|
"Wonderful and informative conference!"
"It was fantastic and I learned so much. Thank-you for running this event."
"Great speakers, many takeaway strategies, based on research, and a supportive learning environment. Side positives: great organization, great value for price (thanks to donators and volunteers) and great lunch."
"The tables representing the many organizations was an eye opener for me."
"I learned so much from this conference and would love to attend another one!"
We're declaring our first ever conference a success! Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents, teachers and other attendees - a sample of their comments above - we should start planning the next one!
There were also excellent suggestions for improvements and many topics of interest. Thank you for your thoughtful feedback.
Many thanks to our speakers and agencies for participating, lending their expertise, services, and most of all their passion for supporting everyone in the LD and ADHD community.
| |
David Staples: Alberta teacher training gets failing grade, but weakest students trending up in reading
Edmonton Journal Article
"Across Canada, our universities are doing a poor job training incoming teachers in literacy, with major gaps in their knowledge."
Those gaps include training teachers in the Science of Reading which is a structured, systematic and explicit approach of reading instruction that benefits all children including those with Dyslexia and English language learners.
Remediating this gap is one of the advocacy efforts that our Network is currently engaging Alberta government ministries on. If your child is struggling to read, has required reading intervention outside of the regular school system, or you are a teacher who feels inadequately prepared to teach all children to read efficiently and fluently, including those with Dyslexia or EAL learners, please take action to express your concerns.
| |
|
Dysgraphia Life is launching a new page, Dysgraphia Learn, where their free Dysgraphia Webinar Series for parents, caregivers and teachers will live alongside new online courses.
"Just launched is "Understanding Dysgraphia Basics in Elementary Education". This is our first online course designed for teachers, school administrators, and other professionals. It contains short lessons and you can take it flexibly in whatever timeframe works for you. To celebrate the launch, now through November 6, use code LEARNLAUNCH for 25% off all content."
| |
This workshop on learning and memory strategies is equally helpful for teachers or anyone who works with or instructs children. | |
Learning to Love Math: Math Anxiety and Social Emotional Learning
"In this engaging session, teachers and parents will reexamine and challenge their own perceptions of math and learn to see math in a new light.
They will learn strategies and games that they can use immediately to help counter math anxiety and improve the math learning experience for everyone."
Date: November 28, 2024
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Foothills Academy
Cost: $10
| |
Foundational Math Skills Pilot Program
"This new pilot program focuses on foundational math skills for children. In a small group of five students, an experienced math specialist helps build essential classroom math skills.
This program is not tutoring and does not provide grade-level homework support."
Instead, students will learn key strategies to support their math skill development which is foundational to mathematical thinking.
Offered by Foothills Academy
| |
Play-Up Your Child or Teen’s Executive Functioning Skills Using Card and/or Board Games
by Whitney McGeary-Khunte
Registered Provisional Psychologist
"Many parents of children or teens with Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD know that enhancing their child’s executive functioning (EF) skills are essential to their child’s academic and social success, as well as their child’s emotional control.
One way to potentially play-up (enhance) your child’s EF skills is to use card and/or board games. This is because such games provide an easy, quick, fun, and interactive way to play-up your child or teen’s EF skills."
| |
Paediatric group says doctors should regularly screen kids for reading difficulties
CTV News
The Canadian Paediatric Society has recently published guidelines to help family doctors include screening for reading difficulties as part of regular check-ups. They would not be diagnosing reading challenges, but rather raising a red flag that a child's early reading skills may need further investigation. It is a welcome recognition that early identification is critical for early intervention and the prevention of later, negative life impacts.
Canadian Paediatric Society Guidelines
Practice Point: Evaluating and caring for children with a suspected learning disorder in community practice
Position Statement: Literacy in school-aged children: A paediatric approach to advocacy and assessment
| | |
|
Navigating Complexities of ADHD & Chronic Illness
Speaker: Sherry Heathcote, RN, AACC, The ADHD Nurse
Learn about the interconnection of ADHD and chronic illness, understand the role executive function plays and discover strategies to help you manage.
Date: Wednesday, November 20 Time: 5:00 pm MT
Free webinar
| |
|
"The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) proudly announces the launch of the Canadian Faces of Learning Disabilities (CFOLD) survey. Led by a team of experienced Canadian researchers, in partnership with LDAC volunteers, the survey will provide valuable information as to the lived experiences of individuals in Canada who have a learning disability (LD), which is currently not available at this scale.
One in ten, or 4 million Canadians, live with a LD.
The CFOLD survey focuses on mental health impact, with questions also related to the workplace and education. Canadians who self-identify as LD and who are 18 or older. The bilingual survey will be open and takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.
| |
News For Educators & Professionals | |
Putting Working Memory to Work to Support Student Learning
Presented by: Rick Bryck, Ph.D., Senior Director, Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT)
Working Memory (WM) is considered a fundamental executive function. It serves as a gatekeeper to information processing and thus knowledge acquisition. An emphasis will be placed on how to scaffold WM by providing strategies for efficient use of this limited, yet crucial, component of learning–especially for students with executive function challenges.
Learning Objectives:
- Insights into how WM is linked to learning
- Differentiating between the positive and negative contributions to a learning task’s "cognitive load"
- Strategies for optimizing WM in learning contexts
- Approaches for modifying academic content to maximize WM (and thus learning)
Date: Friday, November 15, 2024
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm MT
Free Webinar
| |
Owerko Centre Neurodevelopmental Clinical Research Rounds
Cultivating resilience and flourishing in everyday life: All Our Families Study update and synthesizing research to meet community needs
The All Our Families Study is a longitudinal cohort study about pregnancy, parenting, and child development that has recruited over 3,200 pregnant women and collected nearly 20 years of data from mother-child participants. This talk will present ongoing research in resilience and flourishing in caregivers and youth and discuss the importance of synthesizing research to meet community needs.
Speakers:
Dr. Suzanne Tough, PhD, Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Dr. Zahra Clayborne, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Dr. Jessica-Lynn Walsh, MB, Program Lead, All Our Families, University of Calgary
Dr. Kara Murias (moderator), MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Clinical Neurosciences and Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary; Pediatric Neurologist, Alberta Children’s Hospital
Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: Online (Zoom) or in person: Child Development Centre, main floor boardroom, 3820 - 24 Avenue NW. Light refreshments will be available.
Free
| |
Dyscalculia in the Workplace
Cognassist
As an employer, you may never have heard of Dyscalculia but there is a high likelihood, that one of your employees has it.
Find out more about:
- how Dyscalculia manifests in the workplace.
- the impact it can have on employees.
- how to utilize characteristics of Dyscalculia as strengths in the workplace.
- how managers and employees can support colleagues with Dyscalculia.
- workplace adjustments that should be offered to remove barriers to success.
| |
The Learning Disabilities & ADHD Network is a collaborative initiative of a broad group of organizations, which is operated through Foothills Academy and supported by an Anonymous Donor at the Calgary Foundation. | | |
|
|
(1) 403 - 630 - 1616
findhelp@ldadhdnetwork.ca
|
| | | |
