(Smithtown, NY) Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), the leading service provider for children and adults with Autism on Long Island, Starting Early Program will be hosting yoga for preschoolers. The “hands-on” interactive workshop will be full of resources?and activities specifically designed for the preschool population. The conference will be held on Tuesday, November 5th from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at DDI’s Starting Early Preschool located at 25 Little Plains Road in Huntington.
“Numerous studies have documented the significant positive effects in children’s physical, educational and behavioral growth through the practice of yoga and mindfulness,” commented DDI’s Director of Starting Early Linda Whitaker, Ed.D. “Professionals working with children are noticing the overwhelming increase in stress, attention, behavioral, and sensory related disorders affecting the development of our students. Yoga and mindfulness provide creative and potentially effective methods to address these needs.”
The course is designed for anyone who works with preschool aged children (no yoga experience necessary). It is focused on empowering teachers, therapists, or caregivers to identify their role as an agent of change, balance, and support for their students. Participants will learn effective, creative, and easy-to-use tools to immediately implement into the classroom, home or therapy.
The workshop will be conducted by Allison Morgan, MA, OTR, who has been working with children of all abilities for over 2 decades in hospital, school and home settings. Allison is the founder of Zensational Kids, LLC, a NY/NJ based company integrating yoga into therapeutic services to address student goals and incorporating yoga into preK-8 classrooms. In addition, Allison is a consultant to the International Association for School Yoga and Mind- fulness. She is a facilitator for the Radiant Child Yoga Teacher Training Program training directly with its founder, Shakta Kaur. Allison teaches throughout the country and internationally on various yoga, mindful- ness, and therapy topics.
For further information or to register online visit www.ddiny.org/yoga. Registration will be $120 for all participants. Participants should dress comfortably and bring a towel or yoga mat for lab sections of the course.
DDI is a not-for-profit agency headquartered in Smithtown, NY, with more than 40 locations throughout Suffolk and Nassau Counties. DDI is the largest provider of services for individuals with Autism on Long Island. It provides special educational, vocational, day and residential programs, as well as healthcare services for over 5,000 children and adults with autism or other developmental disabilities. DDI also operates family-centered preschool programs for both children with disabilities as well as typically developing students. DDI was founded in 1961 by a group of parents to address the special educational and therapeutic needs of their children with autism or other developmental disabilities. DDI is a member agency of the United Way of Long Island. For more information about DDI, visit www.ddiny.org.
