Academics

Resilience Conference at Marist College Focuses on Families of Special Needs Children

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The conference is a day-long workshop, “Creating Networks of Support for Families Living with Special Needs,” and will be held in the Hancock Center of Marist College on Saturday, October 28, 8:30am-4:00pm. Sirois’s address, “What to Do When it All Goes Wrong,” will take place at 9:00am.

“Resilience is an essential life skill for everyone, but particularly for families managing with special needs children,” says Katherine Trela, Associate Professor of Special Education and organizer of the event. “We are thrilled to welcome community members to this event and to have Dr. Sirois leading this workshop. Her work in learning to build resilience is groundbreaking and she has much to share with the family members of people with disabilities and the professionals who work with them.”

Sirois is a consultant to families, psychology staffs, and hospital and hospice organizations. She teaches internationally in the intersection of resilience and flourishing and is the author of A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (And Other Dark, Difficult Times) and Every Day Counts, a book written following her work with pediatric cancer patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. With world thought-leader, Tal Ben-Shahar, she co-leads a year-long certificate program for executives, educators, entrepreneurs, counselors and the general public. Sirois holds a PhD from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.  Maria Sirois

“We are thrilled to partner with Marist College on this important resilience event created just for families and caregivers of individuals living with cognitive, emotional and behavioral differences,” said Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health New York Executive Director John Lopez. “Our goal is to inspire participants through discussion and networking, and to provide critical information related to building resilience, finding much-needed resources and generating sibling support.”

The workshop at Marist will address overcoming barriers to care; planning for the future of a special needs child; support for siblings; and caring for the caregiver. The fee is $15 (and includes meals). Register online: www.devereuxny.org.

Marist College recognized for excellence by The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Barron's Best Buys in College Education, and Entrepreneur, is a highly selective comprehensive liberal arts institution noted for its leadership in the use of technology in and out of the classroom. Founded in 1929, Marist overlooks the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, New York, midway between New York City and Albany, the state capital. Marist is ecumenical in character and reflects the ideals of the founder of the Marist Brothers, St. Marcellin Champagnat: commitment to excellence in education, a pursuit of higher human values, and dedication to the principle of service. Marist is dedicated to helping students develop the intellect and character required for enlightened, ethical, and productive lives in the global community of the 21st century. Marist educates 4,700 traditional-age undergraduate students and over 1,300 adult and graduate students in 47 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs, including fully online MBA, MPA, MS, and MA degrees.

Directions to Marist can be found http://www.marist.edu/about/directions.html .

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health New York

Devereux provides a wide range of educational, clinical, residential, and community-based programs and services to children, youth and adults with intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and dual diagnoses. The developmental disabilities include various disorders, although there are significant subpopulations of individuals with autism and Prader-Willi Syndrome. The psychiatric disorders include ADHD, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, PTSD, and various affective and psychotic illnesses. The population ranges from eight to twenty-one years of age. In addition to the on-campus program, the New York Center provides day services to five community-based youngsters with similar demographic characteristics. The New York Center also operates five nearby IRA facilities, accommodating eighteen developmentally-disabled adults. The Center provides full day, intensive educational and behavioral interventions to children with autism at its Westchester County site.

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