CES Sessions
All sessions are offered at no cost.
Child Sexual Abuse ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenters: Souheir Jamil, PhD (she/her) Senior Sexual Violence Educator & Shreya Shah, BA Psychology (she/her) Sexual Violence Educator, CCASA
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
• Understand what Child Sexual Abuse is
• Identify at least 3 facts about Child Sexual Abuse
• Understand Age of Consent
• Gain an understanding of the indicators and impacts of Child Sexual Abuse.
Youth Mental Health Diversion: A different approach to helping youth involved in the criminal justice system ***Please register using the poster only**
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Presented by: Paul Hawthorne RSW, GCM, MBA Student, Program Consultant II, Mental Health & Justice, Provincial Addiction and Mental Health, AHS
This webinar will discuss the following:
• What is the Youth PMHDP?
• What does the Youth PMHDP do?
• Youth PMHDP Eligibility Criteria
• How you can directly refer to the program
• Locations currently offering Youth PMHDP
• Other Youth Mental Health Diversion concepts and Initiatives
• Youth PMHDP Evaluation Results
Your Child's Suicidal Thoughts: What to think and say when your child needs immediate mental health care **Please register using the poster**
Noon - 1:30 PM
Presented by: Fintry Mooken, RSW and Janet Stewart, R. Psych. in Partnership with Eastside Community Mental Health Services
Anyone can experience suicidal thoughts at any age and for many reasons. Parents have a tough job being a consistent supporter for children through every developmental shift, change at school, extra-curricular success, or social failure. When you are extra worried about your child's safety due to thoughts of suicide, you might not know what to think or what to say. In this presentation, hear the facts about suicidal ideation and actions, what you can say directly to your child and other family members, and learn what supports are available to you as caregiver as well as for your child.
Teens in Trouble With the Law: What You Need to Know ***please register using the poster only***
10:30 AM - Noon
This presentation will provide a general overview of the purpose, principles and procedures found in the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and will address a number of common misconceptions about the criminal justice system as it relates to youth between the ages of 12-17. Participants will gain an understanding of the ways in which youth in conflict with the law are treated differently than adults, with particular focus on the areas of diversion from the formal court process, bail, sentencing and youth records.
Talking to Children and Youth about Consent ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenter: Heather Cobb BSc., PGCE (UK) Sexual Health Promotion Facilitator, Alberta Health Services
When we give consent, we give permission; we do it every day when we borrow a pen, consent to release of information and consent to personal touch. Children learn about consent in their homes with everyday interactions such as sharing toys and learning how to set boundaries. As youth grow, they learn about giving and getting consent in relationships. Talking about consent with children and youth can help them have healthy family, friend and dating relationships.
In this session, participants will:
• Define consent
• Learn ways to talk about consent to children and youth
• Learn how consent is the foundation for healthy sexual relationships
Caregiver Self-Care and Co-Regulating with Your Child ***please register using the poster only***
10:00 AM - Noon
Presenters: Tashia Christie, BA Psychology & Kelvin Ganpatt, BA Psychology, Rocky View School Division & MHCB Stepping Stones to Mental Health
The importance of self‐care for caregivers, burnout, compassion fatigue, and helping children to practice selfcare and regulate
emotions.
Parenting ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenter: Riffat Ali (Registered Provisional Psychologist), Ph.D. Psych., MSc. Psych., Child & Youth Counselling Dip., Cert. Bullying & Healthy Youth Relationships, Carya
Join this webinar to learn more about the
following:
• Serve and return interactions between the caregiver and child
• The impact of difficult or adverse experiences on children
• Creating a loving and nurturing bridge with children throughout their development, and finding emotional balance for both
the caregiver and the child within the family unit.
• Navigating discipline from early childhood into teenage years
• Strategies to support behavioral changes in children
• Skills to manage children’s stress and anxiety
• Supporting teen brain growth
Mindfulness: Supporting Your Child’s Social and Emotional Learning ***please register using the poster only***
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenters: Allison Salazar, MA, School Counselling & Stephanie Sands, BSc. Psychology,
Rocky View School Division & MHCB Stepping Stones to Mental Health
Feeling a little blue and not particularly cheery this time of year? You're not alone. In this session you will learn about mindfulness and take away practical tools that will help brighten these cold days. This session will explore the topic of mindfulness and how mindfulness strategies can support your child’s social and emotional well-being. Explore how the brain’s stress responses may impact social and emotional well-being and how to use mindfulness to calm the brain. Using mindfulness can lead to better focus in school, better cooperation with others, improved self-awareness, self-regulation, decrease stress/anxiety, and improve overall well-being.
Caregiver Self-Care and Co-Regulating with Your Child ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenters: Tashia Christie, BA Psychology & Kelvin Ganpatt, BA Psychology, Rocky View School Division & MHCB Stepping Stones to Mental Health
The importance of self‐care for caregivers, burnout, compassion fatigue, and helping children to practice selfcare and regulate
emotions.
Promising Practices for Supporting Individuals with FASD ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenter: Gagan Sandhu B.Sc., Education Facilitator, Calgary Fetal Alcohol Network (CFAN)
Participants will learn:
• What is FASD?
• How can I recognize individuals with FASD in my Practice?
• Alcohol and Pregnancy
• What can I do to support individuals affected by FASD?
Sexual behaviours and school-age children: What you need to know ***please register using the poster only***
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Cailey Hartwick, Ph.D., R.Psych. & Katarina Zunjic, MSW, RSW, Child Abuse Service, Alberta Health Services
This presentation will outline the continuum of sexualized behaviour in children ages 7-11 to help distinguish between developmentally expected and more problematic behaviours. We will also endeavor to explain the motivation/function and strategies to support children who may be exhibiting sexual behaviours.
Executive Functioning: Who’s the Boss?
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presented by: Tanya Keto, in partnership with Foothills Academy Society
Executive Functions (EF) are mental processes that help to connect past experience with present action to guide future behaviour. Individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD may experience increased difficulty in the development and use of these functions compared to their same-aged neurotypical peers. These functions underlie activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space. When students struggle in these areas, it can result in behaviours that are often labeled as “attention-seeking”, “defiant”, “showing off”, “unmotivated” or “lazy”, “emotional overreactions”, and “inflexible”, just to name a few.
School can be tough for kids and teens with EF deficits. When the adults in their world understand the how and why of EF deficits and what they can do to maximize the success of these students, it can significantly impact learning, engagement, and motivation at school. With a focus on cognitive neuroscience research and brain-based strategies that you can use to increase student engagement, motivation, and self-management, we will discuss:
• The Executive Functions and how they work
• Discuss the development of EF
• How EF deficits impact students and classroom dynamics
• How to best support students with EF deficits
Birth Control and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) What do you need to know? ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenter: Christine Sturgeon, B.Ed., Child Development Supervisor (Level III) Education Coordinator, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Alberta Health Services
Are you a trusted adult to a teen but are worried that your knowledge about birth control and STI might be out of date? Youth make healthier sexual choices when they can talk to an adult they trust about these topics. In this session for parents and professionals, build your ability to support youth by learning about:
• Creating a safer space to talk with teens about birth control and STI
• Current birth control methods that are effective for teens, how they work and how teens can get them
• Sexually transmitted infections – what they are, how people get them, how to lower risk and where teens can get testing and treatment
National Child Day 2022 - Stress, Stigma and Safety: Supporting Youth to Experience their Right to Safety ***please register using the poster only***
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Presenter: Agnes Chen, Registered Nurse, Founder of Starlings Community
In celebration of National Child's Day, this session will explore the ways in which we can support youth to experience their right to a safe and healthy life, by learning about how childhood stress can influence a child's perception of safety, how stigma can prevent youth from seeking support, and how we can empower youth to find and seek out their safe people and spaces.
Calgary Youth Justice Society/Calgary Youth Justice Committees Public Information Session ***please register using the poster only***
11:00 AM - Noon
Presented by: Courtney Baily, in partnership with Calgary Youth Justice Society
Do you have knowledge of the Youth Criminal Justice Act or Youth Justice Committees? Join this short and informative session to learn how you as a community member or as an agency can help provide support for not only your community but the youth in it, and how you can offer different resources for young people and the Youth Justice Committee program. You will walk away from this opportunity feeling confident in participating and talking to your own clients or community members about Youth Justice Committees.
Avoiding Power Struggles with Preschoolers ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenter: Laurie Florence, Facilitator, Families Matter
Power struggles are a natural and normal part of a child’s development as they explore their autonomy and independence. Children learn many skills from parents who handle power struggles with positive actions. This can be very challenging for parents, however, especially when working with their preschoolers. In this session we will discuss how parents can diffuse these struggles and use tools to create more connection and cooperation.
Nutrition and ADHD - ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenter: Jamie Lee Kwong
Parents of children and teens with ADHD are often concerned about their eating habits - are they eating enough, too much or the right type of foods? In this presentation, parents can expect to learn the fundamentals of nutrition, nutrition related to ADHD and practical strategies to make mealtimes more enjoyable!
Navigating Technology with our Youth ***please register using the poster only***
10:30 AM - Noon
Presented by: Andrea Halwas Larsen, in partnership with Juno House
In this 1.5 hour presentation, we will discuss the role of technology and today’s youth. The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this.
We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.
The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. Juno House was founded in 2008 as a Centre of Excellence for adolescent girls and young women who are experiencing anxiety-based mental health issues of self harm, obsessive compulsive disorders, depression and eating disorders.
Kids Have Stress Too - ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presented by: Stephanie Sands and Ann Marie Urdal, in partnership with MHCB Stepping Stones to Mental Health and Chestermere parent and caregiver support services
An introduction to key aspects of early childhood and brain development, and the crucial role parents and professionals play in buffering the impact of stress on kids. Learn strategies to help young children become aware of and manage stress in fun and engaging ways.