Where
This is an online event.
Parent/Professional Advocacy League's
11th Annual
Virtual Conference & Celebration
Friday, June 3th, 2022
This year promises to be an outstanding event, gathering virtually with more than 400 attendees! We will be providing a Keynote Speaker in the morning, as well as morning and afternoon workshops on a wide variety of topics. Enjoy a day of learning and networking and leave feeling inspired and rejuvenated.
Thank You to our Title Sponsor!
Conference Keynote Speaker
Brynn Burger
Conference Workshops
AM Workshops
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AM #1: "Anxiety and Unmet Needs"
Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., MS
Anxiety is on the rise, bringing its own unique challenges, and further complicating already existing challenges. In this workshop, we will examine how unmet needs can promote anxiety in our kids, how anxiety works in the brain, and what we can do to manage it. Anxiety will be expressed as a spectrum model in order to better understand its escalation and, critically, its de-escalation. Participants will examine how unmet needs can affect our kids and ourselves, view anxiety as a brain-based challenge that exists on a spectrum of intensity, discover which types of interventions work best at the various stages of anxiety escalation, and look at ways to limit this escalation, as well as ways to help students deescalate when necessary.
AM #2: "The State of Black and Brown Mental Health"
Lisa Kennedy, Family Peer Support Specialist
This session will begin the discussion around the impact of race on children and families in America as it relates to Mental Health. Data and information will be shared with participants from community conversations breaking down the barriers and stigma to communities of color accessing mental health services. Cultural diversity, equity and inclusion hasn’t really begun to look at ‘HOW” systems have been attempting to meet the needs of the whole child. In this session, the framework of that conversation will be started amongst the participants. And we will also begin breaking down the intersection of systems and the role race plays in the outcomes.
AM #3: "Knowing Your Child as a Soul and the Healing of Mental Health Distress"
Diana Belle, founder of Doors of Light
In this workshop we will explore spiritual supports for healing mental health issues that are available to everyone, regardless of any religious affiliation. We are more than our physical bodies, emotions, thoughts and beliefs; true healing must address the whole person, which include the spiritual or soul self. In modern times, much has been lost in spiritual supports to help prevent, and heal in the wake of, a mental health crisis. There is a transcendent power that lives inside all of us and many pathways can be created to connect to this level of our being. This workshop, based on the presenter’s own lived experience, will explore ways to re-incorporate soul awareness into our healing journeys.
AM #4: "School-To-Prison Pipeline: Realities of the CRA Process"
Leon Smith, Executive Director, Citizens for Juvenile Justice
The school-to-prison pipeline is driven by zero-tolerance policies, school funding cuts that have reduced the number of counselors and social workers that can support students with behavioral concerns and the presence of law enforcement. Far too often students of color, students with disabilities and students that are impacted by trauma are disproportionately disciplined and arrested rather than receiving the support and services that allow them to remain in the classroom and continue to make educational progress. Understand in today workshop the real "harm" that can happen if you recommend or open a CRA. The myths and realities are important for all professionals and parents to be aware of when giving information.
AM #5: "Special Education After Covid"
Jeffery Sankey, Esq.
As students return to full-time, in-person learning after months of COVID-related educational interruptions, the impact on students with disabilities may be significant. Attorney Jeffrey Sankey will discuss these in a seminar focused on recognizing and addressing regression of skills in academics as well as in students’ social, emotional and behavioral presentations. This seminar will cover topics such as determining and monitoring progress through evaluations, team meetings and IEP development; compensatory services; and COVID-related protections. He will also discuss the “ins and outs” of working with attorneys, advocates, educational consultants and evaluators.
PM Workshops
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PM #1: "Helping Our More Vulnerables Kids:
Supporting Kids with Executive Function and Anxiety Challenges"
Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., MS
Anxiety and executive function challenges are on the rise, bringing unique challenges to our kids. In this workshop, participants will examine how anxiety and executive function work individually, as well as how they interact with each other. Participants will then explore ways to manage both. Anxiety will be expressed in a spectrum model in order to better understand its escalation and, critically, its de-escalation. Executive functioning strategies will be shared to improve productivity and manage anxiety. Participants will view anxiety as a brain-based challenge that exists on a spectrum of intensity, discover which types of interventions work best at the various stages of anxiety escalation, and look at ways to limit this escalation, as well as ways to help students deescalate when necessary. They will explore the various elements of executive function and how they interact, and learn ways to support our children's, and our own, executive function in order to meet with greater success.
PM #2: "Domestic Violence Through a Suicide Awareness Lens:
Has it Canceled Black Mental Health?"
Shaquera Robinson, MPH
This workshop's objectives are to define domestic violence and all of its multifaceted layers. How is domestic violence is interrelated with mental health and suicide awareness? We will observe the slanted systems and processes between black and brown communities compared to their white counterparts, explore Structural Racial Inequities in Domestic Violence and the Black Mental Health communities and discuss the Five Stages of Grief, how to identify them, and best practices to meeting people where they are at.
PM #3: "Addressing Impact of Bullying During the Pandemic and Recovery"
Dr. Peter Raffalli, MD
Dr. Raffali will discuss strategies and tips to address the bullying experienced by many students with disabilities this year. This is a chance to ask questions and learn from each other about how to address the needs of students with disabilities who are impacted by bullying during the pandemic, when schools are struggling with staff shortages, absences, and uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
Parental Insights from a Son with Lived Experience"
Micah Howe, Mental Health Advocate
Sometimes a parent just wishes they could get a better handle on how their son or daughter who has a mental illness sees the world. What does a child who experiences a mental illness really want from their parents? In this session, Micah will share his insights as someone who suffers from OCD, hoarding disorder, and depression on what he wishes his parents would have known when he was growing up with these challenging diagnoses. Micah will incorporate personal stories from his own journey and serve as a transparent resource for parents and caregivers who have questions, based on insights from his personal lived experience, about the best way to support their children.
PM #5: "Psychiatric Boarding: An Existing Crisis Worsened by the Pandemic"
Doug Crook, DNP, RN, PMHNP-BC, BRT Nurse Manager
Miranda Gonzalez, LICSW
Accessing psychiatric placement is a process that shouldn't take longer than a few days-- unfortunately, that's rarely the case these days. In this presentation, lead psychiatric social worker Miranda Gonzalez, and BRT Nurse Manager Doug Crook will discuss the process of awating psyichatric placement for youth in Massachusetts. They'll explore how teams determine level of care, what to expect while waiting for placement, and how to support patients during the boarding period.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Would you like to sponsor families to attend our conference?
We have many opportunities to support this incredible day of learning.
Please reach out to conference@ppal.net for more information.