Webinar: Practical Ways to Integrate Wellbeing into Special Education for Teachers and Students
Practical Ways to Integrate Wellbeing into Special Education for Teachers and Students
Presented by Dr. Patricia Wright, Katie Curran, and Jamie Evanko
Educators are the backbone of our educational system; championing their well-being is imperative to assuring special education students achieve a high-quality life. The current disability support workforce is experiencing a crisis in recruitment and retention (Billingsley et al., 2019; Laws & Hewitt, 2020). Applying positive psychology interventions has improved job satisfaction for multiple social service professions, including general educators (Zwart et al, 2015) and healthcare professionals (Oi et al., 2014).
Within the special education classroom, autistic students’ mental health crisis continues to require immediate support and resources. The application of positive psychology in education, often referred to as Positive Education, has demonstrated success in academic growth and emotional wellbeing for students (Seligman et al, 2009; Wenjie, et al., 2020).
Come celebrate the International Day of Happiness with us as we explore immediately applicable ideas and ready-made materials for educators to implement for themselves and their students.
Free to Participate
Recorded and Archived
Certificate of Attendance
If you have any questions or comments about this event or if you would like to request specific webinar topics for the future, please contact us at programs@researchautism.org or call 571-977-5391.
Speakers
-
Patricia WrightExecutive Director at Proof PositivePatricia Wright, PhD, MPH. Patricia’s commitment to ensuring all individuals with autism have access to effective services and support has guided her work for more than 30 years, from her earliest responsibilities as a special educator to state and national-level program management. Specific examples of her advocacy include the management in the design of a statewide system of support for children with autism for the state of Hawaii, several years as the National Director of Autism Services for Easter Seals, her industry positions leveraging technology, and her current role as the Executive Director at Proof Positive spreading the science and skills of happiness.
-
Jamie EvankoManager of Proof Positive Customer SuccessJamie Evanko, MS. For Jamie, the science of happiness extends well beyond the classroom’s walls. Jamie first discovered the potential of positive psychology to benefit her students, teams, and personal life while teaching, and it quickly became a passion. As an educator, she knows positive psychology practices can foster not only academic growth but also emotional wellbeing among her students – because she’s experienced and implemented it first-hand. As Proof Positive’s Manager of Customer Success, Jamie applies her expertise and leadership in education to ensure anyone using Proof Positive resources has the highest-quality implementation support.
-
Katie CurranChief Wellbeing Officer of Proof PositiveKatie Curran, MAPP. Katie is the Chief Wellbeing Officer of Proof Positive, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the science and skills of happiness for individuals with autism, and their families, educators, and service providers. Katie has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with autistic individuals. She’s widely recognized as a creative force when it comes to autism intervention, developing strategies and tools that fuse Positive Psychology with Applied Behavior Analysis to improve wellbeing.
