With a solid knowledge of social-emotional development from Building Blocks of Well-Being: Social Emotional Foundations for Children & Youth (part one), these next webinars will provide professionals working with military-connected and civilian children with and without disabilities in childcare, classroom, and recreational settings with knowledge and practical strategies that can be applied to their work.

These 5 webinars will address three common areas of challenge for professionals: understanding children’s behaviors that may pose challenges for adults, adapting to unexpected changes in the lives of children and youth, and addressing emotional distress and behavior (e.g., self-harm, depression, bullying, violence). Presenters will foster awareness and understanding around these topics while also offering valuable resources to support professionals in their work. Additionally, they will provide strategies to help military-connected and civilian children, adolescents, and their families navigate these difficult experiences.

Children and youth undergo significant growth and change in how they process, experience, and demonstrate emotions, and how they form and interact with adults and peers from birth through adolescence.  Knowing and understanding this developmental arc is critical for professionals who work with children and youth.  Further, it is important to be aware of the ways in which disability can impact a child’s social development and their capacity to express emotions.

These 3 webinars will provide participants with foundational knowledge to best support the military-connected and civilian children they serve with and without disabilities. Information shared will strengthen participants’ capacity to engage with all families and caregivers around this important developmental topic. Webinars will include data to support and guide understanding of social-emotional development as fact not an educational fad. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which the presence of a disability and/or environmental risk factors associated with military and civilian family life (e.g., deployment, frequent moves, marginalization, income instability, trauma) may impact a child’s social-emotional development.