ROOM
300
FEATURED SPEAKER ROOM
Dianne Craft
Dianne Craft is a former
homeschool mom who has a Master's degree in Elementary and Special Education. She has 25 years experience teaching bright,
hardworking children who have to work too hard to learn. She teaches parents across the country how to help their child learn
faster and easier, using therapies and strategies that are very effective while being very inexpensive. Dianne is passionate
about training parents to make learning easier for their homeschooled children. Her workshops are very informative and often
entertaining. She is a Certified Natural Health Professional specializing in natural treatments for children with attention,
learning, and behavioral issues.
Dianne's long-time passion is discovering the reason why children struggle with learning
and behavior. She began her quest for the latest brain research concerning learning disabilities and their causes, with the
belief that God has many solutions available that were previously little or unknown to both parents and teachers alike. She
is a also a Certified Natural Health Professional specializing in natural treatments for children with attention, learning,
and behavioral issues. Dianne has traveled extensively to glean these bits of knowledge and began applying new techniques
to struggling learners.
She created and began teaching the workshop "Brain Integration Therapy" in 1988 and
has taught it to children, educators, psychologists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists. In 1993 Dianne began
teaching these life-changing concepts directly to parents so that they could also work with their children.
During the
process of studying the brain and children's learning, Dianne created two more popular workshops: "Teaching Strategies
for the Right Brain Child" and "The Biology of Learning (Behavior)." She has also taught these classes throughout
the five-state region around Colorado.
Her goal is to show teachers and parents how to easily teach children with the
latest brain research to create successful students with greater retention of material. Dianne also teaches parents how to
help their struggling learner at home through the use of nutritional interventions.
She lives in Centennial, Colorado
with her CPA husband, Ron, and runs the private consultation practice, Child Diagnostics, Inc. She is also currently serving
as a Learning Specialist / Special Needs coordinator for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).
Website:
www.diannecraft.com
Seminars (all in room 300):
Friday, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Identifying and Correcting
Blocked Learning Gates
Friday, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Smart Kids Who Hate to Write
Friday, 3:30-4:30
p.m. Teaching the Right Brained Child, part 1
Saturday, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Teaching the Right Brained Child,
part 2
Saturday, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Biology of Behavior and Learning, part 1
Saturday, 3:30-:4:30
Biology of Behavior and Learning, part 2
Dr. Matthew E.
Worth, DC, DACNB
Dr. Matthew E. Worth is a nationally recognized Chiropractic Neurologist who has successfully
treated thousands of patients with a variety of conditions ranging from complex neurological disorders to difficulties with
reading, math, and processing skills. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Worth completed his undergraduate education at
St. Louis University and Logan University. While a student at Logan, he served as a teaching assistant in the Gross Anatomy
Division of the Clinical Science Department for 3-years, writing examinations and course development. In 1996, he obtained
his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, MO, where he received recognition and
numerous awards for Clinical Excellence. Dr. Worth is a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board, Diplomate
of the American Academy of Pain Management, and a Fellow of the American College of Functional Neurology.
Upon completion
of graduate school, Dr. Worth established West County Physical Medicine, LLC, practicing full-time, while concurrently serving
as a faculty member of Logan College of Chiropractic in both the Chiropractic Science & Clinical Science Departments for
five years. During this time Dr. Worth completed a four-year postdoctoral training in neurology and successfully passed board
certifying examinations leading to the certification of Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board. Additionally,
he has completed over 2500+ hours of training in Clinical Neurology and case study.
Dr. Worth is currently the director
of Neurology Consultants/Midwest and a full-time clinician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders
to include neurobehavioral and learning disorders, movements disorders, pain syndromes, neuropathies and vestibular disorders.
Additionally, he serves as a consultant to both the medical and chiropractic professions regarding the evaluation & management
of complex and/or difficult cases and is a court appointed expert within the legal community. Dr. Worth also serves as an
Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, teaching the principles and applications of the ever emerging field of Clinical
& Functional Neurology to doctors throughout North America and Europe.
Today Dr. Worth resides in St. Louis, Missouri
with his wife Jackie and their two children, Lydia and Jonah.
Seminars:
Friday, 12:30 - 1:30,
Room 300: Neurology of Learning Disabilities - Why Does My Child Struggle With Learning?
Saturday, 12:30 -
1:30, Room 300: Addressing ADD/ADHD
Exhibitor Workshop:
Saturday, 2:00 - 3:00, Room 314 (Exhibitor Workshop):
Brain Based Therapies
ROOMS 312 and 310
Speakers listed in alphabetical order
Marlene J. Barron, OTR/L
Marlene Barron has been an occupational therapist serving children to young adults for 20 years. She is employed
by Promise Christian Academy, a private Christian school for children with special needs. Her area of expertise is sensory
processing and how it affects a child's ability to learn at home, school, church and in the community. Using sensory processing
theory, she treats students in a team approach that incorporates speech language/social skills and special education. She
has a B.S. in Speech Language Pathology from Kansas State University and a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from University of
Kansas Medical Center. She is certified in beginning and advanced therapeutic listening courses.
She is married and
has identical twin daughters (11 years of age) , Abbi and Graci. They were adopted from China through Children's Hope International.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, being a Girl Scout Leader and Sunday School teacher. She and her family are members
of First Evangelical Free Church here in STL.
Seminar:
Friday, 2:00 - 3:00, Room 312: The Misunderstood
Child - Adopted Kids and Sensory Processing
Katie Renaud Breneman, M.A., BCBA
Katie
is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She received a Master of Arts degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis
from the University of Nevada Reno. Prior to that, Katie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Maryville
University of St. Louis and is a certified teacher (K-6th grade) in the State of Missouri.
Katie has 9 years of experience
in the field of education working across 12 school districts within the St. Louis County Public School System. Seven of those
years Katie spent practicing Applied Behavior Analysis and working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from ages 3
to 13.
Katie currently works as an Area Coordinator and Behavior Analyst for the Applied Behavior Analysis Department
of Special School District of St. Louis County.
Seminars:
Saturday, 2:00 - 3:00,
Room 313: Managing Problem Behaviors in Learning
Saturday, 3:30 - 4:30, Room 313: Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Insight and Support from Katie and Parents
Joan M. Brennan
Joan
M. Brennan is the parent of four sons and an experienced educator. She is currently director of the enrichment program at
St. Simon the Apostle School in St. Louis where she also teaches the gifted/talented students in grades 6-8. In addition,
she is an instructor in the College for Kids Program at St. Louis Community College-Meramec (since 2006).
Mrs. Brennan
is a graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a B.A. (Foreign Languages) and Secondary Education Certification
(Missouri). She has completed numerous post-graduate courses in the areas of gifted education, learning disabilities and differences,
curriculum development, teaching methods, strategies, and techniques.
Mrs. Brennan also designs tools for struggling
readers. She is the inventor of the Reading Focus Card (Patent 7,565,759), an inexpensive and non-invasive tool that supports
differentiated instruction.
As owner/CEO of Brennan Innovators, LLC, Mrs. Brennan provides educational products and
services in the area of special needs and gifted education. All company products are made in the U.S.A.
In addition,
Mrs. Brennan is a member of Illinois Innovators and Inventors, a support and networking group for inventors in Southern Illinois
(President from 2006-2008). She is also a member of S.A.G.E. (St. Louis Association of Gifted Education), G.A.M (Gifted Association
of Missouri), and the International Reading Association-St. Louis Suburban Council.
Joan Brennan and her husband, Robert
A. Brennan, Jr., M.D., have been happily married for 32 years and reside in St. Louis County.
Website:
www.ReadingFocusCard.com
Seminars:
Friday, 10:00 - 11:00 am, Room 312: Strategies
and Tools for Your Special Needs Child.
Saturday, 10:00 - 11:00 am, Room 312: Gifted Education on a Shoestring
Rene Hayes
Rene Hayes is the mother of two homeschoolers, one typically
developing, the other autistic. Though never formally diagnosed as a child as being on the autism spectrum, Rene has shared
many of the traits and struggles of her autistic son. For the last eleven years, Rene has been homeschooling her children
and working with her autistic son. In searching for help for their son, the Hayes family has worked with special school district,
used special school district's after-school program, employed private therapy and in-home therapy, participated in Washington
University's autism study, attended conferences throughout the country seeking treatments, and effectively pursued homeschooling
as a combination of therapy and academics for their son. Rene firmly believes that finding effective ways to work with your
children, organizing their environment to meet their sensory needs, and patiently working with them one-on-one produces the
greatest effect in their lives. Autism is a diagnosis that encompasses a huge spectrum and includes issues such as ADD, ADHD,
OCD, dyslexia, sensory disorders, tantruming, motor planning disorders including apraxia/dyspraxia, developmental delays,
language delays, sleep disorders, and many other issues.
Seminars:
Friday, 2:00
- 3:00 pm, Room 313: "You Can Successfully Homeschool Your Special Needs Child" Part I - How to Get Started
Friday, 3:30 - 4:;30 pm. Room 313: "You Can Successfully Homeschool Your Special Needs Child" Part II - Maximizing
Your Homeschooling:
Lauri Robins
Lauri Robins founded Bright Kids World as a result of her passion for helping gifted children. Born and raised in
South Dakota, she graduated from Iowa State University in 1981. Lauri was a systems programmer and manager at IBM before meeting
her husband, Tom. She sees life as a journey, and was ready to move from a career filled with adventure, to the unknown road
that comes from building a family. Lauri was happy to be at home with her two children while pursuing an MBA part-time in
the evenings.
As a parent, Lauri encountered bumpy fun along the road, and felt there had to be a better way to raise
gifted kids than learning through trial and error. She started Bright Kids World as a home business in an effort to help other
families with gifted kids. Lauri's passion is to "make a difference". She is committed to help families understand
they are not alone, to help parents better understand gifted learners, and to provide information and tools needed to meet
the diverse needs of gifted children.
Website:
www.BrightKidsWorld.com
Seminar:
Friday, 10:00 - 11:00 am, Room 313: Using Thinking Skills and Games
in Gifted Education
Carrie Salyer, OTR/L
Carrie Salyer
is an occupational therapist and co-owner of Leaps and Bounds. Leaps and Bounds is a pediatric therapy center in St. Peters,
MO specializing in the treatment of children who have sensory processing concerns. Carrie received her Master of Science in
Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. Throughout her career, Carrie has had the opportunity to provide
services to children ranging in ages from 0-18. She provided therapy services in the school, home and community settings for
8 years before opening Leaps and Bounds in 2005. Carrie has presented on multiple topics at the collegiate level to both undergraduate
and graduate students in occupational therapy. Carrie also enjoys providing seminars to parents, teachers, and therapists
of all disciplines. She lectures nationally to provide continuing education to other therapists.
In her practice, Carrie
utilizes a sensory integrative treatment approach to assess and treat children of all ages and abilities. Children who receive
treatment at Leaps and Bounds, Inc. demonstrate difficulties in some of the following areas: handwriting, motor coordination,
feeding, social skills, behavior and attention skills. Carrie has extensive training in treating children with sensory processing
disorder. She has had the fortune of completing advanced training with world-renowned therapists at both Camp Avanti in Wisconsin
and the STAR center in Colorado.
Additionally, Carrie has advanced training in handwriting, visual-vestibular treatment,
and oral motor skill development. She is also trained to provide craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, Therapeutic Listening,
The Listening Program, and Interactive Metronome.
Website:
www.leapsandboundskids.com
Seminars:
Saturday, April 10, 10:00 - 11:00 am, Room 313: Sensory Make and Take
Saturday, April 10, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Room 313: Music and Learning - How Music Enhances Your Child's Learning Environment
Vicky Servi
Vicky Servi is a devoted home
school mother of three, including a gifted child, a child with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, and a child with Asperger's Syndrome
(twice-exceptional - gifted and special needs). Vicky has home schooled her children for the past 14 years. In her spare time,
Vicky tutors math and science for children of all ages and abilities and teaches enrichment classes for home school families.
Vicky was a Gifted/AP student in high school and college, graduating at the top of her high school class and graduating
with honors in college. Vicky graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering.
Her research, dissertation, and thesis were on Robust Autoregressive Spectral Analysis. After a ten-year career as an Electrical
Design Engineer, Vicky became a stay-at-home mom when her second child was born.
About 10 years ago, Vicky became a
certified educational consultant. Vicky has continued her education quest through classes, seminars, and training in sensory
integration, neurological development, brain integration therapy, sound therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition therapy,
dyslexia tutoring, and right-brain learning techniques.
As an educational consultant, Vicky assists home school families
with curriculum planning and targeted skills development. Vicky also works with public and private school teachers and families
of gifted and special needs children to create test preparation plans and enhance cognitive development. In addition, Vicky
is an advocate for parents and their children with learning challenges for IEPs and ARPs in the school system.
For the
past five years, Vicky has presented educational workshops to parents, teachers, tutors, schools, preschools, and learning
centers. The workshops focus on critical thinking, reasoning, and cognitive development. These workshops are beneficial for
parents and teachers of home school students, gifted students, special needs students, and children of all ages and abilities.
A few years ago, Vicky and her children opened an online educational resource store (www.BrainBuildingFun.com). Their
small family business offers fun, educational books, software, toys, puzzles, and games with a focus on Cognitive Development
and Higher Level Thinking. Vicky loves children. Her goal is to help children of all abilities reach their full potential
and learn effectively at a higher level while having fun and glorifying God. Brain Building Fun - Learning made fun for all
ages and abilities!
Website:
www.BrainBuildingFun.com
Seminars:
Friday, 10:00 - 11:00 am, Room 313: Challenge Gifted Children to Full
Potential
Saturday, 3:30 - 4:30 pm, Room 312: Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together
Jennifer Soerries
Jennifer has been married to Scott for 21 years, and their greatest
love is Jesus, and building His kingdom. They are homeschooling parents of three children, two of whom are adopted. She and
Scott are board members of West County Christian Home Educators (WCCHE). Jennifer is a published writer, and has been a speaker
for many years, at venues including conferences, and churches. She is known for combining inspiration with humor, to encourage
others to draw closer to God, persevere in Him, and get His perspective on their situation. Jennifer hopes to write the book
"Please Don't Juggle the Kiwi Fruit and Other Tales of Parenthood" someday! She has an M.A. in Theology from Covenant
Theological Seminary. Jennifer also has an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology, and has worked with a wide range of language
and learning disabled children. In educating and parenting her own learning-disabled child, God has graciously given His heart,
wisdom and encouragement to her in her own places of struggle. She understands and loves to encourage other parents in the
spiritual, emotional and practical issues of raising and educating a child with special needs. God is good, and each child
that He entrusts us with is "fearfully and wonderfully made!
Seminar:
Saturday,
2:00 - 3:00 pm, Room 312: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made - Encouragement for Parents with Struggling Learners and Special
Needs Children
Jackie Worth, MEd SpEd
Jackie Worth is a reading
specialist with a Masters degree in Education. Her undergraduate degree is in the area of special education with a focus on
students with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. Jackie served as a special education teacher for 2 years at The
Miriam School. Then, she worked for another 8 years teaching fourth and fifth graders in the Affton School District. During
that time, Jackie utilized the Scholastic Read 180 program within her classroom, which focuses on assisting struggling readers.
She then tracked their progress through frequent observation and through individualized testing.
Jackie and her husband,
Matt, have a 3 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. Jackie plans on homeschooling her children.
Seminar:
Friday,
3:30 - 4:30 pm, Room 312: Educational Testing: The Tests , What They Test, and Does My Child Need Testing?
Patty Yager
Patty Yager has home schooled
for fifteen years. She has 6 children - five of whom were adopted. In 1997 the Lord led her and her husband, Steve, to work
for a foundation that brought orphans together with their forever families. Patty has traveled extensively to orphanages in
third world countries. While there her experiences have included training the childcare workers, observing the children, writing
developmental reports on the orphans, streamlining the systems so as to provide the best care with few resources, and photographing
children available for adoption. Patty has worked with numerous international foundations to start orphanages from the ground
up. She was responsible for finding the buildings, designing the spaces, hiring personnel, purchasing furniture, writing policies
and procedures, training nannies, and observations of the children. Patty currently has a ministry of helping home schoolers
get through their day - particularly those with special challenges. In addition, Patty was instrumental in beginning and organizing
the special needs area of the Greater St. Louis Area Home Educators Expo from 2006 - 2008.
Seminar:
Friday, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Room 312: The Adopted Child - Barriers to Learning
