Northern California Workshop

Event Location

August 15, 2026 from 8:30am - 3:30pm PT
University of San Francisco (USF) - Maraschi Room -FR 125 (Fromm Hall)
(corner of Parker Ave. and Golden Gate Ave.)

2497 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118

Parking is available (free to registrants) in a nearby lot. Limited handicap parking spots are available upon request when you register.

Price Breakdown

The cost for both In-Person / Virtual attendance is below:

  Early Bird
6/8 - 7/2		 Regular
7/3 - 8/14		 Day Of
8/15
  Members $140 / $115 $160 / $135 $170 / $145
  Student Members $100 $100 $100
  Non-Members
For an extra $35, non-members can receive a one-year General Membership		 $165 / $140 $190 / $165 $200 / $175

Register Now!

 

Event Type

In-person + Livestream on Zoom Events
(A recording of this event will be available to registrants for 2 weeks after the event.)

Schedule

8:30-9am PT / 9:30-10am MT / 10:30-11am CT / 11:30-12pm ET
Virtual Coffee and Tea Time
9-9:15am PT / 10-10:15am MT / 11-11:15am CT / 12-12:15pm ET
Welcome / Announcements / Introduction 
9:15-10:45am PT / 10:15-11:45am MT / 11:15-12:45pm CT / 12:15-1:45pm ET
Presentation 1: Part 1 (90 minutes)
10:45-11am PT / 11:45-12pm MT / 12:45-1pm CT / 1:45-2pm ET
Break
11-12:30pm PT / 12-1:30pm MT / 1-2:30pm CT / 2-3:30pm ET
Presentation 1: Part 2 (90 minutes)
12:30-1:15pm PT / 1:30-2:15pm MT / 2:30-3:15pm CT / 3:30-4:15pm ET
Lunch Break / Networking (Lunch provided by USF)
1:15-3:30pm PT / 2:15-4:30pm MT / 3:15-5:30pm CT / 4:15-6:30pm ET
Presentation 2 (120 minutes including a 5-minute break) / Wrap-up

AET Educational Therapy Institute Presents:
Presentation 1

Amy Henderson

Inspiring Neurodiverse Learners to Love Writing: Practical, Trauma-Informed, Evidence-Aligned Approaches from 20 Years in the Field

Speaker: Amy Henderson

Description:

Writing is often taught as a performance. For many neurodiverse learners, that performance quickly becomes associated with pressure, correction, perfectionism, or shame. Over time, students may stop taking creative risks, lose trust in their own voice, or begin to believe they are “bad at writing.”

In this interactive workshop, writer and facilitator Amy Henderson shares trauma-informed, community-based writing practices developed over two decades of leading writing groups with neurodiverse teens, adults, unhoused populations, and individuals recovering from profound academic and emotional disconnection.

Rather than focusing first on grammar, structure, or output, Amy’s approach begins with nervous system regulation, psychological safety, and relational trust. Participants will learn how low-stakes writing structures can support executive functioning, emotional regulation, self-expression, and intrinsic motivation for students with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, anxiety, and histories of academic shame.

The workshop will include:

  • Brief case studies from Amy’s work with vulnerable and neurodiverse populations
  • An overview of the structure and facilitation principles behind a “Writing Jam”
  • Concrete practices for creating safe, inclusive, and emotionally attuned writing environments
  • A live mini Writing Jam experience
  • Group reflection and discussion about how these practices can be adapted for specific therapeutic and educational settings
  • Participants will experience firsthand how short, timed writing stints combined with clear structure, choice, body awareness, and community support can reduce resistance and help learners access authentic voice and creativity.

Attendees will leave with practical, evidence-aligned tools they can immediately integrate into their work, along with a deeper understanding of how writing can become not just an academic task, but a pathway toward confidence, connection, and self-trust.

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Explain how low-stakes, community-based writing structures support executive functioning, emotional regulation, and internal motivation in neurodiverse learners.

  • Demonstrate the power of short, structured writing stints to unlock voice and reduce anxiety.

  • Apply evidence-informed, low-stakes strategies for writing.

  • Identify inclusive, trauma-aware facilitation moves that support learners with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, anxiety, or a history of academic shame.

  • Apply 3–5 concrete tools to cultivate confidence and joy in writing.

Speaker Bio:

Amy Henderson is a writer, story doula, and long-time facilitator of trauma-informed, strengths-based writing programs for diverse and neurodiverse learners. For more than twenty years, she has helped people who often feel unheard or underestimated—including teens with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and anxiety—access confidence, agency, and creative expression through writing. Amy’s writing and work have been featured in The Sun Magazine, The Harvard Business Review, Slate, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and InStyle. She is the author of Tending (NationBuilder Books, 2021).

Based on her 20 years in the field of writing, Amy will share how she creates low-stakes, community-based writing structures that support executive functioning, emotional regulation, and internal motivation in neurodiverse learners. Inclusive, trauma-aware facilitation techniques will be explored that support learners with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, anxiety, or a history of academic shame. Through the session, participants will experience firsthand the power of short, structured writing stints to unlock voice and reduce anxiety. These evidence-informed strategies can be brought into their practice. Attendees will learn to create the mental headspace to write by starting with breath work, body awareness, and visioning practice, then determining a prompt, and lastly, hold space for students or clients to share vulnerable writing.

DISCLOSURE: Financial – Receives honoraria from AET for teaching and speaking. Non-financial – No relevant relationships to disclose.

 


Presentation 2

Amy Henderson

Using Hands-On Activities to Teach Writing

Speaker: Dr. Michal Reznizki

Description:

In this interactive workshop, participants will engage with specific active learning lessons from the book Dynamic Activities for First-Year Composition: 96 Ways to Immerse, Inspire, and Captivate Students (2023). The hands-on activities, such as using question clouds or reflecting on subordinating conjunctions, will address student challenges and model activities in an interactive and developmentally appropriate way. This research-informed workshop bridges active learning to a "high level of critical thinking" (Faust & Paulston, 1998; Bean, 2011). The workshop will also offer participants opportunities to collaborate and reflect on the activities, thus preparing attendees to immediately implement their learning into client sessions.

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Describe and use active learning-based interventions supported by research.

  • Apply active learning-based interventions that promote critical thinking.

  • Develop and expand resources for sessions or classroom lessons that engage learners through hands-on activities.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Michal Reznizki, a scholar and educator in the field of composition studies, teaches writing at the University of California, Berkeley. Michal holds a PhD in Education with a designated emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies from the University of California, Davis. She is the co-editor of book Dynamic Activities for First-Year Composition (NCTE, 2023). She has published in the journal College Composition and Communication as well as in Currents in Teaching and Learning. Her research focuses on teacher preparation, active learning, and the connection between high school and college writing.

Michal (Me-Hal) Reznizki has a PhD in Education with a designated emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies from the University of California, Davis. She has been teaching composition for over twelve years and is very passionate about the teaching of writing. Prior to joining College Writing Programs’ faculty, she taught freshman writing at the University of San Francisco and at San José State University. Her research focuses on teacher preparation and she's especailly interested in the Writing about Writing (WAW) approach as well as in the use of active learning in the classroom. She is the co-editor of book Dynamic Activities for First-Year Composition (NCTE, 2023). She has published in the journal College Composition and Communication as well as in Currents in Teaching and Learning. For UC Berkeley’s College Writing Programs, she teaches Accelerated Reading and Composition. Michal’s interests include the history of rhetoric, service-learning, and teacher preparation.

DISCLOSURE: Financial – Receives honoraria from AET for teaching and speaking. Non-financial – No relevant relationships to disclose.

 

CE Credits

Participants seeking ASHA CEUs are required to attend all instructional sessions. In-person attendees must record their participation on the attendance form. Virtual participation will be verified using the video conferencing access log. Learners must also complete the course evaluation within 14 days of the workshop. ASHA CEUs will be reported directly to ASHA for learners who meet these requirements. When you provide your ASHA ID number to our staff or volunteers, you authorize AET to report ASHA CEUs for this course on your behalf.

AAXW Brand Block Color Long 2026 NorCal workshop

This program is offered for:

AET – 5.0 CE hours
ASHA – 0.50 ASHA CEUs
NASP – 5.0 hours of CPD
TEA – 5.0 CPE hours
ALTA – 5.0 CE hours
CA BBS (Through NASP) – 5.0 CE hours (includes LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP in California)

 

Cancellation Policy

All cancellation requests must be received in writing. Cancellations received more than 14 business days prior to the event will be subject to a $25 processing fee. No refunds will be given once inside the 14-business-day window.

Disclosure

 Event location and in-person lunch provided by the University of San Francisco (USF).