Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - Preconference-Sessions

9:00 am - 4:00 pm PC1 - Resilience: What’s new? Now what can we do?       Lori Nichols, RN, MS, Senior Health Services Resource Nurse, Children's Aid Society of Toronto Darlene Kordich Hall, RN, PhD. Coordinator and Co-Principal Investigator, Reaching IN…Reaching OUT This pre-conference workshop highlighted current theory and research about resilience and what this means for practitioners. Examples of current initiatives and programs were presented as well as strategies that participants can use to promote resilience in children around them. The first part of this full-day workshop presented current knowledge about resilience by exposing myths and misinformation, exploring pathways to resilience, and highlighting evidence-based programs that support resilience in young children and the adults around them. In the second half, strategies and resources that practitioners can use to promote resilience in their own work with children and families were shared through video clips, discussion, and activities.

8:30 am - 4:30 pm PC2 - Healthy Babies Healthy Children: Reserve your day! It's for you!    The pre-conference on Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) offered practical suggestions for Public Health Nurses in key areas of their work. Registrants took part in all four presentations listed below. 1 – Dealing with Mental Health Issues Reading Hearts and Minds: Assessing and Intervening to Support Parental Reflectivity, Sensitivity, and Positive Attributions Dr. Yvonne Bohr, C.Psych., LaMarsh Research Centre, Faculty of Health, York University In this workshop Dr. Bohr presented an overview of a parent-child interactional assessment tool that was developed in collaboration with a team of community clinicians. Based on an examination of parental reflectivity, sensitivity, and cognitions, this tool doubles as an initial intervention for parent-infant dyads, especially in situations of high parental stress and risk for maltreatment. Following a brief theoretical overview, participants were exposed to video based case material to illustrate the assessment model. They then had an opportunity to practice their observational skills, and learn to apply several basic features of the learned model to a case study. 2 – Vicarious Trauma (Secondary Traumatic Stress) Greg Lubimiv, Executive Director, Phoenix Centre for Children and Families Presentation in PDF Vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue results from witnessing or responding to the pain and suffering of people who we come into contact with.  As a result our ability to help becomes compromised and the helper is in danger of mirroring the experiences and feelings of their client(s) or being filled with negative feelings/thoughts. This workshop presentation helped participants to: better understand what vicarious trauma is, understand the risk factors, and be able to identify signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma. As well, participants were provided a range of strategies, activities, and exercises to be able to minimize and/or manage vicarious trauma. Information on preventive measures organizations and managers can take was also provided. The following information was covered: What is vicarious trauma? What are the risk factors? What are the warning signs and symptoms? What are the preventive measures? What are the strategies if you or a colleague suffer from vicarious trauma? What can organizations do? Resources and references 3 – Seeing What Children See Building Curriculum from Children’s Play: A Democratic Pedagogy Martin Liberio, Facilitator, Martin Liberio Workshops While children engage in self-initiated play, educators don’t always recognize the learning possibilities unfolding or know how to facilitate play for deeper learning. When educators work with curious and questioning minds and see themselves not as disciplinarians or mere transmitters of information but as researchers learning alongside children, then new knowledge is always under construction. This workshop demonstrated how to use play as a viable source for creating child-centered curriculum. Participants learned how to use the educational intervention process to plan curriculum with focus on children’s inherent competencies, ideas, and questions, and thus, foster each child’s expression of his or her unique developmental journey. Discovering an innovative way to being with the children, this inspiring and practical workshop helped participants become skilled at seeing the children in their care, and learn to see what they see. 4 – Helping Parents Deal with Difficult Child Behaviours Meeting the Challenge: Effective Strategies for Guiding Challenging Behaviours During the Early Years Robin McMillan, Senior Consultant, Canadian Child Care Federation Presentation in PDF This session was designed to guide parents, early childhood practitioners and others who work with young children as they explore the causes and prevention of children’s challenging behaviours and develop appropriate responses to them. The goal of the session was to address the why and wherefore of challenging behaviours and outline some strategies that can be applied to deal with them. Questions that were raised/discussed: What is challenging behaviour? What is the difference between challenging behaviour vs. age appropriate behaviour? What causes challenging behaviour? Biological risk factors vs. environmental risk factors How can I change my approach when dealing with challenging behaviours? How can I build my confidence in dealing with challenging behaviours?