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 Vital Links Workshops

This page allows you to browse and register for Vital Links workshops in the U.S. (if you are looking for international/non-U.S. workshops, please click here instead). You may scroll down this page to browse workshop information or to register online for a specific workshop. You can also click on the city for any workshop listed below to view or print details and a registration form for that workshop. If you would like to view or print a complete course schedule with all locations/dates, click on the link below:

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Therapeutic Listening: Listening With the Whole Body

Listening plays a vital role in the sensory integration process. In fact, some believe that the auditory system is the ‘missing link’ in sensory integration modalities. Both research and clinical experience have shown that using sound-based interventions for clients with sensory processing difficulties can increase treatment effectiveness.

In this two-day workshop, you will learn to use Therapeutic Listening® Modulated CDs to create individualized, home-based programs for clients. You will also learn how to implement Therapeutic Listening strategies in conjunction with postural, respiratory, and sensory activities. The course will take you through all of the steps--from assessment to outcomes--for creating complete Therapeutic Listening programs. Video case presentations will be used to illustrate points and show changes in individuals with listening and other sensory processing difficulties.

This workshop will be especially meaningful for practitioners who have a background in sensory integration, including therapists in schools, hospitals, and private clinics. This course provides 12 contact hours or 1.2 AOTA CEUs, and provides participants with the necessary background information to begin using Therapeutic Listening right away. Specialized headphones and CDs are necessary and are available for purchase upon completion of the course. Faculty: Sheila M. Frick, OTR, Lynette Burke, OTR, Sharron Donnelly, MS/OTR, Lindy Joffe, MS/OTR, and/or Rita Montez, MS/OTR. 1.2 CEUs available from AOTA.

If a workshop has a yellow background, you may click on the location for a registration form and more info, or register online by clicking on "Register" below. If early bird pricing is available (typically up until a month before specific workshops), the lower early bird price is shown. If an early bird discount is not available for a specific workshop, the regular price is shown instead. Click on "Discount Policy" above for additional discount information.

*Registration fee includes Listening With the Whole Body: Clinical Concepts and Treatment Guidelines for Therapeutic Listening (published February 2009, $79 value).

Click on a location above for a printable Adobe Acrobat brochure with additional details and a registration form. You may also register quickly and securely online by clicking "Register" below.

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Advanced Therapeutic Listening

As Therapeutic Listening® has continued to expand, we have kept true to our focus on creating cutting edge clinical treatment approaches. Advanced Therapeutic Listening debuts a new series of therapeutically enhanced CDs, called Fine Tuning CDs. Fine Tuning helps to refine sensory modulation/discrimination abilities particularly in the auditory and vestibular systems. We’ll also cover other sound-based interventions, including Spatial Enhancement and Gearshifters. Our new CDs will be presented in tandem with carefully designed programs to support emergent skills across multiple domains. These programs are appropriate for clients across the age spectrum with sensory integrative, developmental, and learning challenges.

This course will complement your current Therapeutic Listening programs and allow further access to higher level skills using the Fine Tuning, Gearshifter™, and Spatial Enhancement™ CDs. For maximum benefit to the participant, prior completion of our initial course, Listening With the Whole Body, is required. It is also recommended that you have prior experience implementing Therapeutic Listening protocols.

This course provides 12 contact hours, or 1.2 AOTA CEUs. A certificate of completion allows purchase of treatment discs for use in homes, schools, and clinics. Faculty: Sheila M. Frick, OTR.

If a workshop has a yellow background, you may click on the location for a registration form and more info, or register online by clicking on "Register" below. If early bird pricing is available (typically up until a month before specific workshops), the lower early bird price is shown. If an early bird discount is not available for a specific workshop, the regular price is shown instead. Click on "Discount Policy" above for additional discount information.

Click on a location above for a printable Adobe Acrobat brochure with additional details and a registration form. You may also register quickly and securely online by clicking "Register" below.

[ Register ]

Astronaut Training: A Sound Activated Vestibular-Visual Protocol

Vestibular enhancement has always been central to sensory integration practice. However, the importance of administering precise vestibular input that is integrated with specific sound and vision input is only beginning to be acknowledged. This workshop will expand the therapist’s skills via enhanced understanding of the developmental and neurological processes of the Vestibular-Auditory-Visual Triad. Understanding how these three systems work together with the body’s senses creates a foundation for achieving competency in applying specific intervention strategies, including Astronaut Training: A Sound Activated Vestibular-Visual Protocol.

Astronaut Training provides precise input to all five vestibular receptors, along with auditory and visual input to create a comprehensive treatment protocol that integrates these three sensory systems. Core activities provide opportunities for an adaptive response to sensory input, which completes the sensorimotor neurological circuits underlying all function. Guidelines are provided for safe, effective use of this protocol with clients of all ages and diagnoses.

Faculty: Sheila M. Frick, OTR, and/or Mary J. Kawar, MS, OTR. 1.2 CEUs available from AOTA or ASHA. Registration fee includes the cost of course materials, including Astronaut Training: A Sound Activated Vestibular-Visual Protocol (Handbook & Companion CD, $39 value).

If a workshop has a yellow background, you may click on the location for a registration form and more info, or register online by clicking on "Register" below. If early bird pricing is still available (typically up until a month before the workshop date), the lower early bird price is shown. If the early bird discount is no longer available for a specific workshop, the regular price is shown instead. Click on "Discount Policy" above for additional discount information.

Click on a location above for a printable Adobe Acrobat brochure with additional details and a registration form. You may also register quickly and securely online by clicking "Register" below.

[ Register ]

New Course! Building Blocks for Sensory Integration

This two-day experiential workshop provides therapists with an in-depth understanding of the developmental and neurophysiological links between sensory integration and the basic primary movement patterns that provide the foundation (or building blocks) for sensory modulation and integration. Beginning with support of the primitive reflexes, we will explore the development of posture and its relationship to gross and fine motor skills along with visual and auditory function. This course will allow participants to fine tune their clinical observation skills for the clients who are often difficult to test using standard measures. Hands-on demonstrations, movement labs, and video examples will highlight treatment strategies that can be implemented with and without therapy equipment, making them appropriate for all clinical settings. A range of intervention strategies designed to support functional performance will be presented, and workshop participants will leave with a systematic way to assess, document and treat the movement challenges that arise from the lack of effective sensory motor integration. This course provides 12 contact hours or 1.2 AOTA CEUs. Faculty: Sheila Frick, OTR. Click on the location below for specific workshop details.

Click on a location above for a printable Adobe Acrobat brochure with additional details and a registration form. You may also register quickly and securely online by clicking "Register" below.

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New Course! Creating Effective Performance, Precision, and Power in Treatment and Sensory Diets

This two-day workshop is designed to provide an understanding of how to effectively apply sensory diets with individuals of all ages with sensory processing disorders. This course will demonstrate strategies to facilitate the design of sensory supportive classrooms, home, and community environments. Objectives are aimed at developing an understanding of the vestibular system, postural integration, proprioception, dynamics of breath, rough and tumble play, and using sound as a tool. This practical, hands-on workshop will immediately support and reinforce successful application of these concepts in clinical practice to clients with sensory modulation disorders. This course provides 12 contact hours or 1.2 AOTA CEUs. Faculty: Sheila Frick, OTR, and Julia Wilbarger, Ph.D., OTR. Click on the location below for specific workshop details.

Click on a location above for a printable Adobe Acrobat brochure with additional details and a registration form. You may also register quickly and securely online by clicking "Register" below.

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International Workshops

Below is a list of upcoming international (non-U.S.) workshops. Click on the location below for contact information and to learn more about the workshop.

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