Advanced Practitioners' Lectures
for Educators & Child Mental Health Professionals

September - December 2008

Ann Martin Center sponsors lectures on contemporary research, theory, and technique relevant to educators and child mental health professionals.  Speakers reflect diverse expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of learning, emotional, behavioral, developmental, and school-related problems.  The series is offered as a free service to the professional community and all presenters have graciously donated their time.

Location: Ann Martin Center, 1250 Grand Ave. (between Wildwood and Fairview Avenue)

Registration: To reserve a space, within a two week period before lecture, call (510) 655-3999, ext. 333.  Leave your name, phone number, and date of presentation you wish to attend.  Your place is confirmed unlessour message greeting says the lecture is full.

Web Updates: Visit us at www.annmartin.org for lecture updates and information about our services.

Wired for Chaos: Executive Functioning in Middle and High School Age
Students and Strategies for Fostering Academic Success
Beth Samuelson, MA
When: September 19, 2008 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
We all know teenagers who struggle with one or more of the following challenges: turning in assignments on time, taking notes, preparing for tests, planning and executing multi-step projects and organizing their backpacks and materials. Often conceptually bright students are without a toolbox of skills to manage their paperwork. Parents often struggle with how to help students of this age with essential study strategies at the very time when they need them most and are least likely to be able to accept help, especially from parents! Professionals who work with adolescents and the parents who raise them need to better understand executive functioning in teenagers and why school can be so difficult for some teens in particular to manage. This workshop will debunk myths and assumptions about this age group and provide an overview of what teens need for support to navigate school successfully.
Beth Samuelson, M.A. is the founder and director of Student Organizational Services, a coaching and advocacy group in Walnut Creek and San Mateo that provides one to one study strategies coaching for teenagers, consultations for parents and workshops for teens, parents and teachers. Beth received her Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Education and went on teach middle school and high school students, many of whom struggled because of an absence of core study strategies. SOS was founded in 1996 and is one of the sole groups specializing in addressing the academic needs of those with executive functioning challenges. For more information contact SOS at 510-531-4767 or visit the website at www.sos4students.com

The Stork Didn’t Bring Me, I Came from a Dish
Presenter: Diane Ehrensaft, PhD
When: October 3, 2008 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
This presentation focuses on the family dynamics as well as the developmental and psychodynamic experiences of children whose parents conceived them through science rather than sex and included an outside party, either a sperm donor, egg donor, surrogate, or gestational carrier in their children’s conception.  There will be no monolithic and uniform experience for all of these families, but, drawing on clinical and research experience in the field of family building using assisted reproductive technology and material from her book, Mommies, Daddies, Donors, Surrogates, Dr. Ehrensaft will discuss the psychic challenges for the parents, the unique developmental tasks for the child, and the complexity of interpersonal family dynamics in families created with the help of an outside party - be it sperm donor, egg donor, surrogate, or gestational carrier.
Diane Ehrensaft, PhD is a developmental and clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay area.  Dr. Ehrensaft is a founding member of the Reproductive Technology Research Group at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California and specializes in clinical work with both adults and children in families that have used assisted reproductive technology to build their families.  She has lectured and published nationally and internationally on the subjects of gender, women’s development, assisted reproductive technology, parenting, and child development and is a member of the mental health professional group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.  She is the author of the book Mommies, Daddies, Donors, Surrogates (Guilford Press, 2005) and “Fatherhood Fantasies in Donor Insemination Families” (Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 2000).  Dr. Ehrensaft also wrote Spoiling Childhood: How Well-Meaning Parents Are Giving Children Too Much But Not What They Need (Guilford, 1997).  She has a private practice in Oakland, California.

The Status of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder in 2008
Presenter: Dimitra Loomos, MS, CCC-A, FAAA
When: October 17, 2008 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
For the past 50+ years, behavioral tests and electrophysiologic procedures have been developed that enable diagnosis of (central) auditory processing disorder, as documented in patients with confirmed lesions of the central auditory nervous system. Using these same behavioral tests and electrophysiologic procedures researchers have demonstrated specific auditory training approaches to change the central auditory nervous system, auditory behaviors, and in some cases more global language, communication, learning and reading function. This presentation will review the above information.
Dimitra Loomos, MS, CCC-A, FAAA, is a licensed audiologist with over twenty-five years experience. She practices in Castro Valley. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Cognitive Development at UC Berkeley. She earned her Master of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences with an emphasis in Audiology at the University of Arizona at Tucson. She is currently working toward the Clinical Doctorate in Audiology at the George S. Osborne School of Audiology at Salus University (formerly PCO School of Audiology).

The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual:  A Vital Alternative to the DSM IV
Presenter: Robert Wallerstein, MD
When: November 7, 2008 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM) is a diagnostic framework that attempts to characterize the whole person--the depth as well as the surface of emotional, cognitive, and social functioning. Dr. Wallerstein was intimately involved in the development of the PDM and his presentation will review the history and concept behind the manual that responds to deficiencies in the DSM IV.
Robert S. Wallerstein is Emeritus Professor and Former Chairman Dept. of Psychiatry, U.C. San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Wallerstein is Associate Chair of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual Task Force.

Building Alliances with Support Providers of Students in Public Schools
Presenter: Brooke Zimmerman
When: December 5, 2008 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
This presentation will examine the promise and pitfalls of collaboration between public school employees (teachers, resource specialists, counselors and administration) with support providers in the community (therapists, tutors, and learning specialists). We will look at how to build alliances and trust in order to best serve the needs of students. The path of collaboration can be challenging at times but ultimately a cooperative and broad safety net will increase the chances of ensuring student success.
Brooke Zimmerman is Director of Student Services for the Piedmont Unified School District and former Assistant Principal at Piedmont Middle School where she previously served as school counselor since 1992. Her administrative achievements are substantial and include implementing peer counseling programs, parent-to-parent support groups, and student conflict resolution programs. Ms. Zimmerman received Ann Martin Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

Lecture ideas? Email your requests or suggestions for speakers & topics: davidtheis@annmartin.org