Presenters: Dr. Brian R. Grandjean, Ph.D., Licensed Professional Counselor, CEO, Emerald Palace Practice

About this Course

This course is worth 5 hours (0.5 CEUs) of professional development. A certificate of completion can be printed once the program has been completed.

Studies show up to 27% of people in the USA have special needs – and this number continues to increase. As educators, we must identify the challenges and learn effective teaching strategies to achieve teaching success with our special needs students. Dr. Brian Grandjean explores this topic as a professional counselor and a licensed clinician for the past 12 years. Dr. Grandjean is the Founder and Executive Director of Tracks 4 Kids, a non-profit agency devoted to enhancing the welfare and treatment of children with developmental disabilities.

Module 1:

“Growing Up with Special Needs” - In this module, we discuss the following topics:

• Growing Up with Special Needs
• Working with Special Needs Students
• Challenge: Language Discrepancy
• Advice to Educators

Module 2:

How do we effectively connect with our special needs students? What are the common myths? STARLINK explores the following topics in this module:

• Gifts that Counter Disabilities
• Myths Surrounding Special Needs
• Creating a Safe Environment
• Lego Therapy

Module 3:

It’s vital to focus on the strengths of our special needs students. In this module, Dr. Grandjean explains the following:

• Strengths of Special Needs Students
• Compassion and Understanding
• The Importance of Additional Special Needs Resources
• Success Stories

This is an asynchronous free course. Please follow the link and log in to view this content. 

First-time STARLINK users: 
Once on the STARLINK webpage, click on the “Get Started” tab at the top.  You will see a drop-down menu, click “First Time User” and fill out the registration by using your @lsco.edu email as your username.  Click “Register”.  You will receive an email from STARLINK to verify your account. Once you click the verification in your email, you are ready to use STARLINK.