Mental Health Keynote Speaking

In this dynamic and interactive workshop designed for teachers, administrators and school counselors of students, participants will learn concrete strategies to meet students where they are, reduce school-based anxiety and help them strengthen essential executive functioning skills. With current research on the developing brain and real-life case examples, Dr. Saline shows you how and why executive functioning skills are critical to the learning process for all students, especially for kids with ADHD, learning disabilities, twice exceptionality (2E) and level one autism. You will leave this workshop with practical, tangible strategies for identifying and nurturing cognitive and socio-emotional strengths in all students.

Topics in this training include:

• Innovative tools to improve focus, organization, planning and motivation
• Exercises designed to improve participants’ understanding of living and learning differences
• Strategies for effective instruction of children and teens with learning differences
• Techniques for addressing common classroom challenges
• Methods for improving cooperation, self-confidence and social relationships

Living in a world that’s increasingly unpredictable, today’s students are more anxious than ever before. Wrestling with social, academic and personal worries, they need tools for managing common insecurities and nurturing self-esteem. For students who are neurodivergent thinkers–those with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism or twice exceptionality (2E), managing anxiety in conjunction with executive functioning deficits can seem especially daunting and unmanageable. In this dynamic training, Dr. Sharon Saline discusses the grip of anxiety and how it affects motivation, productivity and confidence. Topics in this training include:

• Strategies to reduce students’ anxiety and change their relationship to worry
• Techniques to avoid the pitfalls of negative thinking, decrease perfectionism and reduce social awkwardness
• Tools for teaching all kinds of learners how to realistically evaluate situations, tolerate uncertainty and engage appropriately with peers
• Effective approaches to nurture the resilience kids need

Do you know children or teens with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism or twice-exceptionality (2E)  who have a tough time starting and completing things they have to do? Many educators who work with neurodivergent youth feel frustrated and thwarted in their efforts to teach responsibility, motivation and follow through. In this training, Dr. Sharon Saline shows you how to increase kids’ buy-in and motivation so they want to work with you to create solutions to daily challenges. Dr. Saline also explores the relationship between motivation, anxiety and low self-confidence, offering practical tools to support students more effectively. You will learn essential tools for reducing procrastination, improving productivity and building self-esteem.

Topics in this training include:

• The foundation of motivation and why students get stuck
• Practical approaches to increase collaboration and engagement
• Evidence-based, effective strategies to improve initiation, time management, organization and prioritizing
• Interventions to reduce procrastination, increase focus,  sustained attention and develop goal-directed persistence
• Methods for reducing anxiety’s effect on motivation

Do you know students who struggle with making and keeping friends, speaking in front of others, or joining group activities? Concerned about rejection, embarrassment and exclusion, they often feel misunderstood and lonely. Dr. Sharon Saline will show you how to assist neurodiverse kids in learning how to participate more fully in social situations with greater confidence and less self-criticism. You will leave this webinar with useful strategies to help children and teens improve conversational skills, initiate and foster friendships and boost their self-esteem.

Topics in this training include:

• How social anxiety works
• Practical tools for teaching kids how to engage more effectively with peers and adults at school, at home, and in life
• Underlying issues related to all types of bullying
• The bystander phenomenon
• How to identify and manage the common causes of bullying
• Non-provocative strategies for empowerment
• Improving self-awareness to monitor individual behavior
• Creating effective safety plans

Whether neurodivergent teens and young adults are facing high school or college graduations, many of them can’t seem to take the next step and move into the independent, satisfying adulthood they desire. Instead, they seem stalled by executive functioning challenges that are often combined with anxiety, depression, substance abuse or other co-occurring conditions. In this presentation, Dr. Sharon Saline helps professionals assist their clients or students with navigating these tricky transitions. Participants will leave with a clearer picture of extended adolescence and practical approaches to prepare your clients for the next chapter of their lives.

Topics in this training include:

• A comprehensive framework for understanding emerging adulthood
• Innovative, practical tools to balance growing autonomy with appropriate levels of family and adult engagement
• Strategies to foster key executive functioning skills that are critical for self-management
• Techniques for coping with the stress of ‘adulting’, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues
• Approaches for working with and intervening with challenging parents

Living in a world that’s increasingly unpredictable and dealing with the effects of an international pandemic, today’s kids, whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent, are more anxious than ever before. In this training, Dr. Sharon Saline discusses how anxiety works, the effect of PTSD on kids with ADHD and what professionals can do to help neurodivergent children and teens reduce their worries. Using cognitive behavioral, insight-oriented and mindfulness interventions, Dr. Saline will share practical, research-based strategies for enhancing self-regulation, social confidence and self-compassion in anxious children and adolescents. Armed with these tools, you’ll assist these young people in developing the confidence and coping skills they’ll need in today’s unpredictable world.

Topics in this training include:

• The physiology and psychology of anxiety
• How to help kids change their relationship to worry and avoid the pitfalls of negative thinking
• Techniques for separating the person from the anxiety
• Talking to the worry itself and creating effective responses to “what ifs”

Do you work with neurodivergent tweens and teens who seem to make things tougher than they need to be? Whether it’s intense emotional eruptions, isolation from peers, snarky attitudes, defiance towards adults, substance abuse or other problematic behaviors, many kids with ADHD, learning disabilities (LD), twice-exceptionality or autism seem to loop through self-defeating and self-destructive patterns. The combination of neurodivergence with the onset of puberty can create a volatile mix of anger, defiance and explosive feelings. In this presentation, Dr. Sharon Saline will show you how to talk with kids about what’s really going on, reveal opportunities for collaborative solutions and reduce conflict at home and  school. You’ll learn easy, practical tools for transforming stuckness and obstinacy into optimism and cooperation while nurturing confidence and resilience.

Topics in this training include:

• Strategies for avoiding blowouts at home and at school
• Collaborative techniques for improving motivation and reducing stress
• Tools to repair relationship ruptures
• Techniques for facilitating emotional regulation at home and at school
• Methods for improving self-esteem

Do you ever wonder what’s really going on in the minds of kids with ADHD? Dr. Sharon Saline, offers rare insights into how kids honestly think and feel about having ADHD and what best interventions will help them. She assists mental health practitioners and coaches to think differently about the challenges these children and teens face by examining key biopsychosocial and environmental factors along with co-existing conditions.  Based on her unique, strength-based method–’the 5C’s of ADHD,’ Dr. Saline shares a variety of helpful and practical strategies that foster key executive functioning skills at home, at school and in peer relationships. Her collaborative approach integrates mindfulness, cognitive therapy and positive psychology while fostering individual strengths and building healthy social and familial connections. You will leave this workshop with tools and knowledge to successfully nurture resilience and independence in your clients.

Topics in this training include:

• Strength-based approaches to improve parent-child relationships
• Methods for integrating research about the developing brain and ADHD into treatment plans
• Tools for improving executive functioning skills at home and at school
• Techniques for reducing arguments and building cooperation and closeness
• Interventions to improve self-esteem and social interactions

Do you ever wonder how you can help your teen become a more effective and satisfied student, friend and family member? In this presentation, Dr. Saline offers rare insights into how kids honestly think and feel about having ADHD and how you can better meet the challenges of living with them. Using current research on ADHD, the developing brain and examples from students themselves, Dr. Saline shows you how and why executive functioning skills are critical to both the learning process and managing anxiety. Based on her unique, strength-based 5C’s approach, you’ll learn effective, practical tools for working with teens to improve these essential skills and reduce worrying too. With these techniques for more cooperation and less arguing, you can successfully nurture the resilience, competence and connection that everybody desires.

Topics in this training include:

• Innovative tools to improve focus, organization, planning and motivation
• Exercises designed to improve participants’ understanding of living and learning differences
• Strategies for effective instruction of children and teens with learning differences
• Techniques for addressing common classroom challenges
• Methods for improving cooperation, self-confidence and social relationships

Does your child or teen have a tough time starting and completing things? Learn how to successfully motivate all types of learners using Dr. Saline’s evidence-based, collaborative approach. Instead of arguments and frustration, learn to increase buy-in, improve organization, reduce avoidance and set realistic goals by including your child in the process. Dr. Saline provides strategies to successfully motivate children and teens at home and at school. You’ll learn how to increase productivity and accountability by applying her research-based, effective tools that have helped hundreds of families overcome procrastination and get stuff done.

Topics in this training include:

• The foundation of motivation and why neurodiverse families and kids get stuck
• Practical approaches to increase collaboration and engagement while decreasing conflict and resistence
• Evidence-based, effective strategies to improve initiation, time management, organization and prioritizing
• Interventions to reduce procrastination, increase focus,  sustained attention and develop goal-directed persistence
• Methods for reducing anxiety’s effect on motivation

Living in a world that’s increasingly unpredictable, today’s youth are more anxious than ever before. Wrestling with social, academic and personal worries, they need tools for managing common insecurities and nurturing self-esteem. For students who are neurodivergent thinkers–those with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism or twice exceptionality (2E), managing anxiety in conjunction with executive functioning deficits can seem especially daunting and unmanageable. In this dynamic training, Dr. Sharon Saline discusses the grip of anxiety and how it affects motivation, productivity and confidence.

Topics in this training include:

• Strategies to reduce kids’ anxiety, change their relationship to worry and feel more confident
• Techniques to avoid the pitfalls of negative thinking, decrease perfectionism and reduce social awkwardness
• Tools for teaching neurodivergent children and teens how to realistically evaluate situations, tolerate uncertainty and engage appropriately with peers
• Effective approaches to nurture the resilience kids need

Do your tweens and teens with ADHD seem to make things tougher than they need to be? The combination of ADHD with the onset of puberty can create a volatile mix of anger, defiance and explosive feelings. In this presentation, Dr. Sharon Saline will show you how to talk with kids about what’s really going on, reveal opportunities for collaborative solutions and reduce conflict at home and school. You’ll learn easy, practical tools for transforming stuckness and obstinacy into optimism and cooperation while nurturing resilience.

Topics in this training include:

• How to avoid blowouts
• How to improve motivation
• Repairing relationship ruptures
• Facilitating emotional regulation at home and at school

Do you ever wonder what is going on in the minds of neurodivergent coworkers with ADHD, depression, anxiety, or learning differences? These adults seem to struggle with managing time, focus, motivation and planning. Work may be turned in late, important points during meetings may be missed or they seem disorganized and forgetful. In this training, Dr. Saline explains ADHD and related conditions and how they manifest in the workplace. She will discuss why improving executive functioning skills is so critical to successful daily functioning and offers innovative strategies that help all colleagues, not just those who are neurodivergent, to improve focus, organization, recall, planning and motivation. You will leave with greater knowledge about fostering a professional environment of compassion, acceptance and productivity for everybody.

Topics in this training include:

• Tools for improving executive functioning skills for effective daily functioning
• Useful strategies to improve sustained attention, organization, prioritizing and initiation.
• Techniques for understanding the type of support neurodivergent adults need to be successful at work
• Caring approaches that address anxiety, perfectionism or depression in colleagues

Living in a world that’s increasingly unpredictable, people are more anxious than ever before. This anxiety is negatively impacting them at work, at home and in social situations. For folks living with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism or twice exceptionality (2E), managing anxiety in conjunction with executive functioning deficits can seem especially daunting and unmanageable. Worry and fear seem to increase agitation, distractedness and a lack of productivity. In this training, Dr. Saline discusses how anxiety functions, its impact on your brain your body, and your work. She will show you how to manage these issues effectively and support colleagues who are struggling so everybody can be more productive and confident.

Topics in this training include:

• Strategies to reduce adult anxiety and change your relationship to worry
• Techniques to avoid the pitfalls of negative thinking, decrease perfectionism and reduce overthinking about ‘what-if’s’
• Tools for understanding how to realistically evaluate situations, tolerate uncertainty and engage appropriately with peers
• Methods for talking back to your worries, developing a sense of control and shifting to a growth mindset orientation.
• Effective approaches to nurture the resilience professionals need

Are you frustrated with how hard it is for you to start things, stick with them and finish up? Many adults with ADHD, learning disabilities and autism struggle with knowing where to begin a task, how to break it down and how to set realistic goals. Haunted by previous failures and struggling to concentrate on uninteresting tasks, you may feel extremely frustrated and hopeless about making real changes in your efficiency, productivity and focus. In this workshop, Dr. Sharon Saline provides insight and tools on how to improve motivation, productivity, sustained attention and self-confidence. Dr. Saline also explores the relationship between motivation, anxiety and low self-confidence, offering practical tools to support yourself and/or colleagues more effectively. You will leave this workshop with practical tips and helpful strategies for getting more done and feeling good about yourself too!

Topics in this training include:

• Ways to unpack the components of motivation and understand why people get stuck
• Effective strategies to improve executive functioning skills such as initiation, time management, organization and prioritizing
• Tools to conquer procrastination, perfectionism and anxiety related to work projects, presentations and reports
• Interventions to increase focus, build sustained attention and develop goal-directed persistence
• Methods for limiting negative judgments, improving self-awareness and appreciating daily accomplishments

Do you notice that perfectionism holds you or your colleagues back and limits satisfaction and success? Many adults, especially those with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism and twice-exceptionality (2E) struggle with wanting something to be right so much that it becomes difficult to start tasks or finish them. Sometimes perfectionism leads to intense self-criticism, low self-esteem and social isolation. This cycle of perfectionism not only increases procrastination and stress but also contributes to ongoing anxiety and depression. In this presentation, Dr. Sharon Saline will provide you with tools to interrupt and curb the pattern of setting unreasonable standards, engaging in negative comparisons to others and judging yourself for being an ‘outside-the-box’ thinker. You will walk away accepting yourself (and your colleagues) as you truly are–perfectly imperfect.

Topics in this training include:

• Approaches to understand the relationship between anxiety, perfectionism and ADHD
• Tools for interrupting and curbing unreasonable standards, negative comparisons to others and unhelpful patterns of self-criticism
• Strategies for managing imposter syndrome, fear of failure and toxic shame
• Methods for improving executive functioning skills related to productivity, procrastination and focus
• Techniques to set realistic expectations based on previous successful experiences
• Tips for building the resilience of a growth mindset and the capacity for mindful self-compassion

Is it tough for you to make presentations, connect with colleagues in the lunchroom or join meetings? Many neurotypical and neurodivergent adults wrestle with struggle with fears of embarrassment, rejection or criticism and hold back from participating in work or life in ways they truly desire. Sometimes intense insecurity, rejection sensitivity or low self-esteem interfere with their ability to succeed professionally as well as personally. Dr. Sharon Saline will show you how to participate more fully in work and social situations with greater confidence and less discomfort. She will help you understand how social anxiety works and offer tools for improving your communication skills. By developing resilience and shifting your mindset, you’ll be armed with concrete techniques for artfully engaging with others with courage and authenticity.

Topics include:

• Tools for understanding how social anxiety and rejection sensitivity dysphoria function and affect work and peer relationships
• Strategies for overcoming limiting beliefs and behaviors that hold you (or your colleagues) back
• Techniques for managing social situations and personal relationships with ease and confidence.
• Skills to improve communication and engage in clear, appropriate and meaningful conversations.
• Methods for improving resilience and maintaining a growth mindset.

Would you like to help people living with ADHD develop better self-management, social skills and personal insight? In this workshop, Dr. Sharon Saline explains how mindful self-compassion improves metacognition, emotional regulation, impulse control, and other executive functioning skills that frequently challenge people with ADHD. These tools will help people engage in less negative self-talk and possess more confidence to apply themselves more successfully in school or work, at home and with peers.

Topics include:

• Recent research on ADHD, executive functioning skills and co-occurring conditions
• Practical strategies for reducing stress, anxiety and shame
• Tools to reduce pessimistic outlooks and fixed mindsets in the workplace and at home
• Methods for building mindful self-awareness and essential cognitive skills related to focus, motivation and organization