This conference is free to all SENIA-Beijing members.  In order to keep future conferences and resources free, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.  Contact the SENIA-Board at beijingchapter@seniainternational.org for details.

Official Conference Sponsor

Official Host and Sponsor

Presenter Bio: Jill Stansbury is a trainer based out of Bellingham, WA, USA. For most of her 25-year career, she has worked in American and Chinese public and independent schools with young people (ages 2-18) and their families as a teacher, school administrator, and coach. She is certified by the Positive Discipline Association as a trainer in Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way, Positive Discipline for Early Childhood Educators, and Positive Discipline in the Classroom. In addition, she holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from DePaul University in Chicago, IL, USA. She is fascinated by the ways that neurology impacts communication. In addition, she finds thinking about families as the basic building block of culture and schools as places where young people are acculturated to be powerful frames to use in exploring Positive Discipline. These lenses provide views of ways to make families, schools, and subsequently cultures places that work for us all!

Presentation: Positive Education

Presentation Description:  Using Positive Discipline for Educators

Presenter Bio: Gustavo Soriano is the Senior Director of International Programs at Best Buddies International. In this role, he combines his unique blend of non-profit and international management experience to oversee the organization’s programs abroad, encompassing over 57 countries across six continents of the world. Mr. Soriano has been in charge of the organization’s geographical expansion outside of the United States and the global development of their supported employment program. Best Buddies Jobs secures employment for hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which brings diversity to the workforce of many local and multinational companies around the globe.

Presentation: Best Buddies International

Presentation Description:  Introduction of Best Buddies International and Its Impact in the Local Community

Presenter Bio: A native of Ireland, Mark Duff is a class teacher and PGCEi mentor at Harrow, Beijing, China. Over the past decade, Mark has taught within the public and private sector internationally. He is an experienced educational professional, who has a vast range of experience working in Primary, SEND, and Local Authority settings. For Greenwich children services UK, Mark played a key role in the development of a new center of excellence for children with additional needs. At the heart of his educational vision is achievement through inclusivity. Mark is currently completing his Master’s in International Education at Bath University. He is delighted to attend SENIA, Beijing spring conference 2021.

Presentation: Reigniting Learning for All – Through Effective Intervention

Presentation Description:  Intervention strategies to effectively reignite learning for everyone.

Presenter Bio: Stephenie Lee is the founder of Beacon Learning, an organization that supports families in China to unleash the potential of their children by understanding and remediating the sensory-motor, cognitive processing, and executive functioning foundations of learning. With over 10 years of experience in teaching, curricular development, teacher training, and education technology, Stephenie has impacted over 2000 families in North America and Asia Pacific with programs such as HANDLE, iLs, Bal-A-Vis-X, LEAP, Lindamood Bell, Pivotal Response Training, and SocialThinking. She co-developed LEAP, a cognitive skills training program that was integrated into Summit Public Schools with the support of the Gates Foundation, and holds a patent for vestibular stimulation hardware. In her spare time, she loves to make up lyrics to songs, run, explore vegetarian recipes, and play with her rescue puppies!

Presentation: Leveraging the Support Network- Seeking Alignment Between Stakeholders

Presentation Description:  Discussion on best strategies to leverage the alignment between the stakeholders in a student’s support network.

Presenter Bio: Hu Dai graduated from Kunming Medical University with a five-year degree in clinical medicine, and received his master degree in occupational therapy from Queen Margaret University in the United Kingdom.  He is an experienced Occupational Therapist, SIPT certified, completed more than 10 international certifications such as therapeutic listening, Astronaut Training certifications etc..He works with a team of occupational therapists and speech language pathologists in his practice and has clinical experience with individual who carry a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum, ADHD,Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia/ Learning Disabilities etc..As the Chair of the Sensory Integration Special Interest Section of Chinese Occupational Therapy Association, he introduced CLASI training, Therapeutic Listening, Astronaut Training ,Sensory Babies and other globally well-known programs to China. Mr.HU published several articles in overseas journals and participated in the compilation of many domestic occupational therapy textbooks. He has presented and lectured at conferences/workshops in a variety of settings across China on topics related to sensory integrations in children.

Presentation: Impacts of the Vestibular System on Child’s Development   前庭系统对孩子的发育影响 (中英文）

Presentation Description:  Exploration on how the vestibular system impacts children’s development.

Presenter Bio: Heng Wei is a certified Music Therapist and music educator in Malaysia, following her training in Berklee College of Music, Boston USA. Her passion is for people and their achievements through different goals and methods, which result in the betterment of lifestyle and the people around them. She works with children and adults with different needs and abilities. Using goal oriented methods, she educates teachers and tailors therapy to various areas of lifestyle, goals achievement and skills development. She believes that the therapist and educator in her are not created by accident, but instead by a culmination of education, skills, experiences and influential people over the years. She is passionate about helping people to achieve more in their lives and the lives of people around them.

Presentation: Music In Mental Health: “Does Music Help with Emotional and Behavioral Problems with Kids and Teens?”

Presentation Description:  Discussion on influence of music with teenager’s emotional and behavioral responses.

Presenter Bio: Carl Lewis (BA Hons, MA, NPQSL, NASENCO) is Whole School Director of Learning Support at Harrow Beijing, leading a team of highly-skilled and highly-committed Learning Support practitioners throughout the age ranges of Pre-School to Year 13. Carl’s passions lie in the development of the whole child, and supporting students with broad and unique learning profiles to achieve their own personal best; this is best embodied by his commitment to upskilling teachers and supporting them with evidence-informed pedagogy to support learners most effectively. Prior to his role in China, Carl worked in UK schools for almost a decade, leading successful curriculum faculties and championing whole school initiatives in assessment for learning, oracy and developing a culture of quality first teaching and inclusive provision.

Presentation: Inclusive Classrooms: Examples of Excellent Practice in Supporting SEND Learners in Mainstream Classrooms

Presentation Description:  SENIA delegates to engage in meaningful discussion surrounding excellent classroom practice in the personalization and differentiation of learning for students with SEND. This break-out group will focus on the challenges practitioners faces in providing high-levels of support for SEND learners within mainstream and inclusive classrooms. It is hoped that colleagues will leave this session armed with some strategies to enhance their own pedagogy and practice.

Presenter Bio: Mr. Toby Mountjoy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis. With over 25 years of experience working with individuals with ASD, he has been extensively trained by Dr. Ronald Leaf, Dr. Mitchell Taubman and Dr. John McEachin. Besides overseeing the Autism Partnership operation in Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Kuwait and Beijing, with over 230 staff, including psychologists, consultants and therapists, he has also provided consultations to school districts, agencies, and families worldwide. Mr. Mountjoy has also contributed chapters to publications such as “Sense & Nonsense” and “It’s Time for School”. In 2007, he founded the charitable Autism Partnership Foundation and Aoi Pui School to offer more services for children with Autism.

Presentation: Autism Partnership Method and the Journey of Children with ASD

Presentation Description:  Many Children with autism have the potential to make great gains with early intensive intervention. Mr. Toby Mountjoy, the director of Autism Partnership, will introduce AP’s unique style of ABA, the Autism Partnership Method. In his presentation, Mr. Mountjoy will show in depth videos and share his analysis of a 5-day jumpstart program. The audience will see the child on the first day and then see how we develop programs and curriculum. Insights on priorities and therapy style will also be given.