Please join us in the Brubeck Room for SPED*NET's presentation on How School Interventions Affect Your Kids Who are Wired Differently.  Children with autism, NVLD, or ADHD have two things in common: their brains process differently from those of other kids, and they are often traumatized in school. Schools traditionally focus on kids' behavior, instead of on their experiences. This is especially true if their behaviors distract other children. But children who are not accomplishing work “at the level of their potential” or are “oppositional” or “noncompliant” may be doing the best they can. Negative feedback only discourages them and leads to a sense of frustration and shame. Parents often feel helpless when trying to get schools to better understand their kids.  Clinical psychologist Marcia Eckerd, PhD, and therapist Robert Bernstein, MA, will discuss why it’s critical for schools to focus on “what’s the child experiencing” in order to genuinely understand their behavior and help them succeed.

Marcia Eckerd is a licensed psychologist with over 35 years of experience as a therapist and consultant working with autistic children and adults. She has published three articles on autism in the peer-reviewed Journal of Health Services Psychology. Her article on diagnosing previously unrecognized autistic women is read internationally. Her Psychology Today blog Are We Giving Autistic Children PTSD from School? had over 257,500 reads. She has also written for many popular autism magazines and websites.

Robert J. Bernstein, an educational and behavioral therapist, has been working with children on the autism spectrum for more than 35 years. His book Uniquely Normal: Tapping the Reservoir of Normalcy to Treat Autism (2017) won six awards, including the Independent Publisher Book Awards (gold medal for psychology and mental health). His newest book is Uniquely Normal Manual (2023).

Presented by SPED*NET in partnership with Wilton Library, Wilton Public Schools and Newtown Sped PTA. Registration is recommended.  Please register online or call 203-762-6334.  For more information, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.