GPS speakers to discuss organizational skills, harnessing worry
On Thursday, Feb. 27, the GPS Parent Series: Navigating Healthy Families will host Sarah Ward and Jessica Minahan in a program titled “Crack the Behavior Code, Increase Organizational Skills and Harness Worry.”
It will be offered at 7 p.m. for a hybrid in-person and Zoom webinar at Glenbard South High School, 23W200 Butterfield Road in Glen Ellyn.
Visit GPSparentseries.org for information and the link to this webinar.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 31.9% of adolescents ages 13 to 18 in the United States have an anxiety disorder. Overworked and overwhelmed adults need a new approach and practical easy-to-implement strategies for young people.
Negative, inaccurate or overwhelming thoughts can contribute to disengagement and withdrawal. Strategies that target improvement in accurate perception, self-monitoring and self-regulation are essential.
Ward and Minahan will offer practical tools for improving student success. They will discuss the best ways to build skills that reduce anxiety and improve executive functioning, self-monitoring and task initiation.
Continuing professional development units are available for this program.
Ward is a recognized authority on executive function skills and has more than 25 years of experience in their assessment and treatment. She has conducted numerous presentations worldwide and has consulted with over 1,400 schools on the strategies she developed.
Minahan is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst and special educator. She has more than 17 years of experience supporting students who exhibit challenging behavior. She is the co-author of “The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students” and author of “The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors.”
To be placed on a reminder list for GPS events or submit a question in advance, contact Gilda Ross, student and community projects coordinator, at gilda_ross@glenbard.org or (630) 942-7668.