Did you know recent statistics indicate that as many as 1 in 4 young children can be at risk for developmental, behavioral or social delays? Are you concerned that your child's development may be behind? Join Morgan O'Leary, an outreach specialist from Help Me Grow at Bright Beginnings, as she provides information about developmental milestones for those birth through 3 years. She will also give parents and caregivers ideas of how to work with a child to help reach these milestones.

Connecting for Kids

Episode 73: Developmental Milestones - How To Know If Your Child Is Behind and What To Do About It

Problems come in all different shapes and sizes and can range from a small “glitch” to a huge catastrophe! As social thinkers, it is not only important to rate our problems but also to match our reaction to them in a socially appropriate way. Ellen Spear, MA, CCC-SLP, of Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC., will teach you skills to assist your child in determining how big or little a problem is and then know what strategies will work to help deal with that problem. This program is for parents and caregivers of children ages 7-12.

Assessing and Reacting to Problems

Does your child struggle with anxiety? Have you found yourself accommodating anxious behavior? Maybe you are not inviting friends over if your child has social anxiety or repeatedly answering the calls of a child with separation anxiety. In some cases, this can only perpetuate the symptoms of anxiety. Join Beth Mishkind Roth, MSSA, LISW-S of Cleveland Integrative Counseling, to learn how altering your response can help de-escalate your child’s behavior and help them gain confidence in their ability to cope. Beth will introduce SPACE (Supportive Parenting Through Anxious Childhood Emotions), a program which parents and caregivers learn that by changing their own behavior, they can avoid much of the escalation that stems from trying to force their child to act differently.

Stop Accommodating and Start Addressing Your Child’s Anxiety

What are some ways you can improve communication with your child’s school? How can you more effectively ask for support? Join Karla Fitch, MTSC, of Connecting for Kids as she teaches families how to create and use a communications binder. Karla will walk attendees through the documents a family should have readily available and discuss the importance of each. She will also demonstrate ways to use the binder throughout the year to communicate your child’s needs.

How to Communicate Effectively with the School

Ven y escucha a Citlali Conley, COTA/L, de Abilities First, LLC, quien nos compartirá maneras para disminuir la frecuencia y la intensidad de las crisis en niños pequeños y preescolares. Aprende ideas para saber cómo preparar a tu hijo(a) y el medio ambiente para evitar las rabietas o crisis. Conley también te enseñará cómo ayudar a tu hijo(a) para que él o ella misma pueda reconocer las señales cuando se está abrumando, e iniciar actividades de auto-calma apropiadas para su edad.

Manejo de Crisis en los Niños

The COVID-19 pandemic has created anxiety in many of our children. Whether it's masks, social distancing or disrupted routines, the uncertainty of school this fall is only adding to this stress. What can you do? How can you help your anxious child prepare for the upcoming school year? Join Cate Brandon, PsyD, from Kenneth A. De Luca, PhD. & Associates, Inc. as she offers techniques to help families deal with anxiety, which can look very different in each child. Whether you are dealing with sleepless nights, defiance, meltdowns, attention issues or other behaviors, she will provide resources to ease the back-to-school transition.

Helping Your Anxious Child Prepare for School

We've had a few weeks off from virtual school and the kids have had time to be wild and untamed. Early intervention professionals Neysa McKenney, M.A., CCC-SLP, and Kathy Nash, M.Ed., will discuss the importance of routines and setting expectations to give kids something to rely on. -- How do you set up a summer structure using a visual schedule? -- What are simple activities you can incorporate into your child's summer play to increase communication, social, and academic skills? This program is for families of children 18 months to 6 years (with or without a formal diagnosis).

Staying Sane with the Little Ones at Home - Summer Check In

Do you have a child who is more difficult, argumentative or disrespectful? Is it a struggle to get her to comply with the rules or to complete school work? Is his temper and moodiness affecting your entire family especially as you are home together during this COVID-19 pandemic? Join Jay Berk, PhD, psychologist, author, and international speaker of Jay Berk, PhD and Associates, for a brief presentation on the possible causes of these difficult behaviors and what to do about them. Dr Berk will help you identify what skills your child may be lacking and provide practical strategies you can use at home to combat common defiant and difficult behaviors.

Defiant and Difficult Behavior at Home

With schools and therapist offices closed and behavior analysts not doing home visits during this pandemic, have you suddenly been tasked with implementing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at home? If so, what do you need to know? Join Ken Dix, RBT, and Elyra Gonzalez, MA, BCBA, COBA, of The Silver Lining Group as they answer your ABA questions, provide ideas and empower families during these unprecedented times. Co-sponsored by the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland.

Implementing ABA at Home

If you are at home with a child between the ages of 18 months to 6 years you know these last few weeks haven’t been easy. Keeping your child meaningfully engaged while also getting your work done is most likely taking all of your energy. And, if you have a child who struggles in an area of development, you have extra concerns during this time. But don’t fear! CFK Early Intervention professionals and Teach Me to Play leaders Paula C. Papp, M.A.Ed., and Neysa McKenney, M.A., CCC-SLP are here to help.

Staying Sane with Little Ones at Home

Take a 20-minute break with your child from distance learning and follow along as Terri McNeely, LISW, MEd, of The Child & Family Counseling Center of Westlake, takes you through some quick exercises to decrease anxiety, increase attention and better regulate emotions. Once you learn these new techniques, you can take a mindfulness brain break any time your child needs to calm themselves and refocus. Mindfulness makes you aware of thoughts, feelings and sensations that are happening around you and can provide many benefits during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mindfulness Brain Breaks

The dog is barking, siblings are playing in the next room and dad is doing a conference call down the hall. If you thought your child had a difficult time paying attention in the classroom environment, some of you may be quickly finding out that distance learning from home may be even more of a challenge. What strategies can you use to help your child focus in the home environment? What are some practical ways to limit distractions? How can you use the materials already found around your home to keep kids on task? Whether your child is a preschooler or preteen, Christine Chambers, MEd, OTR/L of Abilities First, LLC, shares 10 simple tips families can use to boost executive functioning skills and help a child accomplish schoolwork with sustained attention.

Top 10 Tips to Help Your Child Focus at Home

As you are implementing distance learning at home, what services are you entitled to? If your child is helped by an aide or nurse at school, can that person be transferred into the home? Should services such as counseling, occupational, physical or speech therapy be available virtually? What should you do now that your spring IEP meeting has been canceled and your summer ESY plans or scholarship eligibility is uncertain? Ivette Sarkar and Tammie Sebastian from the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) will be answering these and other questions you have about educating children with disabilities at home.

Disabilities and Distance Learning Dilemmas

Facilitators Lisa Ruman, LISW, CHt, of The Child & Family Counseling Center of Westlake and Sarah Rintamaki and Nicole Born-Crow of Connecting for Kids will be addressing one of our most popular topics, how to stay calm even when you are angry or frustrated by your child’s behaviors. You will learn a number of techniques to help you stay calm in the face of adversity. The article we will be discussing is "Remaining Calm in the Face of Chaos."

How to Stay Calm When the Kids Are Out of Control

Would you like to apply for a grant to help fund your child’s needs but aren’t sure where to begin? How do you find which grants you may qualify for? Join representatives from Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) and Rec2connect Foundation who will discuss the types of therapies, camps or equipment that are typically covered. They will also walk attendees through the process of applying for financial support. In addition, Amy Clawson of Ohio Family 2 Family will explain how to create your child’s medical summary and write a vision statement to supplement your grant applications. This program was co-sponsored by Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Zane's Inc., and Rec2Connect Foundation, and Ohio Family 2 Family.

How to Apply for Grants for Children with Special Needs

Connecting for Kids educates and supports families with questions or concerns about their child.

hubhopper

Connecting for Kids

hubhopper