It Was A Wonderful Therapies in the School 23rd Annual Conference!

THANK YOU to everyone who attended our Therapies in the School 23rd Annual Conference on November 17 and 18, 2022! It was our largest conference ever, with more than 400 therapists in virtual attendance on Zoom! We hope you enjoyed the sessions and are already putting to use the new tools and strategies you gained to improve learning outcomes for your students. 

It was so inspiring to watch and join in on the conversations that were taking place within the Whova app, which will remain accessible to you through February, 2023!  And don’t forget, the discussion also continues in our Therapies in the School Discussion Group on Facebook – check it out! 

We really had an amazing speaker line-up this year! Some conference highlights include: 

Why Evaluating and Integrating Reflexes Through Neuroplasticity is Important for Every School-Based Therapist Karen Pryor, PhD, PT, DPT, ND, CH, CPRCS
Funny, engaging and full of helpful tools, this session explored why school-based practitioners are ideal therapists to integrate primitive reflexes for progressing development and school success.

Executive Function and Interoception? Using Interoception as a Building Block for Theory of Mind and Executive Function Skills Cara Koscinski, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, CAS
This session discussed regulation and the importance of interoception as a gateway to theory of mind, and how linking both to executive function leads to improved therapeutic outcomes and success in the classroom.

How to Address Vestibular Impairments in the Classroom: Bridging Teachers and Therapists Kay de Veer, M.Ed., ET/P
A deep-dive into how the vestibular system directly supports learning in the elementary school classroom.

Collaborative Evaluation and Goal Development for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Christy Hupka, PT, DPT, PCS and Amy Barr, PT, DPT 
Topics discussed included: Strategies for collaborative evaluation and goal development for students with autism spectrum disorder; a clinical decision-making algorithm designed to standardize and streamline the evaluation process; and a collaborative process using assessment data to develop multi-disciplinary goals to promote participation. 

Once again this year, the amazing Anne Buckley-Reen, OTR, RYT kicked-off Day 2 of the conference with a relaxing, virtual yoga session-it was great to start the day with some movement and mobility!

It was so exciting to engage with many of you on social media during the Conference! Congratulations to our social media contest winners: 

Kinzie Rhoades won a free 2-Day registration to Therapies in the School Conference 24th Annual Conference-2023 for sharing a “clinical pearl” online:
“With patients with low tone only perform short burst vibration and stimulation techniques to ensure you do not numb and dumb them!”

Elsa Oestreich won a free ERI course & Tools to Grow membership for tagging @educationresourcesinc and commenting online during the conference. 

And…there’s still time to earn points for engaging in the Whova app Community Board for a chance to win a $50 Therapro gift certificate (contest ends December 2, 2022). 

We hope that attending Therapies in the School 23rd Annual Conference has helped to renew your passion for school-based therapy, and has provided you with new tools and strategies that you can use right away to improve learning outcomes for your students.

Stay tuned for access to on-demand recordings of the conference, coming to you soon in early 2023!

And, please save the date for Therapies in the School 24th Annual Conference, set for November 16 and 17, 2023!