Category Archives: Events & Conferences

Get comprehensive details about Therapro’s active participation in various industry events and conferences, including informative presentations, hands-on workshops, and trade shows that showcase innovative therapy products and provide valuable professional development opportunities for clinicians and educators.

Executive Function Strategies for Students: Seminar Recap

Events & Conferences,

Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP presented the final Saturday Seminar of 2014 on Fostering Executive Function Skills. Sarah is the Co-Director of Cognitive Connections in Concord, MA. She is an expert in the assessment and rehab of traumatic brain injury, particularly in the treatment of executive functioning.

Sarah is a charismatic national and international speaker. A throng of 125 therapists, educators, parents, and paraprofessionals squeezed into the Therapro showroom to hear Sarah share her expertise in developing practical strategies for addressing executive function skills in school-age children and teens. The strategies she shared were readily applicable to anyone in the school and home setting.

Sarah provided many examples of situations where executive function skills are needed in order for a student to execute a plan that results in a successful outcome. Since children have an unrealistic view of time, they need non-verbal working memory, using self-directed talk to execute a task. She illustrated this by presenting various scenarios where a student is asked to perform a task like cleaning his room, getting ready for school or soccer practice, etc. In order to complete the task, he needs a sequential plan. For a student with poor executive functioning, he may have difficulty with making a “mental dress rehearsal” of what he needs to do to in order to accomplish the task, and may get side tracked easily. Sarah recommended a good place to start is for us as the “executive coach” to use a visual word (“see, imagine, visualize, etc.”) and direct the student to put on his “future glasses” to increase awareness. Sarah explained the Get Ready, Do, DONE Model for getting a task completed.

The goal of intervention with a student who has poor executive function skills is to help him become more independent in this area of functioning. Sarah suggested that using therapeutic intervention strategies will improve the following: situational awareness and forethought; task planning, initiation, and transition between tasks; and finally, active self-management of the factors related to time passing. The objective is to help the student learn to manage the organization and time demands of school assignments, home and after-school tasks successfully.

Take a look at a few of the glowing testimonials from attendees about this seminar:

“This was the best, most practical seminar on executive function skills I could have imagined. I came away with lots of strategies that I feel ready to implement at home.” – John G.

“Wow, wow, wow! I loved it! I want to share this info with everyone.” – Jessica E.

“So incredibly practical and helpful – so many amazing tools.” Michele M.

“Sarah provides strategies/practices that can be implemented immediately, across all settings for all ages…and they make sense!” – Kate V.

Thank you, Sarah!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

18th Annual Great Beginnings Conference -Recap

Events & Conferences

Therapro proudly participated as an exhibitor at the 18th Annual Great Beginnings Conference, hosted by Criterion Child Enrichment on October 24, 2015, in Worcester, MA. This highly regarded event attracted professionals from early intervention, early childhood education, pediatric healthcare, and family support services. The conference theme—“Culture: Yours, Mine, and Ours”—highlighted the importance of understanding and integrating cultural perspectives into care for children and families.

At the Great Beginnings Conference, workshops featured expert presentations from professionals across disciplines, including a physician, speech-language pathologist, attorneys, and an educator. Topics ranged from the role of personal belief systems in clinical and educational settings, to best practices for using interpreters and cultural mediators, immigration-related challenges, and the impact of culture on early language development and second language acquisition. These sessions reinforced the need for culturally responsive practices in early childhood settings.

Lollacup a featured product at the Great Beginnings Conference

As part of the event, Therapro showcased a wide variety of therapy tools and educational products that support children’s development. Attendees had the opportunity to explore popular favorites such as the Push Pull Puzzle, Talk It Rock It CDs, and the Baby Buzz’r, along with new and innovative products like the Lollacup, Fills and Spills Fishbowl, and the Chewy Skool Kid Stretchy Pendant. Visitors appreciated the opportunity to test out materials that could immediately benefit their clients, students, or children.

The Great Beginnings Conference serves as a powerful reminder that culture plays a crucial role in how services are delivered and received. Criterion Child Enrichment is to be commended for fostering a professional learning environment that encourages dialogue, reflection, and growth.

Therapro remains committed to supporting professionals who help families thrive through culturally informed, evidence-based practice.

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

Highlights from OT PT Fall 2014 Conference

Events & Conferences

I had the pleasure of representing Therapro at the OT PT Fall 2014 Conference held at Northern Illinois University on October 17, 2014. Now in its 12th year, this highly anticipated event brought together over 500 occupational and physical therapists from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. The conference, held biennially, is designed specifically for school-based practitioners, offering evidence-informed strategies and tools to help ensure students continue to receive the highest quality therapeutic services within educational environments.

The OT PT Fall 2014 Conference is a full-day event and was packed with professional development opportunities. Attendees could choose from 11 informative workshops that addressed current topics and best practices. Sessions included Activity-Based Intervention and Adaptive Equipment, YogaEd and Brain Gym, The Zones of Regulation, and Assistive Technology Solutions, among others. Each session supported the conference’s overarching goal of promoting effective collaboration among therapists, educators, and families.

Therapro was proud to be represented not only at the exhibit booth, but also by author and presenter Tere Bowen-Irish, who led a full-day session. Her presentations—“OT for the Anxious/Stressed Students (Strategies for a Calmer Classroom)” and “Drive Thru Menus for Preschool and Kindergarten”—were well-received and offered actionable techniques to support emotional regulation and early literacy skills from an OT lens.

The Therapro exhibit booth was a hub of activity as attendees explored products that support classroom participation and regulation. Some of the most popular items included:

Gator Tweezers tool for fine motor and grasp development from Therapro

A big thank you and congratulations to conference chairs Deb Daniel and Terry Seifert for organizing such a meaningful and well-executed event. We look forward to connecting again at the next OT/PT Fall Conference!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L