I will have the honor of presenting at the 2020 Complex Learners Conference sponsored by the Wolf School on March 7, 2020 (215 Ferris Avenue, East Providence, RI). The conference title, Growing Up With Technology: Navigating the Digital Landscape at School and at Home, speaks to one of the most pressing concerns of parents and childcare professionals in 2020: what we should do about our kids’ engagement with technology? The Wolf School is a K-8 educational environment for children who are complex learners with multiple learning differences, many of whom love their tech. The conference is directed at parents of children who experience learning, attention, or social-emotional difficulties and to professionals wanting to learn more about the impact of technology on complex learners. Speakers will address how technology influences child development and education and discuss how technology can help kids with learning and attention differences.
Dr. Jennifer Jencks, Director of the Access Center at Bradley Hospital and Assistant Director of Lifespan Pediatric Behavioral Health Emergency Services, will present The Complicated Relationship Between Anxiety and Technology. Her research interests include anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, youth suicide prevention, and cognitive-behavioral therapies. Dr. Jill Walsh, author of Adolescents and Their Social Media Narratives: A Digital Coming of Age (Routledge Studies in Science, Technology, and Society Book 35) will present Coming-of-age Online: The Power of Social Media on Identity and Image for Tween’s and Teens. Dr. Walsh is a Social Media and Education Consultant and Lecturer in Sociology at Boston University.
I will give two presentations: Screen Time for Kids and Preteens: Learning and Limits and The Power of Video Games and Technology for Complex Learners at Home and School. After our presentations, we will have a speaker panel to answer questions and address issues related to managing the digital world at home and school.
This is a great opportunity for parents, educators, and clinicians who are struggling to figure out what to do about children’s technology use in today’s world. Concerns about children’s screen time are often identified as the most pressing health issue for 21st-century parents, and these presentations will provide you with information and guidance about what to do. Concerns regarding screen time can become amplified with children who are best described as alternative or complex learners. The conference speakers will address these concerns and provide you with specific strategies about how to help.
