Occupational Therapy and Teacher Recertification Courses

Occupational Therapy Courses

Are you an occupational therapist professional seeking to obtain your required continuing education credits with at-home CEUs and quick, online certifications? Sign up now for Dianne Craft’s online Brain integration Therapy Courses through OT Courses!

What courses are available?

Brain Integration Therapy Course (6 Hours)

Course Description

Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia (along with its subsequent auditory processing weaknesses) are symptoms of stress in the learning/vestibular system that therapists work with on a daily basis. The weak connections, which result in the lack of integrative movement, are addressed in this course, using very specific midline exercises and targeted once a week brain training. In this course, the therapist will study the Brain Integration Therapy Manual and watch the demonstration video in order to learn the evidence-based, powerful, step by step method of using physical exercises to increase hemispheric integration that reduces the stress in the learning system. The daily midline exercises dramatically impact the student’s visual/motor/spatial processing, visual processing, and auditory processing. This course includes the very effective writing eight exercise developed by Dr. Getman that virtually eliminates the symptoms of Dysgraphia, by helping the student to finally internalize directionality. Reading and writing reversals, balance/vestibular issues, auditory processing (hearing, remembering and speech) issues are thoroughly addressed. The Demonstration video leads the therapist through the exercises easily. Students who receive benefit from this program are: Specific Learning Disabilities; Dyslexia; Dysgraphia; Auditory Processing Disorder; Speech Disorders (receptive, expressive and pragmatic); Autism; Brain Injuries; ADD and ADHD.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the occupational therapy clinician will be able to:

1. identify the symptoms of information processing problems in the following areas: Visual Processing, Auditory Processing, and Visual/Motor/Spatial Processing.

2. recall specific exercises that address the weak processing areas.

3. identify and recall how to effectively correct symptoms of dysgraphia.

4. recall how to create a treatment plan, using pre and post informal testing.

Special Notes

AOTA Category 2: Occupational Therapy Process-Evaluation, Intervention COURSE IS OFFERED IN A MAIL FORMAT ONLY. A PRINTED TEXTBOOK IS SHIPPED.

 

Brain Integration Therapy PRACTICUM Course: An interactive Study (30 Hours)

Course Description

Brain Integration Therapy Practicum is an interactive course designed to provide the clinician with hands-on experience and a supervised learning experience by the country’s leading expert in Brain Integration Therapy. In this course you will learn to significantly impact learning, motor, spatial and processing disorders that are hampering a student from achieving success in the classroom, and in life. Brain Integration Therapy provides very specific interventions for each of the learning processes or “learning gates” that are negatively impacting the student. In this practicum, the therapist will see the gains the child makes very quickly, and will learn strategies with detailed, specific midline movements that create more neural pathways to improve learning abilities. This practicum thoroughly teaches the powerful midline writing eight exercises, that reduces and most often, totally eliminates dysgraphia symptoms. The therapist will see changes in the output of a student, in just a few short weeks, using these strategies. With these interventions, the student will successfully be able to “think and write” and “think and read” at the same time. This clearly presented, easily implemented therapy program is done with your student in just 20 minutes a day, in a classroom or clinic. It can be done with a group of students and still be effective. This method has been used successfully, in many resource room settings, clinic settings, and regular education settings around the country. Students who will benefit from this program are students with: Specific Learning Disabilities; Dyslexia; Dysgraphia; Auditory Processing Problems; Speech Disorders (receptive, expressive and pragmatic); Autism; Brain Injuries; ADD and ADHD.

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course, the clinician will be able to:

1. Identify the student or client’s blocked learning gates…processing problems.

2. Administer informal pre and post informal tests to determine growth

3. Implement the midline exercises to students successfully

4. Adapt exercises to student’s needs

5. Practice and refine the once a week Specific Brain Trainings in two areas, Visual Processing and Visual/Motor/Writing processing

6. Observe and document the growth in learning abilities and the change in the student’s attitudes concerning learning.

Special Notes

This course is an INTERACTIVE COURSE. Course Requirements and Instructions: Upon enrolling in this course, the therapist will be put into contact with Dianne Craft, author of the text, and the staff of the Educational Consultant of Child Diagnostics. Dianne and the staff will mail the course text and other materials and act as faculty and provide ONE ON ONE INSTRUCTION. Dianne will discuss the text, discuss the assignments with you and will be available for questions via phone or email. Once the assignments have been completed and the paper written, the staff of Child Diagnostics, will notify OTcourses.com who will issue you a certificate of completion. You should plan three to six months to complete this course. The course must be completed within six months. Select the email course format below to have instructions emailed to you. AOTA Category 2: Occupational Therapy Process (Evaluation, Intervention, Outcomes)

 

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Accredited Courses for Teacher Recertification

Our Accredited Courses are currently under construction as we reconfigure their structure and host. Please check back in for availability in December 2021! 

Dianne Craft has authored several books on Brain Integration Therapy and Right Brain Teaching for struggling learners. Her classes are offered through Brandman University to graduate students and teachers seeking recertification.

What courses are typically available?

Asperger’s, Autism, SI:  Current Nutritional Treatments

What is happening? One out of every 150 families in the United States has a child who is suffering with Autism or Asperger’s syndrome, accompanied by Sensory Processing problems. Find out what the reasons are for this 500% increase, and how a growing number of families are finding relief from these behaviors in their child by using science-based nutritional therapies. In this course you will be shown that Autism, Asperger’s, and even SI are more than neurological disorders. They are evidences of a metabolic disorder. The goal is to identify, treat and restore the underlying biomedical conditions that may cause or exacerbate these symptoms. Become informed so you can help other families! Course Description: This course is designed to explore the present treatment approaches and the biochemical abnormalities that children with Asperger’s, Autism and Sensory Processing problems present. The students will be exposed to the various nutritional protocols that parents and nutritionally minded physicians are using to reduce the impact of the disability for these children. They will find that, along with the often prescribed speech and occupational therapies, nutritional therapies are making a significant difference in the well-being of these children. Some of the metabolic and biochemical conditions presented in depth are:

1. 1. Gastro-intestinal problems
   2. Immune system abnormalities
   3. Detoxification system in disarray
   4. Dietary insults
   5. Neurotransmitter imbalance
   6. Food Allergies
   7. Metal toxicity
   8. Vaccinations’ role

 Course Learning Outcomes:

1. 1. Student will be gain an understanding of the characteristics of children with Asperger’s, Autism and Sensory Processing problems.
   2. Student will have a clear understanding of the history and present incidence of Asperger’s, Autism and SI in our population today.
   3. Student will be able to communicate to parents the role of specific, targeted nutritional intervention in overcoming many of the behavioral symptoms of Asperger’s, Autism and SI.

 

Brain Integration Therapy for Struggling Learners

Learning requires energy. The struggling learners in our classroom are working too hard to learn because of an ENERGY LEAK. Find out why it takes Johnny so much more energy to write (or even copy), than Joey. He is showing you many signs that show you why this is happening. Then, learn how to use Brain Integration Therapy to repair the leak, and free the student to learn in the manner that was intended. There are Four Natural Learning Gates. When all four of them are open, learning is easy. After using these techniques successfully to help struggling learners in her “Twice Exceptional” classroom, Dianne now uses this in her private consultation practice, Child Diagnostics, Inc. A year ago, a middle school special education teacher in the Denver area began using these brain integrating exercises with her students, and reported that the Woodcock/Johnson scores showed a two year growth, versus the 4-6 month growth she had seen every other year. You can see this success with your students, too!!

Course Description:

This course is designed to enable a student to identify the struggling, underachieving learners that are in their classrooms. In particular, they will learn to identify those classroom students who would benefit from Brain Integration Therapy, a midline therapy, and will learn the exact techniques to use with each learning disability that is presented. Brain Integration Therapy strategies will be taught, that specifically reduce the impact of learning disabilities in three information processing areas: Visual Processing, Auditory Processing and Visual/Motor Processing. This course of action is one way to reduce the impact of learning blocks such as are evident in Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dysgraphia. In this class, you’ll find out things about kids and learning that you never knew before

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. 1. Student will be able to identify learners who have information processing problems in three areas: Visual Processing, Auditory Processing and Visual/Motor Processing.
   2. Student will know how to employ Brain Integration Therapy that addresses the problematic processing areas for the classroom struggling learner.
   3. Student will be able to create a therapy plan, IEP or ILP that will reflect this method of addressing the needs of the learner.
   4. Student will know how to do pre and post testing, to ascertain the success of these therapies with the learner.

 

Teaching the Right Brain Student

Have you been puzzled about how to teach your students how to “really learn” the material you are presenting” Do you have to teach the same things over and over to some students? These are the kids who need to find a different way to learn. Help them get in touch with the “smart part of themselves” by training them to use their “photographic memory” to make materials stick instead of slip. Using more Right Brain Teaching Strategies, they will find themselves able to store those math facts, phonemes, spelling words, oral directions, and science and reading facts in their LONG TERM MEMEORY. Even daily vocabulary can stick with these proven techniques. Watch your students’ test scores go up dramatically. Some of these memory strategies are used by students at Cambridge University in England to score well in tests. Who needs right Brain Teaching Strategies? Kids with mild to moderate Auditory Processing Problems learn much easier with these strategies. Show them how to “by-pass” the auditory glitch by using their impressive visual memory. In this class you will learn exactly how to place material into the area of the brain for the easiest storage and retrieval!

Course Description:

This course is designed to give the students an understanding of the methods the brain uses to store information, and how current curricula teaches to those methods. The student will learn criteria used to identify the students who would benefit from right brain learning strategies, and will learn to use specific strategies to help that learner store information in his/her visual memory, for easier retrieval. This course will equip the student with the tools necessary to write an instruction plan for the learner, and how to provide this alternative method of instruction individually, or in the classroom

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. 1. Student will learn to identify learners who are struggling with retaining information using more left brain instruction methods.
   2. Student will learn teaching strategies that will strengthen a learner’s visual, photographic memory.
   3. Student will learn how to apply specific visual strategies for reading instruction.
   4. Student will learn how to apply specific visual strategies for math instruction.
   5. Student will learn how to apply specific visual strategies for test preparation.

 

The Biology of Learning and Behavior

“Kids Act How They Feel”, Sydney Walker III, MD, The Hyperactivity Hoax

Johnny is a constant motion machine. Tom cries in frustration over minor matters. Susie forgets what she has just learned. According to Dr. Sydney Walker, Children tend to “act how they feel”. This fascinating workshop provides you with clues to your child’s brain/body chemistry. Dr. Crook has found that over 85% of children who suffer with Sensory Processing Disorders, or attention or mood disorders when older, have experienced multiple ear infections as a young child. Untreated, these children often go on to have many hidden food allergies and asthma. It is easy to correct these imbalances at home and dramatically affect your child’s learning day. The testimonies that we receive from parents across the United States who are using these simple remedies with their children are amazing!

Remember when your mom told you that “fish is brain food”? The brain is 60% FAT. For the brain “connections” to be made properly, proper fats are required. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ADD, hyperactivity, and Sensory Processing Problems may be conditions of essential fatty acid deficiency. Getting the protocol amounts of DHA every day, can make a huge difference in a child’s speech fluency, mood, reading ability, and reactions to outside stimuli, like loud noises, clothing tags and transitions. Get the real skinny on fats! Learn how to help your child feel better, and thus act and learn better. New research is coming out every day on the role of fats and memory, mood and learning ability!

Course Description:

This course is designed to give the students an understanding of the recent research linking diet, early and prolonged antibiotic use, and behavior and attention issues in children. This study of the connection between nutrition and learning and behavior in children will give educators, and those involved with helping children, the information they need to share with parents of children struggling with behavior, learning or attention. Some elements of this course will include:

1. 1. The role of diet in attention and learning problems.
   2. The role of early and prolonged use of antibiotics in children, particularly with frequent ear infections, and later attention issues.
   3. The role the neurotransmitter, Serotonin, in ease of attention and focusing.
   4. Dietary means of increasing Serotonin production in the body.
   5. The role of essential fatty acids in attention and focusing.

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. 1. Student will gain an understanding of the connection between a student’s diet and behavior.
   2. Student will gain knowledge of the correlation between frequent childhood ear infections, early and prolonged antibiotic use, and the incidence of ADD/ADHD.
   3. Student will have information to share with parents of children struggling with behavior and learning.
   4. Student will be given a week by week, 3 month nutritional supplement program to help a child with learning and behavior issues.