Like educators and medical professionals, we want kids to reach for their full potential. To foster a productive exchange of ideas between professionals, we offer a variety of workshops that address the needs of typically developing children, children with developmental delays, and special needs children. We are also delighted to develop custom workshops to target your professional development goals.
Each workshop is approximately 90 minutes and typically conducted in English. Workshops in other languages and interpretation may be available.
Cost per workshop (Number of participants determined by host organization): RMB
To inquire about our professional development programming or to schedule an event for your organization, please contact us.
- Shanghai and locations near Shanghai: E-mail us or call us at (21) 5404-0058 or (21) 6075-3100
- Beijing and locations near Beijing: E-mail us or call us at (010) 6461 6283
Selected Professional Development Topics
General Pediatric Therapy & Development Topics
What is Pediatric Therapy?
This presentation is an overview of pediatric therapy and the services provided by Olivia’s Place. It includes information on pediatric occupational, physical, and speech therapy. We will also cover psychology services for children and options for families with children who are faced with learning challenges. This presentation is free of charge.
Motor Development Topics
Motor Development Seminars
Core motor skills must be learned and integrated into the lives of children to help them develop into successful and active members of society. When there are gaps in motor skill development, the effects on children can be wide-ranging and lifelong. With dedicated time, effort, and practical strategies (including knowing how to recognize warning signs of areas of need), children can address these issues at home, in school, and during therapy sessions if their needs warrant intensive support.
This customized motor development seminar, led by a physical therapist, will address the needs of toddlers, preschool, primary, or middle school age children. The specific needs of the target audience, including age and development appropriate information, strategies, and extension activities with relation to children’s motor skills development will be provided. The essential knowledge needed in relation to when to monitor and when to refer will be explored as well as the symptoms involved in Motor Coordination Disorder.
When Clumsy is Cause for Concern: Motor Development in Children and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a motor skills disorder. DCD is characterized by delayed motor skills or difficulty with coordination that prevent a child from performing common, everyday tasks. It affects five to six percent of all school-aged children. Children with DCD are frequently described as “clumsy” or “awkward” by their parents and teachers. They have difficulty mastering simple motor activities, such as tying shoes or going down stairs. Age-appropriate academic and self-care tasks can also be challenging for them. What You Will Learn:
- What is Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- How does it exhibit?
- What strategies can be used with all children and children with DCD in both physical education and general classroom settings to promote gross motor skills?
- What are the connections between gross/fine motor development and academic performance?
- How can teachers communicate with parents more effectively about the importance of developing and supporting gross motor skills?
- When should teachers refer a family for additional assistance?
Motor Development Seminar for P.E. Instructors
This presentation, led by a physical therapist, will give P.E. instructors a new understanding of children’s motor skills development. It is a practical and informative session designed to enhance teachers’ awareness of the stages of motor skills development and help them identify and address lags in individual development. Through the use of age appropriate information, strategies, and extension activities, the Physical Educator can address the motor skills development needs of all of their students. When to monitor, and when to refer to a professional, will be explored as well as the symptoms of Motor Coordination Disorder. P.E. Teachers will feel more confident identifying, planning for, and integrating the needs of all students.
Walk This Way
This workshop for medical and therapy professionals addresses the use of physical therapy in childhood gait and stance disorders.
Getting Ready to Write
When it comes to pencil use, is sooner better? Are there other activities that will better prepare a child for correct pencil use? This seminar, led by an occupational therapist, discusses the normal progression of hand skills, and teaches activities that pre-school through first grade children can do both in the classroom and at home to develop the skills needed to support sitting at a desk and writing. This workshop is suitable for teachers of children aged 3-6, but 1st and 2nd grade teachers (British Y2 and Y3) may also find it helps them hone their skills at identifying problems and troubleshooting them before they impact student learning. Strategies to enhance the development of both struggling students and those who are progressing normally will be explored.
Promoting Physical Independence in Children with Special Needs
This is a presentation that addresses why and how we promote physical independence in children with special needs. It looks at the components of physical independence and who can and should be involved in promoting a child’s physical independence.
Speech and Language Topics
Speech Development in a Multilingual Environment
Growing up in a multilingual family can sometimes stretch the language capabilities of children. In this workshop, a speech therapist explores how children learn in bilingual and multilingual settings. Identifying speech development delays and other language problem indicators, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging a child to learn more than one or two languages will be discussed. The discussion will include strategies to teach and reinforce positive language practices.
Speech and Language Development in Young Children
The development of speech and language is extremely important to aid children in their learning. This seminar addresses questions associated with speech and language development such as:
- What is typical for different age groups?
- When should you be concerned in relation to a child’s development?
- What can be done to encourage the child’s development in the classroom and at home.
Strategies and approaches to help children who are learning more than one language at home and at school will also be presented. The role of the speech language therapist will also be explored.
Behavior, Learning, and Executive Function Topics
Helping Your Students Develop Executive Function Skills
What are executive functions? How do they affect learning, social skills, and daily living? Learn how you can support your students to build skills such as planning, organization, working memory and self-regulation. Designed for teachers of students ages 8+. A clinical psychologist will present interactive opportunities to learn about strategies for building executive functions that can be applied both at school and at home.
Positive Behavior Support
This seminar is for educators of young children (2-10) seeking positive methods to address negative behaviors. The seminar will teach some learning principles that are key to understanding their child’s behavior, as well as provide them with educational strategies founded on those principles. Educators will leave with better insight into “why she or he keeps doing that” and some ideas on how to address these behaviors.
Using Principles of Learning and the Power of Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom
This presentation covers the basics of how positive reinforcement can be utilized in the classroom. It breaks down the principles of Operant Conditioning and considers how when used in conjunction with positive reinforcement principles can help enhance children’s learning, both academically and with executive functioning skills.
1.) Principles of Behavior and how this relates to learning and behavior in the classroom
2.) Review on Positive Reinforcement and how you can use this in the classroom
3.) Tools and strategies for staff who work with students in a one: one capacity
This presentation can be tailored for the needs of teachers or for teaching assistants and/or “shadow” teachers.
Identifying, Understanding, and Supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Most educators will encounter one or more children who are on the autism spectrum during the course of their teaching, and they will need to know how to meet the unique needs of these children. The first half of this training will provide a comprehensive overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), separating fact from fiction, increasing your understanding of its primary features, and alerting you to the symptoms that warrant a referral for further evaluation. The second half of the training will provide information on evidence-based treatments and introduce you to effective instructional strategies that can be used within the school setting to support learners with ASD.
The ABC’s of ABA & Beyond: An Introduction to ABA & Effective Instructional Strategies for Children with Special Needs
Understanding and Addressing Challenging Behavior in Children