AASR Live

Please join us for "Welcoming Neurodivergence: Utilizing Picture Books to Support Acceptance & Belonging" with Connie Persike, M.S., CCC/SLP. Connie Persike, M.S., CCC/SLP, is a highly experienced Speech Language Pathologist and Educational Consultant. She has 20+ years of experience in educational settings and holds a certificate in instructional coaching, positive education, and ap...

Join us for "Putting out the fire: Dissecting and dismantling the dynamics of restraint and seclusion." with Dr. Arielle Silverman. Arielle is a disabled activist and a social scientist who is passionate about improving public understanding of life with disabilities. Professionally, she has spent fifteen years conducting research on the social psychology of disability. Personally, she ha...

Join us for "Creating Safe, Secure, Trauma-informed Environments: An Interview with Dr. Sandra L. Bloom." Dr. Sandra L. Bloom is a Board-Certified psychiatrist, a Temple University School of Medicine graduate, and currently Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University. For the past forty years, Dr. Bloom has done pioneering...

Please join us for “Solutions to end the school-to-prison pipeline an interview with Leonard Webb” Mr. Webb retired from law enforcement to focus on improving the education outcomes of students and improving relationships between administration, teachers, parents, and students. He is focused on directly addressing the school-to-prison pipeline by providing equity-based solutions, bringing accounta...

An interview with Polina Shkadron, a trauma-informed speech-language pathologist, discussing the impact of stress. Polina Shkadron is a trauma-informed speech-language pathologist with specialties in the areas of autism, ADHD, language, and literacy. She earned her Master of Art degree in speech-language pathology from CUNY Queens College where she held the position of Adjunct Lecturer for the pas...

HELPme: Join us for an interview with Kerrie Ackerson the creator of an app to help students, staff, & families. Now more than ever, students and staff need a comprehensive safety and wellness program that includes a pathway to anonymously connect with assigned helpers i.e. (Family Engagement Coordinators, School Counselors, Social Workers, School Nurses, and others). The pandemic has affected...

Special Educator Karen Bures will share how she was able to reduce and eliminate the use of restraint and seclusion in her classroom. Karen Bures is a special education teacher working with students who may display intense behaviors in Bend, Oregon. Karen started her career working in residential treatment care, transitioned into child welfare through the state, and then took a hiatus to be a stay...

Join us for a special interview with Jordyn Zimmerman. Jordyn will share her lived experiences as a nonspeaking autistic student who was denied effective communication and inclusive education. We will discuss Jordyn's experiences with school, as well as her experience with restraint and seclusion. We'll talk about augmented alternative communication (AAC) and how AAC impacted her life. J...

Join us for “An interview with Brian Dalla Mura: A special educator’s journey to reduce and eliminate restraint and seclusion.” Brian is a special education teacher in Vermont. He holds a master’s degree in special education from Arizona State University. He has experience teaching students with emotional disabilities in kindergarten through high school. Brian began advocating for stronger and saf...

An Interview with Robert and Ryan Delena about their book “Without Restraint: How Skiing Saved My Son’s Life.” As a child, Ryan DeLena had difficulty controlling his emotions and he was placed in therapeutic schools that relied on detrimental methods of behavior modification such as physical restraint. Nothing helped from a team of doctors to heavy medication. Then in 2010, Ryan was voluntarily co...

A discussion with Mr. Chazz Mr. Chazz about how we can see, guide, and trust children Chazz Lewis' mission is to help adults truly see, guide, and trust children. He is pushing the needle a little closer toward world peace with his approach. He is an Educational Specialist, Parent Coach, Conscious Discipline Practitioner, and Content Creator. He goes by, “Mr. Chazz” and he even has a song to...

Join us for a special discussion with McAlister Greiner Huynh the educator also known as The Neurodivergent Teacher. McAlister Greiner Huynh is a National Board Certified special educator, behavior support specialist, consultant, and international speaker who calls North Carolina, USA home. She has been working with and learning from Neurodivergent individuals professionally for twelve years, stea...

Discipline for Learning Not Shaming with Jodi Place. Jodi Place has served as a public educator for over 25 years. Prior to becoming a school administrator, she was a Nationally Board-Certified English teacher. As an administrator, she has experience leading in traditional high school and middle school settings as well as alternative education. She holds her Applied Educational Neuroscience certif...

5 Tips to Assist in the Emotional Regulation of Humans: Trauma-Informed Lessons Learned from a Therapist a presentation from Stacy G. York Nation, LCSW. Stacy has worked with families for over 20 years. Her passion is working with the "tough" humans, including adopted families and veterans. With intensive training in trauma-informed practices, Stacy excels at providing real-life, applica...

Join us for a special interview with Dr. Damiso A. Josey. Dr. Josey will share his story of success from a turbulent past, and how he uses his lived experiences to help students succeed. Through a turbulent past, Dr. Damiso A. Josey learned to analyze the experiences of his life and to use them as a catalyst for success rather than a reason for failure. Dr. Damiso A. Josey has used his triumph thr...

Join us for a special presentation from Rob Beltz, "Safety, Connection, & Validation: Creating Spaces of Culture and Identity." Rob Beltz, ACTRP-C, has over 20 years of experience in education and leadership. He is certified in English Language Development, Trauma and Resiliency, Equity and Inclusion, and Applied Educational Neuroscience. His current work focuses on the nature of ide...

Dr. Lori Desautels, has been an Assistant Professor at Butler University since 2016 where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education. She was also an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for 8 years where she founded the Educational Neuroscience Symposium. Currently, the Symposium is in its 10th year, and now sponsored by Butler University...

Classroom Teacher to Social Emotional Learning Specialist: How to Create a Community of Safety and Belonging with Angelina Zara. Angelina is Washington, DC educator with a philosophy rooted in trauma-responsive care, inclusion, and racial and social equity. She holds her Masters in Education from Trinity Washington University and completed her Certification in Applied Educational Neuroscience at B...

A presentation from Dr. Dustin Springer titled "You're Getting on My Nerves: Understanding and Addressing Dysregulation Through the Lens of Applied Educational Neuroscience". Dr. Springer has served the children and community in the Kansas City Metro area for nearly 25 years. He has been a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and community school liaison, and is presently the pri...

Supporting children and youth: An interview with author Michael McKnight. Michael worked for the New Jersey Department of Education in the Cape May County office of education for 17 years. In those years he served as a resource for school districts in the county as well as throughout southern New Jersey. Beyond the work of the department of education he provided training to educators, parents, com...

Creating a fully functioning trauma-informed school:  An interview with James Moffett Jr. James Moffett is an elementary school principal who has created, implemented and helped others create and implement trauma-informed practices in their schools. Throughout his career, he has taught various demographic groups, observing the differences and similarities in effective instructional and behavioral...

Since she started her role as the Director of Education at Brook Lane Behavioral Services Rachel Hull has been on a mission to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion. Rachel applied for a grant from the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint to participate in a training program in the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions approach from Lives in the Balance to help in her work to reduce the us...

Join us for a special discussion with Jim Sporleder, The Power of One. We will discuss alternative strategies to the traditional practice of seclusion and restraint. The Power of One is a mindset that draws connection, and promotes positive caring adult relationships, as compared to punitive seclusion and restraint techniques that create disconnection and become barriers to positive outcomes throu...

An interview with Heather Forbes. We'll be discussing Classroom180: A Framework for Creating, Sustaining, and Assessing the Trauma-Informed Classroom, by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW. Classroom 180 is a comprehensive roadmap of what it means to fully create, implement, and sustain a trauma-informed classroom from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Additionally, Classroom180 includes an assess...

In 2005 Dr. Maggie Bennington-Davis co-authors a book "Restraint and Seclusion: The Model for Eliminating Their Use in Healthcare". Maggie will be joining us for a discussion of how she has influenced change in an acute psychiatric inpatient unit. Maggie is Chief Medical Officer at Health Share of Oregon, a Coordinated Care Organization serving 400,000 people enrolled in Medicaid. She le...