Executive Functioning Strategies for Your Child

Ages and Stages: Understand the Development of Executive Functioning Skills

Thursday, March 7, 7:00 p.m., Darien Library Community Room

Please RSVP: dariensepac@gmail.com

Please join us for a parent presentation on supporting your child’s development of executive functioning skills. Kit Savage, an Executive Functioning Coach, will explain the neuroscience behind executive functioning skills and provide realistic parenting strategies, goals and resources to help your child.  Understanding age-appropriate expectations empowers parents to collaborate with their teachers to improve their child’s school performance. 

All children struggle at times in school, but your child may need support if they regularly:

–          Avoid getting started on homework

–          Resist checking their written work

–          Use cramming as their #1 (or only) study habit

–          Get lost navigating in Google Classroom and miss due dates

–          Struggle with the steps of the writing process

–          Become emotionally dysregulated when you discuss schoolwork

Kit Savage is a certified Executive Functioning Coach and Special Education Advisor to families of children with disabilities and neurodiverse learning profiles.  Her mission is to empower parents to ensure their child reaches their educational potential.  She is a certified teacher of body-based practices of yoga, meditation and breathwork, which is embedded in the EF instruction for students up through college and into the workforce.

This presentation is co-sponsored by Darien Library and Darien SEPAC

Understanding CT’s New IEP

Monday, April 25

7:00 PM, Webinar

Hosted by Darien SEPAC & Darien Library

Please RSVP: CLICK HERE

Connecticut is implementing a new IEP template beginning this Fall for the 2022-23 school year. Please join attorney Anne Treimanis and Special Education Advocate Barbara (Babs) Distinti via Zoom to learn what the major changes are and how to make sure your child’s IEP is formulated to give them what they need to succeed. We will help ensure that this new and improved document assists your planning and placement team (PPT) in navigating the special education process, leading to the development of high-quality IEPs for your student.

Anne Treimanis is an attorney whose law practice is limited to special education, 504, and discrimination issues. She is also an adjunct professor for special education law and the author of several books including Do Not Tweet at an IEP Meeting. Her daughter Eva is an adult with Down syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Check Law Office of Anne Treimanis, LLC

Babs Distinti is an advocate for families who know from personal experience how critical it is for ALL students to have appropriate services and supports. She is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and a Special Education Advocate with Advocacy Allies, LLC. Babs is the president of Special Education Equity Kids of Connecticut (SEEK), the first and only organization made up of parents, educational professionals, special education advocates and attorneys created to influence policy discussion and shape legislative efforts on behalf of students with disabilities in Connecticut. Check Advocacy Allies. 

Co-sponsored by Darien Library and Darien SEPAC. 

Darien SEPAC Reading Buddy Program

Darien SEPAC is pleased to present a new Reading Buddy Program. The program, piloted successfully in the winter of 2016/17 with space and books provided by Darien Library, is now open to student volunteers.

What is a Reading Buddy Program? It’s older kids (“Big Reading Buddies”) paired with younger kids (“Little Reading Buddies”) for one-to-one reading time. Research has shown that academic performance, motivation to read, reading skills, and self-confidence are all gained through participation in these programs. Two SEPAC Representatives; Lynne Andren, who has a MA in Reading and Kara Callahan, who has a MS in Special Education, run the program, with some assistance from SEPAC co-chairs Courtney Darby and Tricia Bresnahan. Both Andren and Callahan are thrilled with the idea of helping parents through the sometimes dreaded daily reading homework requirement while helping the buddies develop new friendships and foster a love of reading. The group meets once a week on Thursday afternoons from 4:00-5:00 PM. Either buddy can require support; in fact this program is perfect for a teen who is struggling with reading.  For program information or to sign-up, contact Lynne Andren (lynneandren@yahoo.com) or Kara Callahan (kwcallahan@icloud.com).

Meaningful Inclusion Benefits All Students

Darien SEPAC and Darien Library are pleased to present:

William Henderson, Ed.D.
Inclusion Expert and Author

Monday, April 27th

12:00 – 1:30 PM — Public Meeting
RSVP: https://dlchildrenslibrary.wufoo.com/forms/meaningful-inclusion-benefits-all-students/

3:30 PM– 4:45 PM — Educators Only Session
RSVP: https://dlchildrenslibrary.wufoo.com/forms/bill-henderson-educator-visit/

Darien Library Louise Parker Berry Community Room
Light refreshments will be served.

William Henderson, Ed.D., author of “The Blind Advantage: How Going Blind Made me a Stronger Principal and How Including Children with Disabilities Made the School Better for Everyone,” will present practical strategies for developing successful inclusive schools.

Dr. Henderson will discuss approaches to developing a culture of inclusion, to provide instruction with universal design and specialized supports, and to build a community that collaborates and problem solves. He will also highlight how including students with disabilities can be a catalyst for improving teaching and learning for everyone.

As a first-year teacher, Dr. Henderson learned he was gradually losing his vision and was advised he “should get out of education.” Instead he continued to persevere and went on to become principal of the Patrick O’Hearn Elementary School which is now renamed the Dr. William W. Henderson K- 12 Inclusion School.

“In an age when the word ‘hero’ is overused, Bill Henderson clearly deserves the title. Long before most educators embraced the concept of inclusion, Bill built a school that became a model of equity and excellence.”
— Thomas Hehir, professor of practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education & Author of ”Effective Inclusive Schools, Designing Successful Schoolwide Programs.”

CANCELED DUE TO BLIZZARD: ADHD & MOOD DISORDERS: New Strategies and Treatments

CANCELED: Monday, January 26, 7-8:30, Darien Library

NEW DATE TO BE DETERMINED

Darien SEPAC and Darien Library are pleased to present Alan Wachtel, MD on ADHD & Mood Disorders: New Strategies and Treatments.

Dr. Wachtel will discuss medication options, treatments and strategies to help children who struggle with mood and attention. He will cover school-based accommodations and strategies. Research has shown that parents and teachers need to foster a child’s focus to maximize their ability to learn. In addition, Dr. Wachtel will address the benefits and risks of available treatments and when to commence or postpone treatment at various stages of a child’s life.

A board certified psychiatrist, Dr. Wachtel is the author of The Attention Deficit Answer Book. He is founder and director of Familyhealth Associates, which specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of attention, behavior, mood and learning disorders. He is a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

RSVP at https://dlchildrenslibrary.wufoo.com/forms/adhd-and-mood-disorders-new-strategies-treatmen/