Franklin SEPAC Monthly Meeting – March 17, 2010

The Franklin Special Education Parent’s Advisory Council (SEPAC) had our sixth monthly meeting on March 17, 2010 in the 3^rd floor training room at Franklin’s Municipal Building.  The SEPAC President, Sharon Miller called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.   There were over 60 people in attendance in addition to the 4 officers and speaker. 

Officers were introduced.

We will be having a finance committee meeting on Saturday evening, March 27^th at Sarah Montani’s house.  We need to decide on and execute a plan with spending the money raised at our November fundraiser.  If interested in attending, please email Sarah at SEPAC’s email address: FranklinSEPAC@gmail.com

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 14th and will be on your Special Education Rights.  Ellen Chambers, from SpedWatch, will give this presentation.

Our next Parent to Parent Social Tuesday, March 23rd and Tuesday, April 27th 9:30am at Panera Restaurant in Franklin at 9:30am.  For more information on these discussion groups please contact call Terri Morgan at 508-541-7475

Speaker:

Our speaker was Jessica Benetti-McQuoid, PhD from the Integrated Center for Child Development.  Her topic was Executive Function and Dysfunction.  Below is from her handout.

I. What is executive functioning?

·        Self-Regulation (inhibition, emotional control, flexibility)

·        Metacognitive skills (initiation, working memory, org./planning, org. of materials, self-monitor)

II. Assessment of Executive Functioning

A.                          History and Interview – with attention to self-regulation difficulties/ working memory/ planning/ organizing/ task completion

B.                           Direct Testing-

-imperfect and artificial setting

-contrive tests to assess ability to direct, divide, and sustain attention, to inhibit impulsive responses, to plan and organize problem-solving approaches, etc.

            C.             Questionnaire Data

                                    BRIEF – Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function

                                    Child Behavior Checklist – Parent and Teacher Report Forms

D.                Child Observation (fidgety, walking away)

III. Executive Functioning Across Stages of Development

A.     Self-Regulatory deficits in preschool and early elementary school

B.     Metacognitive deficit in middle elementary school years

C.     Task management challenges in middle school/ high school

VI. Interventions for children with executive dysfunction

A.     Intervening in Environment

·        Classroom modification/accommodations

·        Change the nature of the task

·        Change the prompts

·        Change your response to child’s behavior

B.     Intervening with the person

·        Provide assistance with organizational tools (binders, folders, etc.)

·        Help formulate a schedule – color coded by subject

·        Help to set goals

·        Show student hoe to time block and break down long assignments

·        Demonstrate how to make and follow to-do lists

·        Model step-by-step procedure

·        Provide positive reinforcement and incentives

C.     Educational services for children with EF difficulties

·        504 V. IEP

·        Higher level academic support

·        Organizational assistance v. instruction

·        Home-school collaboration

Resources to learn more about Executive Functioning:

Cooper-Kahn, J. 7L. Dietzel (2008). Late, lost & unprepared: A parent’s guide to helping children with executive functioning. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House

Dawson, P. Guare, R. (2004). Executive skills in children and adolescents: A practical guide to assessment and intervention. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Dawson, P. Guare, R. (2009). Smart but scattered: The Revolutionary “Executive Skills” Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. (2007). Executive function in education: From theory to practice.  New York: Guilford

Ratey, N. (2008)/ The disorganized mind: Coaching your ADHD brain to take control of your time, tasks, and talents.  New York, NY: St. Martine’s Press.

Stein, S.M. & Chowdhury, U. (2006). Disorganized children: A guide for parents and professionals. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Respectfully submitted,
Sara Madden