Enroll in Fall 2003 Course

11 Fridays 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM September 12, 2003 - Novenber 21, 2003 Course emanates from the California State University at Northridge, and is video-broadcast to two other locations in Los Angeles County Enrollees are assigned to course location closest to their work

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE

This unique training course for psychologists and other professional assessment personnel is designed to provide state- of-the-art training in how to conduct comprehensive developmental assessments of children zero through four years of age. The developmental assessment approach taught in this course is comprehensive in the sense that it: Includes the initial screening of young children to determine the need for initiating a full developmental assessment using such screening instruments like The CICC Discovery Tool™, the Denver II and the Parent's Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS); Introduces multi-disciplinary team methodologies for conducting assessments in clinic as well as natural environment settings, such as the home, school and playground; Utilizes multiple sources of information about the child's development through consultation and collaboration with parents, and medical, psychological and other treatment and assessment professionals; Applies an awareness of cultural and social class influences when utilizing information about a child's development; and Teaches how to write asset-based reports that include eligibility requirements to qualify for services from various community/state agencies (e.g. Early Start, Head Start, Regional Centers, Department of Mental Health, and Public School), DSM IV TR Multi Axis diagnosis recommendations, and interventions plans to help the child and family.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Selected professionals must have current infant, toddler and preschooler assessment responsibilities, where they already use and are familiar with standard assessment measures for this age group of children. Such assessment responsibilities may include those performed as part of job responsibilities, or as a consequence of supervising other professionals conducting assessments with this age group of children. Professionals selected for this course will be required to conduct a comprehensive developmental assessment and submit a corresponding report during the course. Course credit, continuing education units, and certification are dependent upon conducting the assessment during the course.

COURSE FACULTY

A multi-disciplinary faculty teaches the course, including professionals from various mental health and health care fields, such as clinical child psychology, educational psychology, developmental pediatrics, occupational, speech and language therapy, pediatric optometry and ophthalmology, pediatric physical therapy, and marriage and family therapy. Ronald Fischbach, Ph.D. of CICC, Applied Behavioral Solutions and a Professor of Health Sciences at the California State University at Northridge, is the Lead Course Instructor. Kerby T. Alvy, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of CICC, and a nationally respected authority on parenting, teaches sections of the course, as does Wendy Hill Williams, M.A., M.F.T., from CICC's "Does My Child Have Special Needs?" Project. Ms. Williams is also a parent of a child with an autism spectrum disorder.

COURSE SPONSORSHIP

This course is created and sponsored by the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC), a 29-year-old training, research and community service non-profit organization. CICC has been developing and delivering continuing education courses, conferences and workshops for nearly three decades. The Center has already trained and certified more than 6,000 professionals nationwide to deliver a variety of parenting, treatment and diagnostic services. CICC's continuing education programs have been supported by grants from such groups as the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The creation of this course was supported by a grant from First 5 LA (formerly the Los Angeles County Proposition 10 Commission). CICC is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education credits for psychologists. CICC maintains responsibility for the program. CICC is also approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences to offer continuing education for M.F.T. and L.C.S.W. licensure requirements.

SESSION-BY-SESSION COURSE CONTENT

The Fundamentals of Conducting a Comprehensive Early Childhood Assessment Asset-based assessments Office and natural environment-based assessments Screening and assessments Team-generated assessments Components of an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) Ecological Forces Impacting Child Development and Behavior Changeable and unchangeable forces Medical and ecological models The impact of culture and social class Differential contexts for raising children Conducting assessments in varied settings A Family Intervention Child Development Assessment Approach Relationship among assessment, intervention and evaluation Child and family-based assessment methodologies Child and family operational objectives Developmentally sequenced child objectives Family objectives related to child objectives The Team Approach to Early Childhood Assessment Core members of multidisciplinary early childhood assessment teams Work plans for assessment teams Criteria for selecting settings in which to assess a child Current methods for assessing different areas of child development Ecological Assessment The epochs of early childhood development The relationships of parent-child interaction to normal and extra-normal child development The Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Model of Understanding and Managing Behavioral Symptoms Assessment of Cognitive-Adaptive and Communication Development Use of standardized methodologies Reporting on the use of standardized methodologies Utilizing results to develop intervention plans Assessing Emotional/Behavioral Development Coping processes in early childhood Benefits of non-structured play observations Conducting a behavioral analysis Creating a formal behavioral plan Uncovering Atypical Child Development and the Interventions that Follow Hyperactivity/ADHD Learning disabilities Mental retardation Autism spectrum disorders The Interventions that Follow Assessments Treatment Plan Individual Program Plan (IPP) Individual Education Plan (IEP) Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) Case Presentations Methodologies, findings and conclusions Further Case Presentations Methodologies, findings and conclusions

CE CREDITS AND CERTIFICATION

Licensed psychologists, MFTs and LCSWs who are selected into this course can receive 33 CE credits. Upon completion of all course requirements, including having conducted a comprehensive developmental assessment during the course, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring.

REQUIRED BOOKS

Professionals who are accepted into the course receive and use the following two books: New Visions for the Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children, by Samuel J. Meisels and Emily Fenichel, Editors, Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, 1996, Washington, D.C. The CICC Discovery Tool, by Dr. Kerby T. Alvy and the Staff of the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, 2002, Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, Studio City, California.

COURSE ENROLLMENT FEE: $800

Some partial and full scholarships are available for the Fall 2003 Developmental Assessment Course for groups of professionals who work for government and community agencies in Los Angeles County. Contact CICC's Executive Director, Dr. Kerby T. Alvy, for information and eligibility for these scholarships: (818) 980 – 0903 or  Kalvy@aol.com

Enroll Me In Fall 2003 Developmental Assessment Course

Bring This Course to Your Area

CICC is prepared to work with any state, county or city government department, or any professional consortium, training center or continuing education institution, to bring this course to your community. This can be accomplished through various methods, including distance learning by means of two-way video-broadcasting. Contact Dr. Alvy to explore these possibilities: (818) 980 – 0903 or

Bring Developmental Assessment to Your Area