The Contented Child

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder
2018-09-20 09:30 - 12:30 (Europe/London) | West Faversham Community Centre, Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RH, United Kingdom
‘Sensory Processing Disorder is not the end of the world. It is the beginning of a whole new world!’
From the child who seeks out certain tastes and textures to the child who trips over every bump to the child who actively avoids touch, hypersensitivity (over responsiveness) and hypo sensitivity (under responsiveness) to sensory information can be challenging both to identify and to support.
In this short course, we will explore the complex nature of Sensory Processing Disorder, it’s inconsistencies and effective ways to support children who struggle to process everyday sensations.
Tickets are £25.00 per delegate.
Free parking is available at the venue. Refreshments included.

E SAFETY AND THE IMPACT OF SCREEN TIME ON YOUNG MINDS
2018-06-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
The average age for a child to get their first phone is now 8 yrs old. No amount of parental controls on your devices can substitute for ensuring both you and your children are well informed and understand the risks and benefits of using screens. This workshop will explore the emerging research around the negative impact of screen time for our young people as well as building confidence in parents to champion the positives of computing and ideas of how we can best support our children to navigate safely in the digital world. Find out about the risks and rewards of computing, monitoring and managing screen time, age restrictions on gaming & social media and access resources around keeping your children safe online.
‘Very eye-opening, brilliant resources – Every parent needs to come to this workshop’

MISUNDERSTOOD DEFIANCE - UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING PDA AND ODD
2018-06-20 09:30 - 12:30 | West Faversham Community Centre, Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RH, United Kingdom
How do you cope when presented with a child who is persistently defiant, argumentative, irritable and presents as needing to be in control of everything – to the extent that seriously interferes with day to day life?
Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) are diagnoses that can describe such behaviour. This short training session seeks to explore behaviours linked to these diagnoses so that parents and professionals can have a better understanding of why and how they occur.
The course will explore the recommended strategies for supporting and ways to manage when faced with these challenging behaviours.
There will be opportunities for Q and A throughout with handouts providing links and signposting to further information for those who wish to explore further.
Refreshments are provided and there is free parking at the venue

Emotional Regulation (including anger/anxiety)
2018-06-19 09:30 - 12:00 | Iwade at the Barn, 20 All Saints Close, Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8FP, United Kingdom
EMOTIONAL REGULATION – For parents and professionals to provide support at home and in the school environment
For many children to thrive and succeed within the home and school setting, they need to have developed an ability to manage/regulate their emotions so that they are able to learn and achieve.
An original version of the intervention written by Niki Green has been successfully implemented in many local schools and Niki is now running a new enhanced version of the original program in several other Shepway schools as well as privately through The Contented Child with measured impact. The original version is being successfully run across Shepway and other districts. Delegates will have the opportunity to gain a theoretical overview of the rage/anxiety cycle and to consider the underlying reasons for a pupil’s behaviour. Delegates will be supported to identify strategies to support pupils at each of the stages of the rage/anxiety cycle and to explore the reasons for heightened anxieties/emotions.
Delegates will be provided with a resource pack to run the new enhanced 6/12 week structured intervention programme through sharing examples of effective practice.The programmes are structured to enable the pupils to develop their skills in managing their own crisis situations and to be able to reflect. Children will create a workbook and be introduced to a variety of visual supports which can be used as a management tool by parents/setting staff and enable consistency in approach. This programme can also be adapted for small group work.
Refreshments will be provided.

UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD'S SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION NEEDS
2018-06-18 18:30 - 21:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD’S SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION NEEDS
‘Are you concerned about your child’s speech?’
‘Are you worried that your child does not understand what you are saying?’
‘Does your child have difficulty interacting with other people?’
The aim of this workshop for parents / carers is to increase awareness of how speech, language and Communication develops and to offer strategies to support a child with Speech Language and Communication needs at home , whilst also offering the opportunity to meet and share experiences with other parents.
The workshop will include information on:
• The stages of normal speech and language development.
• Identifying children who may have difficulties understanding or using language.
• Information on when to refer a child to a Speech and Language Therapist.
• Diagnosis and how to get the appropriate support in Nursery and School.
• Strategies and activities to support a child’s language development.
• Total communication – using visual support and signing to support communication.
There will be opportunities for discussion and handouts will be provided.

Emotional Regulation (including anger/anxiety)
2018-06-11 18:30 - 21:00, 2018-05-07 18:30 - 21:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom

How To Run Lego Therapy Intervention
2018-06-08 13:00 - 14:30 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
Lego Therapy was originally developed for children with autism but brick building has been and continues to be used therapeutically with children with other social skill difficulties and communication difficulties including language impairment and social use of language. It promotes development of key communication skills, including attention and listening, vocabulary and concept development, sharing, collaboration, describing and explaining, turn taking, problem solving and conflict resolution.
The course will equip the attendees with the theory behind therapeutic brick building and Lego Therapy. It is designed to be a practical and interactive workshop for education staff and parents that covers how to set up and run therapeutic brick building sessions within the home and education settings. As part of the course there will be a practical activity, running a therapeutic brick building session. The course will equip attendees with practical advice that can be applied immediately into everyday practice. Attendees will also receive resources to support the intervention electronically after the event.
Ticket £15 per person.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHILD'S ANGER (5-12yrs)
2018-06-08 09:30 - 12:30 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
Have you ever wondered why your child is so angry or what you can do to manage their outbursts?
There are very real reasons why a child behaves in this way. Anger doesn’t just appear from nowhere. This workshop will give you a new and unique understanding about what is causing your child to behave this way, how to anticipate and diffuse angry outbursts and will provide interventions and strategies to help your child become calm, emotionally responsive and self-controlled.
There will be practical activities and an extensive resource pack mailed out post workshop. Your trainer is Niki Green.

Emotional Regulation (including anger/anxiety)
2018-06-05 09:30 - 12:30 | Ryarsh Village Hall, Birling Road, Ryarsh, West Malling, Kent, ME19 5LS, United Kingdom

Dyslexia Awareness and Confidence Booster
2018-06-02 10:00 - 12:30 | Singleton Village Hall, Hoxton Close, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LB, United Kingdom
Dyslexia has a further reaching impact on an individual than reading and writing alone. Self esteem is often severely compromised when dyslexia is not understood by the individual and their family. Understanding what dyslexia is and how to use your learning skills to compensate weaker areas and flourish will allow both child and parent a new, brighter beginning.
This course provides a positive outlook of dyslexia at a child friendly level. You will participate in fun activities together that can be used at home.
Suitable for children aged 8 and over.
Tickets 1 Child 1 Parent £25 1 Child 2 Parents £35

Sibling ASD/ADHD Awareness
2018-06-01 09:30 - 12:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
‘As an autism sibling, I make sacrifices that a lot of my friends will never understand. I don’t mind though, I love my brothers and autism is our life’
Layla Daly
Living with autism or ADHD in the family can have its challenges and often siblings can be silently struggling, with little available support.
Using accessible, age appropriate mediums such as interactive games and current movie clips we will aim to raise your child’s awareness and understanding of their sibling’s autism as well as give them the opportunity to mix and talk with other young siblings to be able to air their feelings within a safe, supported environment. We will also offer practical coping skills and strategies to increase their resilience. Suggested age range 7-15 years. Parents do not need to attend.
Please notify us if your child has any allergies, training@thecontentedchild.co.uk.

Teenage Anxiety - Understanding the Impact and Building Strategies to Thrive
2018-05-22 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Environment Centre, Wesley School Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LW, United Kingdom
Up to 1 in 3 teenagers struggle with chronic anxiety – overwhelming feelings of worry, fear and panic that can make daily life immensely difficult to navigate.
Without support, living with persistent anxiety can result in complex and unhelpful patterns of behaviour developing and often results in a negative cycle of isolation feeding the anxiety. Positively, there are lots of effective techniques that can help teenagers reduce feelings of anxiety and learn how to keep them from taking over.
This workshop explores the wide ranging factors that can impact on anxiety levels and helps participants to develop understanding of the impact this can have on teenagers.
Participants will leave with a ‘toolbox’ of resources that teenagers can use on their own or with a support person to help them deal with the day to day challenges of anxiety and break free of negative cycles.
Parking is free at this venue with a parking permit. This will be forward to you prior to the event or alternatively available on the day.
Tickets are £25 per person.

Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope
2018-05-22 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Village Hall, Hoxton Close, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LB, United Kingdom
‘Anxiety is a thin stream of fears trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.’
Arthur Somers Roche
The daily pressures on our children are increasing from targets and testing in the classroom to the rise of pressure advertising and social media. For many of our children the world, or certain aspects of it, is overwhelming, complex and scary. From separation and social anxiety to performance and health anxiety, an increasing number of children now benefit from direct support to manage their worries.
This workshop will introduce you to the current thinking around children’s anxiety and move onto exploring ways to support young people to manage their anxiety more effectively. We will introduce you to visual resources and a toolbox of practical strategies that can be used within home and school.

Tickets £20 per person. Refreshments included.
FEEDBACK
‘Fantastic course – can definitely recommend and I will certainly attend more workshops on offer. Thank you for delivering a well rounded session and thank you to everyone else present. I came away feeling more informed, confident and reassured. This is probably the first time that I felt that others ‘got it’, that I wasn’t alone and it has reassured me that I am heading in the right direction with the various strategies etc. Once again, thank you for the professional delivery of the course and opportunity’

BUILDING CONFIDENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERACY
2018-05-18 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Village Hall, Hoxton Close, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LB, United Kingdom
This course is designed for professionals as well as parents and carers with children that have literacy difficulties. This course will support students with a wide range of literacy problems including dyslexia, dysgraphia, ASD and ADHD.
It will look at different issues that children may face when learning to read and write, what to look out for, the reason behind common issues and how to help the child/children achieve success. The course will also provide a wide range of strategies that can be used in school and home. This course is very hands on and so a camera phone will be useful to take away images of what you have seen and participated in.
Content- The process of reading and writing and pinpointing where common issues occur.
How working memory plays a large part in reading and writing.
What is phonics? Looking at how words and constructed and deconstructed for spelling.
How does a multi-sensory approach help overcome learning problems.
Overcoming problems with: handwriting, phonics, spelling, ideas, phonological awareness and confidence. This section looks at the problem, gives examples of what it looks and feels like, and strategies to overcome the problem.
What’s next? Looking forward to assessments and learner profiles, specialist teaching sessions, support from school.

Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope
2018-05-18 09:30 - 12:30 | Ryarsh Village Hall, Birling Road, Ryarsh, West Malling, Kent, ME19 5LS, United Kingdom

MANAGING CHALLENGING AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR (PRIMARY AGE GROUP)
2018-05-17 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Village Hall, Hoxton Close, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LB, United Kingdom
This three hour workshop for parents is designed to empower; To develop knowledge confidence and skills in understanding and managing behaviour that challenges from children – including violent, aggressive behaviour. Participants will learn important aspects of the science of behaviour – why certain behaviours occur, what keeps behaviours happening and ways to help change behaviour and rebuild positive relationships.
Participants will have opportunity to actively trial techniques in a safe environment and will leave the workshop with a toolkit of practical strategies.
Refreshments are provided and there is free parking at the venue.

Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope
2018-05-14 18:30 - 21:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom

MANAGING CHALLENGING AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR (PRIMARY AGE GROUP)
2018-05-11 09:30 - 12:30 | Yoakley House, Drapers Close, Margate, Kent, CT9 4AH, United Kingdom

Emotional Regulation (including anger/anxiety)
2018-05-04 09:30 - 12:30 | West Faversham Community Centre, Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RH, United Kingdom

MISUNDERSTOOD DEFIANCE - UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING PDA AND ODD
2018-04-24 09:30 - 12:30 | Yoakley House, Drapers Close, Margate, Kent, CT9 4AH, United Kingdom

FOETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS AWARENESS
2018-04-24 09:30 | YMCA Maidstone, Melrose Close, Cripple Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6BD, United Kingdom
‘Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioural and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications’.
This three hour workshop will look at:
• What is FASD and how is it caused
• Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis
• How FASD affects day to day living
• Secondary conditions linked to FASD
• Growing up with FASD
• Statistics and how to prevent
Delegates will have the opportunity to have their questions answered in a relaxed atmosphere from a friendly and approachable trainer, Sharon Jackson. Free parking at the venue.

How To Run Lego Therapy Intervention
2018-04-20 13:00 - 14:45 | West Faversham Community Centre, Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RH, United Kingdom

Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope
2018-04-20 09:30 - 12:15 | West Faversham Community Centre, Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RH, United Kingdom

MISUNDERSTOOD DEFIANCE - UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING PDA AND ODD
2018-04-19 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Environment Centre, Wesley School Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LW, United Kingdom

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) AWARENESS
2018-03-28 09:30 - 12:30 | Yoakley House, Drapers Close, Margate, Kent, CT9 4AH, United Kingdom
The aim of this workshop for parents / carers is to raise awareness of ASD and how this can impact on individuals with the condition. The session provides an overview of the key characteristics of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, looks at how ASD is diagnosed and considers the wide-ranging needs of individuals with the condition at different ages. It also aims to challenge and highlight assumptions people may have about the condition and crucially, explore the strengths of ASD and celebrate the individuality and wide-ranging achievements of people with the condition. There will be opportunities for Q & A and discussion with handouts providing links and signposting to further information for those that wish to explore further.
Introduction, Notion of neuro-diversity Prevalence / Terminology
Overview of key characteristics of autism
Language and communication
Repetitive behaviours / Special interests
Sensory processing
Theory of mind / mindblindness – The Sally-Anne Test
Diagnosis
Complexity of ASD – co-occuring conditions
The changing support needs of individuals with ASD at different ages & stages
Media presentations of ASD, common assumptions & misconceptions
Gender – hidden autism
Strengths of Autism, Challenging limitations
How ASD has changed the world for the better – a focus on the achievements of people with the condition

Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope
2018-03-23 09:30 - 12:15 | Swale CVS, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4NU, United Kingdom

HOW TO RUN A MULTI-SENSORY LITERACY INTERVENTION
2018-03-23 09:30 - 12:00 | Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RD, United Kingdom
Have you ever wondered why a group of children do not make noticeable progress even after many hours of intervention? Perhaps these children have had years of intervention, daily reading, phonic boosters and yet they are still not achieving their potential. This course is designed for SENCOs, teachers and TA’s and will provide some answers as to why the child is not progressing and how to change this outcome.
In the UK it is thought that 1 in 10 learners have dyslexia…that’s 10% of the school population. This intervention outline will support dyslexic students as well as students with other needs such as ASD, ADHD and Dysgraphia.
Content-
Looking at reasons behind poor progress in literacy.
Designing an intervention using strengths and weaknesses.
How to use multi-sensory input and why this is important.
Lesson outlines and examples
The interventions will cover phonics, handwriting, spelling, reading and writing in context, auditory and visual memory, phonological awareness and the alphabet.

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder
2018-03-21 09:30 - 12:30 | Singleton Environment Centre, Wesley School Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5LW, United Kingdom

The A-Z of Dyslexia
2018-03-19 09:30 - 12:30 | Yoakley House, Drapers Close, Margate, Kent, CT9 4AH, United Kingdom
This course is designed for professionals as well as parents and carers with children that have literacy difficulties and possible dyslexia. It will look at what is dyslexia, what to look out for when working with your child and how to help them achieve success.
The course will also provide an over view of phonics and how this plays a large part of reading and writing success. This course is very hands on and so a camera phone will be useful to take away images of what you have seen and participated in.
Content-
What is dyslexia? Working through definitions and what to look for. Myth busting. Social and emotional costs of dyslexia. How does it feel to have dyslexia? Examples of common issues through activities.
How does memory play a large part in dyslexia? Auditory and visual memory games and activities.
What is phonics? Looking at how words and constructed and deconstructed for spelling.
How can I help at home? Reading and spelling hands on activities.
What’s next? Looking forward to assessments, specialist teaching sessions, support from school.
FEEDBACK
‘Thank you so much to Natalie, I learnt more in the last three hours about dyslexia and how to support my son than I ever thought I would. I just wish I had done the workshop sooner!
I highly recommend the workshop, it’s the best thing you can do if you suspect or know your child has dyslexia’

Refreshments included, free parking at venue.
