Full Course Description

Tech Addiction & Digital Health in Children, Adolescents & Young Adults: Level 1 Certification for Clinicians & Educators

Program Information

Objectives

Formulate the neurological, dopaminergic, and hormonal/adrenal impact of screen time on children, adolescents and young adults.
Analyze the emerging research related to behavioral interventions for technology overuse.
Designate how tech overuse can impact pre-existing mental health disorders
Assess for problem screen usage, stressors and triggers and help client/student develop healthy regulation skills.
Debate the pedagogical impact of “Education Technology” and use of screens in the classroom.
Utilize strategies for parents/caregivers to work with problem screen usage within the home including boundaries, discipline and communication.
Integrate interventions rooted in mindfulness, narrative and archetype work, experiential therapy and immersive nature therapy to help clients/students better regulate screen use.

Outline

The Origins of Screen Culture

The origins of “Indoor Children”
Difference between passive TV viewing and immersive/interactive modern screen experiences

Neurological Impacts of Technology Overuse

The role of dopamine in addiction
The dopaminergic effects of screens on the brain
A view of screens as “digital drugs”
Brain imaging research and the effects on the frontal cortex
Hormonal impacts of tech overuse

Clinical Research: Technology Overuse Impact On:

Depression and social media
ADHD and screen-time
Anxiety and screen-time
Thought disorders and video games as well as “sensory overload”
Increased aggression and video games
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Assessments and Observational Tools

Assessment tools
The difference between “overuse” and “addiction”
A comparison with substance addiction assessment

Treatment Interventions for Tech Overuse

Not all tech addiction is the same
Specific digital usage problem, stressors, triggers
Underlying and co-morbid issues
Residential vs. outpatient treatment: Pros and cons
How to implement a “Digital Detox”
Importance of nature, meditation and exercise

Technology in the Classroom: Pedagogical Impacts of Screen Time

Research on educational outcomes of classroom technology
Phones in the classroom and standardized test scores
Screens in the classroom and impact on reading and comprehension
Comparisons of “Low Tech” schools and one-to-one screen schools
Ed Tech: a $60 billion annual industry
The Los Angeles “iPad Fiasco” and the Amplify initiative by Rupert Murdoch

Working with Families and the Family Dynamic

Validate that the issues harming families are indeed real
Address dysfunction contributing to the problem
Family psychoeducation
”Family Intervention Plan”: The solution needs to be a collective one

”Mindful Digital Usage”: How to Reintegrate Back into Healthy Tech Usage

Individualized digital “re-entry” plan: Hands-on activity
Help the child to identify healthier “Digital Vegetables” vs. “Digital Candy”
Measure progress and what to do if there is a setback

Case Study Review

Learn interventions and strategies to handle:
- Mood-dysregulated 13 year old male, Dx Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)
- Violent adolescent male, Dx ADHD and conduct disorder, video gamer, school refusal, assaults parents
- Suicidal adolescent female, Dx depression, disordered eating and self-injurious behavior, social media platforms 8-10 hrs a day
- Twenty-five-year-old graduate student, very politically-interested, stays up all night “hyper-link” surfing, hears voices, paranoid
- Social-media obsessed mom, neglects young children, marriage is suffering, children acting out

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Physicians
Marriage and Family Therapists
Addiction Professionals
Case Managers
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists
Teachers
School Counselors
School Psychologists
School Social Workers
Educational Paraprofessionals
School Administrators
Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children

Copyright : 06/23/2020

Distracted and Disorganized Kids in a Digital Generation: Techniques to Influence Neuroplasticity, Manage Screen Time & Implement Sensory Smart Movement

Program Information

Objectives

Determine at least 3 generational challenges impacting neurosensory development in a digital generation of learners.
Evaluate the role of sensory triads in adaptive behavioral and motor responses.
Design a treatment plan outline to support state regulation and the brain-body connection while promoting recovery from screen time and skill demands.
Apply clinical reasoning to guide treatment-based on neurosensory patterns of children with ADHD, LD, and Autism.
Prepare 4-5 strategies immediately to empower this generation of learners while optimizing intervention and support strategies.
Integrate a school-wide model for empowering a digital generation.

Outline

4 D’s of a Digital Generation: Distraction, Disorganization, Dysregulation, and Digital Dementia

The speed of digital information verses the speed of neurodevelopment
Growing impact of technology on learning and behavior
Specific challenges for children with learning, processing, and attention deficits

Rebalance the Brain-Body Connection

Role of the senses in self-regulation, perception, and adaptive response patterns
Sensory Imbalances: Overusing vision in a screen-based world
Impact of weak links in sensory triads on learning and behavior
Influence physiology to reduce disorganization and dysregulation
Rebalance through controlled activation of multiple senses

A Powerful New Framework: Body Activated Learning™

3 Phase Approach: Optimize, activate, and regroup
Optimize connection to the body through energizing or calming movement
Activate the brain-body connection using sensory triads and vision exercises
Regroup from screen-based and sedentary learning tasks triggering visual and body fatigue
Experiential learning

Activate and Digitally Interactive Treatment Strategies

Determine a child’s digital and sensory-learning profile
Building Sensational self-awareness to engage and empower learners
Proactive activities to support regulation and cognition
Embedding regrouping opportunities to recover from dysregulation and overload
Technology as a tool to support the brain-body connection
Case studies, videos, and interactive learning

Influencing Neuroplasticity: Techniques to Balance Technology and Sensory Smart Movement

Vision, auditory, vestibular, and more considerations for:
- ADHD
- Autism
- Dyslexia and dysgraphia
- Non-identified but digitally impacted children

Attacking Digital Dementia and Disorganization from the Inside Out

Educate parents and schools
Play and learning vs “Done for You” Technology
Visualization vs videos and Playstation
Creation vs consumption: Interactive learning in a digital age
Remediation vs accommodation

Contagious Mindsets: Collaborate to Empower a Digital Generation

Integrated support strategies: Use body activated learning within an RTI model
- Whole class intervention and universal design
- Small group instruction, social groups, and morning movement opportunities
- Individualized supports
Teach to learn: Modeling and cross-training for Paraprofessionals
Planning materials and resources for collaborative intervention
- Classroom set-up and sensory smart routines
- Merging sensory diets, sensory strategies, multisensory learning, and brain breaks
- Empowering conversations with children

Target Audience

Pediatric Psychologists
Neuropsychologists
Social Workers
Counselors
Pediatric Occupational And Physical Therapists
Pediatric Speech Therapists
Educators

BONUS | Telehealth for Children and Families: Strategies to Balance Digital Learning and Sensory Smart Movement

Telehealth challenges therapists to adapt their intervention approaches and seek out new ways to promote skill development while collaborating with parents in their home environment.

This program provides a unique solution to meeting the needs of a digital generation of learners. Learn how to balance technology with sensory smart movement to optimize treatment outcomes using a 3 Phase Approach:

Self-Regulation for focus
Activate the senses for learning
Regroup from screen-based learning demands

Program Information

Objectives

Summarize the 3 key factors to optimizing telehealth sessions
Design a treatment plan outline to support state regulation and the brain-body connection while promoting recovery from screen time and skill demands.
Utilize appropriate coding for reimbursement and compliance

Outline

Prepare and Be Present

Shifting from direct service to facilitated therapy and coaching
Internalizing the challenges and opportunities when collaborating with parents

Strategic Planning for Improved Treatment Outcomes and Carryover

A 3-phase approach using Body Activated LearningTM
Balancing technology with sensory smart movement

Collaboration Techniques for Empowering Parents

Promoting a therapeutic alliance through preparation
Guiding parents to stay present and connected
Effective parent communication to enhance therapeutic value

Following Informed Billing practices and Payer expectations for pediatric telehealth

Identify payor differences in coding and their impact on treatment planning
Considerations and opportunities for school-based telehealth

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage and Family Therapists
Psychologists(For CE Credit)
Psychotherapists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
Nurses