MONTREAL CENTRE FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES

                       PARENT CONFERENCE: TOOL BOX FOR SUCCESS!

8:00 am: Registration & Exhibition Rooms Open

8:00 am - 9:00 am: Continental Breakfast

*Individual select 1 topic in each time slot.
*Parent Couples select 2 either similar or different topics in each time slot.

9:00 am - 10:25 am 

Session 1) Singapore B - Rest in a Restless World: Understanding Anxiety in Children

Speaker: Eva de Gosztonyi, M.A. is a psychologist who has worked for over 40 years in schools all across Canada. She works as the Co-ordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Management, which offers support to the ten English School Boards of Quebec, helping them provide effective interventions for students with behavioural challenges. Eva bases her interventions on the newest brain research and the attachment-based developmental approach of Dr. Gordon Neufeld.

Seminar Topic: When children become anxious we are quick to search for ways to deal with their symptoms. However, the symptoms just let us know that the child is facing more alarm than he or she can handle. This presentation will clarify the concepts of alarm and anxiety. It will shed light on what alarms our children the most. And it will provide parents and caregivers with tools for helping their children quiet the alarm and find rest so that they can continue to grow and develop to their full potential.

Session 2) Singapore C- The Impact of Sensory Processing Abilities on the Daily Lives of Children and their Families  

Speaker: Dorothy Notkin is a graduate of McGill University School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, a certified Educational Kinesiology instructor and consultant, and Kinesiologist and Head Occupational Therapist at Giant Steps School. She has been in private practice since 1963. Dorothy is a talented and open-minded occupational therapist who has a unique approach, using several specific interventions including neurodevelopmental theory, auditory training, sensory integration treatment (including sensory modulation), and kinesiology.

Seminar Topic: Dorothy will introduce the different approaches that are used to enhance independence and participation in daily life activities, play, social participation, school tasks and occupational performance throughout the lifespan.

 (Coffee Break) 10:25 am- 10:40 am 

10:40 am - 12:05 pm

Session 3) Singapore B - Dangerous Chemistry: Drugs, Alcohol & Gaming by Your Adolescent or Young Adult- A Guide for Parents!

Speaker: Anna Cegielka, MSW obtained her Master's degree in social work from University of Toronto and for over 20 years has been working in the field of children’s mental health. For 14 years she worked in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for adolescents where she counseled both youth presenting with addiction problems and their distraught parents. This is where she discovered that youth with learning difficulties were overrepresented in the clinic population and that they needed special approaches to help them overcome their
reliance on substances. She developed and ran psycho educational groups for parents who needed support, tools and strategies to help their adolescents and young adults. Anna’s 24 year old son Eric has autism.

Seminar Topic: "It's what young people do today" we often hear. So why are your children more at risk for significant harm when consuming psychoactive substances or glued to assorted screens? How can you tell when they are crossing over into a danger zone? What has neuroscience taught us about young brains on drugs? What can you do to help? Spoiler alert: You can do more than anyone else.

Session 4) Singapore C - Understanding Assistive Technology: Choosing the Right Tool for the Job!

Speaker: Andrea Prupas, B.Ed., M.A., M.A. Ct., is the co-founder of inov8 Educational Consulting, which provides in-person and online consultations, webinars, workshops and implementations to families in the area of assistive technology and mobile learning. Andrea has worked for the past 17 years in Canada and the US as a teacher and consultant in special education. She has worked with diverse student populations, and specializes in assistive technologies for students with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Andrea is a frequent presenter at international special education conferences, including the Assistive Technology Industry Association and the Council of Exceptional Children.

Seminar Topic: Changes in assistive technology occur so frequently that it can be hard to keep up! So how can you choose the right assistive technology tool for your needs, or your child’s needs? Benefiting from assistive technology requires a good fit between the individual's learning profile and the technology tool itself. Asking the right questions from the very beginning will create successful outcomes for you or your child. In this interactive session we will define assistive technology, discuss the matching process between and individual and the technology tool, and get a sense of “what’s out there.” Demonstrations of various hardware, software, and apps on multiple platforms will be provided.

(Lunch on your own)  12:05 pm - 1:30 pm

1:30 pm - 2:40 pm

Session 5) Singapore B - ADHD & Daily Management for Parents

Speaker: Dr. Ridha Joober MD, Ph.D, is a psychiatrist at the Douglas Institute where he treats youth diagnosed with ADHD. He conducts research in genetics, pharmacology, care models and service provisions for youth, including those with attention deficit disorder, autism and schizophrenia. Dr. Joober is Professor at McGill University. He is affiliated with the departments of psychiatry, neurology and human genetics. He has authored or co-authored over 230 published scientific articles.

Seminar Topic: Dr. Joober will provide his unique perspective on ADHD in children and adolescents. He will discuss the neurobiological aspects, medication and the daily management approaches that parents need to facilitate which help their children/adolescents achieve success.

Session 6) Singapore C - Strategies for Building the Language Skills of School Aged Children

Speaker: Stacey Knecht graduated from McGill University in 2003 with her Master's in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She has worked in schools and has been a speech-language pathologist in the private sector for over 12 years. Stacey works with children with a variety of speech and language difficulties including language delay, autism, phonological disorders, stuttering and more. Stacey believes strongly in early intervention and in providing individualized intervention plans which will maximize the child's success.

Seminar Topic: Stacey will provide practical activities that parents can do at home to help strengthen their child's receptive and expressive language skills.This will include strategies on phonological awareness and how to transfer these skills to improve decoding when reading and writing.

(Coffee Break) 2:40 pm - 3:00 pm

3:00 pm - 4:35 pm

Session 7) Singapore B -  What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don't?: Understanding ADHD, LD, NVLD & Mild ASD and Interventions to Help Build Social Competence

Speakers:

Elizabeth Shoiry M.Ed., is an accredited neuropsychologist, speaker and author who has over 25 years’ experience working in the health and educational sectors. Elizabeth is a graduate of McGill University and has earned two undergraduate degrees, one in biology (speciality: neurobiology and comparative physiology) and the other in psychology (speciality: biopsychology), as well as a graduate degree in educational psychology and counseling.  She specializes in expert neuropsychological assessments and provides workshops and conferences for parents, educators and other professionals in the area of learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, intervention plans, advocacy, behavior and assistive technologies. She continues to practice within the Montreal area and is a very proud mother of two beautiful daughters.

Linda Aber is certified and authorized as a Nurtured Heart® Advanced Trainer, Theraplay® Group Specialist, HeartMath® Practitioner, Attachment Parent Coach, Family Life Educator and is a proud adoptive parent. For years Linda has embraced attachment-based approaches with her own family and believes it to be the missing parenting piece, the epoxy that transforms and creates success for all family members. For 20 years she has provided parent coaching, educational/support groups and workshops for parents and families living with ADHD, LD, ODD, FASD, Mild ASD, mood and attachment disorders. As a consultant for MCLD, Linda facilitates Nurtured Heart® Parenting Workshops and Theraplay® Social Skills Groups empowering parents and their children with strategies for emotional self-regulation, self-esteem, friendship, and perspective taking skills

Seminar Topic: In this seminar, Elizabeth will present the characteristic behavioral symptoms of ADHD, LD, NVLD & Mild ASD as well as the typical social impairments that are commonly manifested within each of the disorders in order to better understand what social interventions and strategies are needed.  Although there may be some similarities among the different disabilities, the interventions must be tailor made to the specific disability. Linda will share strategies to enhance social competency and introduce participants to MCLD'S Social Skills Groups where parents become their child's/teen's Social Coach.

  Grab a quick continental breakfast & take advantage of our exhibitors who are ready to provide you with information and guidance.

• ABC Solutions Inc.
• Abby's Office
  
• Avron
• Babar Books Inc.
• Big Blue Hug
• Brightside Learning
• Centennial Academy
• Disability Financial Assistance Corp.
• Empilage Sportif Québec
• Geordie Productions
• Giant Steps
• Hudson Literacy Clinic
• Inspirations
• Kells Academy
• Kiddo Active Therapy
• MCLD
• Medipsy
• Microscience
• Neufeld Institute
• Plant Love Grow
• Relationship Development Intervention
• Rekinéxion
• Strategic Learning Centre
• Vanguard School
• The Donald Berman Yaldei Development Centre
• The Glory of Education
• The MCLD Ambassadors
  
• Creatability

Montreal Centre for Learning Disabilities 
Parent Conference 
is proud to sponsor Creatability

Creatability was established to expose and celebrate the amazing talents of people with special needs and encourage development of their abilities, allowing them to flourish and become productive members in the community. MCLD is proud to host two of these individuals and invite you to drop by their table and see their work. 

Our featured Artists are:

Kenza Deschenes-Kherchi

 

 

 

 

Heidi Vormer

I am Remrov, and I am an autistic savant self-taught artist. I make hyper photo-realistic pencil and pen drawings. I create all kinds of artwork like portraits of people and animals. I also enjoy making drawings of houses and cartoons.

 

 

 

Thank You to Our Sponsors

 

         

 

 

Register Now!