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Presentations

I am motivated to help people understand individuals with special medical, sensory, and developmental needs, in order to provide the supports they need to connect, communicate, and learn with ease.  My presentations blend science, experience, and heart, leaving participants with hope and practical how to's.  

Ask me about Learning from Dylan encircles a picture of Dylan, a young man with CHARGE Syndrome.
Learning from Dylan

Learning from Dylan is my signature presentation combining information from nursing, brain science, deafblindness, cortical visual impairments, education, and HANDLE® with a parent's perspective.  

 

Learning from Dylan puts all the elements I've learned in helping Dylan navigate the ups and downs of a life with CHARGE Syndrome into a cohesive educational model to support connection, communication, and learning in students with complex medical needs and sensory impairments.  

 

The Learning from Dylan approach encompasses brain based - what science tells us the brain needs in order to learn - sensory supported - what the body needs to receive, process, and use sensory information efficiently - deafblind education - the wholeness of deafblind educational principles and practices put into action.

 

Learning from Dylan presentations share one team's experience of putting theory into practice, opening up ideas and possibilities for implementation in all settings.

Drawing of a square with face, arms, and legs, with the lid latched shut, a key is inside the box, labeled The Box of Deafblindness™

The Box of Deafblindness™

Deafblindness

The image of Dylan locked in a box, isolated, alone, and unreachable, came to me when I first heard the word deafblind.  Fortunately, this image was fleeting, as I quickly realized Dylan was actually safe inside his box - along with his key.   If Dylan had the key, how could I help him use his key and open the lid?  The Box of Deafblindness is a visual model for learning how to support engaged learning for students with combined vision and hearing loss.

 

This presentation includes information on: 

     What is Deafblindness

     Interveners - What is an Intervener

     The Role of an Intervener

     Deafblind Strategies

     The Brain and Stress and Learning

 

Kim and Gracie, who is a school aged girl with CHARGE Syndrome, involved in a HANDLE clapping pattern
HANDLE®

HANDLE views human function - or behavior - as a logical expression of the ease of operation of the various parts of the body, especially of the nervous systems and the brain. From this perspective,  behavior is viewed as an expression of which systems need gently enhanced and protected from stress, rather than as a symptom to be masked or controlled.

 

My informational HANDLE presentations look at common challenges from a HANDLE perspective.  Suggested topics include:

 

     A HANDLE Perspective on Behavior in CHARGE Syndrome

     A HANDLE Perspective on Autism in Children with Complex Syndromes

     A HANDLE Perspective on the Brain, Stress, and Learning

     A HANDLE Perspective on Stress and Burnout

     A HANDLE Perspective on ... (your area of concern)

 

Testimonial

"I have found Kim's presentations to be clear, concise and filled with personal anecdotes that support both the methods and the process involved with HANDLE.  More than anything however, I appreciate that Kim is a mom who has walked the walk.  She knows how challenging life can be  - and how rewarding the benefits are."

                                                                                                                                                                            Joyce Stewart, OTR/L

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