OT/PT

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Live Events

To register for an event, contact your district coordinator. Each district has an individual designated as the OT/PT coordinator or lead. If you are unsure who that is in your district, contact your ESE Director.
For educators not affiliated with a district, email Andrew Willson at awillson@fgcu.edu.

2/21/2025 - 2/21/2025
WAITLIST ONLY: Root Causes, Real Solutions: Developing Behavioral Strategies that Work
Location: Boca Raton
Presenter(s): Charlene Grecsek, ED, LMHC
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Description:
This six-hour, face-to-face presentation will provide participants with information about the connections between the brain and emotions, memory, relationships, and behavior.  Participants will learn about how issues such as anxiety and depression can impact a child’s relationships, learning, and behaviors.  Participants will also learn about effective behavioral strategies that can be implemented in their work with students who are experiencing behavioral issues. Participants will have the opportunity to examine case studies and to work in small groups with colleagues to share, discuss, and practice effective strategies and solutions specific to their individual caseloads and therapy goals.

Participants may wish to bring a lunch.  One hour is provided for lunch and it can be a challenge to leave for off-campus lunch and return to the event within one hour at this location.  CEUs can not be awarded for individuals who are more than 15 minutes late to the start of any portion of the event. 

***PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A WAIT LIST ONLY. THIS EVENT IS SPONSORED BY WWE-SLP, WHICH PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO SLP ACROSS THE REGION. IF THERE IS SPACE, WE WILL ALLOW PALM BEACH PERSONNEL ATTEND. CEU HAVE NOT YET BEEN PRE-APPROVED BY OUR CE BROKER*** (1/28/2025)
Time: 8:00am-3:30pm (EST)
Details:
Safe Schools Institute
1790 Spanish River Blvd
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Room #: Located on the campus of Don Estridge High Tech Middle School-first building on the right as you enter the campus.
Registration Deadline: 2/3/2025
Document(s):
Comments:
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3/6/2025 - 3/6/2025
Behavior Strategies
Location: Fort Myers
Presenter(s): Charlene Grecsek, ED, LMHC
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Description:

Two separate training sessions:

  1. Understanding the Connection Between Behaviors, Emotions and Relationships
  2. Anxiety, Brain and Behaviors

The first session in the all-day training will assist the audience in understanding the connection between behaviors, emotions, and relationships. In particular, the audience will be able to state ways relationships impact behaviors and learning. Lastly, the audience will be able to identify some strategies that can be implemented in his or her work.

The second session will introduce the audience to anxiety. Specifically, the audience will be able to state ways anxiety effects learning and memory. Moreover, the audience will be able to identify three areas of the polyvagal theory as it relates to understanding anxiety and trauma. The audience will be then able to articulate how a person’s trauma experiences can impact memory, relationships, development of anxiety, and behaviors.

Our presenter, Charlene Grecsek, earned her doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology in 1999 and has been a licensed mental health counselor since 1996. Dr. Grecsek started as the Principal Investigator and Executive Director of SEDNET (Multiagency Network for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities) discretionary project in February 2020.  Before her current position, she was the SEDNET Coordinator for the School Board of Broward County for 11.5 years. Dr. Grecsek has worked in the community for 20 years working with the Department of Children and Families, Department of Juvenile Justice, and local funders that support children and families. In the community, she served as the director for a community-based mental health agency that specialized in services for children and families with emotional behavioral needs, and an adjunct professor in the University counseling department. She has specialized training/education in behavior modification, emotional regulation, trauma, Neuro-sequential Models in Education (NME), crisis incident stress debriefings, Youth Mental Health First Aid (trainer), and suicide prevention.

Time: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM, sign-in opens at 8:30am
Details:
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd. S.
Fort Myers, Florida 33965
Room #: Academic Building 9 (Water School) Room 222 - Designated Parking: Parking Garage 1
Registration Deadline: 2/28/2025
Document(s):
Comments: Hotel Accommodations; 1.) Homewood Suites by Hilton, (Ft. Myers Airport/FGCU), 2 miles from FGCU—Phone: 239-210-7300 2.) The Hilton Garden Inn, (Ft. Myers Airport/FGCU), 2 miles form FGCU—Phone: 239-210-7200 3.) Courtyard by Marriott, (Gulf Coast Town Center), 2.94 miles from FGCU—Phone 239-332-4747 4.) Drury Inn & Suites, Fort Myers, (I-75 and Gulf Coast Town Center), 3 miles from FGCU—Phone: 239-267-1340 5.) Holiday Inn, (Ft. Myers Airport @ Town Center), 3 miles from FGCU—Phone: 239-561-1550 6.) Embassy Suites Hotel, (Ft. Myers/Estero), 4.22 miles from FGCU—Phone: 2139-949-4222
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4/22/2025 - 4/23/2025
2025 Leaders Event for OT/PT and SLP Coordinators
Location: Safety Harbor
Presenter(s): Mindy Garfinkel, OTD, OTR/L, ATP, Francine M Seruya, PhD, MBA, OTR/L, FAOTA
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Description:
Description:
Day 1:

Updates on current FDOE Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services topics of interest relevant to related services will be provided.

Attendees will also have opportunities to participate in Coordinator Work Groups.

Day 2:  
Interprofessional Collaboration for Change:  Implementing Workload Models in Florida Public Schools.  

Research indicates school-based, related service practitioners desire to shift practice towards a workload approach.  Practitioners continue to report difficulty implementing a workload model due to a lack of "know how", administrative support, and negotiation skills.  

Dr. Francine Seruya and Dr. Mindy Garfinkle will provide a day of training and workgroup sessions highlighting the issues surrounding caseload vs. workload. This interactive training will provide activities for reflection on practice, completion and analysis of time studies, education on a workload model, and advocacy/negotiation skills for systems change.

Hotel Reservation and Event Registration Details


Participants must complete the following two items:

1.  Register to attend the event on the WWE site by completing the pretest and updating your account profile. 


2.  Complete the sleeping room survey. Even if you do not need a room, please confirm this via the survey.

This must be completed by March 7, 2025 at the link provided.

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3eZtpzI9202djuK


You must live 50+ miles from the event for a sleeping room to be provided.  We provide a maximum of two sleeping rooms per district.  If the SLP and OT/PT Coordinator position is a combined position, one room is provided.  WWE is only responsible for reservations made on the WWE site.  Participants should not contact the hotel directly to make reservations, cancel reservations, or modify reservations. 

Due to seating limitations, a maximum of two individuals per district may attend, e.g. one SLP and one OT/PT. Please add additional participants to the event wait list and include them on your sleeping room reservation if sharing a room.  SLPs should register on the WWE SLP site and OT/PTs should register on the WWE OT/PT site.

If you need to change or cancel your reservation or registration status, please contact Jennifer Reeves at jreeves@coe.ufl.edu AND Alice Kaye Emery at aemery@coe.ufl.edu. Please DO NOT contact the hotel directly.  
Time: DAY 1: Onsite Sign In is at 1:30 PM; Event runs from 2:00 PM-4:30 PM DAY 2: Onsite Sign In is at 8:30 AM; Event Runs from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Details:
Safety Harbor Resort and Spa
105 North Bayshore Drive
Safety Harbor, FL 34695
Room #:
Registration Deadline: 3/7/2025
Comments:
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