing accessible resources on their website ( 3DA.org ) as well as advocating at both the state and federal levels. Support the show

Please join us for “Understanding Issues Impacting Black Neurodivergent Students” with Cheryl Poe. Cheryl Poe is the founder and Executive Director of Advocating 4 Kids, Inc., a Special Education Advocacy organization that provides resources, information, and workshops to parents and professionals, with a special focus on addressing the needs of Black and Brown children with disabilities. She is t...