Lecture Series

List of 8 items.

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  September 26: When Anxiety Affects Education: Helping Children and Adolescents with School-Related Anxiety

  Jonathan Dalton, PhD
  Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change (CABC)
  Rockville, MD
  
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  Children are being raised during an unprecedented era of anxiety. The research tells us that 38% of girls and 26% of boys will be identified with an anxiety disorder prior to their 18th birthday. In addition, teens report higher level stress than their adults counterparts for the first time since data has been collected, with teens today being between 5 to 8 times more likely to show signs of an anxiety disorder than their same aged-peers did during the Great Depression, WWII, and the Vietnam war. Clearly there are large forces at play that contribute to these dramatic increases in child and teen anxiety disorders, but parents and professionals can take specific, yet counterintuitive steps to help their children either avoid these anxiety disorders or to recover effectively from them. In fact, evidence-based behavioral treatment shows success rates between 60% and 90% based on the specific anxiety disorder being treated. This talk will outline interventions that professionals and parents can implement to help reduce the suffering of children and teens living with anxiety.

  Speaker Bio
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  October 24: Navigating the Complex and Emotional World of Social Power: Helping your Kids be Assertive and Gain Confidence

  Bonnie Zucker, Psy.D
  Psychologist
  Rockville, MD
  
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  This presentation will focus on understanding social power in childhood relationships. Ideally, children participate in relationships that have equal power, with the qualities of mutual respect and mutual generosity. However, most children will experience another child assuming power over them, whether this comes out as bullying or put-downs, or more subtly with friends who are exclusive or dismissive. Children need to learn how to be assertive and stick up for themselves, as responding in a passive or aggressive way will only give away their power. Navigating social power is essential to the development of self-esteem and a sense of agency. The talk will focus on providing an understanding of these dynamics and guiding parents on how to help their children on this often emotional and complex topic.

  Speaker Bio
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  November 7: The Atypical Learner: Biology, Behavior, and Optimizing Outcome

  Carole Samango-Sprouse, Ed.D.
  Director, Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Center for Children
  APIB, BNABS, NDT-trained Neurodevelopmentalist
  
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  Dr. Carole Samango-Sprouse believes that every atypical learner can learn, improve, and succeed in both life and in education. She focuses on praxis, learning and frontal lobe function in the neurodevelopment of children with ADHD, learning differences, language delays, and executive functioning challenges. She identifies targeted treatment that is specific to the child’s neurodevelopmental levels and based on the neural plasticity of the brain. Dr. Samango-Sprouse connects the dots between brain and behavior to optimize a child's neurodevelopmental progression and future.
  
  

  Speaker Bio
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  December 5: The Neuropsychology of Dysregulation: Understanding and Supporting Students Who Learn Differently

  David Black, PhD
  Pediatric Neuropsychologist
  Director, Center for Assessment And Treatment (CAAT)
  Chevy Chase, MD
  
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  Many students struggle with dysregulation, whether it be difficulty transitioning from video games to homework, listening to the teacher rather than talking with a friend, or having trouble regulating strong emotions when disappointed or upset. Effectively supporting a student’s ability to self-regulate requires understanding the underlying reasons why it is difficult. During this lecture, we will explore the most common neuropsychological reasons for dysregulation, including underlying anxiety, language weaknesses, inattention, inflexibility, disorganization, and slow processing speed. We will also discuss effective strategies that parents and teachers can use to help students maintain good regulation.

  Speaker Bio
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  January 16: Sleep Health: The Impact on Family and School

  Daniel S. Lewin, PhD, ABSM, CBSM
  Associate Director, Sleep Medicine
  Director, Pulmonary Behavioral Medicine
  Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry
  Children’s National Health System
  George Washington University School of Medicine
  
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  Sleep health has become a hot topic in recent years with a particular focus on several common sleep disorders, and prioritizing optimal sleep habits at the individual, family, school and societal levels. This shift has been supported by recent scientific findings, one receiving the 2017 Nobel prize demonstrating that sleep duration, timing and quality are essential for development, learning and health. This talk will focus on basic concepts and recent science to set the stage for practical approaches to improve sleep health for parents and children.

  Speaker Bio
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  February 6: Brain Imaging Studies of Reading and Arithmetic in Children with Learning Differences

  Guinevere Eden, D.Phil.
  Director, Center for the Study of Learning
  Professor, Department of Pediatrics
  Georgetown University Medical Center
  
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  This presentation will show how brain imaging technology has been used to reveal brain areas that are involved in word processing in typical readers and how these differ in children and adults with dyslexia. Dr. Eden will discuss the neural correlates of successful reading intervention in dyslexia. Brain imaging can also play an important role in testing different theoretical frameworks that have been put forward to explain the etiology of dyslexia and in distinguishing between cause and consequence of dyslexia. Finally, this presentation will make a connection between dyslexia and dyscalculia.

  Speaker Bio
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  April 3: Impactful Parenting: Our Best Tips for Parents of Kids with Learning Differences

  Donna Henderson, PhD
  Neuropsychologist
  The Stixrud Group
  Silver Spring, MD
  drdonnahenderson@gmail.com
  
  

  Sara Wayland, PhD
  Psychologist
  Guiding Exceptional Parents, LLC
  Riverdale, MD
  
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  Dr. Wayland and Dr. Henderson have each spent countless hours coaching parents of children and adolescents with cognitive, academic, social, and emotional challenges. For this talk, they have compiled their most useful and effective parenting tips, covering a wide range of parenting dilemmas and approaches. The focus will be on practical advice that is relevant for most families.

  Speaker Bio
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  April 17: Hot Topics on ADHD: Update on the Most Recent Findings in ADHD Research

  Catherine McCarthy, MD
  Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry
  McLean, VA
  
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  Our understanding of ADHD has grown remarkably over the last decade. Dr. McCarthy will provide an up-to-date synopsis of the most exciting findings from neuroscience, brain imaging, genetics, and treatment studies. This critical research impacts diagnostic criteria, treatment options, and future expectations for children with ADHD and related disorders.

  Speaker Bio