Offered twice on Tuesday, morning and afternoon. You can earn credit for it once.

Presenters

• George McCloskey, Ph.D., Director of School Psychology Research in the School of Professional and Applied Psychology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

About this session

This workshop offers an in-depth exploration of executive functions and their crucial role in learning and using reading, writing, and math skills. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how motivation influences the development of these skills and learn to identify specific challenges in reading, writing, and math that stem from executive function deficits.

The session will also cover practical interventions and strategies to help students strengthen their executive functions, ultimately boosting their academic proficiency. Whether you are a teacher, school psychologist, or educational specialist, this workshop will equip you with the tools to better support students in overcoming executive function difficulties and achieving their full academic potential.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the role of executive functions in reading, writing, and doing math.
2. Describe how executive function difficulties impact reading, writing, and math production.
3. Apply assessment techniques to determine how executive function difficulties impact reading, writing, and math proficiency.
4. Apply instructional techniques that address reading, writing, and math problems related to executive function difficulties.

Offered twice on Tuesday, morning and afternoon. You can earn credit for it once.

Presenters

• George McCloskey, Ph.D., Director of School Psychology Research in the School of Professional and Applied Psychology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

About this session

This workshop offers an in-depth exploration of executive functions and their crucial role in learning and using reading, writing, and math skills. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how motivation influences the development of these skills and learn to identify specific challenges in reading, writing, and math that stem from executive function deficits.

The session will also cover practical interventions and strategies to help students strengthen their executive functions, ultimately boosting their academic proficiency. Whether you are a teacher, school psychologist, or educational specialist, this workshop will equip you with the tools to better support students in overcoming executive function difficulties and achieving their full academic potential.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the role of executive functions in reading, writing, and doing math.
2. Describe how executive function difficulties impact reading, writing, and math production.
3. Apply assessment techniques to determine how executive function difficulties impact reading, writing, and math proficiency.
4. Apply instructional techniques that address reading, writing, and math problems related to executive function difficulties.

Presenters

• Elaine Fletcher-Janzen, Ed.D., ABPdN, Consultant, Private Practice

About this session

Over the past two decades, advances in affective neuroscience have transformed our understanding of emotion, consciousness, and human decision-making. Once viewed as separate systems, cognition and emotion are now understood to function as an integrated network that supports adaptation, learning, resilience, and survival. Affective neuroscientific research demonstrates that awareness of internal bodily states plays a fundamental role in how individuals interpret experiences, identify emotions, regulate emotions, make decisions, and maintain psychological well-being.

Learning disabilities affect much more than academic achievement. Children who repeatedly struggle to learn often begin to develop predictable emotional and physiological responses that interfere with learning itself. Over time, these experiences influence motivation, attention, executive functioning, self-esteem, relationships, and mental health.

The adults surrounding these students, including teachers, school psychologists, special educators, administrators, counselors, and parents, play a critical role in shaping how children interpret these experiences. A growing body of research demonstrates that emotionally attuned adults can help regulate children's nervous systems, strengthen resilience, improve engagement, and foster long-term academic success.

Children with learning disabilities do not simply experience academic challenges, they also experience the world physiologically and emotionally. Every day, their brains continuously integrate information from the external environment with signals arising from within their own bodies. These internal signals influence how they experience frustration, confidence, motivation, stress, attention, persistence, and relationships.

Recent advances in affective neuroscience have transformed our understanding of how the brain and body work together to shape emotion, learning, and behavior. This research demonstrates that emotions are not obstacles to learning; they are biological processes that help organize attention, guide decision-making, and support adaptation. Understanding these processes provides educators, school psychologists, special educators, and parents with a powerful new framework for interpreting behavior and responding more effectively.

This interactive workshop translates affective neuroscience into practical educational strategies. Participants will explore how the body's internal signals (interoception), emotional brain systems, homeostasis, and allostasis influence the daily experiences of students with learning disabilities.

Participants will leave with a practical neuroscience-informed framework that strengthens assessment, consultation, intervention, family partnerships, and classroom practice while fostering resilience and agency in both children and the adults who support them.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain how affective neuroscience has changed our understanding of learning, emotion, and behavior in children with learning disabilities.
2. Describe how the brain and body function as an integrated system through emotional brain networks, interoception, homeostasis, and allostasis.
3. Recognize how children with learning disabilities may experience everyday classroom demands differently because of their biological and emotional responses to learning.

Presenters

• S. Kathleen Krach, B.S., M.S., Ed.S., Ph.D., Professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Michael P. McCreery, Ph.D., Professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Mary Ann MacDonald, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Evan Falkenthal, University of Nevada Las Vegas

About this session

Session description coming soon.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

Learning objectives coming soon.

Presenters

• Julie Gettman, PhD, NCSP, ABSNP, Executive Director, Owner, School Neuropsychology Institute, Mindworks Assessment
• Chris Bedford, PhD, LP, ABSNP, Associate Director, School Neuropsychology Institute

About this session

Assessment batteries produce an abundance of scores, but practitioners are often left without a principled framework for determining what those scores mean for an individual student. This session introduces the impurity problem — the reality that most cognitive tasks reflect multiple processes, not a single construct — and presents a tiered, hypothesis-driven framework for interpreting scores accordingly. Drawing on established traditions including the Boston Process Approach, Cognitive Hypothesis Testing, and the D-KEFS Advanced interpretive approach, this framework treats behavioral observations as essential clinical data, not supplementary detail. Illustrative examples from familiar assessment tasks show how comparing performance across task variants reveals which process is actually driving a score. Because this approach identifies mechanism rather than simply flagging weakness, it also points intervention toward the right target. Practitioners will leave with a concrete, instrument-agnostic framework for making sense of complex, impure data — one student at a time.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain why individualized, hypothesis-driven interpretation yields more clinically meaningful conclusions than manualized, score-by-score analysis.
2. Apply a tiered interpretive framework to determine which cognitive process is driving an individual student's assessment scores.
3. Incorporate behavioral observation data as clinical evidence when interpreting scores across a range of assessment instruments.

Presenters

• Scott Decker, Ph.D., Professor, University of South Carolina, Department of Psychology

About this session

This presentation examines the role of cognitive assessment in the identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and intervention planning by integrating contemporary research, diagnostic frameworks, and school-based implementation strategies. The session begins with a critical evaluation of empirical research examining the use of cognitive assessment data for SLD identification and intervention planning. Contemporary diagnostic approaches are reviewed, including the 2023 Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) Standards and the LEFT Model (Listen, Evaluate, Formulate, Teach/Treat). Emerging innovations in assessment, including digital biomarkers and virtual reality-based measures of cognitive processing, are discussed. The presentation concludes with a review of empirical research examining the application of advanced psychometric models to computer-administered diagnostic reading screeners for early identification of reading difficulties in kindergarten and first grade, emphasizing their potential applications for data-based decision-making and individualized instruction.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate empirical evidence regarding the use of cognitive assessment in the identification and intervention planning of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD).
2. Compare the 2023 LDA Standards and contemporary models of SLD identification, including their underlying assumptions, assessment approaches, and implications for diagnostic practice.
3. Evaluate the potential utility of emerging assessment innovations, including digital biomarkers and computer-administered diagnostic reading screeners using advanced psychometric models, for early identification and individualized instructional planning.

Presenters

• Samuel O. Ortiz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, St. John's University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

About this session

In this session, Dr. Sam Ortiz traces 120 years of learning disability evaluation for English Language Learners, from Binet's earliest tests through decades of well-intentioned but flawed bilingual instruments that relied on monolingual norms and failed to account for differential language development. Dr. Ortiz will discuss the tools and resources practitioners use today, examine how AI and digital technology have already begun reshaping assessment best practices, and look ahead to the next one to three years, when technological change will fundamentally transform how ELL students are evaluated. Drawing on three decades of clinical and research experience, Dr. Ortiz will share why the field is finally at an inflection point and what a child-centered, ability-driven, learning-focused approach to multilingual assessment can look like when built from the ground up with modern technology rather than adapted from analog tests.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Understand the history of test development and the evolution of ELL assessment practices.
2. Review the strengths and weaknesses of the current best practices for assessing ELL learners.
3. Explain how innovations will transform ELL evaluation in the next 1 to 3 years.

Presenters

• Edward Schultz, PhD, Professor, Midwestern State University

About this session

Work sample analysis is one of the most authentic and instructionally relevant sources for understanding student learning, yet it remains underused in evaluation and classroom instruction. This session presents a practical framework for collecting and analyzing classroom work with support from artificial intelligence. Participants will learn how work samples provide direct evidence of student knowledge, skills, misconceptions, and learning patterns within the curriculum. This evidence can strengthen evaluation conclusions while helping teachers understand how students approach academic tasks and where instruction may need to change. A five step process for AI supported error analysis will be demonstrated through examples involving spelling, written expression, and mathematics. The session also presents six ethical principles addressing professional judgment, accountability, transparency, fairness, and student privacy. The session will be practical and useful for both evaluators and teachers.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Analyze authentic work samples to identify error patterns, skill deficits, and instructional needs.
2. Use AI to connect student performance with state standards and support educational decision-making.
3. Apply ethical AI practices that protect student privacy and preserve professional judgment.

Presenters

• Michelle S. Storie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego
• Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Associate Professor, St. John's University
• Jana Parker, MS, LEP, ABSNP, Founder, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Mind by Design

About this session

This session redefines dysgraphia assessment and intervention for school psychologists and other educators by integrating neuropsychological insights with the Science of Writing framework. Participants will explore the neural networks undergirding written expression, including sensorimotor, attentional, and language systems, alongside Berninger’s Not-So-Simple View of Writing.

The presentation outlines evidence-based tools to identify distinct writing profiles: graphomotor, dyslexic, and executive dysgraphia. Moving beyond general labels, attendees will learn to design and monitor targeted interventions within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), addressing both transcription deficits and higher-level executive weaknesses.

Finally, the session emphasizes collaborative strategies for school psychologists and other educators to translate assessment data into actionable recommendations for teachers and families. Attendees will leave equipped with a practical, strengths-based toolkit to improve identification accuracy, implement evidence-based writing instruction, and ensure students with written expression difficulties can successfully communicate their knowledge.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Utilize evidence-based assessment tools to distinguish between graphomotor, dyslexic, and executive dysgraphia profiles to move beyond general diagnostic labels.
2. Integrate neuropsychological principles and Science of Writing strategies to design, implement, and progress-monitor targeted interventions across universal, targeted, and intensive tiers.
3. Acquire practical tools to translate complex assessment data into actionable recommendations, facilitating collaborative intervention planning among educators, specialists, and families.

Presenters

• Michelle S. Storie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego
• Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Associate Professor, St. John's University
• Jana Parker, MS, LEP, ABSNP, Founder, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Mind by Design

About this session

This session redefines dysgraphia assessment and intervention for school psychologists and other educators by integrating neuropsychological insights with the Science of Writing framework. Participants will explore the neural networks undergirding written expression, including sensorimotor, attentional, and language systems, alongside Berninger’s Not-So-Simple View of Writing.

The presentation outlines evidence-based tools to identify distinct writing profiles: graphomotor, dyslexic, and executive dysgraphia. Moving beyond general labels, attendees will learn to design and monitor targeted interventions within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), addressing both transcription deficits and higher-level executive weaknesses.

Finally, the session emphasizes collaborative strategies for school psychologists and other educators to translate assessment data into actionable recommendations for teachers and families. Attendees will leave equipped with a practical, strengths-based toolkit to improve identification accuracy, implement evidence-based writing instruction, and ensure students with written expression difficulties can successfully communicate their knowledge.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Utilize evidence-based assessment tools to distinguish between graphomotor, dyslexic, and executive dysgraphia profiles to move beyond general diagnostic labels.
2. Integrate neuropsychological principles and Science of Writing strategies to design, implement, and progress-monitor targeted interventions across universal, targeted, and intensive tiers.
3. Acquire practical tools to translate complex assessment data into actionable recommendations, facilitating collaborative intervention planning among educators, specialists, and families.

Part 1 of 2. Part 2 follows at 4:00 PM.

Presenters

• Cathy Fiorello, Ph.D., Professor, Emeritus, Temple University

About this session

Part 1 introduces Demands Analysis, a method for identifying the cognitive and neuropsychological processes required to complete specific tests and subtests. Participants will examine how a student's processing strengths and weaknesses can inform the development of targeted interventions.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Use Demands Analysis to identify the input, processing, and output demands of a given subtest.

Part 2 of 2. Part 1 is at 2:15 PM.

Presenters

• Cathy Fiorello, Ph.D., Professor, Emeritus, Temple University

About this session

Part 2 introduces Cognitive Hypothesis Testing, a systematic approach to developing and refining interventions based on assessment results and other student data.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe how to develop and refine interventions using Cognitive Hypothesis Testing.

Presenters

• Michelle S. Storie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego
• Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Associate Professor, St. John's University
• Jana Parker, MS, LEP, ABSNP, Founder, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Mind by Design

About this session

This session provides school psychologists and educators with a comprehensive framework for dyslexia assessment and intervention by integrating neuropsychological principles with the Science of Reading. Drawing on neuroimaging research and the Simple View of Reading, presenters will demonstrate how to analyze cognitive, academic, and processing data to identify distinct reading profiles. Participants will learn to design precise evaluations that pinpoint specific cognitive roadblocks, such as phonological processing weaknesses or retrieval deficits. Beyond identification, the session outlines how to implement evidence-based, structured literacy interventions within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Attendees will gain practical strategies for effective screening of reading difficulties, monitoring student progress, and making data-informed instructional adjustments as academic demands evolve. By bridging cognitive science and educational practice, this session empowers school psychologists and educators to lead systemic efforts that improve diagnostic accuracy, target interventions effectively, and ultimately foster stronger literacy outcomes for all struggling readers.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Understand reading-related brain functions to inform data-based decision making.
2. Apply the Science of Reading to identify dyslexia profiles.
3. Evaluate their practices to implement MTSS-aligned decoding interventions using evidence-based practices.

Presenters

• Michelle S. Storie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego
• Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Associate Professor, St. John's University
• Jana Parker, MS, LEP, ABSNP, Founder, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Mind by Design

About this session

This session provides school psychologists and educators with a comprehensive framework for dyslexia assessment and intervention by integrating neuropsychological principles with the Science of Reading. Drawing on neuroimaging research and the Simple View of Reading, presenters will demonstrate how to analyze cognitive, academic, and processing data to identify distinct reading profiles. Participants will learn to design precise evaluations that pinpoint specific cognitive roadblocks, such as phonological processing weaknesses or retrieval deficits. Beyond identification, the session outlines how to implement evidence-based, structured literacy interventions within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Attendees will gain practical strategies for effective screening of reading difficulties, monitoring student progress, and making data-informed instructional adjustments as academic demands evolve. By bridging cognitive science and educational practice, this session empowers school psychologists and educators to lead systemic efforts that improve diagnostic accuracy, target interventions effectively, and ultimately foster stronger literacy outcomes for all struggling readers.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Understand reading-related brain functions to inform data-based decision making.
2. Apply the Science of Reading to identify dyslexia profiles.
3. Evaluate their practices to implement MTSS-aligned decoding interventions using evidence-based practices.

Presenters

• Steven G. Feifer, D.Ed., Psychologist, James Madison University

About this session

The International Dyslexia Association recently revised the definition of dyslexia after more than two decades to reiterate it is a condition of neurological origin. Dyslexia is also described as occurring along a continuum of severity, with both phonological and orthographical processing weaknesses often evident. Dyslexia awareness in the United States has increased exponentially over the past ten years, with national trends requiring statewide screening, identification, and servicing students with dyslexia. Therefore, this workshop will examine reading and dyslexia from a brain-based educational perspective. A primary focus will be to differentiate “dyslexia” from other types of reading disabilities, as well as to classify developmental reading disorders into four distinct subtypes. There will be a discussion matching each reading disorders’ subtype with scores of evidence-based interventions. Lastly, specific assessment strategies designed to examine the underlying cognitive and linguistic processes that supports proficient reading skills will also be addressed.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Examine global literacy rates, as well as general trends in reading and the prevalence of dyslexia in the United States.
2. Learn four subtypes of reading disabilities, and link scores of evidenced-based interventions and relevant classroom strategies to address each subtype.
3. Learn a brain-based educational model of reading by examining specific neural circuits that underscore phonological development, orthographic development, and reading comprehension skills.

Presenters

• Steven G. Feifer, D.Ed., Psychologist, James Madison University

About this session

The International Dyslexia Association recently revised the definition of dyslexia after more than two decades to reiterate it is a condition of neurological origin. Dyslexia is also described as occurring along a continuum of severity, with both phonological and orthographical processing weaknesses often evident. Dyslexia awareness in the United States has increased exponentially over the past ten years, with national trends requiring statewide screening, identification, and servicing students with dyslexia. Therefore, this workshop will examine reading and dyslexia from a brain-based educational perspective. A primary focus will be to differentiate “dyslexia” from other types of reading disabilities, as well as to classify developmental reading disorders into four distinct subtypes. There will be a discussion matching each reading disorders’ subtype with scores of evidence-based interventions. Lastly, specific assessment strategies designed to examine the underlying cognitive and linguistic processes that supports proficient reading skills will also be addressed.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Examine global literacy rates, as well as general trends in reading and the prevalence of dyslexia in the United States.
2. Learn four subtypes of reading disabilities, and link scores of evidenced-based interventions and relevant classroom strategies to address each subtype.
3. Learn a brain-based educational model of reading by examining specific neural circuits that underscore phonological development, orthographic development, and reading comprehension skills.