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OSPA will hold its annual fall conference October 9th and 10th at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City. Nestled against a rugged cliffside on a soft, sandy beach with all oceanfront rooms, this year's conference site is an ideal place to quiet the clamor of your daily pressures and have a great learning experience in the company of others who share many of your professional and personal values.

Enjoy a reunion with friends and choose from a selection of nationally recognized speakers whose work will challenge you to develop new perspectives and equip you with new skills. Reserve your room by September 16th to receive a special conference room rate. Special rates are available for Thursday, October 8, through Saturday, October 10. Call the Inn at Spanish Head at 1-800-452-8127.

Attention Nationally Certified School Psychologists: NASP-approved CPD credits will be available though Lewis and Clark College for an additional $25 paid to L&C at the conference.


Schedule of events:
(final schedule available at conference)

Thursday evening, October 8
7:00—9:00 p.m. Early-bird registration. Drop by the OSPA suite to say hello and pick up your conference materials. The Inn has a restaurant and a fireplace lounge if you arrive hungry.

Friday, October 9
8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast buffet and registration

9:00 – 10:00 Keynote address
The school psychologist as an advocate for comprehensive school-based mental health services
Presenter: Stacy Kalamaros Skalski, Ph.D.
Dr. Skalski is the Director of Public Policy for the National Association of School Psychologists. She has built a powerful case to demonstrate why school systems must strengthen their capacity to address the mental health needs of the nation's children.

For nearly half of the children with serious emotional disturbances who receive mental health services at all, the school system has been the sole provider. As the only organization in our society to which all children are consistently exposed for extended periods of time, schools are the optimal setting for developing psychological competence and teaching children about making informed and appropriate choices concerning their health and their lives.

Dr. Skalski's dynamic presentation will equip you to communicate more effectively about the need for school-based mental health services in your own school district and across Oregon. She will share her vision of a full continuum of mental health services in the schools and identify the obstacles that typically block the development of that continuum. Finally, she will describe strategies that have proved to be effective ways to overcome those obstacles. Dr. Skalski's goal is to empower school psychologists as advocates for children's positive mental health and educational success.

11:00 –1:00 Assessment of executive function skills using the BRIEF and other measures
Presenter: Peter Isquith, Ph. D.
Dr. Isquith, co-author of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, will be returning to Oregon by popular demand. In addition to an update on his research and clinical experience in the area of executive function, Dr. Isquith will also talk about a new assessment being developed to assess student athletes for executive function in order to improve the identification and diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, and the implications this may have for the role of the school psychologist.

Dr. Isquith is a pediatric neuropsychologist at Dartmouth Medical School, where he is engaged in clinical practice with children and adolescents. His research interests focus on measurement and development of self-regulation across the age spectrum and implications of executive deficits for everyday functioning. He has a special interest in neuropsychological assessment in deaf individuals.

1:00 – 2:00 Lunch Buffet
Italian Pasta Buffet: Chef's choice fresh pasta with choice of three sauces (traditional meat, marinara, or alfredo), baked seafood lasagne, parmesan cheese toast, organic garden salad with house made vinaigrette and choice of minestrone or Italian wedding soup.

2:00 – 4:00 Concurrent Sessions
Session I – Continuing discussion of clinical issues relating to executive function with Dr. Isquith, including assessment and interventions for ADHD.

Session II -- Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome (MIGDAS): How school psychologists can lead a team-based approach to the assessment of autism spectrum disorders.
Presenter: Marilyn J. Monteiro, Ph.D.

School psychologists often grapple with the need to find a common language as they lead multidisciplinary autism evaluations in the school setting. The MIGDAS provides a team-based interview system that enables school psychologists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and academic specialists to communicate effectively about a child's pattern of developmental differences. Its organizational framework enables teams to describe a nuanced profile of a child's behaviors in practical language that is non-technical but highly specific.
The MIGDAS has great appeal for school psychologists who are frustrated by the limitations of behavior checklists and who are eager to find more effective ways to organize and guide team discussion about a child's pattern of developmental differences.

Dr. Marilyn Monteiro has evaluated more than 4,000 children on the autism spectrum and trained hundreds of professionals in autism team assessment. She earned her Ph.D. in applied behavior analysis from Western Michigan University and completed postgraduate training in family systems therapy at Southwest Family Institute. This combination of education and experience led Dr. Monteiro to the qualitative, sensory-based assessment model used in the MIGDAS.

"The sensory approach that characterizes the MIGDAS grew out of my need for qualitative information about children suspected of having Asperger's Syndrome. I was searching for descriptive detail about each child's unique way of interacting with the world, and I couldn't get it from checklists or standardized tests. So I began using sensory toys to initiate evaluation sessions, and I found that children responded in an authentic way. To formalize this process, I developed the MIGDAS.”

5:00 – 6: 00 Happy hour (No-host bar). Relax with friends and enjoy the spectacular view!

6:00 – 7:30 Dinner buffet with a surprise musical treat!
Spanish Head Buffet: Roasted certified angus baron of beef and choice of either hazelnut crusted breast of chicken with sage supreme sauce or char grilled salmon with lemon dill sauce served with fresh seasonal vegetables, Orzo Cous and two chef's selected salads.

8:00 Bonfire on the beach


Saturday, October 10
8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast buffet

9:00 – 10:00 Be the change you want to see.
Presenter: Stacy Kalamaros Skalski, Ph.D. ( Director of Public Policy for the National Association of School Psychologists)

Learn more about how to engage in advocacy on behalf of children, their families, and the profession of school psychology. Hear ideas for increasing awareness of our work in the schools during National School Psychology Week and tips for how to communicate with your elected representatives. (Includes an update on the proposed revisions to the Model Licensure Act.)

10:00 – 12:00 “Antidepressants for depressed children: More harm than good?”
Presenter: David O. Antonuccio, Ph. D.

Spending on drugs for childhood behavior problems now exceeds expenditures for any other medication category for children, including antibiotics. What does the outcome research tell us about the relative efficacy and safety of psychopharmacology and cognitive behavioral therapy to treat childhood depression?

Dr. Antonuccio is internationally known for his research on the comparative effects of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. At the FDA hearings held in 2004 on the use of SSRIs to treat childhood depression, he told the committee: “The advantages of the antidepressants in children are so small and so trivial as to be clinically insignificant. An increased risk of suicidal behavior is certainly not justified by these minimal benefits.”

Dr. Antonuccio will review the research that led him to this conclusion and discuss therapeutic techniques that help children overcome depression through skill-building.

Dr. Antonuccio is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He was named Outstanding Psychologist by the Nevada Psychological Association (NSPA) in 1993 and received an award of achievement in 1999 from the NSPA for his work on depression. In 2000 he was awarded the McReynolds Foundation Psychological Services Award for “outstanding contributions to clinical science”. In 2006 he received the APAHC (Association for Psychologists in Academic Health Settings) Bud Ogel Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research from the American Psychological Association.

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Buffet
Soup and salad buffet: Choice of the Inn's famous clam chowder or secret recipe house smoked halibut chowder, three chef's choice entree salads, organic greens with accompaniments, house made vinaigrette and buttermilk ranch dressings and fresh baked rolls.

1:00 – 3:00 All school psychologists are behavior specialists
Presenter: Ruth Gonzalez, Ph. D.
Although school psychologists are broadly trained to address the mental health issues and behavior problems of the children we serve, we are often restricted to our role as special education evaluators by our workloads, our job descriptions, and culture of our school systems. Dr. Gonzalez will address strategies that school psychologists can use to advocate for our capacity to serve as highly effective behavioral intervention consultants. Whether we are working with a school team to bring research-based behavioral goals to IEP development, provide counseling to students in crisis, or teaching social skills to a group, school psychologists are uniquely qualified to assume the role of school-based behavior specialists. This session will include discussion of practical ways to put your behavior intervention skills into practice, even when your caseload is high and your role is primarily that of an evaluator.

3:00 Raffle and goodbyes!

OSPA members receive a substantial discount on registration fees. Make sure you are a current member before you register for the conference!
The meeting rooms at the Inn at Spanish Head have a limited capacity. Register early to make sure you get a seat.
We are working hard on a new online membership and conference registration system. Should that become functional before this event, we will send out notices so you can register online.
If you travel with a companion who will not be attending the sessions, you can still enjoy meals together! Companion meals are available on the registration forms for an additional cost.
No registrations will be accepted by mail (postmark) or online after October 2.
If a third party, such as a school district, will pay for several attendees on one check, please make sure the check names the attendees! (Sometimes OSPA just receives a check and it can take a lot of volunteer time to figure out who is attending!)
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations will be accepted in writing until October 2, 2009. A $20 processing fee will be assessed for every cancellation. Refunds will not be granted after October 5, 2009.
NO PURCHASE ORDERS ARE ACCEPTED - sorry!