Upcoming Conferences and Seminars:
Dates: Open to your schedule
COST:
$50 per family with one student
$25 for each additional youth
$25 for professionals/teachers
AGES:
Families with youth 8-18 years of age.
Professionals working with or interested in LD and AD/HD youth.
SOAR offers a series of workshops designed to educate and stimulate students, parents and professionals regarding the healthy emotional and cognitive development of youth with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders. Programs are sponsored by parent support groups, professional organizations or local schools seeking to provide an opportunity for youth to learn more about their uniqueness, while adults (parents and professionals) focus on strategies which empower LD and AD/HD youth across a continuum of academic and social environments.
The workshops are designed to the specific needs of the sponsoring group. One-day workshops are typically scheduled from 9 am to 3 pm. Parents and professionals spend the morning and afternoon discussing selected topics with SOAR's Executive Director, Jonathan Jones or John Willson, Director of LD and AD/HD Services. Simultaneously, youth are invited to work through a series of experiential activity periods, followed by discussion sessions surrounding the same issues being discussed with the parents and professionals.
Family and Youth Workshops
Learning Disabilities/Attention Deficit Disorders:
Creating the Win - Win at Home: Maximizing Self-Esteem while Minimizing Control Issues
This presentation focuses on power and control issues that often challenge LD and ADD youth. We will discuss specific strategies and skills that can be used at home and school to significantly enhance self-esteem by creating a positive sense of power and self-control.
Parenting for Success: Lessons from Resilience and Success Research
Resilience and success research from the last ten years has identified six core attributes that contribute to the success of youth with LD and AD/HD. Workshop participants will explore these attributes and discuss practical strategies to develop them on a daily basis.
Taming the Tiger: Strategies for Adults with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders
Adults with LD and AD/HD deal daily with issues related to their areas of challenge. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and practice strategies related to academics, workplace, relationships, and self-help. A collection of handouts will be provided to assist in implementation including a list of relevant resources.
Taming the Organizational Tiger: Organizational Strategies for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders.
Children and adults with LD and AD/HD deal with issues related to their areas of challenge on a daily basis. One of the most difficult challenges is developing and utilizing organizational skills. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and practice strategies related to academics, workplace, relationships, and self-help. A collection of handouts will be provided to assist in implementation including a list of relevant resources.
Celebrating the Difference
Following an overview of characteristics and issues regarding both learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, the workshop focuses on strategies surrounding assorted control issues, and the development of positive self-esteem.
Study Skills That Last a Lifetime
The workshop begins by exploring the topic of learning style preferences and the dominate learning styles of individuals with LD and AD/HD. Strategies are then developed around the "skills sets" of motivation, concentration, organization, time management, memorization, note-taking, SQ3R, and test taking.
Organization and Time Management Skills That Work
Following an overview of the organization and time management preferences of individuals with LD and AD/HD, the workshop concentrates on strategies and techniques to increase the individual's effectiveness in these key life skill areas.
Professional Development Workshops
Creating the Win - Win at School: Maximizing
Self-Esteem while Minimizing Control Issues
This presentation focuses on power and control issues
that often challenge LD and ADD youth. We will discuss
specific
strategies
and skills that
can be used at home and school to significantly enhance
self-esteem by creating a positive sense of power and
self-control.
Fitting the Round Peg into the Square
Hole: Understanding and Utilizing the Learning Styles of Individuals
with ADD and LD
This presentation focuses on the unique learning
abilities of ADD and LD youth and adults through
an examination
of learning style
strengths
and preferences. The classroom and work environments
are discussed in light of its daily opportunities
and obstacles.
Strategies
which increase
student / teacher and employee / employer effectiveness
will be developed around the concept of maximizing
student strengths
and
minimizing
areas of challenge. Particular emphasis is given
to strategies that increase
the sense of control and power for the student dealing
with LD
and ADD issues.
Learning by Doing: Enriching Education
through Experiential Activities
Experiential education offers special benefits and
opportunities to the LD or ADD individual. The experiential,
kinesthetic,
and concrete nature
of experiential education methods and techniques
create an ideal environment for life-long learning
and personal
growth.
This
workshop utilizes
a "hands-on" format
and encourages active participation.
Teaching for
Success: Learning from Resilience and Success Research
Resilience and success research from the last ten
years has identified six core attributes that contribute
to the success
of youth with
LD and AD/HD. Workshop participants will explore
these
attributes and discuss
practical classroom strategies to develop them
on a daily basis.
Classroom Accommodations and Study
Skill Strategies
This workshop focuses on defining and understanding
Learning Disabilities, followed by a discussion
of guiding principles
for classroom management
and appropriate accommodations for LD youth.
Topics include: creating an effective learning environment,
instructional
strategies and
strategies for written work and assignments.
Dispelling
Myths/Discussing Interventions
After a review of common misconceptions regarding
AD/HD, participants receive an overview of
core characteristics of these youth,
common developmental features, AD/HD clinical
diagnostic and assessment
procedures and different
treatments, currently utilized with AD/HD youth.
Classroom
Management/Academic Interventions
The workshop focuses on defining and understanding
AD/HD, followed by discussion of guiding
principles of classroom
management
with AD/HD youth.
Topics include: creating an effective learning
environment, instructional strategies and
strategies for written
work and assignments.
Transition Planning:
A Key to Success
This workshop focuses on the unique challenge
which transition issues present to LD and
AD/HD youth
and their caregivers.
Specific attention
is given to: changes in routine, transition
between grade levels, development of an
ITP (Individual
Transition Plan) and preparation
for post-secondary
options.
BANG, CRASH, POW: 12 Strategies
to help you unlock the Super-Hero in the Child
Diagnosed
wit Learning
Disabilities
Hidden within each of are tremendous
gifts and talents. When you are working
with
children and
adolescents
dealing with
learning Disabilities you need special
strategies to help unlock and encourage
the development
of these gifts.
Bang, Crash, Pow will take a humorous
and insightful look into ways to truly
help
these dynamic
young people grow
and develop.
This workshop
will focus on a collection of development
strategies designed to maximize
the potential, resilience, and abilities
of children diagnosed with Learning
Disabilities and AD/HD.
Keynote Addresses
Jonathan Jones also has numerous Keynote
and Commencement Addresses including:
Differences to Celebrate,
Living a Lifetime in Left
Field, Swim with
the Sharks, and Beyond Tunnel Vision.
Dates: Open to your schedule.
COST:
|
AGES:
|
For more information or to schedule a workshop, please contact:
S.O.A.R.
John Willson, Director
LD and AD/HD Services
P.O. Box 388
Balsam, NC 28707
(828) 456-3435
bigjohn@soarnc.org
www.soarnc.org
.
Philosophy: SOAR believes all individuals identified with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) possess inherent talents and gifts. These abilities can mean incredible success in adulthood once these students negotiate the challenging obstacles of childhood, adolescence, and a traditional education system, usually unable to respond to individual learning styles.
Therefore, the SOAR model is based on two fundamental principles. First, youth with LD and AD/HD flourish when they are encouraged to focus on their strengths in an experiential setting. The second principle acknowledges that success can be generalized by encouraging our students to develop and utilize strategies, enabling them to compensate for those challenging characteristics of LD and AD/HD. To this end, SOAR staff strive to ensure success for each student across a wide range of experiences. Such success, in turn, builds essential self-esteem and self-confidence.
Based on these two foundations, SOAR participants develop problem solving skills, effective communication strategies, increased self-awareness, and social skills. Program activities include a broad base of wilderness adventure experiences that empower students to make healthy choices, learn more about themselves, overcome challenges, and establish relevance from these experiences to other aspects of their life.
SOAR's Specialty Courses are open to SOAR alumni and students with the maturity and experience level to be successful on the course. Acceptance is conditional on the approval of the course director. Most specialty courses are led by one of SOAR's year-round staff including Jonathan Jones, John Willson and Jon Terry.
SOAR’s programs are designed to allow students the opportunity to increase their independence while away from home. Independence is gained through self-motivation and life skills instruction. With this in mind, we involve our students in many decision making processes, such as setting individual goals, developing group guidelines, as well as trip and meal planning. This also comes into consideration when developing SOAR’s communication policy, detailed in our Parent Handbook.
SOAR is dedicated to serving the needs of individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) and is proud to be the finest: