I would love to support your organization! Here's how I can help:
While I can speak and train about anything and everything related to social skills, my most preferred way to spend time with adult audiences (staff and/or families) is teaching them how to run game time!
It's All Fun and Games: Using Common Games to Teach and Promote Social Skills
While playing board and card games is something most people think of as fun and enjoyable, kids with social and executive functioning challenges often find these activities frustrating and difficult. There are countless skills that can be taught using games, but first we have to set our kids up for success before they are able to benefit.
In this session, participants will learn how to use common board and card games to teach social and executive functioning skills to kids of any age and ability. We will walk through all the elements of game play: choosing a game, choosing a piece, deciding who goes first, playing the game, what to do when someone wins (or doesn't!) and what to do when the game is over.
I provide board and card games and the participants go through the entire process of game play alongside me as we navigate any potential challenges or pitfalls that may occur. Staff/parents are encouraged to 'be' their students/kids so we can problem-solve as we play!
This training also includes structured supports for kids/students who are younger than 8 or who have cognitive or communication delays.
Est time: 120 mins
Group size: Up to 20 participants
Cost: $1000
Leveling Up: Using Advanced Game Strategies to Increase Social and Executive Functioning Skills
Some students in my groups become bored of playing games by the rules or with the pace of the games. Because of this, I present my students with a challenge each day during game time. These challenges involve different ways to play common games, different strategies that focus on cognitive flexibility, strategies that incorporate working with students who may be of a different age or ability level, and strategies that allow the students to use their creativity to come up with their own games or their own spin on common games.
While the students in my groups struggle more than typical students with things like cognitive flexibility and ambiguity, my students have come to love the challenges we do during game time. They often try to guess which challenge I’m going to give them each day. When the ‘challenge’ portion of game time is over and the students can spend the remainder of game time however they choose, they often choose to continue with the day’s challenge or to go back to a previous challenge.
In this presentation I share the multiple game time challenges I have created to help my students continue to grow socially so they are able to be a more successful version of themselves in school and in their future endeavors. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss each challenge after it is presented and to come up with their own challenge to try with their kids/students.
This training can be in addition to 'It's All Fun and Games' or as a standalone training.
Est. time: 90 mins as a standalone, 60 mins in conjunction with 'IAFG'.
Group size: up to 20 participants
Cost: $750 as a standalone, $500 as an add-on
Facilitated Game Time for Students
If you have a group of kids who would benefit from facilitated game time (who wouldn't??), I can run a one-time session as a model for your team in addition to 'It's All Fun and Games', or I can run game time sessions at your facility on a recurring basis.
Est time: 1 hour
Cost: $500 as an add-on to 'IAFG'
Please contact me for group size and cost for standalone game time sessions.
My upcoming speaking/presenting engagements:
