April 11, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the OPMS Library

The 2022-2023 Parent Information Series will wrap up with, Redefining Consequence: Considerations and Strategies for Addressing Challenging Behaviors and Developing Emotional Functioning Skills, a session given by Dr David Meichenbaum, a NYS licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of developmental and mental health disorders. 

This session is designed for parents/caregivers who live with a child who demonstrates recurring challenging behaviors.  This presentation goes beyond determining what is causing challenging behaviors and examines how many conventional ways of responding to difficult behaviors contribute to the persistence of challenges.  Parents/caretakers will learn practical evidence-based strategies that can reduce problematic behaviors and build adaptive alternative behaviors. 

The session will be held in the Orchard Park Middle School Library, 60 S. Lincoln Ave., on Tuesday April 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Meichenbaum is a NYS licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of developmental and mental health disorders. He is both the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic and the Director of Community Consulting and Clinical Services at The Summit Center in Amherst, NY.  Dr. Meichenbaum is a highly sought after consultant for school districts, offering practical behavioral and educational strategies that focus on the social, emotional, adaptive, and behavioral development of students with autism spectrum and disruptive behavior disorders.  Dr. Meichenbaum graduated with his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The Parent Information Series will continue with a Teen Driving Safety Presentation  on Tuesday, March 21 at 7 p.m. in the OPMS Auditorium.

The Orchard Park Police Department will present the dangers of distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, and license restrictions for permit holders and junior drivers, vehicle and traffic laws, pedestrians and other safety issues. This presentation is for both teenagers and their parents.

Parents, teens and interested community members are encouraged to attend this free presentation.

March 7, 2023 at 7 p.m. at Orchard Park Middle School

Filmmaker and physician Dr. Delaney Ruston takes the conversation around screens and teens to the next level with Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience—a film that examines the science behind teen’s emotional challenges, the interplay of social media, and most importantly, what can be done in our schools and homes to help them build crucial skills to navigate stress, anxiety, and depression in our digital age.

SCREENAGERS: Growing up in the Digital Age—Delany Ruston’s award-winning 2016 film—was the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and offer parents and families proven solutions. Screened more than 8,000 times (and counting) to 4 million people in more than 70 countries, it has been featured on PBS NewsHour, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and more. What started as a personal story grew into a national movement, helping millions of youth and their families find their way in a world with instant access to screen time.

In Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, we follow Delaney as she finds herself at a loss on how to help her own teens as they struggle with their emotional wellbeing. She sets out to understand these challenges in our current screen-filled society, and how we, as parents and educators, can empower teens to overcome mental health challenges and build emotional agility, communication savvy, and stress resilience.

We witness Delaney as she finds her way from ineffective parenting to much-improved strategies. We follow other personal stories of families from an array of backgrounds with a spectrum of emotional challenges. We also observe approaches in schools that provide strategies relevant beyond the classroom setting. Interwoven into the stories are surprising insights from brain researchers, psychologists, and thought leaders that reveal evidence-based ways to support mental wellness among our youth. The impact of social media and other screen time is incorporated in all the topics raised in Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, how it may be impacting our teens’ mental health, and what we can do to help foster youth in the face of struggles.

Kimberly Morrow, a licensed clinical social worker in private practice, provided training to help children overcome anxiety so they can get back to learning and meeting their educational goals. Utilizing evidence-based teaching, this workshop provided parents with a clear understanding of the anxious brain, what you may be doing that perpetuates anxiety, simple ways to help children take charge, and ways to coach a child through anxiety. 

Resources for the Anxious Children In School Presentation

• Raising Resiliency 25 Tips for Parenting Your Child with Pediatric Anxiety
• Tips for Anxiety Coaches
• Resources: Anxiety and Kids

The 2022-2023 Parent Information Series continues with a presentation by Dr. Amanda Nickerson called Talking to Children About Tragedy.

Given recent violent and tragic events in our community and the nation, parents often grapple with how to discuss these issues with their children. In this presentation, Dr. Amanda Nickerson, professor of school psychology and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, will provide tips and best practices for adults to talk with children about these topics.  Representatives from the Orchard Park School District will be onsite and available to answer questions about how our schools approach these conversations with students.

The presentation will be held on November 15 at 7 p.m. in the Orchard Park High School auditorium.  There is no registration required to attend this in-person event.

Dr. Amanda Nickerson is a professor of school psychology and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Her research focuses on school crisis prevention and intervention with an emphasis on school violence and bullying and the critical role of family, peers, and schools in preventing violence and building the social-emotional strengths of youth.  

The Parent Information Series will continue in January with Anxious Children In School, presented by Kimberly Morrow.

The Orchard Park Central School District will kick off the 2022-2023 Parent Information Series with a virtual presentation: Executive Functioning given by, Dr. Peg Dawson, co-author of the books Smart but Scattered and Smart but Scattered Teens.  

Executive skills are critical to the acquisition of academic skills, but, more importantly, they are the skills students need to get things done. They are brain-based skills such as task initiation, sustained attention, working memory, planning, organization, and goal-directed persistence that are critical to school success. Some students seem to acquire them naturally, but many students struggle with them. Dr. Peg Dawson will describe how these skills develop throughout childhood and suggest strategies parents can use to help children acquire the critical skills they need to be successful students.

Dr. Dawson will be virtually presented to parents and community members in Orchard Park on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 7 p.m.  A link to the recorded presentation is below.

Peg Dawson, Ed.D., is a school psychologist with an expertise in the assessment of learning and attention disorders.  She is the co-author of numerous books on executive skills, including Smart but Scattered and Smart but Scattered Teens, is a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and a recipient of NASP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Link to recorded presentation

Link to presentation slides