Schedule

Friday, Sept 17th
Registration and dinner - 4-6.30 pm

Keynote Address: The Case for Inclusion : Wendy Calise - 7-9pm

Reception: 9-10 pm

Saturday, Sept 18th 
Morning Hike / Farm Chores and Breakfast  - 7-8.30am

The Out of Sync Child as a Teacher : Adapting the classroom to the needs of the child with special needs : Olga Dantus - 9am - 12 noon

Lunch and Personal Time - 12 noon - 2 pm

Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model (DIR) for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Kara Stephenson,
2-3.30 pm

Afternoon Tea and Tours : 3.30-4.30 pm

Creative Problem Solving: helping children with challenging behaviors realise their full potential: Jeffrey D. Krukar
4.30-6.30pm
                      
Dinner - 6.30-7.30pm

Compassionate Conversations: the administration  and families with children with special needs : Anna Perry- 7.30-9pm

Bonfire and sharing time - 9 pm
 
Sunday, Sept 19th
Morning Hike / Farm Chores and Breakfast - 7-8.30 am
                       
Wrap-up with Olga Dantus and Anna Perry - 9-11am
                       
Brunch and departure - 11am - 12noon

Food and Accomodations

Nature's Classroom will provide food and accommodations on our campus in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. We are on 400 acres of beautiful, relaxing natural environment - the perfect place to escape the rigors of life and join other Montessorians . Our accommodations are shared dorm-style rooms, each with their own attached bathroom. Please indicate on registration whom you which to share with. One to three other friends.
Vegetarian options available as well as a full organic salad bar. Some of the produce will be from our own organic garden.

What are the Saturday afternoon sessions about?

Collaborative Problem Solving

Solving problems and responding to life’s demands requires thinking skills. If a child lacks skills to deal with a problem, we know that challenging behavior tends to occur. ODTC is very excited to be implementing Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) for our children and youth participating in residential and educational services. CPS is an evidence based therapeutic model of care for children with challenging behavior that was developed by Dr. Ross Greene and Dr. Stuart Ablon and outlined in their book Treating Explosive Kids. CPS and ODTC employees follow a philosophy that says “kids do well if they can, and that if they can’t, then we adults need to figure out why so we can help.” CPS believes that challenging behavior occurs when a child lacks critical cognitive or thinking skills that are necessary for social problem-solving. CPS is a process of specialized and individualized child assessment and intervention that has been implemented across the country in residential treatment centers, schools, mental health clinics, and juvenile correctional facilities. The goals of CPS are to reduce challenging behavior, foster a helping therapeutic relationship, teach thinking skills, and solve problems so they don’t keep coming up.

Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model (DIR) for Autism Spectrum Disorders


Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often have difficulty forming relationships with others, engaging in meaningful communication, and thinking through life’s challenges. It is important that the developmental foundations of relating, communicating, and thinking be strengthened in order to improve social, emotional, and behavioral skills over time. ODTC currently follows DIR principles and practices as a foundation of care for our children and youth participating in ICARE (Innovative Care for Autism and Related Disorders) residential and educational services. DIR is a relationship-based model of care for individuals with ASD and other disabilities, that was developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder, and outlined in their book Engaging Autism. DIR and ICARE follow a philosophy that says “If you teach a person to relate, communicate, and think, then they will learn to relate, communicate, and think.” DIR is followed as an assessment and intervention approach for ASD by parents, schools, therapists, in-home providers, and others across the country. The DIR model believes that it is never too late to work on strengthening developmental foundations of relating, communicating, and thinking, no matter the age of the person, and that growth is best achieved through emotionally meaningful relationships and interactions with others. The goal of the DIR approach is to develop a comprehensive treatment program for individual’s with ASD, often including a variety of additional strategies (i.e. occupational and speech therapy, positive behavioral supports, etc), to foster the development of relating, communicating, and thinking skills. DIR uses specialized and individualized developmental assessment and intervention methods. The goal of DIR is to strengthen the developmental foundations of relating, communicating, and thinking, through 1- understanding and assessing each individual’s developmental progress in certain areas, 2- taking into consideration their individual differences and unique way of processing information, and then 3- using emotionally meaningful relationships and playful Floortime interactions to develop skills over time.

Who are the Presenters

Wendy Calise

Wendy Calise was a Montessori student attending Countryside Montessori School from 1969-1978. She attended Northwestern University graduating in 1988 with a degree in psychology. In 1990 she attended the AMI Primary Course taught by Liz Hall at the original site of the Washington Montessori Institute. Wendy then proceeded to teach at the primary level for four years after which she took a year away from teaching to attend the AMI Elementary Course in 1995 at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee taught by Allyn Travis and Margaret Stephenson (in her final year as an active trainer in the US). She then taught four more years at the primary level before going on to teach a 6 - 12 elementary class for the following ten years during which time she has written, presented, and evaluated curricula for the 9 - 12 age group in subjects not fully explored in the AMI elementary training. In 2006 Wendy completed a course on Mediation Skills Training related to Alternative Dispute Resolution at Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies. In 1998 Wendy was asked to present at the AMI Summer Institute in Oakbrook, IL, where she spoke about the importance of fostering social responsibility and the benefits of including special needs children in the classroom. In addition Wendy wrote an article, "What is Montessori?", which was published in the AMI USA News in 1997, in the ISACS Supplement, and remains on the website of the National Association of Independent Schools. In addition Wendy received ten weeks of special training in teaching music by Sanford Jones and has received the benefit of eight classroom consultations over 19 years. She is the mother of three children all of whom attend Countryside.
She is currently still teaching a 9 - 12 group; is the Educational Director for Countryside Montessori School; and will leave the classroom to assume the duties of Head of School in September 2010, following the retirement of the founders of the school.

Olga Dantus

Olga Dantus was born in Mexico in October 1945. Even as a little girl she always wanted to be a teacher and got an early start as an assistant teacher in a summer school when she was twelve.

Olga got her teaching diploma in 1963 and has been working in the classroom ever since. Her first ten years were in a traditional American school in Mexico. Then she specialized in Special Education and worked with disabled children for several years. Following this she took the first 2 year AMI course in Mexico and opened her own school where she was the Head of School and Montessori Directress for 35 years. During this period she also did Family Counseling and Grief Therapy. Olga went on to train Montessori teachers for 18 years at the Centro de Educacion Continua also in Mexico. Olga has been delivering parent and teacher workshops and doing classroom consultations in Mexico, Central and South America, Canada, and the U.S. for 28 years.
Five years ago, Leon, her husband, who took the Adolescent Training Course, was offered a position at Keystone Montessori in Phoenix, AZ. They moved there and fell in love with the Keystone community. Since then Olga has been involved in helping out at the school when needed in between her other commitments outside the country.
From Olga and Leon's 43 years of marriage they have a son and a daughter and 4 wonderful grandchildren who live in Mexico City but come to visit regularly.

Anna Perry

Ms. Anna is the Executive Director of the Seton Montessori Institute and School, overseeing its preschool, parent, and summer camp programs. She also serves as an administrator and lecturer with the Seton Montessori Institute teacher education program. She regularly speaks on Montessori school administration, language development, and the Montessori philosophy as well as other topics. Her prior experience includes several years of teaching children ages 3 to 6 at Seton Montessori School and at West Side Montessori School in New York, NY. She is a frequent speaker and author on topics as diverse as environment preparation, parent counseling, and camp administration.
Anna holds AMS certifications in Early Childhood Education and in Montessori School Administration. She received a B.A. in psychology from Tufts University in Medford, M.A., an Ed.M. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, M.A., and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Child Development, with a focus on teacher education, at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, IL.

Kara Stephenson

M.S., is the Residential Services Director for Oconomowoc Developmental Training Center’s ICARE (Innovative Care for Autism and Related Disorders) program. ODTC is a residential treatment center located in Oconomowoc, WI. Ms. Stevenson earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ms. Stevenson has been with ODTC for 15 years.

Jeffrey D. Krukar

Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist with 20 years experience working in human services. Dr. Krukar is also a licensed school psychologist and is a registrant of the National Register of Health Care Providers in Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. from the Urban Education Doctoral Program with a School Psychology Specialization and Psychology Minor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Krukar is currently a psychologist at ODTC and has been involved in the development of the ICARE program.