Social Skills Intervention Group

It’s not too late (yet!) to inquire about participating in a social skills intervention group through our Assessment and Counseling Clinic.

Eligible students will be in grades 7 through 9 and demonstrate high cognitive and/or academic ability as well as social skills challenges (either due to Autism Spectrum Disorder or another diagnosis). Students will join 12 weekly hour-long virtual group sessions beginning in February through April of 2022.

Contact Amanda Berns, PhD at bbc-clinic@uiowa.edu for more information and to express interest in participating.

Social Skills Intervention Group for 2e Students

Twice-exceptional (2e) students experience co-occurring high ability and disability that can make it difficult to access appropriate services for both their strengths and their challenges. The Belin-Blank Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic is excited to introduce several new programming options for twice-exceptional students in 2022. This post is the second in a series detailing these opportunities. Be sure to check out the other posts in the series:

• New Academy for Twice-Exceptionality
• Free Day Camp for 2e Students

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The Belin-Blank Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic is pleased to invite students grades 7 through 9 who demonstrate high cognitive/academic ability and social skills challenges (either due to Autism Spectrum Disorder or another diagnosis) to inquire about participation in a social skills intervention group, based on the UCLA PEERS Curriculum.  

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

The UCLA PEERS Curriculum is an empirically supported curriculum that has been shown to increase social knowledge and social engagement for adolescents with ASD through group social skills instruction and parent support. Students will learn skills to support appropriate social interactions, such as building conversations with others, entering or exiting conversations, and using humor, as well as learn ways to manage teasing or bullying. Parents will support students to complete weekly assignments, such as helping students identify a social group to join, encouraging their participation in the group, and practicing newly learned social skills. 

Participation will involve 12 weekly group sessions conducted virtually, each 60 minutes in length, beginning in February through April of 2022. Parent support is required for participation. While the services are provided virtually, all clients must reside in the state of Iowa to participate in the intervention, due to Iowa licensure laws. Questions about the social skills group should be directed to Amanda Berns, Ph.D., at bbc-clinic@uiowa.edu . Please send inquiries by January 24^th to be considered for participation.

Let’s Talk 2e Virtual Conference for Educators

Please join us at the Let’s Talk 2e virtual conference for Educators launching January 25, 2021 and then remaining EVERGREEN allowing you forever-access. To register click here.

The conference brings together expert speakers addressing topics for teachers to utilize in their virtual, hybrid and in-person classrooms within four strands:

• Understanding 2e
• Classroom Strategies
• Cultural Diversity
• Clinical Considerations

Our own Drs. Megan Foley-Nicpon, Alissa Doobay, and Katie Schabilion will be among the presenters!

If you’re a parent – this conference is an excellent teacher gift!

Along with 25 presentations attendees will enjoy:

• Free Gifts from every speaker
• A Companion Conference Planner
• A Full Exhibitor Hall (with opportunities for prizes)
• Community Building and Live Events in our Facebook “Teachers’ Lounge”
• The Opportunity to earn Credit and Contact Hours from various states, schools and associations

We hope you’ll join us! https://www.withunderstandingcomescalm.com/~access/a1c1076f/

Let’s Talk 2e! Virtual Conference for Parents

Have you heard about Let’s Talk 2e! virtual conference? Launching for FREE on August 19-21, this conference (formerly known as “2 Days of 2e”) is for parents of twice exceptional children to learn about:

• Managing Transitions
• Spiritual giftedness
• Strategies to address and relieve stress
• Homeschooling
• Alternative educational placements
• Education Strategies
• Identifying learning styles
• Emotional Regulation
• Communication
• Culturally diverse learners
• Strategies to address trauma
• Bullying
• Neurodiversity
• Giftedness and Autism
• Connecting personality and learning styles
• Technology tips for your 2e learner
• Launching your 2e child

Gain free access for 24 hours and then the option to purchase an ALL ACCESS PASS, which includes speaker gifts for you, audio files, and a live Q/A session with speakers!

Don’t miss our own Drs. Alissa Doobay, Megan Foley-Nipon, and Katie Schabilion’s session, “Twice Exceptionality: The Intersection of Giftedness and Autism” on August 20. And check out the rest of the incredible line-up below.

We hope you’ll join us! Register here.

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New Network for Parents of Twice-Exceptional Students

A new group has been organized in the I-380 corridor to provide an informational support network to parents and educators of twice-exceptional (2e) learners.

Understood.org has partnered with Amanda Freese to offer monthly meetings that provide information about strength-based advocacy for 2e individuals as well as resources and services related to enrichment academic opportunities and learning and attention challenges.

The group meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Odd monthly meetings are held in North Liberty and even monthly meetings are held in Cedar Rapids. The April meeting, “Building a 504/IEP Success Binder Workshop,” is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at Grant Wood AEA.

In addition to the monthly meetings, a Facebook group has been established to help parents and educators connect and collaborate. To join the Facebook group, please visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/487101151673454/.

Further questions can be directed to Amanda Freese at Amanda_Freese@hotmail.com.

Social Skills Intervention Group for High Ability Students

The Belin-Blank Center Assessment and Counseling Clinic is pleased to invite students with social skills challenges (either due to ASD or another diagnosis) to apply for participation in a social skills intervention group. Students should be in grades 6 through 8 and demonstrate high ability and/or achievement on the Iowa Assessments, Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), or other individually-administered assessment measures (e.g., Wechsler scales). Recruitment for the group will take place from February 16, 2015 through February 27, 2015. Group sessions will be conducted on Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 beginning in March 2015. There will be approximately 8 group sessions, and parents will be asked to participate in a one-time interview about their child’s experience at the conclusion of the intervention. Parents, students, and the students’ teacher will also be asked to complete rating scales regarding the student’s psychosocial functioning.

The social skills group will be part of a research study examining the effectiveness of particular interventions with high ability students that have been developed by experts in the field of ASD. There will be no charge for this service. Interested families are encouraged to contact Nancy Whetstine, the clinic secretary, at 319-335-6148/800-336-6463 or nancy-whetstine@uiowa.edu. Applicants will be screened for inclusion in the group, and the intervention implemented will be tailored to the specific needs of the group based on information obtained during the recruitment process. We look forward to hearing from you!

Teens with ASD Invited to Participate

High ability teens with an ASD between the ages of 15 and 17 years old are invited to participate in a research study to investigate friendships and feelings of loneliness. Participation involves interviews with the teen, a parent, and a teacher or other school personnel and completing questionnaires. IQ testing may be involved to determine eligibility. The study will take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours of your time. No compensation available. Contact Amanda Berns: (319)448-0236, amanda-berns@uiowa.edu for more information.

How Do You Predict Achievement in Twice-Exceptional Students?

The Belin-Blank Center’s Susan G. Assouline, Megan Foley Nicpon, and Lori Dockery recently published an article in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. In the article, “Predicting the Academic Achievement of Gifted Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” the authors report promising results for the WISC-IV Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices and the WISC Perceptual Reasoning Index as predictive of achievement for twice-exceptional students.