Category Archives: Events

36th Annual EF Conference Spotlight: Concurrent Presentations

EF Conference, Equity, Events, Executive Function

This is the eighth post in a series that highlights the speakers of this year’s 36th Annual Executive Function Conference, which will focus on promoting resilience and equity for ALL students.

This November, we are honored to feature seven speakers who will offer recorded presentations addressing the close connections between executive function, stress, persistence, and school performance. Conference attendees can begin viewing these presentations on November 11, with unlimited access through January 31, 2022.

Hate or Hurt: Rethinking Social Exclusion, Isolation, and the Need-To-Belong in ASD Youth
Sucheta Kamath, M.A., M.A., CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS

Sucheta Kamath is the founder/CEO of ExQ, LLC, a game-based online curriculum designed to systematically train fundamental cognitive skills. She is a speech-language pathologist, TEDx speaker, and entrepreneur in the Ed-Tech space.

Student Identity and Student Agency: Strategies for Engagement, Inclusion, and Equity
Kim Carter, M.Ed.

Kim Carter is the founder and executive director of the Q.E.D. Foundation, an organization of adults and youth working together to create and sustain student-centered learning communities. The Q.E.D Foundation centers students’ voices and works with adults who are deeply invested in their students’ success.

Mindfulness, Metacognition, and Stress Reduction
Christopher Willard, Psy.D.

Christopher Willard is a lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a psychologist and educational consultant specializing in mindfulness. Dr. Willard works with parents, educators, and counselors, teaching them to embody and teach mindfulness skills to promote resilience in students of any age.

The Role of Working Memory in Speaking and Written Language
Anthony S. Bashir, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Bonnie Singer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Anthony Bashir is a professor at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development and an educational consultant. Dr. Bashir was the director of the speech-language pathology department at Children’s Hospital in Boston for 25 years and is an honored fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Bonnie Singer is the founder and CEO of Vivido and Architects for Learning. Vivido offers professional development in language, literacy, and learning; Architects for Learning provides academic intervention, assessment, and consultation services.

Comprehension Strategy Instruction for Students with Executive Function Difficulties
Joan Sedita, M.Ed.

Joan Sedita is the founder of Keys to Literacy, a leading provider of literacy teacher training, curriculum, ongoing coaching, and materials to educators across the country. Since 1974, she has held the roles of teacher, school administrator, teacher trainer, and literacy consultant.

Transforming Trauma: Helping Schools Become Healing Places
David Melnick, LICSW

David Melnick is the co-director of Outpatient Services at the Northeastern Family Institute in Vermont and a fellow of the Child Trauma Academy. For 35 years, he has worked in many settings including outpatient, residential treatment, and public and day treatment schools. His expertise is in development trauma, family therapy, adolescence, attachment, and trauma-informed schools.

Learn More

You can learn more about the concurrent speakers and their work by attending ResearchILD’s 36th Annual Executive Function Conference on November 11th and 12th.

Raffle for New Registrants! All new conference registrants will be entered into a special raffle through October 17. Choose one of many prize options, including a full year’s access to the SMARTS Executive Function program, a seat at the upcoming Executive Function Essentials Workshops, or your own library of executive function resources!

  • Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org

Announcing the 2021 Executive Function Conference

Conference, Events

Thirty-six years ago, while at Harvard Medical School, I founded the “Learning Disabilities Conference.” The first of its kind, this conference brought together theorists, researchers, and teachers to improve the lives of students with learning and attention difficulties.

Over the last three decades, we have worked to shift the paradigm in special education from an emphasis on deficits to an emphasis on strengths and resilience. Beginning this year and moving forward, ResearchILD’s annual conference will be titled the “Executive Function Conference, a natural transition for the mission and goals of our program.

From disabilities to differences

As ResearchILD’s Annual Conference, co-sponsored with the Harvard Graduation School of Education, evolved and changed over the years, we replaced the term “learning disabilities” with “learning differences.” We also emphasized the importance of fostering the strengths of students who think and learn differently through a lens that is both positive and affirming.

Executive function for ALL students

The one constant throughout has been a focus on executive function as the foundation of success for all students, not only for those with learning and attention differences. Our conference audience has expanded to include more superintendents, school principals, and general education teachers as our sessions reflect the importance of executive function strategies for ALL students.

2021 Theme: Attention and Stress

This year’s conference theme is “Executive Function, Attention and Stress: Promoting Resilience and Equity for ALL Students”. We have put together a wonderful slate of speakers on a range of important topics, and we are excited to welcome you to learn with us. Learn more about this year’s conference and register to save your seat.

  • Lynn Meltzer, Ph.D. Conference Founder and Chair, President, Institutes for Learning and Development (ResearchiLD and ILD)

SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org

Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org

The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org