The 2014 Spring Conference was another huge success for NEALS! President Susan Ross welcomed the guests with her natural enthusiasm and excitement. Last year NEALS established the Dr. Barbara Kenefick Award for Distinguished Service to Students and Learning Specialists in Independent Schools. This year’s award was presented to current board member Kara Ashley of The Fay School. Kara was recognized for her outstanding work with the NEALS survey, the original NEALS website and the Google Group. Kara also hosted this year’s conference and is a past president of NEALS. Kara was honored for tireless work with NEALS and the Board voted unanimously to bestow this honor upon her.
Dr. Jerome Schultz, a clinical neuropsychologist, delivered this year’s keynote address “STRESS! Why The Brains of Students with LD/ADHD Are At Risk and What We Can Do About It.” Dr. Schultz kept the audience on its toes with a mix of humor and cartoons to accompany the more serious nature of this topic. He outlined the DESTRESS model to help students with LD/ADHD cope with and regulate their emotions. Dr. Schultz gave a brief lesson on the neuroscience behind the connections of physical activity and increased brain function, which many found intriguing and will use as a launchpad for their own academic research in their schools. Many members purchased Dr. Schultz’s book, Nowhere to Hide: Why Kids with ADHD and LD Hate School and What we Can Do About It” at the end of the day and some have proposed using it as an all-faculty or department reading book.
Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch and had the pleasure of sharing stories from practice with others in our field. Two concurrent afternoon sessions were offered. Susan Ross, Kara Ashley, Melissa Rubin and Vaunie Graulty shared the results of last year’s comprehensive survey. Susan and Kara also highlighted findings that they presented in their upcoming article for Independent Schools Magazine. Their article, “The Learning Specialists Role in Differentiation for Students form Nontraditional Backgrounds” is applicable for most of us in our practice in our schools. Rebecca Plona and Liz Radday presented useful iPad apps they use in their classrooms and schools. Audience members were encouraged to share their own favorite apps with the group. A list of the apps can be found on the NEALS website.
This year’s conference was another exceptional event hosted by NEALS. We are already looking forward to the 2015 Spring Conference.