Presented by Cara Daily, Ph.D. and Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC, R.Psych and Eva de Gosztonyi, M.A.
Monday, June 1, 2026 – Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | Halifax, ns
Monday, June 1, 2026 – Wednesday, June 3, 2026
8:30am – 4:00pm
Dalhousie University – Student Union Building
6136 University Ave, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2
Room 303
Education and Clinical Professionals: All education and mental health or healthcare professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors, Learning Assistance/Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers • All other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs including but not limited to: Nurses, Social Workers, Psychologists, Clinical Counsellors, Family Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Addiction Counsellors, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Probation Officers and Community Police Officers.
8:30am - 4:00pm June 1, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Join us for an engaging and informative workshop designed to empower parents, caregivers, educators, and professionals with effective strategies for managing challenging behaviors associated with autism and social communication disorder (SCD). Participants will gain insight into the core challenges faced by individuals with autism and SCD, including difficulties with social interaction, understanding social cues, and maintaining conversations. The workshop will also cover diagnostic criteria and assessment tools for both disorders, helping attendees to navigate the complexities of development and behaviour.
Through hands-on activities, service providers will leave with a toolbox of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed at reducing challenging behaviors, teaching new skills, and promoting self-regulation. Specific social communication strategies will be highlighted, including techniques for facilitating back-and-forth conversations with individuals on the spectrum or with a social communication disorder.
Additionally, we will discuss how to modify the environments—home, classroom, and community—to improve behaviors and support independent living skills as participants transition to adulthood.
Join us for this lively, educational, and experiential workshop that will transform your approach to supporting individuals with autism and social communication disorder.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Cara Marker Daily, PhD, BCBA, is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 20 years of experience providing assessment and treatment for children, adolescents and young adults with autism in the home, school, hospital and community settings. She…
8:30am - 11:45am June 2, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTION
As high as 20% of children in Canada will experience an anxiety disorder before reaching adulthood. For many of these children, symptoms of anxiety will impede their life and development to a degree that will create impairments into adulthood. Developmental vulnerabilities place children and adolescents at unique risk and also in need of specialized knowledge regarding the assessment and treatment of their anxiety symptoms. In this workshop, Dr. Muth will ground the assessment and treatment of anxiety for children and adolescent in a neurological understanding of human development. Presenting developmentally appropriate CBT and play therapy interventions, Dr. Muth will provide practical tools for working with children and adolescents with anxiety. Participants will walk away with the ability to identify anxiety symptoms and apply immediate interventions to address psychological symptoms and reduce the likelihood of continuation of issues into adulthood.
Why Attend?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Understand developmental impacts on the presentation and treatment of psychological symptoms
• Identify anxiety symptoms according to developmental stage for children and adolescents
• Apply CBT and play therapy interventions to treat anxiety in children and adolescents
Dr. Carissa Muth is a registered psychologist in Alberta and British Columbia and the Clinical Director at the Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic. She holds Doctorate of Psychology, Master of Arts in Counselling, and Bachelor of…
12:45pm - 4:00pm June 2, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Planning, organizing, and emotionally regulating all are executive functioning that, when impaired, can significantly impact activities of daily living. In childhood this can range in presentation from the ability to complete homework, to the ability to refrain from anger outbursts. While executive functioning never fully develops until young adulthood, certain children are at risk for lifetime impairments. Risk factors include trauma, low socioeconomic status, stress or neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD or ASD. In this workshop, Dr. Muth will present tools that can be implemented in the therapeutic setting and have been evidenced to have a lasting impact on children with low executive functioning. Many skills have been suggested by professionals, such as exercise, computer games, music, but only a few have been found to have a lasting impact once the intervention ceases. For children with low executive functioning, particular nontypically developing children (including children with neurodevelopmental disorders or behaviour problems), improving skills in these areas can significantly improve their ability to flourish throughout their life.
Why Attend?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
8:30am - 11:45am June 3, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTION
When children or teens become anxious, we are quick to search for ways to deal with their symptoms. However, the symptoms just let us know that the child is facing more alarm than he or she can handle. This presentation will elaborate on the concepts of alarm and anxiety. It will shed light on what alarms our children and teens the most. The focus of this presentation will be on what adults can do to help children cope with alarm, not on what children can do for themselves. When children can find rest in their attachment relationships, growth will happen, allowing them to develop to their full potential.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Eva de Gosztonyi, MA, is a psychologist who has worked for over 45 years in schools across Canada. For 22 years she was the Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Management, a support to the ten English School…
More information: https://neufeldinstitute.org/person/eva-de-gosztonyi/
12:45pm - 4:00pm June 3, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Schools are increasingly challenged by students who display aggression, explosive outbursts, resistance, and oppositional behaviour. These behaviours often lead to power struggles, reactive discipline, and ineffective interventions that unintentionally escalate the problem.
Grounded in attachment-based developmental theory and the work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld, this workshop reframes aggression, meltdowns, resistance, and defiance not as learned behaviours or deliberate misconduct, but as natural responses to frustration and developmental dynamics such as Counterwill. Participants will explore the emotional and neurological roots of these behaviours and gain a deeper understanding of why conventional behaviour management approaches frequently backfire.
Through a relational, neuroscience-informed lens, this session will equip educators and school-based professionals with practical strategies to reduce power struggles, support emotional regulation, and create conditions that foster cooperation, resilience, and healthy adaptation. Emphasis will be placed on school-based interventions that address both explosive and oppositional behaviours while preserving connection and dignity.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
| Registration | Super Early Bird Fee | Early Bird Fee | Regular Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONE DAY ENROLLMENT | -- | ||
| Individual 1 Day Enrollment | $299.00 | $319.00 | $339.00 |
| 1 Day Group 3-7 | $249.00 | $269.00 | $289.00 |
| 1 Day Group 8-14 | $224.00 | $244.00 | $264.00 |
| 1 Day Group 15+ | $199.00 | $219.00 | $239.00 |
| 1 Day Full-Time Student | $199.00 | $219.00 | $239.00 |
| -- | |||
| TWO DAY ENROLLMENT | -- | ||
| Individual 2 Day Enrollment | $539.00 | $559.00 | $579.00 |
| 2 Day Group 3-7 | $489.00 | $509.00 | $529.00 |
| 2 Day Group 8-14 | $464.00 | $484.00 | $504.00 |
| 2 Day Group 15+ | $439.00 | $459.00 | $479.00 |
| 2 Day Full-Time Student | $439.00 | $459.00 | $479.00 |
| -- | |||
| THREE DAY ENROLLMENT | -- | ||
| Individual 3 Day Enrollment | $719.00 | $739.00 | $759.00 |
| 3 Day Group 3-7 | $669.00 | $689.00 | $709.00 |
| 3 Day Group 8-14 | $644.00 | $664.00 | $684.00 |
| 3 Day Group 15+ | $619.00 | $639.00 | $659.00 |
| 3 Day Full-Time Student | $619.00 | $639.00 | $659.00 |
All fees are per person and in Canadian Dollars ($CAD)
Fees do not include applicable taxes (5% GST).
Super early bird cutoff date: April 1, 2026
To receive the super early bird rate, registration and payment must be received by Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Early bird cutoff date: May 1, 2026
To receive the early bird rate, registration and payment must be received by Friday, May 1, 2026.
Please review our Registration Terms and Conditions for information on our cancellation policy, payment policies, rebates, and more. You must agree to our Terms and Conditions to register for a workshop or conference.
All brochures and forms are provided in .PDF format.
If you are unable to open our files, we recommend downloading Adobe Reader for free.
Please check back closer to the conference date for more information.
Please check back closer to the conference date for more information.
There are no related events at this time.