STARS - Student Therapy and Resource Services

#7318 Types of Play that Build Learning Connections - Live Webinar
2025-12-04 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix)
Summary: For children, play is learning, especially when the play is structured to engage and connect them to meaningful thought. This course will explore various types of play and activities to elicit learning. No toy bag…. no problem. The instructor, an experienced play therapist, will share ideas for finding the best toy for the child you’re working with. Learn evidence-based strategies to engage in different types of play, including food play for picky eaters. Topics will also include outdoor play, sensory play, and music play. Learn some new ways to make toys from household items. You will also learn strategies for transitions in-between activities to keep children engaged.

Instructor: Pamela Orf ITFS, PLAY home consultant

Universal Design for Learning in School-Based Therapy Practice - Webinar
2025-12-04 15:00 - 17:00
Recent research shows that students with diverse learning needs are more likely to succeed in school when Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles are implemented yet many school-based therapists do not have the knowledge or skills to support UDL in their daily practice. As schools move toward more inclusive education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech- language practitioners play a vital role in reducing barriers and promoting participation for all students. Embracing UDL not only improves student engagement and outcomes, but it also helps schools meet legal mandates for accessibility and inclusion. This course will provide practical strategies for integrating UDL principles into therapy interventions and classroom collaboration. Participants will learn to identify barriers, provide adaptations, and develop universally accessible supports using real-world case studies. Attendees will learn to create universally designed experiences for immediate implementation to support students across school settings. Now more than ever, related service providers are called to be leaders in designing accessible learning environments that empower every student to thrive.
The content of this program is germane to children, students and clients ages 3-21 years old.
Highlights

Immediately apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning to your school-based practice
Improve student outcomes by using effective Universal Design for Learning strategies to promote student success

DBT Crash Course for Clinicians - Live Webinar
2025-12-05 06:00 - 13:00
DBT is one of today’s most in-demand treatments, trusted by countless clinicians to provide their clients with the skills they need to manage their emotions, overcome their distress, and create positive change.
Whether they’ve been diagnosed with trauma, anxiety, depression or any number of the conditions you see in your office each day, DBT empowers clients to navigate the challenges of everyday life and relationships so they can heal, grow, and achieve their goals.
And it’s all done from a skills-building perspective that moves you away from change-based models that can feel overwhelming or unattainable for clients.
Now you can take home over a dozen of the most powerful skill-building exercises from DBT in just one day of training.
Led by certified DBT therapist Lexi Mulee, LMHC, C-DBT, this training will equip you to start using the DBT techniques she’s found most effective in her own practice so you can:

Provide clients with the tools they need to better manage intense emotions
Show clients how they can accept distressing situations without judgment or resistance
Quickly build clients ability to cope in healthier ways
Give clients the skills they need to create positive emotional connections with others
Improve communication and boundary setting skills with clients
Rapidly interrupt clients’ self-defeating and self-sabotaging patterns
And much more!

Plus you’ll get printable worksheets that make it simple to start using these proven DBT exercises with clients right away.
Don’t wait to get the fundamental DBT skills you need to succeed.
Register now!

Creative Therapeutic Play - Webinar
2025-12-05 09:00 - 10:00
Discover the transformative power of Creative Therapeutic Play! This engaging course explores how play can be a healing tool, helping individuals express emotions,build resilience, and foster growth. Through practical techniques and creative activities, you’ll learn to support emotional well-being in a fun and impactful way. Unlock the potential of play to make a meaningful difference!

Highlights

Learn practical techniques to enhance emotional expression through play
Discover how to create a supportive, engaging environment for clients
Use creative activities to promote healing and growth
Enhance your skills in integrating play into your therapeutic practice
Connect with others interested in innovative, playful approaches to therapy

# 306 CAN-EAT Approach …Using medical, motor, & therapy strategies in pediatric feeding - Live Webinar
2025-12-07 06:00 - 2025-12-08 14:00
Pediatric feeding and swallowing problems that effect infants and children may be complex and often involve a combination of factors including issues that can make eating painful or difficult. In order to successfully remediate feeding problems, clinicians must understand how medical and nutritional issues can contribute to feeding disorders and use a comprehensive approach to intervention. The CAN-EAT Approach© is a 2-day workshop focusing on medical, nutritional, and therapeutic strategies for children with pediatric feeding disorders.

This course will allow participants to describe how pediatric feeding disorders are defined in the literature, what the contributing factors include, and how this relates to clinical practice. Identify primary gastrointestinal issues (gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, motility disorders, eosinophilic esophagitis, and visceral hyperalgesia) during a feeding evaluation and explain how these issues affect a child’s feeding skill development and ability to progress. Participants will analyze a child’s oral motor function and apply the knowledge in treatment making recommendations for appropriate diet, utensil use, and development of a therapy plan for skill development. Identify signs and symptoms of pharyngeal dysphagia or risk for pharyngeal dysphagia in a child and make appropriate recommendations for further assessment or treatment. Analyze moderate and complex pediatric feeding cases identifying barriers to feeding progression and apply principles to prioritize treatment strategies and write appropriate goals. Describe and apply examples of therapeutic techniques to reduce gagging, improve liquid and food acceptance, improve chewing skill, and wean from a feeding tube.

In the CAN-EAT Approach© “CAN” stands for comfort and nutrition which come first. Day one will focus on strategies to build GI comfort and good growth as well as explore other medical issues that interfere with feeding progression. Day two will focus on therapeutic strategies from a variety of philosophies. “EA” represents establishing acceptance of the spoon, easy textures or mealtime routine. Then “T” stands for therapy for skill development and feeding progression. Therapeutic strategies for common feeding problems will be explored in depth through lecture and video demonstration.

Information is applicable to infants and children from birth to 21 (class will discuss infants but is not focused on infant feeding issues)

Instructor: Krisi Brackett PhD, CCC-SLP, C/NDT

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Made Easy - Live Webinar
2025-12-09 08:00 - 16:00
Are your current techniques just not working?
You’ve experienced the frustration; you have a client who seems to just not break through. You’ve tried your best, but the outcome is the same: he or she progresses for a while, then regresses again.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is the popular transdiagnostic approach that you can integrate into your practice to achieve positive therapeutic outcomes with difficult-to-treat clients.
Join ACT expert and presenter Daniel J. Moran, as he delivers an exercise and intervention-heavy course that will give you the tools you need to more effectively treat clients with PTSD, anxiety, depression or personality disorders.
You’ll learn how ACT weaves mindfulness strategies with cognitive behavioral change strategies to revolutionize client outcomes, as well as discover a variety of ACT techniques for helping clients who are struggling to make difficult behavior changes due to the presence of painful thoughts, feelings and memories.
By shifting client focus to their own values, ACT sets clients up to embrace behavior change that is meaningful to them while simultaneously fostering skills that allow clients to more effectively handle impulsive actions based on current thoughts or emotions.
Sign up today, and Dr. Moran will guide you step-by-step through highly practical, evidence-based ACT skills that you can apply in your practice immediately!

#7106 Knee Deep - Live Webinar
2025-12-10 06:00 - 08:00
Knee injuries, whether it be an ACL injury, meniscal injury, or degenerative arthritis, are common in the American population. This course takes a closer look at the detailed anatomy of the knee from an anatomist viewpoint and the biomechanical forces affecting the knee with certain activities. Review of the physiological healing process and its effect of knee injury recovery will be emphasized. Combined with recent best evidence supported research and physical therapy including non-surgical approaches, rehabilitation exercises and treatment options will be discussed. Considerations of proper techniques of exercise will be addressed. (Intermediate Level)

Instructor: Marsha Rutland PT ScD, OCS, COMT, CSCS

Free Assistive Technology: Just One Thing (JOT) - Virtual
2025-12-10 11:30 - 12:00
Are you overwhelmed by professional development? Don’t have time for a 90-minute webinar? We got you! Join the ADE/ESS Assistive Technology Team for our fall series, Assistive Technology: Just One Thing (JOT). In these quick 30-minute sessions, we will highlight a single assistive technology tool or strategy that you can use to support your students.
Title: JOT: “Building Capacity through Digital Content”
Presenter: Matthew Press, DAD2, MHS, OTR/L, ATP
Peoria USD, Assistive Technology Specialist
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Time: 11:30 AM-12:00 PM
Description: Do you serve a lot of staff and are trying to figure out efficient ways to support them all? Can’t get in front of them for regular professional development (PD) and training? Peoria Unified School District uses a number of strategic options, including weekly targeted emails, digital tutorials, and online classes. Come discover practical resources and strategies you can implement and adapt to enhance your own PD offerings and better support your colleagues—efficiently and sustainably.
Register for the AT JOT “Building Capacity through Digital Content”
Please note that JOTs are not recorded.

More Than Mobility: OT-Led Wheelchair Selection To Support ADLs - Live Webinar
2025-12-11 12:00 - 13:00
This course explores how occupational therapy practitioners can enhance client independence in self-care through thoughtful wheelchair selection and justification. Participants will gain practical tools for evaluating self-care performance in seated mobility, learn how to advocate for the inclusion of OT in wheelchair evaluations, and build strong documentation to support insurance approval. Case studies will highlight how client-centered wheelchair features can dramatically increase functional outcomes and participation.
Learning Outcomes

After this course, participants will be able to explain the role of OT in wheelchair evaluations.

After this course, participants will be able to list considerations for ADL participation related to wheelchair recommendations.

After this course, participants will be able to describe strategies for evaluating self-care performance in seated mobility.

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Advanced Practices in Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment Across the Lifespan - Live Webinar
2025-12-15 05:00 - 13:00
In a world where 1 in 36 school-age children in the U.S. is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and many adults are being diagnosed for the first time, understanding this multifaceted condition is not just crucial – it’s transformative.
But how do we move beyond outdated diagnostic processes and perceptions of treatment?
Join Celine Saulnier, PhD, a leading clinical psychologist, researcher, and author of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition, for a groundbreaking training that demystifies the autism spectrum. This isn’t just about diagnosis; it’s about embracing the full spectrum of human potential.
In this training, you’ll discover how to:

Confidently utilize gold-standard diagnostic measures with clients of all ages, ensuring accurate and respectful assessments.
Identify and understand the intricate influences of age, language, cognition, gender, and cultural backgrounds on ASD to provide tailored support.
Address co-occurring conditions that often complicate the diagnostic process, ensuring clarity and compassion in care.
Select meaningful, evidence-based interventions that empower individuals with autism, rejecting punitive approaches in favor of fostering genuine growth and self-advocacy.

This training emphasizes compassionate, effective care, rooted in evidence-based strategies
You’ll leave with a toolkit that not only enhances your clinical practice but also supports individuals in the autism spectrum in a way that acknowledges and celebrates their unique strengths.
Register today!

Current Concepts in Rehabilitation: Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes - Live Webinar
2025-12-15 17:00 - 19:00
Course Description
Overuse injuries have become more prevalent in youth athletes who participate in field and endurance sports. Early intervention by the healthcare provider may prevent such injuries from occurring and/or progressing. This presentation will discuss the latest evidence on overuse injuries including prevention, injury recognition, and management.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

Recall common overuse injuries, causative factors, and physiological effects.
Recognize the clinical characteristics of common upper and lower body overuse injuries.
Recognize the latest research evidence on overuse injury prevention strategies for young athletes.
Recall the role of the healthcare professional and their scope of practice for prevention and identification of overuse injuries in young athletes.

"Break Through" Self-Regulation Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism, ADHD, Sensory or Emotional Challenges - Live Webinar
2025-12-17 06:00 - 14:00
Message from Your Presenter …
No one ever said that working with children with autism, ADHD or sensory disorders is easy. Theo will only eat white foods, tends to be buried in his own world and melts when he is transitioned too quickly. Steven, in 6th grade, has ADHD, poor organization skills and an attitude that is hard to break through. But, how do we help a child break through the self-regulation issues that limit their achievements?
I discovered this was a simple question with a complex answer. I set out to learn as much as I could about theories, techniques, and research that could help make the lives of these young people much more manageable and promising. I took intensive courses on multi-sensory approaches, sensory integration, self-regulation, yoga, autism, ADHD and became a certified autism specialist in 2018. I have extensive experience adapting these techniques to make them usable in a variety of settings while working closely with teachers, aides, child study professionals, and parents.
Join me as I guide you through a broad set of self-regulation interventions culled from my years of research and practice along with strategies for adapting them to your setting. You will leave my program with the essential skills, interventions and strategies to help children find harmony with themselves, their families, and the world around them!
You will learn:

The most effective calming, sensory, motor or behavioral techniques for a given type of behavior
Peer-to-peer video feedback as a social intervention for children and teens with ASD
Sleep interventions for children with erratic sleep schedules
Interventions for repetitive and restrictive behaviors for a child with stereotypy
Organization strategies for home and school for teenagers with ADHD
And more!

I look forward to seeing you there! Register today!

Children with Challenging Behaviors - Live Webinar
2025-12-17 16:00 - 18:00
Did you know that up to 10-15% of children exhibit significant behavioral challenges that impact their ability to succeed in educational and social environments? These behaviors, often stemming from emotional, developmental, or sensory needs, can be difficult to manage without the right tools. However, research shows that positive relationships, structured environments, and skill-building interventions can reduce these behaviors by up to 80%, leading to healthier, more adaptive outcomes for children. This course is designed to equip therapists with the knowledge and skills needed to address and transform challenging behaviors in children. Participants will explore the critical role that building connections, creating safe environments, and teaching new skills play in fostering positive behavioral change.
The content of this program is germane to children, students and clients ages birth-21 years old.
Highlights

Practical, easy-to-use tools for designing safe, structured environments where children feel secure
Effective strategies to foster meaningful connections with children who exhibit challenging behaviors
