Brain Conf Brochure 2010 - Department Of Psychiatry

PACT 4 Families Collaborative presents:
The 9th Annual Community
Conference on the Brain
Empathy, Emotion, & Autism
Return Service Requested
2200 23rd St NE Ste 2030
WILLMAR MN 56201
PACT 4 Families Collaborative
Featuring Nancy Minshew, M.D. a nationallyacclaimed expert on Autism
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
3:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Willmar Senior High School
2701 30th Street NE, Willmar, MN 56201
Nov. 16, 2010—Brain Conference Registration
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Conference Overview
"Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and
treating everyone like you want them to treat you, will help
make our world a better place for everyone. Care... be your
best. You don't have to be handicapped to be different.
Everyone is different!" – Kim Peek, Inspiration for Rain Man.
Recognizing and respecting differences in others...what an
amazing beacon for our 9th Annual Community Conference on the
Brain. This year we explore the world of Kim Peek, Temple
Grandin, and so many others who have been diagnosed as having
some form of autism. According to the National Institute of Health,
autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments,
communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Although ASD varies significantly in
character and severity, it occurs in all ethnic and socioeconomic
groups and affects every age group. Experts estimate that three to
six out of every 1,000 children will have ASD. Males are four times
more likely to have ASD than females.
Scientists aren’t certain about what causes ASD, but it’s likely that
both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have
identified a number of genes associated with the disorder, and
studies of people with ASD have found irregularities in several
regions of the brain. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Nancy Minshew,
brings information from her work in research to inform our
learned audience, but she also brings interesting illustrations and
stories to demonstrate how ASD impacts real people.
Many of our breakout speakers will be discussing interventions
related to working with those who have autism. In addition, these
local professionals are also going to help us to better understand
not just one diagnostic spectrum, but a wide range of emotions
with emphasis on empathy . Join us for an amazing afternoon/
evening exploring a very timely topic of Emotion, Empathy and
Autism.
Form
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Name________________________________________
Agency______________________________________
Address_____________________________________
City, State, ZIP________________________________
Phone_______________________________________
Email________________________________________
(Registration confirmation will be sent to those who include an email address on this
form).
Cost: $35.00… PACT 4 partners or parents who live or
work in the counties of Kandiyohi, Meeker, Renville,
Yellow Medicine
(Registration fee is non-refundable)
$50.00...Non PACT 4 Partners
$15.00...High School and College Students
Type of payment Enclosed:□ Cash or Check □ Purchase
Order
Mail registration and payment BY NOVEMBER 10** to:
PACT 4 Families Collaborative
Conference Planning Committee:
Carmen Clementson
Connie Spartz
Debb Sheehan
Ann Orren
Sharon Tollefson
Cathy Nelson-Messer
Shawna Steffen
Renee Brandt
Rick Loseth
Shelly Huseby
Attn: Shawna
2200 23rd St NE, Ste 2030
Willmar, MN 56201
*** Registrations are due by November 10th. In the past, the conference has met registration capacity. Please make every effort to register early. THERE WILL BE NO
REGISTRATION AT THE DOOR.
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Breakout Presenters
Conference Schedule
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3:00 - 3:30
Registration, Exhibits, Refreshments
Emotional Resilience of Caregivers
Kathy Marshall Emerson has served as the Executive
Director of the National Resilience Resource Center at
the University of Minnesota since 1991. She is also a
Faculty member and Course Developer at the University
of Minnesota in the Center for Spirituality and Healing.
Caregivers, educators and helping professionals are
invited to this session to laugh, be renewed, and find
well-being and hope within! Consider the new
perspective and pick up take-home activities and ideas. Feel your stress
melt away in the moment!
3:30 - 4:00
Panel Discussion with Breakout Session Faculty
4:15 - 5:05
Breakout Session 1
5:15 - 6:05
Breakout Session 2
6:15 - 6:50
Brain Power Buffet, Networking & Exhibits
Getting Started with AAC (Augmentative & Assistive
Communication) and Visual Supports
7:00 - 8:30
Lisa Gobernatz is a Speech/Language Clinician for New London-Spicer
Schools, and Lynn Taunton is an Autism Resource Specialist/Special
Education Teacher (DD/EBD) at New London-Spicer Schools. They will
explore basic communication aids, as well as visual supports used to help
students with autism make great strides in communication, independence,
social skills, and academics.
Keynote Speaker
Acting for Autism
Before moving to Willmar, Nikki Bettcher Erickson
toured nationally as an actor and also worked as a
theatre producer, director, resident artist and
educator coast to coast. Erickson has presented at
conferences in India, Wales, Texas and Minneapolis
about her work as a Theatre for Autism Artist. She
has worked as a director and theatre educator at
The Barn Theatre and The Little Theatre and currently works at West Central
Industries as a Skills Development Supervisor and Autism Coordinator. In
this breakout session Theatre for Autism Artist Nikki will present on how
acting and autism match up, and show easy activities that can be used in
classrooms, homes, and workplaces for various sized groups.
Keynote Address: “How Do the Brain & Mind Think & Feel in Autism?”
Nancy Minshew is a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University
of Pittsburgh. She directs the Center of Excellence in Autism Research and
is an internationally known expert in the cognitive, neurological, and
genetic bases of autism. Minshew was trained as a behavioral child
neurologist, and she received an M.D. from the Washington University
School of Medicine.
“How Do The Brain & Mind Think & Feel in Autism?”
Dr. Minshew will discuss the evidence defining important differences in how
individuals with autism see and experience the world. These factors define the
success of intervention and provide a template for the development of new
neurocognitive interventions designed to stimulate the growth of higher order
circuitry and abilities.
1. The clinical signs and symptoms of autism are all the result of difficulty the
brain and mind have in integrating or processing information; the most
prominent symptoms reflect those areas of function with the highest integration
requirements.
2. The difficulty processing information results from over-development of local
brain connections and under development of distance connections among brain
regions needed for higher order abilities; these deficits have been documented
in infancy in ASD.
3.
Differences in perception and thinking result in enhanced perception of
details and reduced understanding of meaning.
4.
There are analogous deficits in emotion processing and regulation; there is also
phenotypic variation between those who are very emotionally reactive and
anxious and those who are predominantly factual.
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Breakout Presenters
Frontiers of Autism: Systemizing Versus
Empathizing, with Applications to Real
World Situations
Bill Sheehan, M.D. is a psychiatrist who heads the
neurodevelopmental disorders program at Child and
Adolescent Behavioral Health Services in Willmar.
Among his primary clinical and research interests
are autism, autistic spectrum disorders, fetal
alcohol syndrome, and related conditions.
Dr. Steve Thurber received his Ph.D. degree from
the University of Texas at Austin and subsequently
graduated from the postdoctoral training program
in Pediatric Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science,
University of Oklahoma Medical School. He also received advanced training
in early child development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He
currently is a child clinical psychologist and behavior scientist at Woodland
Centers.
They will discuss how autistic-spectrum disorder (also known as
Asperger’s) is characterized by a cognitive trait that has been described as
“systemizing” (the drive to analyze, explore and construct a system, by
figuring out how things work), and how this is a mutually exclusive trait
from “empathizing.”
Introduction of Truthought Corrective Thinking LSS
Steve Toledo is the Transitions Counselor, Training
Coordinator, and Truthought Practitioner with Prairie
Lakes Youth Programs. Steve has an A.A. Degree and
over 30 years Youth Work experience. He has 15
years as a Correctional Counselor and Transitional
Counselor, with 10 years practicing Truthought. In
addition, Steve has 15 years as a Chaplin for United
Campus Ministry on the Ridgewater College Campus.
The Truthought Corrective Thinking LSS curriculum
explores the thought process that individuals use. Its aim is to teach
individuals to recognize that their behaviors are a result of the choices they
make.
Certificates of Attendance with presentation clock hours will be available to all participants at the end of
the evening. Handouts from each presentation will be available following the conference at
www.pact4.org.
Breakout Presenters
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Research-based Interventions for Young Children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Maria Balbo has worked in the field of early intervention for over 30
years. She currently coordinates early childhood special education services
for 13 school districts in west central MN & is the Regional Professional
Development Facilitator for Regions 6 & 8 for Early Childhood Special
Education. She serves on a statewide Centers of Excellence Professional
Development team and on the Minnesota Autism Network. Her presentation
will cover what those research-based interventions are, what level of
implementation of research-based interventions exist across Minnesota,
what learning methods have supported early intervention teachers in the
past, and what methods are preferred for the future.
Fasten Your Seat Belts!
Brian Heuring is an adult self-advocate. He is a
public speaker on autism and assertiveness. He has
served on the ARC (Advocacy Resources
Community) board and SAM (Self-Advocates of
Minnesota) board.
Having helped raise five sons to adulthood and
recently experiencing the sudden death of her
husband, Sharon Heuring continues to support Brian in his development
and encouragement of fulfilling his dreams while balancing her own life
purpose and daily responsibilities. Sharon is a Reiki Practitioner, likes to
read, attends Yoga and Tai Chi classes, and enjoys sharing her perspective
of being Brian's mom.
Join Brian and his mother, Sharon, as they share their adventurous ride of
receiving a late diagnosis of high functioning autism and navigating
through the educational system with years of transitioning from school to
work.
Penny Cammack
Penny Cammack, M.A., CCC-SLP has a background as a school
speech/language clinician and coordinator in the Pipestone Service Center
of the SW/WC Service Cooperative. She began a series of training
experiences in the area of autism spectrum disorders twelve years ago, and
became a regional autism specialist in 1999. Penny serves approximately
thirty school districts in Regions 6 & 8. In this session, the speaker will
discuss the early signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD.) She will also
provide resources as to where to turn if ASD is suspected in a child.