Training in
Zandvoort, The Netherlands
Near Amsterdam
November 10-13, 2009
An Introduction to The Growing Minds Autism Program
Parent-Directed Treatment for Children with Autism-Spectrum Disorders
Presented in English with simultaneous translation into Dutch
This is an advanced training program for parents and professionals working with children who have Autism, Pervasive Developmental Delay, Asperger’s Syndrome and related conditions. This training provides skills to increase your child’s motivation and cooperation, to improve his or her communication and social interaction, to assess progress, to set appropriate social and developmental goals and to incorporate effective teaching methods to achieve those goals.
The program is designed and presented by Steven and Kaitryn Wertz, based on twenty-two years of experience in training over one thousand parents and their children with autism-spectrum disorders. Central to the Growing Minds approach is the belief that many children can recover from Autism, Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD) and Asperger’s Syndrome when their unique developmental needs are met. Even children with the most severe forms of autism have the capacity to improve intimacy and communication and to learn skills that enrich their quality of life.
Children on the autism spectrum develop most successfully and rapidly when their special social, educational and biomedical needs are met within an individualized program. Rather than trying to fit the child to the program, we tailor the program to the child’s unique strengths, difficulties, interests and abilities. The Growing Minds Autism Program integrates educational methods, play-based methods, relationship-oriented methods, biomedical methods and sensory strategies.
This program is recommended for
- Parents who currently teach their child at home (either full or part time).
- Parents interested in working with their child at home, either full-time or after school.
- Family members, volunteers and staff who support parents with a home-based program.
- Professionals who work with individuals affected by autism and related difficulties.
The Growing Minds Program can improve your success with other approaches to autism treatment:
- Those using Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA, Lovaas and Verbal Behavior) will gain skills to build greater rapport with your child and help him or her increase assertiveness, initiate communication and enjoy social interaction.
- Those using The Son-Rise Program or with Floor Time (Greenspan) and Contactgericht spelen will gain skills to help your child accept direction, increase cooperation, improve attention and acquire the skills necessary to benefit from any school environment.
- Those using biomedical or sensory approaches will learn to support your child’s physiological changes with a strong relational and educational program.
Topics Include:
Attitudinal training
The attitude of parents and teachers is instrumental in creating positive behavior
change in children. This segment explores how attitudes, thoughts and feelings
may influence your ability to teach your child, and how to harness the power
of a positive attitude to encourage your child’s motivation and communication.
Improving communication and connection/rapport
We’ll provide specific techniques to help you increase your child’s
attentiveness and rapport. In addition, you’ll learn methods to
encourage your child to initiate communication and to strengthen your
child’s motivation and ability to interact with you. These are
practical techniques that you can immediately put into practice with
your child.
Handling challenging behavior
Strategies and attitudes that will help you to minimize your child’s
challenging behaviors and to make it less likely that problem behavior
will emerge in the future.
Assessing your child
In order to set teach effectively, it is very helpful to correctly assess
your child’s abilities and progress. The session will focus on
identifying appropriate social and developmental goals for your child.
Teaching methods
An overview of various teaching methods currently in use for children
with autism and related conditions, including play-based methods (Intensive
Interaction, Son-Rise and Floor Time), Discrete Trial Teaching (also
known as ABA, Lovaas and Verbal Behavior) Structured Teaching (also
known as TEACCH). This will provide a foundation for developing and
synthesizing your own teaching style, and for customizing your program
to your child’s unique needs.
Creating custom learning experiences
Using specific learning and curriculum goals, we will assist you to design
customized learning experiences that will help you and your child to
accomplish your objectives. Includes instruction on how to match your
goals to your child’s interests.
Structuring your program
Suggestions on a variety of practical topics, such as: how many hours
to run your program, what types of activities to use, how to sequence
activities, how to vary your child’s day, how much directed teaching
to provide and how to adapt your program to meet your family’s
needs.
Teaching children with motor difficulties (dyspraxia)
Many children with autism have obvious or hidden motor difficulties.
These children progress more rapidly when the teaching strategies are
adapted to their specific needs. This segment provides information
and discussion on identifying motor difficulties and designing appropriate
learning strategies.
Taking care of yourself while you help your child
Directing a home-based program for your child can be challenging and
demanding. This segment includes ways to remain inspired, optimistic,
motivated and balanced.
Question and answer sessions
Time for questions about your specific circumstances and concerns.
Special features of this program:
- Growing Minds is a comprehensive program, which balances your child’s need for social development with his or her need to acquire skills and to grow academically. You do not need to compromise one area of your child’s development for another.
- Presenter Steven Wertz is, to our knowledge, the only individual in the field of autism treatment to have earned certification in both Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and in the Son-Rise program, making him uniquely qualified to access and integrate the best of both educational and relational approaches. Steven has personally worked individually with over 1,000 children with autism spectrum disorders in his twenty-two year career. Read Steven’s biography.
- You’ll receive a detailed training manual containing all methods taught in the program along with extensive background materials for your continued learning.
- You’ll have opportunities to network with and learn from other parents and professionals using a similar approach.
- We are specialists in making learning fun. We use humor, interaction, experiential learning, creativity, audio-visual presentations and real life examples to provide a relaxing, energizing and enjoyable learning environment.
- The Growing Minds staff work carefully with our local sponsors to make these programs as affordable as possible, in an effort to provide participants with an exceptional educational experience at a reasonable cost.
Program Specifics:
Program schedule
Registration and arrival are scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday,
November 10, 2009, with an opening session at 7:30pm. Sessions will
be held in the morning, afternoon and evening on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The program ends at 4:00pm on Friday, November 13, 2009.
Please note that this is a training seminar designed for adult participants (parents, relatives, professionals, support workers) attending without children.
Location
The program will be held in a lovely resort hotel in the dunes at Zandvoort.
You can look forward to the big leisure pool, walks on the beach (and
sea swimming), restaurants and sports possibilities. The park is at
a walking distance from the train station and 25 kilometers from Amsterdam.
You can easily reach the park by train from Schiphol Airport. The venue
is not excessively luxurious, in keeping with our objective of doing
things simply in order to keep the cost of attendance down.
Accommodations and Meals
We have included food and lodging in a six-person bungalow in the price
of the course. The double rooms are quite small. For an additional
sum (and provided there is space), it is possible to have a double
room to oneself. For an additional sum you can also stay in the hotel
at the venue. You can make prior reservations for tennis courts etc.,
on the resort's web site www.centerparcs.com
Meals are not included. Monday night, each bungalow will get a box full of nice Dutch things to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the coming days. This arrangement is not possible for those sleeping in the hotel. There are restaurants nearby.
Fees
TBA
Cancellation Policy
For cancellations before September 10, 2009, a full refund will be provided.
For cancellations after September 10, 2009, we will attempt to find
a replacement for you from our waiting list. If we are unable to replace
you, no
refund will be given. This policy is necessary for us to be able to
fulfill our obligations. You are welcome to send someone to replace
you in case you are unable to attend.
Translation
Please inform us when registering if you will be need translation into
Dutch. With sufficient notice, we will do our best to have a headset
for you.
Translation into French (or other languages) is not arranged, but you
can bring in your own translator. This person will only pay for lodging
(€ 75,00)
To Register or obtain further information, contact:
Anneke Groot, Stichting HoriSon The Netherlands
Mekkelholtsweg 38, 7523 DE Enschede, Netherlands
e-mail: anneke@amao.nl or vraag@horison.nl
Phone: (00-31-)(0)53-434-7853
15096 115th Avenue North, Jupiter, Florida 33478
Phone: 561-748-9697 Fax: 561-748-6543
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