Diane Cullinane, M.D. Developmental Pediatrician, Executive Director of Pasadena Child Development Associates, Pasadena, CA; Faculty, ICDL Southern California DIR Institute and Head, DIR/Floortime Coalition of California

• Pre-Conference Workshop: Developmental Approach to Behavioral Problems. This workshop will present practical strategies for helping a child during times of distress and will create plans so that a child develops the skills needed to avoid those moments of dysregulation. A structured approach for managing the moment will be described under the general headings of 1) attune, calm, and organize, 2) help, and 3) recover, review, repair, and rehearse. This progression uses the functional emotional developmental milestones, compacted into a short time frame for moments of intense distress. Individual differences and the unique dynamics of interactions are integrated into the DIR/Floortime approach. The second part of the presentation focuses on creating a longrange plan for helping children practice and master the needed underlying capacities to manage their emotions and behaviors as demanded by their environment. Goals for behaviors will be described in terms of developmental skills and in the context of relationships.
• Brief Bio

Barbara Kalmanson, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and Special Educator, San Francisco, CA and Dean, ICDL Graduate Schoo & Lorraine Ehlers-Flint, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Mamaroneck, New York

• Pre-Conference Workshop: Learning to Play and Playing to Learn Floortime is fun for the whole family and a great way to create meaningful learning experiences. This workshop will focus on how to bring the systematic developmental interventions of Floortime into family life and school life. Through video illustrations we will explain Floortime techniques with children at each developmental level. Special attention will be given to coaching parents to rediscover the pleasure of playfulness and the value of learning through experience. Participants will learn how to mobilize affect to harness attention and concentration, support initiation, and move children from sensory-motor play to symbolic play and abstract thinking.
  (***Please note that the video footage of the child and therapist referenced in this workshop is not available in the online edition as the speaker did not get consent to showcase the recording. Online participants will only hear speakers discussing the footage.***)
  
• Barbara Kalmanson, Ph.D.- Brief Bio
• Lorraine Ehlers-Flint, Ph.D. - Brief Bio

Sherri Cawn, M.A., CCC/SLP., Speech- Language Pathologist, Northbrook, IL, DIR Faculty

• Pre-Conference Workshop: Talking or Communicating: A View From The Floor This workshop invites participants from all disciplines to explore the developmental processes of the DIR Functional Developmental Capacities so as to understand communication development. Emphasis will be on developing an intervention plan based on our knowledge of the child’s communication profile while being mindful of communicative intent, comprehension, and emotional thinking. Video examples will be used to support concepts and encourage audience discussion.

• Brief Bio

Ira Glovinsky, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Ann Arbor, MI, and Associate Academic Dean, ICDL Graduate School

• Post-Conference Workshop: Bipolar Disorder, ADHD and Asperger’s Disorder: Differential Diagnosis and Developmental Intervention Based on the DIR/Floortime Model. This workshop will discuss the core similarities and differences in Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and Asperger’s Disorder. The core components of the development of each disorder will be reviewed and the application of DIR/Floortime to their treatment will be discussed.
  
• Brief Bio

Diane Lewis, CCC-SLP & Milagros Cordero, Ed.D., OTR/L

• Post-Conference Workshop: Severe Apraxia and its Impact in Play and Communication: The Magic of Affect, Love and Empathy when Helping Children with Severe Challenges This workshop will illustrate how occupational and speech-language therapists collaborate to facilitate the development of play and communication skills for the child with ASD. The presenters will share successful strategies for dealing with the severe praxis that blocks the child’s access to the ideation, motor-planning and initiation that are necessary for play and communication. If these base skills are addressed, then the child will look less self-absorbed, rigid, repetitive and severely developmentally delayed. By acknowledging the role of affect and its connection to motor-planning, the presenters will show how these children are more available to learn, play, communicate and enjoy their lives.
• Milagros Cordero, Ed.D., OTR/L - Brief Bio