From Pilot Club of Great Bend
The Pilot Club of Great Bend is excited to sponsor its 4th Autism Workshop on Sept. 12 at Barton Community College. The workshop is entitled “Sensory and Play: Understanding Autism and Other Neurodivergent Conditions.”
Autism is a broad range of conditions that affect communication and behavior. It is often said that if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism—in other words, no two people affected with this disorder will be affected the same way. Moreover, there are many concurrent conditions that often occur with autism, that also occur in children and adults without autism.
Including other conditions in the workshop allows us to broaden the scope to include Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Anxiety and more.
This workshop is designed for parents, grandparents, caregivers, childcare providers, educators, social workers, and those diagnosed with autism. CEUs are pending, as is one graduate credit from Baker University.
The featured speaker is autistic professional Amy Nelson, self-described “quirky kid,” play therapist, early childhood clinical social worker, and award winning author of “Every Bunny Can Learn: A Tail of Inclusion,” which received first place in Disability Awareness in the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards.
Joining our featured speaker Amy Nelson, are two recognized professionals Jennifer Halstead and Beth Reeder.
Jennifer Halstead, BS, COTA/L has over 27 years of experience in occupational therapy and as an instructor and academic fieldwork coordinator in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Washburn University. She will speak on “Primitive Reflexes and Rhythmic Movement Training,” and on “Sensory Integration and Strategies.”
Beth Reeder, BA, earned her degree from Southwestern College. With extensive training in early childhood and Conscious Discipline, she has served as a teacher, program director, adjunct instructor, and staff development leader across Kansas. She is an experienced keynote speaker and trainer at state, regional and national early childhood conferences. She will speak on “Conscious Discipline: Introduction and Brain Smart Start…If I Had a Magic Wand What Behaviors Would You Want Me to Eliminate?”
The afternoon panel consists of parents and persons directly affected by autism. Moderator will be Alyson Burkhart, BCBA, who will direct questions to the panel about how they deal with their daily lives. Panelists include Ashley Flowers, mother of four whose eldest daughter has autism, Corey Landreth, father of son Trent who has autism (Drawings by Trent) and is a pastor and driver for all Trent’s events, Amy Haxton, mother of a blended family of seven, one of which has autism, Kanye Cross, son of Amy and a young adult with autism, and Alicia Boor, mother of a high school son with autism.
Registration is open at greatbendpilotclub.com. Credit cards are accepted and lunch will be provided. Scholarships are available and additional information and questions can be directed to pcgb.autismworkshop@gmail.com.