Classroom and Community Resilience - Jennifer Todd, JD, RN, UT Teen Health Project Manager and Esmeralda Jeffries, BA, NPMC, UT Teen Health Project Coordinator, OAH Capacity Building Project.

This Presentation introduced the K.I.S.S. Framework, NEAR Science the study of Neurobiology, Epigenetics, ACE Studies and Resilience as the foundation of community resilience. Participants learned community and classroom strategies to respond in a trauma-informed way when they encounter individuals who may be adversely affected by trauma and toxic stress, whose trauma history may not be known to them. Participants learned how to build community capacity and ways to transform organizations, classrooms, even families using resilience-based strategies. Participants recognized their own trauma and stress response and developed regulation skills then use them when their stress response is activated. Learn how to use affirming communication, celebrate milestones, learn compassionate and empowering discipline while teaching others about their own trauma and stress response. 

Resilience in the School Setting: Promoting Students' Psychological Well-being - Dr. Jacqueline Herrera, Psy.D., Doctoral Resident, Sharon Levine, and Cynthia Diaz de Leon, PhD. from The Clarity Child Guidance Center.

This workshop discusses various ways to enhance students' resilience by facilitating protective factors. The key areas of focus are cultivating developmental relationships, factors that hinder resilience, and methods to promote positive psychological change in the midst of challenging and stressful circumstances. 

ADHD and Executive Function - Dr. Peri-Anne Chobot, Ed.D., Interim Head of School at The Winston School San Antonio.

Executive function skills enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, follow directions, and manage competing tasks. A large percentage of students identified with ADHD struggle with executive dysfunction which impacts their performance and goal attainment in a structured school setting.

This session explores executive functions as they relate to students with ADHD in a school setting. First, we considered and identify each individual participant’s executive function strengths and weaknesses. We then explored the impact of ADHD on executive functions as it relates to classroom participation and production from both the teacher and student perspective.

Accommodations-Transition to Higher Education - Dr. Dianne P. Hengst, M.A., Psy.D. Executive Director of Student Disability Services at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

This session explores those transition issues that exist for students with disabilities when they enter postsecondary education.  We briefly covered those regulations that govern disability services in higher education and explored the intersection of a disability service office, the student, and the university community.  In addition, we touched upon why students with disabilities are part of the diversity that exists on college campuses today and how we can think creatively to solve barrier issues. 

Self-Advocacy - Toni Schexnyder, M.Ed., College and Career Coordinator at The Winston School San Antonio.

At its core, self-advocacy is the ability to communicate your needs, stand up for your rights, and make
decisions based on what is best for you. Self-advocacy is one of the most important skills for
adolescents to develop, especially those with learning differences. In this session, we discussed why
Self-advocacy is important, some obstacles that students may face when trying to advocate for
themselves, and strategies that students can use to strengthen their self-advocacy skills.

Nature and Well-Being - Dr. Courtney Crim, Ed. D., Associate Professor of Education at Trinity University.

In this session, we briefly examined the ways in which children and adolescents are increasingly stressed.  While we can't always change the factors that create stress, research shows us many ways using natural environments can help us recover from the detrimental impacts this stress causes on physiological and psychological wellbeing.  We explored why spending time outdoors helps our physical and emotional wellbeing as well as discuss strategies to accomplish these positive outcomes.