Saturday, August 21, 2021, 9:00AM-1:30PM

Keynote and two additional sessions for one price - $60.00

The money raised by this event supports the Dr. Gordon Sherman Scholarship program which provides funding to New Jersey Dyslexic students receiving Structured Language Literacy tutoring.

Earn IMSLEC and Wilson Reading professional development hours. NJ IDA is an accredited provider for both organizations. The keynote and session 2 provides 1.5 professional development hours; session 3 provides 1.0 professional development hours.

Registrants will be sent the Zoom webinar link for SIFFT on August 18th. The event will be recorded, and uploaded to the NJ IDA website in the weeks following SIFFT.

Keynote: 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Dr. Steven Feifer will present a 90 minute webinar on The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders: An Introduction to the FAW (Feifer Assessment of Writing).

This webinar will explore the neuropsychological underpinnings of the written language process. For years, educators have struggled to cultivate more effective writing skills in their students, as well as remediate written language disorders. The ability to generate and produce written language requires multiple linguistic skills involving both phonological and orthographical functioning (the elementary components of language), efficient word retrieval skills, executive functioning skills to organize and plan our inner thoughts and ideas, and working memory to hold our thoughts in mind long enough for effective motor skills output. A breakdown in these fundamental cognitive, linguistic, or motoric processes can result in various subtypes of written language disorders. The primary learning objectives of this webinar will include:

1. Define “developmental dysgraphia” and introduce a brain-based educational model of diagnosing written language disorders by classifying them into three distinct subtypes.

2. Discuss the neural architecture of language development in children and learn key brain processes responsible for the organization and production of written language.

3. Introduce the FAW as a comprehensive diagnostic achievement measure to better diagnose and remediate written language disorders in children.

Steven G. Feifer, D. Ed., ABSNP is a renowned speaker and author of eight books and numerous articles on learning and emotional disorders in children. He is a licensed psychologist with more than 20 years of experience working directly in the schools, and is dually trained in school neuropsychology having completed research stints at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Feifer has earned numerous distinctions throughout his career including being awarded the Maryland School Psychologist of the Year, the National School Psychologist of the Year, and recently received the Outstanding Contribution to the Education and Training of Psychologists award by the Maryland Psychological Association. Dr. Feifer currently assesses children at the Monocacy Neurodevelopmental Center in Frederick, MD, and is a consultant to a variety of school districts. He has authored three tests on diagnosing learning disabilities in children, all of which are published by PAR.

Breakout sessions

Session 1: 10:45 AM to 12:15 PM

Talk: How Do We Acquire Language, Communicate and Learn

Presenter: Carola d'Emery, PT, PhD

This presentations reviews the system that allow us to communicate, the basis for acquisition of speech and the fundamental principles that make communication the primary engine for learning along the life span.

Objectives:By the end of the presentation, the attendees will have

a. an understanding of the function of brain as the primary organ of speech and communication. b. a clear perception of how the brain motor-plans the sound sequences that lead to production and understanding of words and how challenges with this process modify the child’s developmentc. A realization of the challenges a child faces to understand and learn the use and meaning of words.

Session 2: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Teaching Social Emotional Learning through Reading Comprehension

Presenter: Gillian Dillard

Managing emotions during the challenges of learning is a necessity for students who struggle in reading comprehension. Participants will gain a toolbox of strategies to help students to express emotions constructively during reading comprehension instruction. Participants will gain ideas to infuse social-emotional learning into classroom lessons so that students can adapt to change, stay focused, and self-regulate behavior. This hands-on workshop will enable teachers to leave with powerful, proven strategies that can be implemented immediately.

Gillian Dillard, B.S. Elementary Education; M. Ed. Special EducationElementary Education Teacher, Special Education Teacher, Grade 3 – Grade 5Innovative Designs in Education, Teacher LeaderThelma Sandmeier School, Springfield Public SchoolsSpringfield, NJEducational TherapistAcademic Success AssociatesWestfield, NJAmerican Educational ConsultantsSpecial Education Consultantwww.AmericanEdCon.com