Key Details
- Course Code
- CPE23SSD
- Duration
- 12 hours
Course Information
In this session, Dr. Wolffe will describe the importance and need for structured social skills learning for children and youth who are blind or partially sighted. Socialization is a key element in an individual’s physical and mental health. The impact that good, strong communication skills can have when applied to make individuals more resilient to stress factors will be discussed in detail.
Strategies for working with parents and other caregivers of infants and toddlers to enhance bonding and early relationships will be described first and then Dr. Wolffe will share ideas for preparing youngsters socially and emotionally for school and community settings. Techniques for teaching school-aged children and youth positive communication skills to use with family, friends, and members of the community will be emphasised.
Access to social support is critical to life success. How to facilitate networking and positive relationships will be described in this session. Finally, Dr. Wolffe will describe recent research that supports the notion that social motivation and contact with others can actually help to improve memory formation and recall, which protect the brain from neurodegenerative disease in later life. Having close friends and an active social support network can enhance both physical and mental health!
AITSL
The details below will allow you to apply for Teacher Identified Professional Learning with your state registration authority.
This event addresses the following Standards from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: 1.1.2, 1.2.2, 1.3.2, 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.2, 2.6.2, 3.2.2, 3.3.2, 3.4.2, 3.6.2, 4.1.2, 4.4.2, 4.5.2, 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.3.2, 5.4.2, 6.2.2, 6.2.6, 6.3.2, 6.4.2, 7.4.2. It fits within the Priority Area of Children/ Student with Disabilities. This event is evidence and research based.
Presenter
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Dr Karen Wolffe
Karen Wolffe manages a private practice as a career counselor and consultant in Austin, Texas. Dr. Wolffe worked with the American Foundation for the Blind as Director of Professional Development and CareerConnect from 2000 to 2010. Prior to that, she was a faculty member in the Department of Special Education at the University of Texas (UT) where she also directed the Job Readiness Clinic, an applied learning lab for people with disabilities looking for work and university students studying to become rehabilitation counselors or special education teachers. During her career, Dr. Wolffe also taught correspondence courses for the Hadley School for the Blind related to transition and employment issues and taught a distance education course for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that focused on job placement for people with visual impairments. She is the author of Career Counseling for People with Disabilities: A Practical Guide to Finding Employment, co-author of the Transition Tote System, editor of Skills for Success: A Career Education Handbook for Children and Youth with Visual Impairments, and co-editor of Teaching Social Skills to Students with Visual Impairments: From Theory to Practice. She also co-authored Transition Issues for Students with Visual Disabilitie and AFB's Focused on...Social Skills series. She has published numerous articles in the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB) and other significant journals based on her work with blind and low vision individuals both in rehabilitation and education settings. Her research and writing interests include the importance of career education, social skills development, transition issues, employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and literacy in the workplace. Dr. Wolffe received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina in English, a M.Ed. from the University of Texas in special education with an emphasis on students with multiple disabilities, and a Ph.D. in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Texas, Austin, TX.
