Hey there LSSPs,

Valentine's Day is coming up and it reminded me about the great Sweethearts disaster of '19 (made up dramatic headline). Last year, there was a big to-do about how Necco, producer of the February treat since 1901, declared bankruptcy in 2018. The fate of these little candies was in doubt, until reports emerged that the company had been purchased. While not in time to get production up and running for V-Day 2019, Sweethearts should be appearing on shelves for this year any day now.

The point of this story (if there is one) is that I remember not liking these things. at all. I mean they look like chalk, they feel like chalk, and to me they taste like chalk. But did that stop me from eating them? Sure didn't. I am, and have always been, a candy fiend. Chocolate, Licorice, Sweet, Sour, Fruit Based, Hard Candies. You name it. Doesn't matter. If it is there, I will eat it. I know I have this problem, so I try to keep myself away from candy when possible.

I was reading an article recently about the idea of abstainers vs. moderators. The premise was that most people, when it comes to areas where willpower is a struggle, fall into one of the two camps. The abstainers simply keep themselves away from the item, while moderators set clear limits for themselves. The two seem not to understand the other, with the abstainers thinking the moderators are tempting fate, while the moderators think the abstainers are being too restrictive.

Wherever you may lie on the Abstention-Moderation continuum (trademark pending), I think it is good to know yourself. Figuring out how you can best take care of yourself and support your physical and mental health is critical, especially with service-oriented demanding jobs. Make sure you are setting yourself up as best you can to take care of your needs, so that you have what you need to be there for others.

Keep Being School Psych'd,

Keya Saleh, LSSP, NCSP

Region 10 Educational Service Center

Long-Term Reduction In Implicit Race Bias: A Prejudice Habit Breaking Intervention

NIH Public Access article on the long term positive effects of explicit instruction in addressing implicit bias.

My Thoughts On The Work-Life Balance of a School Psychologist

The Calming Corner (A School Psychology Blog) shares some thoughts and strategies for committing to self-care and balance for the New Year and beyond.

The Psychology Behind Irrational Decisions

A wonderful TED animated short about some of the psychological phenomena that lead us to bad decision making heuristics.

So I have been thinking about the links that I post in this newsletter and it dawned on me that 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice if all of these links that show up every month could be pulled together into one easy to find place?" Well, that idea is now a reality. Presenting:

The Get School Psych'd Good Reading and Research Collection

This is a permanent resource that will house all of the links that I share every month in the newsletter. I will do my best to catalog them alphabetically by content area. Enjoy!

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, invites your school or other literacy project to apply for FREE* books for Read Across America Day or other literacy event. During the past year, LEF has distributed over 3,000,000 books to schools all across the country for Read Across America Day and other literacy projects.

Resources are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Orders must be received by February 17th, 2020.

Please share this information with your fellow educators!

*shipping and handling of $0.88 per book fee applies.

StandUpLD, a Dallas based non-profit serving students with dyslexia, ADHD, and related learning differences, has created a 3 part workshop series called StandUpU, designed to help students ages 6-10 to boost self-confidence and improve their advocacy skills. StandUpU will be facilitated by Eric McGehearty, well known dyslexic entrepreneur and motivational speaker.

Take a sneak peek into how one of the workshops works.

I invite you to share this opportunity with your parents. To make StandUpU available to all students, they have waived the tuition and are only collecting a $50.00 supply fee for the workshops (scholarships available). Parent and teacher volunteers are welcome.

Parents interested in participating can apply here.

StandUpU program dates:

• Workshop 1 (Sat. 3-5:50 pm, 2/8/2020)
• Workshop 2 (Sat. 3-5:50 pm, 2/29/2020)
• Workshop 3 (Sat. 3-5:50 pm, 3/28/2020)

See Flyer below for more information.

TEA has established various network groups to provide support for LEAs. Network 1, the Child Find, evaluation, and ARD Supports Network, has just made their most recent webinar, Documenting Growth in the FIE with Dr. Mertie Gomez, accessible and available on-demand.

Click here to find the N1 webinar. Once in the recording, a link to the handout will be found in the “chat messages”.

Here's a great training opportunity from Dr. Michael Sandbank, University of Texas-Austin Early Childhood Special Education Department Professor:

Autism researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Pediatric Clinicians at Dell Behavioral Pediatrics have organized a rare 2-day Clinical Training in the ADOS-2, a gold standard autism diagnostic assessment, at a significantly reduced cost compared to that usually offered by the assessment publisher.

We’re hoping to spread the word about the training far and wide, to school psychologists, autism specialists, and other relevant clinicians in the area. Since you are the autism specialist for Region 10, I was hoping you might circulate info about the training to school psychologists and other relevant professional in your region. The training will take place March 9th and 10th.

Registration is here. Spots are limited.

See flyer below for additional information.

I have always gotten a lot of questions about the books I am reading (mostly because approximately 84% of my sentences start with "you know I just read this book..."), so I decided to start sharing some of my personal favorites that I have recently read (or in some cases, reread).

This month:

The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nuture Your Child's Developing Mind

by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

I saw Dr. Bryson a few years ago at a conference and found her presentation of her work to be compelling. I went ahead and grabbed the book and promptly put it on a shelf and forgot about it. Fast forward to now, I finally pulled it off the shelf, found a nearby bookmark and went to work.

It was worth the wait. Taking incredibly powerful information about the brain and presenting it in a coherent, structured manner for parents and educators alike, The Whole Brain Child delivers on its promise of effective strategies for children.

In an attempt to get information more organized, I am moving toward a Google Sheet for listing out upcoming training sessions here at Region 10 that would be of interest to LSSPs.

(NOTE: Sessions that I am facilitating have been bolded.)

This link will take you to the live spreadsheet. Check out the list every month to see what new offerings are coming up at Region 10.

HIGHLIGHTED TRAINING OF THE MONTH:

SLD and Executive Functioning Assessment with PASS Theory

3/27/2020, 9:00-3:00

Session ID# 2623100

In this session with Dr. Jack Naglieri, prolific professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, participants will be provided with a straightforward way that they can use the so called ‘third method’ for SLD eligibility determination to both classify and remediate specific learning disabilities. This will include a brief look at the research on the effectiveness of traditional IQ and second-generation tests for SLD identification and socially just assessment.

Emphasis will be placed on a step-by-step analysis illustrated using PASS theory to measure ‘basic psychological processes’ in a manner consistent with the current definition of SLD. Specific cases will be presented to describe how defensible SLD eligibility decisions can be made, and most importantly, how targeted interventions can be generated for instructional planning purposes.

One of my biggest goals of GSP is to get information about our Region 10 LSSPs. I know your time is valuable and I don't want to ask you to spend half a day filling out tons of information, so I have settled on what I am calling the Two-ish Question Quiz. Every so often, I humbly ask for you to answer two questions about yourself to help us get a better picture of the LSSPs in Region 10.

If you have any questions or need support in your campus/district, give me a shout!

Email: keya.saleh@region10.org
Website: www.region10.org/programs/evaluation-special-education/overview/
Location: 904 Abrams Road, Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: 972-348-1598
Twitter: @getschoolpsychd