Presentations

Presentation details

All presentations can be adjusted from 45 five minutes, to an hour and a half, to half-day or full day workshops. Presentations can also be adjusted for audiences of parents, teachers, educational therapists or any combination.

What’s math got to do with it? Math learning disabilities, dyslexia and ADHD: Understanding the connections, remediating effectively

April 2019, NCTM National Conference
February 2019, LDA 56th Annual International Conference
November 2018, NCTM Regional Conference, Seattle
November 2018, Annual International Conference on ADHD
July 2018, Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching
April 25, 2018, The Carey School, Staff Development
April 4, 2018, Webinar, So Cal Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
October 21, 2017, Association of Educational Therapists National Conference
October 20, 2017, National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, Orlando Regional Conference
October 5, 2017, Holy Names University
September 22, 2017, Association of Educational Therapists Marin Study Group/Marin Educators in Private Practice
June 1-2, 2017, Midwest Academy
May 20, 2017, Association of Educational Therapists San Francisco Study Group
February 18, 2017, Learning Disabilities Association of America 54th Annual International Conference
April 16, 2016, Parent Education Network’s EdRev

When we hear dyslexia, we think reading and writing, but 80% of people with Specific language impairment and 31% of people with ADHD struggle with math. Yet, many students miss out on high-quality mathematics remediation because the attention of schools and parents is so frequently focused on reading and writing. Join Board certified educational therapist Diana Kennedy to learn the symptoms and causes of Math Learning Disabilities and their relationships with dyslexia and ADHD, what those difficulties look like, and the best way to address them. Walk away with ideas for games, lessons, and approaches to help your students excel in math.

The who, what, when and why of reading instruction

May 9, 2016, So Cal Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
April 9, 2016, Association of Educational Therapists East Bay
April 25, 2015, Association of Educational Therapists San Francisco Study Group
September 23, 2014, Learning Ally Webinar
September 20, 2013, Association of Educational Therapists Marin Study Group/Marin Educators in Private Practice

If you’ve heard about Orton Gillingham or Lindamood Bell or Wilson or Slingerland or Language! or Read Naturally…and ever wondered with whom you should use each and why, this presentation is for you.  Diana shares insights into the areas of reading that can break down for children. She also covers warning signs and red flags to look for, assessments that reveal what is happening with a given child, and the major reading programs that address each type of breakdown.  Attendees will be able to more accurately assess their students and craft an intervention specific to their individual needs.

Homework help that really helps

November 4, 2016, Parents Education Network
March 11, 2013, California Association of Independent Schools, Northern California Regional Meeting
September 25, 2012, Flexible Learning Opportunities/Every Kind of Mind

Of course parents want what is best for their child. Nowadays, this means spending a good amount of time overseeing, managing and helping with homework. But where is the line between being helpful and doing too much? In parent-friendly terms, Diana explores controlling the subtext: what messages is help sending; teacher versus parent: effective roles to play; content, skills, processes: goals of homework; games: a no-tears approach to helping with some common issues; when to step aside: indications that a child may need more or different help. In this presentation, Diana discusses what homework help really helps and what may be hurting a child.

Crying kids can’t learn to spell: How to attend to the socio-emotional needs of your students and still teach everything else

January 2019, Council for Exceptional Children National Conference
October 2016, AET 38th Annual Conference
March 5, 2016, So-Cal Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
May 1, 2015, Nakornpayap International School, Thailand
March 2, 2015, Association of Educational Therapists, Virtual Study Group
October 26, 2014, Association of Educational Therapists National Conference

Phonics. Phonemic awareness. Comprehension strategies. Teachers, in the classroom or in an office, know what they need to teach to help their children succeed in school. But, research tells us, students need to be ready to learn. Stress decreases the receptiveness of brains to learning. How does a busy teacher fit in support of a student’s emotional life and still meet all the academic demands? This presentation will present the science behind attachment teaching and the power gained from attending to the socio-emotional needs of students. Most importantly, it will provide practical lessons to integrate socio-emotional attunement with reading and writing goals.

Strategies to get reluctant writers writing (and comprehending better, too!)

January 2018, So-Cal Tri-Counties IDA Webinar
April 19, 2016, Association of Educational Therapists Webinar
September 19, 2014, Association of Educational Therapists Marin Study group/Marin Educators in Private Practice

Have you faced a child who hates to write? Maybe she fits a pattern typical of dyslexia, but maybe not. Some students read fine, spell well and get grammar, but blanch when you ask them to write. For some kids, nothing is scarier than an open-ended writing assignment. Still others write the bare necessity but do anything to avoid filling in details.  In this presentation,Diana will explore different profiles of reluctant readers and offer hands-on, easy-to-implement, fun ways to get those reluctant writers writing.

Strategies to get reluctant writers writing (and comprehending better, too!) from the Association of Educational Therapists

Adventures in neurodiversity: Framing, remediating and responding to learning disabilities

May 20, 2015, Association of Educational Therapists Webinar
February 18, 2015, Learning Disabilities Association of America 52nd Annual International Conference

In this presentation, Diana presents a framework and teaching approach informed by neurodiversity. It serves as a bridge between general and special education teachers for work with students with learning disabilities, ADHD and ASD. Teachers will be able to assess their practices and adjust them to help all students achieve their potential.

Adventures in Neurodiversity: Teach and Think like an Educational Therapist from the Association of Educational Therapists

Two pathways to weak reading comprehension: What’s going on, why, and how do we help?

Some students struggle with the very act of decoding, using up so much processing power that they can barely attend to the task of making meaning when they read. Others decode fine, maybe even above grade level, but they still have trouble making meaning of what they read. This presentation explores the patterns of strengths and weaknesses in each type of student, explains the neurobiology underlying each one, and offers remediation techniques, lessons and games to address them.

Play-full approaches to ADHD

February 2019, LDA 56th Annual International Conference

Jean Piaget famously said, “Play is the work of childhood.” All children are wired to learn through play, but for those with ADHD, play offers a particularly powerful way to address their neurological challenges, process their complex experiences and explore and accept their unique identities. BCET Diana Black Kennedy and MFT Holly Seerely will share techniques to integrate play into the academic, social and emotional work our students must do to learn, grow and heal.