2 - 3 Hours

Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, School Counselors, School Psychologists

Mental state verbs (MSVs) — like know, hope, guess, and remember — describe how we think, feel, and process the world. Unlike action verbs, these internal experiences aren’t visible, which makes them easy to overlook — but they’re central to how we communicate, connect, and reflect.

Understanding and using MSVs is tied to key areas of development: narrative growth, social understanding, academic success, and meaningful self-expression. These verbs also give students tools to talk about their own experiences, navigate life’s challenges, and imagine what’s possible in their futures.

In this session, we’ll unpack the concept of MSVs through the lenses of cognition, theory of mind, linguistics, and attachment. We’ll also look at what research tells us about how students with language or social learning differences may experience MSVs differently — and how we can support their development in affirming, individualized ways.

Participants will leave with practical activities to use in therapy, along with ideas to share with teachers and families. We’ll also explore case studies that highlight how MSVs show up across the lifespan — and why they’re worth our attention at every age.

3 Hours

Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, OTs, Classroom Aides, School Counselors

Flexibility is a foundational part of social interaction — whether it’s navigating a group project, shifting plans, or handling a disagreement with a friend. For many students with social learning differences, though, flexibility can be a real challenge. Rigid thinking patterns may impact their participation, emotional regulation, problem-solving, and ability to connect with others.

In this session, we’ll explore what inflexibility can look like — not as a flaw to be "fixed," but as a pattern we can gently support and build upon. We’ll look at student profiles where rigid thinking shows up, and then dive into a variety of practical, engaging strategies to foster flexible thinking.

Through animated videos, games, and structured conversation frameworks, we’ll explore how to present options instead of ultimatums, and use visual continuums to support students who tend toward black-and-white thinking. You'll leave with activities and tools you can use right away — whether you're working 1:1, in small groups, in person, or virtually.

By approaching flexibility bit by bit, we help students move toward greater adaptability — in ways that are meaningful, manageable, and respectful of who they are.

90 minutes - 2 Hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, School Counselors, OTs, Teachers, Parents

Resilience and perseverance are powerful tools — not just for long-term goals, but for navigating the small, everyday challenges that shape how we see ourselves. Many students with social, language, learning, or executive functioning differences — as well as those impacted by anxiety or past negative experiences — may hesitate to take risks, give up easily, or view their efforts through a lens of harsh self-judgment.

In this session, we’ll take a compassionate and practical look at what helps students begin to shift those patterns. Together, we’ll explore:

• The many factors that impact resilience, including emotional regulation, feedback from others, and a student's internal narrative

• Why emotional safety and small wins are crucial when supporting risk-taking

• Specific strategies, visual supports, and in-session activities to help students tolerate discomfort, recognize progress, and build self-trust

• How to design and scaffold experiences that help students stretch without overwhelming them

Participants will leave with a fresh lens for viewing student behavior — one that honors each learner’s starting point — and practical ways to support growth in resilience across a range of ages and settings.

90 min - 2 hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, OTs, Teachers, Support Staff, School Counselors

Students with language and social learning differences often struggle with inference — the skill of figuring out what’s happening when not everything is explicitly stated. Whether in books, videos, or real-life interactions, important pieces of meaning are often left out. And yet, we often rush to fill those gaps for our students, unintentionally robbing them of the chance to think, reflect, and connect the dots for themselves.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how to help students become stronger inferential thinkers by:

• Understanding “jump cuts” — the parts of stories or experiences that are skipped or implied — and how they complicate comprehension

• Introducing the concept of “Double Think,” where students learn to revisit what they saw or heard and make meaning from it using prior knowledge

• Using silence and pacing intentionally, creating space for slower processors and deeper insight

• Incorporating gestures and visual supports to reduce verbal overload and increase conceptual clarity

• Shifting our role from “rescuer” to “mediator,” so students can build independence and confidence in their thinking

We’ll work with a range of materials — storybooks, textbooks, animated videos, and semi-structured conversations — and practice supportive strategies you can use immediately in your sessions and classrooms. Come ready to pause, reflect, and rethink how we support deeper learning.

2, 3, or 6 hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, OTs, School Counselors, School Psychologists, Support Staff, Teachers

When it comes to building social and emotional understanding, videos offer something uniquely powerful: movement. Research tells us that many students with social learning differences benefit from watching social motion — how bodies shift, gestures emerge, and expressions change — to help them understand what others are thinking, feeling, and intending to do.

In this session, we’ll explore how to use short, engaging YouTube animations and full-length films to support core areas of social learning. Carefully chosen media can unlock learning around emotional vocabulary, flexible thinking, perspective-taking, and cooperation — in ways that feel relevant, visual, and memorable.

We’ll focus on three foundational pathways:

• Emotional Understanding – identifying feelings and perspectives, expanding emotion vocabulary beyond “happy, sad, mad,” and building tolerance for uncomfortable emotions

• Cooperation & Collaboration – exploring the role of flexibility and sharing imagination in group work and play

• Resilience & Reflection – using visual supports and discussion frameworks to talk about mistakes, discomfort, and growth

You’ll leave with:

• A curated list of engaging videos and movies

• Practical strategies for structured viewing and discussion

• Activities you can immediately integrate into both individual and group sessions, in-person or online

Whether you're new to using media or looking for new ideas, this session will help you turn the screen into a dynamic and affirming tool for connection, communication, and growth.

90 min - 3 hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs, OTs, School Counselors, Teachers

From the classroom to the lunchroom to the playground, feelings are everywhere at school — and they show up in our sessions, too. For students with social learning and language differences, emotions can be especially complex: they may experience feelings intensely, have a restricted emotional vocabulary, or struggle to interpret the emotions of others, both verbally and nonverbally.

In this session, we’ll explore how clinicians and educators can more confidently and comfortably incorporate emotional learning into their work. Topics include:

• Understanding emotional development and what research tells us about empathy in students with social learning challenges

• Grouping emotions into “feeling families” to support developmentally appropriate learning

• Using visual supports and targeted activities to expand emotional vocabulary and support self-reflection

• Helping students connect feelings to experiences, mood, and the perspectives of others

• Normalizing and working with uncomfortable emotions as part of self-regulation, reading comprehension, and social understanding

• Strengthening inner dialogue, so students begin to speak to themselves with more kindness and insight

Participants will leave with fresh tools and strategies to make emotional learning approachable and effective — for students and for themselves.

2–3 hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs

For many students with social cognitive and language differences, narrative and conversation can be challenging terrain. Whether it’s organizing a story, offering relevant details, or keeping a conversation going, these are skills that often need intentional, scaffolded support.

In this practical, video-rich session, we’ll explore ways to support students — from elementary through high school — as they build the language and confidence to share their thoughts, tell their stories, and connect through conversation.

We'll cover:

• How adults (SLPs, teachers, aides, and parents) can support narrative development across settings

• Strategies for using everyday materials to spark storytelling and authentic discussion

• Six foundational conversational choices — and how to make them visual and memorable

• The often-overlooked power of interjections (like “oh!” or “really?”) to express attention, emotion, and empathy

• Ways to anchor conversations in student interests while fostering reflection, flexibility, and engagement

Throughout, you’ll see real-life examples from therapy sessions and receive visual supports you can use right away. Whether you’re working on narrative structure, conversational turn-taking, or deeper social connections, this session will offer tools to keep the talking going.

2 - 3 hours
Audience: SLPs, SLPAs

Sustaining a real conversation — with all its shifting turns, perspectives, and emotions — is one of the most complex and rewarding social tasks we take on. For students with social learning and language differences, it can also be one of the most difficult. While greetings and farewells are often taught early and explicitly, it’s the unpredictable, often abstract “middle part” that requires deeper support.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how to build students’ confidence and flexibility in spontaneous conversation using structured and semi-structured frameworks. We’ll discuss:

• Core social cognitive skills that underlie real conversation — like perspective taking, emotional insight, and flexible thinking

• How differences in processing speed and formulation affect conversational participation

• The value of visual supports and conversation scaffolds to guide student experimentation and reflection

• Strategies for writing and tracking goals that center student voices and honor individual communication profiles

• A semi-structured conversation practice framework, ideal for individual or group sessions

Throughout, you’ll see video examples from therapy sessions and walk away with ideas to support your students as they grow their skills — not toward “typical” conversation, but toward more empowered, connected, and authentic communication.