Vivian Weinstein Leadership Day

Breakthroughs and Innovations: Early Intervention through Different Lenses

Monday, February 24, 2025
8:00am - 4:30pm | In Person Event

The California Endowment
1000 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

We are thrilled to invite you to the Annual Vivian Weinstein Leadership Day, hosted by the Infant Development Association.

This year's conference, themed "Breakthroughs and Innovations: Early Intervention through Different Lenses" offers a unique opportunity to connect and learn with our diverse early intervention community.

Together, we'll explore innovative strategies for children from birth to age three with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Morning Keynote
Colleen Peyton, PT, DPT, and Theresa Sukal-Moulton, PT, DPT, PhD
Northwestern University
Topic: Using the CARES Framework to Optimize Neuromotor Health in Early Childhood
Neuromotor health is a critical substrate of infants' development and learning. Early development is a period of great change, vulnerability, and opportunity, making early identification and amelioration of neuromotor risk of the utmost importance. Our goal was to reach further into adjacent disciplines of developmental psychology, infant mental health and prevention, and implementation science to create a neuromotor intervention framework that incorporates considerations of holistic development, family engagement, implementation, and scalability. This purpose of this lecture is to summarize and explain diverse literatures, expert panels, and stakeholder feedback as the foundation for a novel framework: the Caregiver engagement, Active leaRning, Environmental enrichment, and Strengths-based framework (CARES). CARES promotes optimized infant neuromotor health, relational health, and family wellbeing during the early years of life.

Participants will:

• Explain four principles of intervention: (a) active learning, (b) environmental enrichment, (c) caregiver engagement, and (d) strength-based approaches.
• Discuss applications of principles to clinical care and research.
• Demonstrate implementation of a strengths-based approach to communication with caregivers.

 
Afternoon Keynote
Courtney Palm, MA, LMFT
Early Intervention Colorado
Topic: Developmental Disorders Affecting Sleep: Trauma, Neurocognitive, and Motor Conditions
This session will first discuss the intersecting components of sleep that affect all children, regardless of development and/or diagnosis. This training explores sleep from a whole-child perspective that accounts for nutrition, gut-health, and other factors that influence sleep consistency and quality. We will then discuss the specific sleep considerations for children affected by unique developmental experiences and how to develop custom strategies for those families.

Participants will:

• Learn about the top four factors affecting sleep for all children (nutrition, gut-health, sensory components, and attachment) to develop a systemic approach to assessing pediatric sleep needs.  
• Discuss the three specific diagnoses of this training (trauma, neurocognitive disorders, and motor conditions) and how those conditions affect sleep development.
• Explore different sleep strategies for each of the three developmental categories to assist in developing inclusive sleep plans.

Colleen Peyton, PT, DPT
Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Departments of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science & Pediatrics
Dr. Colleen Peyton serves as an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, where she teaches in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. For more about Dr. Peyton read HERE.

Theresa Sukal-Moulton, PT, DPT, PhD
Dr. Moulton is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences.
Her research interests include early detection, motor impairments associated with cerebral palsy and activity-based interventions.

Courtney Palm, M.A., LMFT
Courtney Palm holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University and has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2005. A member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, she has conducted over 10,000 sleep consults in her career. Read more about Courtney HERE

Join us for engaging plenary sessions and valuable networking to enhance our collective impact on children's developmental outcomes.

Session A: Reframing Sensory Procession in Early Autism: Strengths, Challenges, and Routines to Promote Engagement

Emily Campi, PhD, OTR/L

In this session, we will discuss sensory processing as it relates to early signs of autism in infants and toddlers. We will take a look at videos of infants presenting with sensory processing differences associated with early autism and analyze the way these presentations affect their ability to engage with their physical and social environments. Most importantly, we will reframe sensory processing differences by discussing how these characteristics can be leveraged as strengths and used to promote engagement with parents, other interactive partners, and the physical world.

Participants will:

• Learn about the functions of each sensory system in infant and toddler daily life.
• Learn to identify the early signs of autism related to sensory processing.
• Identify engagement as one of the key purposes of effective sensory processing in infants and toddlers.
• Learn strategies for supporting engagement with infants and toddlers who have sensory processing differences associated with early autism.

Emily Campi, PhD, OTR/L
Dr. Emily Campi is an adjunct professor of clinical occupational therapy at the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, as well as a postdoctoral fellow studying early life adversity at Chapman University. Read more about Dr. Campi HERE

 Session B: Early Physical and Occupational Therapy for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Grace Javier, PT, DPT & Jessica Park, MS, OTR/L

This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of cerebral palsy, emphasizing the importance of early referral for services. It will aim to introduce evidence-based early intervention strategies and specialized equipment that are utilized to optimize developmental outcomes. Lastly, it will offer a detailed exploration of the CCS Medical Therapy Program and its integral roll in the delivery of early intervention services for individuals with cerebral palsy.

Participants will:

• Define cerebral palsy and the importance of early referral for services.
• Describe evidence-based early intervention approaches for young children with cerebral palsy.
• Gain an understanding of the CCS MTP and its role in service provision for cerebral palsy.

Jessica Park, MS, OTR/L
County of Los Angeles, California Children’s Services, Medical Therapy Program
Jessica Park obtained a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Cal State Dominguez Hills. She has been an occupational therapist with California Children's Services in Los Angeles County for the past 10 years. Read more about Jessica HERE

Grace Javier, PT, DPT
County of Los Angeles, California Children’s Services, Medical Therapy Program
Grace Javier earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from University of St. Augustine. She has been a physical therapist for California Children's Services Medical Therapy Program for the County of Los Angeles for the past 13 years. Read more about Grace HERE

Session C: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Early Childhood Interventions

Presenter: Alyssa R. Palmer, PhD
 
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) encompass a range of birth defects that are associated with perinatal alcohol exposure. FASD is thought to effect 1 to 5% of United States first graders and has been associated with a host of developmental impairments including cognition, motor skills, languages skills, and social-emotional functioning. In the last two decades there has been some progress in developing treatments to support children with FASD in early childhood. Participants will delve into the research on the effects of perinatal alcohol exposure on early childhood developmental skills. They will then learn about the current state of evidenced based practices to support early childhood developmental skills in the context of perinatal alcohol exposure.
 
Participants will:

• Summarize the incident rates and common characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in early childhood.
• Identify common developmental domains that are key intervention targets for young children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
• Describe what evidence based interventions are available for young children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Alyssa Palmer, PhD
Dr. Alyssa Palmer is a child clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) within the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Read more about Dr. Palmer HERE

Non-Member: $195
IDA Agency/Individual Member: $150
IDA Parent/Student/New Clinician Member: $100

Light Breakfast, Coffee, Tea and Lunch provided

IDA CE Hours: Nursing, PT, Speech and Language $70 (7.0 hours)
CDI CE Hours: LCSW, LMFT, LEP, LPCC (you will be invoiced)

ADA Requests: As a part of the Infant Development Association’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, we offer accommodations when possible. Please email IDA at [email protected] 10 business days prior to the event to request accommodations (ASL interpretation, large print, etc.).

Register Today

VIVIAN WEINSTEIN LEADERSHIP DAY FAQS

What does registration include?
All participants will hear the keynote speakers and plenary sessions, a continental breakfast and lunch.
 
Where can I stay?
There are no room blocks for this one-day conference. Go to The California Endowment website for a list of hotels, click here.
 
Is there parking?
The California Endowment has parking on site and is free. For Information on Directions, click here

Event Sponsors