The views expressed in the following presentation are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect those of STAR Institute.

Level: Introductory

Length: 1 hour

Timeframe for access: Once you first choose to "Launch" this course, you will have 45 days to access the content as often as you like. Your 45-day window for access will not begin until you first click the "Launch" button.

Presenters:

Virginia Spielmann, PhD, OTR/L (she/her)

Executive Director at STAR Institute

ICDL Advisory Board, Colorado State University Affiliate Faculty, Salem State University Visiting Assistant Professor

Virginia is a well-travelled speaker, coach and educator on topics including sensory integration, DIR/Floortime, child development and infant mental health. She has conducted trainings in Kenya, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the USA and leads workshops at international conferences.

She is a DIR/Floortime Training Leader and Expert and clinical consultant for the Interdisciplinary Council for Development and Learning (ICDL). Her extensive pediatric experience includes support for autistic children and their families, those with differences in sensory integration and processing, Sensory Processing Disorder, infant mental health differences, adoption, developmental trauma, and acquired brain injury.

Virginia is affiliate faculty at Colorado State University, Occupational Therapy Department and Visiting Assistant Professor at Salem State University.

Virginia has considerable post-graduate training, she is certified on the SIPT. She obtained her Ph.D. in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis on mental health, from Fielding Graduate University, in Santa Barbara (2021). Her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Mount Mary University, Milwaukee (2018) and her BSc in Occupational Therapy from Oxford Brookes University, England (2002).

She is a published author and contributed to the STAR Frame of Reference as part of the 4th Edition of Frames of Reference for Pediatric Occupational Therapy, alongside Dr. Miller and Dr. Schoen. She is co-author and founder of the Critical Core Therapeutic Role Playing Game - an alternative to social skills groups for autistic children. She is also co-designer of the Palaana Sensory Lounger with Slack Lifestyle.

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD(c), MA (she/they)

Autistic Educator and Advocate

Morénike is a global advocate, educator, and autistic person of color in a neurodiverse, multicultural, nerodifferent family. A prolific writer, consultant, and social scientist/activist whose work focuses on meaningful community involvement, human rights, intersectional justice, and inclusion, Morénike is a Humanities Scholar at Rice University’s Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Co-Chair of the Women’s HIV Research Collaborative, and a member of several executive boards.

Morénike has been an invited speaker at the United Nations, the White House, and numerous peer-reviewed international conferences in addition to contributing author/editor of several publications, abstracts, and books focusing on community engagement, intersectionality, disability, advocacy, and inclusion. Publications of note include the first anthology on autism and race All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism, a 2021 edited collection from Beacon Press Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity, and the forthcoming Neurodiversity en Noir: A Collection of Black Neurodiverse Voices from Jessica Kingsley Publishing (2022).

Follow Morénike’s work at https://MorenikeGO.com

Presenter Disclosures:

Virginia Spielmann, PhD, OTR/L – co-host of the Virtual Summit: Sensory Health in Autism June 14-16, 2023

· Virginia Spielmann serves as Executive Director for STAR Institute.

· There are no other relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD(c), MA – co-host of the Virtual Summit: Sensory Health in Autism June 14-16, 2023

· Financial: none.

· Non-financial: Morénike has undisclosed family members who are autistic.

Learning Objectives:

· Discuss the dangers of over-simplifying stims or RRBIs and placing all repetitive motor outputs in the same category.

· Describe at least three different possible causes for observable behaviors that look like “stimming”.

· Paraphrase the differences between behavior as communication and behavior that can be understood.

Who should attend:

Occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, educators, child development specialists, mental health professionals, parents, caregivers, and other individuals seeking a better understanding of Sensory Processing in Autism.

Instructional Methods:

PowerPoint Lecture, Discussion

Cancellation Policy:

Because this program is recorded and accessible at your convenience, cancellations are not typically accepted. Please contact education@sensoryheatlh.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Do you have a disability that would require special accommodation?

Please contact us at education@sensoryhealth.org and describe how we can help accommodate your needs.

The views expressed in the following presentation are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect those of STAR Institute.