We Matter Too: Self Care Strategies for All Practitioners

February 7th @ 12pm EST

DESCRIPTION:

The last two years of living in a global pandemic has resulted in significant and additional stress on early interventionists, childcare providers, and classroom teachers. Whether it is an increased presence in a virtual world, shifting to endless changes in procedures and regulations, or learning to adapt to new ways of teaching and partnering with families, the stress has been significant. Regardless of your role as an early childhood practitioner, recognizing that selfcare is an essential part of your daily routine is pivotal. While research shows that practicing regular self-care contributes to positive physical, mental, and emotional health, embracing and engaging in self-care strategies within our own everyday activities and routines equips us to more effectively manage stress. During this session, we will identify the positive effects of regular self-care, help practitioners learn to identify their own individual triggers for stress, and explore various strategies to participate in self-care within and across all early childhood environments.

FACILITATED BY:

Patricia “Patty” Eitemiller, M.Ed.

Patricia "Patty" Eitemiller is an Early Childhood Professional/Trainer for the City of Alexandria’s Early Childhood Division. She spent over 15 years as a Developmental Therapist with the Infant and Toddler Connection of Alexandria until the fall of 2018 when Patty shifted her focus to developing, facilitating, and providing professional development and training to the various Early Childhood programs within the City of Alexandria. Patty is a certified trainer of the Zero to Three “The Growing Brain” curriculum; the Ages and Stages (ASQ-3 & ASQ:SE-2) Questionnaires; and the Children’s Trust Alliance Protective Factors. Most recently she also completed the Train the Trainer for the STREAMin3 curriculum, now being implemented in many childcare programs across the commonwealth of Virginia. In her spare time, Patty enjoys traveling the world particularly the joy of meeting new people along the way, practicing yoga, and has a side job working at a winery in Northern Virginia on the weekends all of which provide a balance to her professional life.

Corey Herd Cassidy, Ph.D. CCC-SLP

Dr. Corey Herd Cassidy is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University; she also holds a faculty appointment with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist and has provided services to young children and their families for more than 25 years in multiple states across the country. Corey teaches and engages in clinical work and scholarship in the areas of early speech, language, and communication development and disorders, as well as interprofessional education, collaboration, and leadership in and across the health sciences and systems arenas. She is currently authoring a textbook with a focus on best practices for the speech-language pathologist in early intervention.