RethinkCare Webinars

As we enter 2024, honing our executive functioning skills is more important than ever. These skills are a set of processes that help individuals manage their everyday lives, get things done, and control their emotions. People worldwide, irrespective of cultural or regional differences, often face obstacles in managing their daily tasks and staying organized, along with distractions that interfere with productivity and focus. Dive into an overview of executive functioning skills and ways to implement practical strategies to help build these skills.

In this webinar, you will learn to:

Identify your strengths and areas for growth
Access support and learn why it is important
Boost skills like focus, organization, and task completion
Address barriers like procrastination and challenges with time management

Kristin Bandi is a Senior Director of Family and Clinical Services at RethinkCare, A Rethink Division. Kristin creates clinical content, hosts learning sessions on various topics, is a co-host on RethinkCare’s podcast titled “Behaviorally Speaking”, and began consulting with families in her current role in 2016. Kristin specializes in working with parents/caregivers who have children and teens with various learning, social, and behavioral challenges such as autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, and more. Kristin received a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, both at the University of South Florida and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).

Louis Chesney is the Program Manager of Neurodiversity for RethinkCare, overseeing the day-to-day operations and expansion of RethinkCare’s neurodiversity course content and consultation approach. Before joining RethinkCare, Louis championed and led a hiring program for autistic adults at a global technology company. He continually aims to make a positive impact on those who are underserved. As an individual who experienced selective mutism first-hand, Louis inspires and actively contributes to the current work. He co-authored “ECHO: A Vocal Language Program for Easing Anxiety in Conversation,” a Plural Publishing book designed to help older children and teens needing social communication support.

Parenting styles naturally vary from caregiver to caregiver, whether it’s due to cultural reasons, personal experiences from childhood, or general societal pressures. These styles can involve different viewpoints on discipline, teaching new skills, setting boundaries, or overall priorities you have for your child. But in truth, these differences don’t have to conflict, and can often work hand-in-hand. Through compromise and collaboration, you can ultimately determine how to best support and teach your child to maximize their long-term success. This collaborative approach is also vital in families who have multiple caregivers, such as grandparents, or families who are going through a separation or divorce.

In this webinar, you will learn:

Why consistency and collaboration are key when supporting your child
Strategies to identify what your shared priorities are for your child
How to collaborate with other caregivers to implement strategies to address these priorities
Best practices for supporting a child living in separate households

Pasha Bahsoun is a Director of Family and Clinical Services at RethinkCare, where he conducts 1:1 parent consultations with families around the world as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). He has developed a passion for implementing a holistic approach to supporting individuals with various mental health and behavioral challenges as a result of his research at UCLA and Columbia, and throughout his career. He has had the privilege of working with neurotypical and neurodivergent children, teens, and adults, in homes, schools, group homes and the community, and collaborated with parents, educators and service providers in the implementation of treatment plans. Pasha also developed a social skills curriculum and had the opportunity to present his research at two international ABA conferences in 2019, titled, “The Value of Curriculum-Based Social Skills Training.” He has worked in the realm of education and mentorship in some form for all his life.

Building upon our previous webinar, “Neurodiversity Explained,” we now delve into the transformative power of behavior in promoting neuro-inclusivity. While awareness is an important starting point, our actions lay the foundation for shaping workplace culture and relationships. In this webinar, we will explore how our behaviors, even more than our attitudes or beliefs, have enduring effects on our environment. Gain practical insights into why shifting behaviors can help bridge existing gaps and inspire us to embed systemic solutions to workplace challenges.

In this webinar, you will learn:

What neuro-inclusivity is and why you should embrace it
The limits of unconscious bias training and its potential drawbacks
Why new behaviors lead to organic shifts in thinking and perception
Practical exercises to experiment with new behaviors in the workplace

Parenting is one of life’s biggest joys, but it comes with its own set of challenges. The reality is we don’t have endless wells of energy—despite how much we love our kids. When demands and stress exceed our resources, our well-being suffers. This struggle to cope is often referred to as “burnout,” which the World Health Organization describes as “a vital state of exhaustion.” Originally identified as a work-related phenomenon, burnout has only recently been studied in the parental realm. Once considered a shameful admission, parental burnout awareness is more and more often in the forefront of conversation among parenting blogs and resources. Join us in the exploration of the history, symptoms, and impact of parental burnout. We will share resources and strategies to both cope with burnout and build resilience for a better, happier life.

In this webinar, you will learn to:

Identify the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of parental burnout
Discover the impact of burnout on kids and families
Boost awareness and learn strategies to counteract parental burnout

Carmen has been a Behavior Expert with RethinkCare since 2021 and has been in the field of Behavior Analysis for more than 10 years. In addition to working for Rethink she is a Private Consultant, for Independent School Districts in South Texas where she works directly with children and adolescents creating curriculums, behavior plans, learning strategies and provides collaboration with teachers, Special Education advocates, paraprofessionals and students pursuing certifications in Education and Behavior Analysis. Carmen has experience working with children with autism, as well as neurotypical children or children with other neurodivergent individuals like ADHD, Anxiety and Learning or Developmental Disabilities.

Kelly Deacon has been a Behavior Expert with RethinkCare since 2019 and has been in the field for more than 25 years. In addition to Rethink she previously worked as the Senior Behavior Analyst at a clinic in Hawaii for 15 years. Here she worked directly with children, created curriculum, behavior plans and provided supervision for junior level supervisors pursuing their education. Kelly supports families who have children with autism, ADHD and anxiety disorders as well as typically developing children. She currently works with a wide spectrum of age ranges from 18 months to 18 years old. Kelly has a master’s degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is a mother and makes an effort to embed compassion into everything that she teaches her daughter.

Establishing good interpersonal relationships at work significantly impacts job satisfaction and the enjoyment people experience at work. This session will focus on effective positive psychology practices that help colleagues connect and can also extend past work and help establish and strengthen positive relationships between family members and friends. Loneliness concerns everyone, from parents of disconnected teenagers, a colleague who has just relocated to a new town, to a neurodivergent employee who feels alone at work to the Surgeon General of the United States with his report Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. Join us to learn about and apply effective practices to promote connection.

In this webinar, you will learn:

The benefit of “active constructive responding” when interacting with another person
How to evaluate your interactions at work with colleagues and at home with family members and determine strategies to apply to improve communication and connecting with others
The impact of loneliness on health and wellbeing

Katie has over 20 years of clinical experience working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She held tenure at three of the world’s leading behavioral institutions (i.e., Sheppard Pratt Mental Health Institute, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Princeton Child Development Institute). She’s widely recognized as a creative force when it comes to autism intervention, developing strategies and tools that fuse Positive Psychology with Applied Behavior Analysis to improve wellbeing. Katie has authored articles on the topics of Goals Setting, Hope Theory, and Learned Happiness. She has served on numerous advisory boards, is a Global Representative at the International Positive Education Network, was a founding board member at The Global Autism Project, and holds a seat on the MAPP Alumni Board at U of Penn. Katie holds a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelors of Psychology from Towson University. Her unique use of and passion for both the evidence-based findings of positive psychology and principles of behavior allows her to draw out the best in all she works with.

Dr. Patricia Wright’s commitment to ensuring all individuals with autism have access to effective services and supports has guided her work for more than 30 years, from her earliest responsibilities as a special educator, to state and national-level program management. Specific examples of her advocacy include the management in the design of a statewide system of support for children with autism for the state of Hawaii, several years as the National Director of Autism Services for Easter Seals, her industry positions leveraging technology, and her current role at Proof Positive spreading the science and skills of happiness. Dr. Wright has held advisory roles, has been asked to provide expert testimony at Congressional Hearings and is a frequent contributor in the media, raising awareness of effective intervention for those living with disabilities. Dr. Wright completed her Ph.D. and Master of Public Health from the University of Hawaii. Her research focuses on the delivery of evidence-based interventions in community-based settings and healthcare access for people with disabilities.

Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully coping and adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. For teens, difficult life experiences can change the way they view and interact with the world around them, and this can affect mental health, connections with others, and quality of life. Life does not come with a map or a set of instructions, so how do we equip teens with the skills to successfully cope and adapt to challenging life experiences?

*This webinar is suitable for US and global employees alike.

In this webinar, you will learn:

How to communicate the difference between persistence and resilience to your teen
How to create an environment where your teen feels safe talking about setbacks, challenges, and difficulties
Which research-based strategies are best for teaching resilient skills to your teen
How resilience can be beneficial for issues like bullying, poor grades, trouble with friends, advocacy, and more

Jen is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of RethinkCare’s clinical services. She provides leadership and oversight to the development, implementation, and coordination of Rethink’s service and content development to maximize the impact on core outcomes for clients served. She supervises and manages Rethink’s consultation services and clinical team, as well as oversees Rethink’s quality assurance model. Jen has experience working with individuals with various learning, social, and behavioral challenges. Jen specializes in working with individuals with intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, and other specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Jen also leads workplace consultations for Rethink’s Neurodiversity program, where she provides strategies to employees, managers, and supervisors to best support the workplace experience.

Amidst the rapidly changing U.S. work landscape, having a space where everyone can genuinely be themselves, especially for neurodivergent employees, has never been more critical. As we look to the future, authenticity and differentiating ourselves could be key to unlocking new opportunities. Dive into the importance of being true to oneself and ensuring that respect and appropriate boundaries are upheld for all. In this webinar, we will explore ways to help both you and your colleagues shine authentically.

In this webinar, you will learn to:

Understand the evolving definitions of authenticity and its implications in a workplace context
Recognize common barriers that prevent genuine self-expression and hinder authenticity at work
Identify strategies for fostering trust and authentic interactions from senior leadership to team levels

Big transitions can be tough, even those that we do year after year. Transitioning back to a school routine can present its own set of challenges, particularly after a summer of fun. Executive functioning skills, that is, the skills that help us manage our time, stay organized and focused, plan our day, prioritize our tasks, and more, make up a significant area of concern for parents during back-to-school transitions. Join us for an inside look into the skills that make up executive function and learn how to foster your child's growth in this area. This webinar is suitable for a global audience with children between the ages of 3 to 18.

In this webinar, you will learn:

Identify your child’s strengths and challenges
Improve your child’s organization, time management, and planning
Address barriers to paying attention, focusing, and starting/staying on task
Increase your child’s independence and emotional regulation

Building strong teams is critical to organizational success and workplace satisfaction but it is sometimes easier said than done. This is not only the task of leaders but everyone who takes part in a team at the organization. In this webinar, you will learn how emotional intelligence, that is, the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you, helps us with team building. This webinar is suitable for US and global employees alike.

In this webinar, you will learn:

What emotional intelligence is and why it’s important at work
How emotional intelligence skills facilitate team building
Ways to boost your emotional intelligence, regardless of your starting point and current abilities

Dr. Angela Nelson is the Vice President of Operations & Executive Director of Clinical Services for RethinkCare. Dr. Nelson oversees RethinkCare’s consultation services and content generation for the Parenting and Professional solutions. She began at Rethink in 2011 and specializes in working with parents raising children and teens with learning, social, and behavioral challenges, as well as organizations motivated to expand their neurodiversity efforts. Dr. Nelson holds a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California (USC), master’s degree in counseling from California State University, Northridge, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).

Jen is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of RethinkCare’s clinical services. She provides leadership and oversight to the development, implementation, and coordination of Rethink’s service and content development to maximize the impact on core outcomes for clients served. She supervises and manages Rethink’s consultation services and clinical team, as well as oversees Rethink’s quality assurance model. Jen has experience working with individuals with various learning, social, and behavioral challenges. Jen also leads workplace consultations for Rethink’s Neurodiversity program, where she provides strategies to employees, managers, and supervisors to best support the workplace experience.

Based on popular demand, clinicians and the hosts of the podcast, Behaviorally Speaking, Kristin Bandi and Angela Nelson, come together for a live, fireside chat about developmental disabilities in kids and teens. In this discussion, they will answer your questions about diagnosis, school support, evidence-based therapies, supporting skill-building and self-advocacy, the future of disabilities in the workforce, and much more.

This chat is geared for parents both inside and outside the United States, raising children ages 1 to 18, and will be driven by questions submitted ahead of time by parents like you! Feel free to submit your questions to events@rethinkcare.com. Questions will be prioritized based on supporting the greater good of our diverse attendee group. Questions very specific to your own family can be supported through 1:1 consultations, which you can sign up for through the in-app “Experts” tab.

For a variety of reasons, it can be challenging to balance work, health, relationships, and family during the holidays. How we navigate and prioritize the different areas of our lives can make a big difference in how much we experience being present, fulfilled, and connected to what matters most to us. In this webinar we will share strategies rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, an approach that emphasizes finding ways to put values at the center of decisions and actions. Amid what can feel like holiday chaos, having a clear sense of what is important and ways to connect with it can help us be more flexible and resilient to stress.

In this webinar, you will learn to:

Understand the role of values, acceptance, and committed action in holiday stress
Survey and identify your values heading into the holidays
Plan ways to focus and act on what is important to you

Dr. Joseph (J.J.) Ferrito is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist in New Jersey. He specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Ferrito has experience working with children and adolescents across a variety of levels of care including schools. Dr. Ferrito’s research has focused on promoting youth resiliency. Dr. Ferrito earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Marist College, Master’s Degree in School Psychology from Rutgers University, and Doctorate in Applied Psychology from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. He completed an APA Accredited Pre-Doctoral Internship at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital in San Diego California. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology at Hackensack University Medical Center.

In today's fast-paced world, screens have seamlessly integrated into various facets of our lives, spanning work, education, leisure, and social interactions. The pervasive nature of screens has significantly impacted the upbringing of children, who are now more immersed in screen-centric activities than ever before. However, many children lack the necessary self-management skills to regulate their screen usage effectively. This lack of screentime management skills can manifest in various problematic patterns, ranging from off-task behavior and avoidance of social interactions to extreme emotional responses. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach, parents can benefit from a strategic guide on instilling healthy screen habits that extend beyond conventional duration recommendations. Our upcoming webinar aims to provide parents with a roadmap for cultivating effective screen management plans tailored to the individual needs of their children. We will consider factors such as age, skill level, personality traits, and the innate drive for autonomy. Join us as we delve into practical strategies for fostering a healthy relationship between children and screens in today's digital age. This webinar is for a global audience, and it will discuss strategies for children from 2-17 years old

In this webinar, you will learn:

What screen time is
Effective approaches to collaborate and engage in conversations about screen time with your children
Strategies for establishing healthy screen time habits that empower children, while consistently maintaining boundaries

Kelly Deacon has been a Behavior Expert with RethinkCare, A Rethink Division, since 2019 and has been in the field for more than 25 years. In addition to Rethink she previously worked as the Senior Behavior Analyst at a clinic in Hawaii for 15 years. Here she worked directly with children, created curriculum, behavior plans and provided supervision for junior level supervisors pursuing their education. Kelly supports families who have children with autism, ADHD and anxiety disorders as well as typically developing children. She currently works with a wide spectrum of age ranges from 18 months to 18 years old. Kelly has a master’s degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is a mother and makes an effort to embed compassion into everything that she teaches her daughter.

For over a decade, Vivian has been a supervisor in the field of applied behavior analysis and her expertise includes, providing quality behavioral services to children and adolescents with ASD and other related developmental disabilities such as ADHD and anxiety, support to their families, and collaboration with school teams. Vivian has had the pleasure of working with multiple ABA agencies and has had the privilege to work with various school districts in Southern California, as well as non-public schools. Outside of the workplace, Vivian’s passion for learning continues as she meets quarterly with a group of experts researching and brainstorming ways to continue helping families in their abilities to communicate and grow together. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Southern California in Teaching- Secondary education, and bachelor’s degree from Cal State Northridge in Child & Adolescent development. Bilingual: English & Spanish.

Webinars from RethinkCare

If you are not yet enrolled in your RethinkCare benefit, reach out to support@rethinkcare.com to sign up.

2024 Webinars

Executive Function — Get Ready for 2024

January 18th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Kristin Bandi, MA, BCBA

Louis Chesney

Create Harmony with Different Parenting Styles

February 15th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Pasha Bahsoun, BCBA

A Behavioral Approach to Neuro-inclusivity in the Workplace

March 21st | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Louis Chesney

How to Enjoy Parenting from an Empty Tank

April 18th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Carmen Torres, M.A, BCBA, LBA, LPC

Kelly Deacon, BCBA, LBA

How to Build Better Relationships through Positive Psychology

May 23rd | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Katie Curran, MAPP

Particia Wright, PhD, MPH

How to Teach your Teen Resilience

June 20th| 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Jennifer Wilkens, MA, BCBA

Kelly Deacon, BCBA, LBA

Bring Your Authentic Self to Work

July 18th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Louis Chesney

Transition Back-to-School with Strong Executive Functioning Skills

August 15th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Kristin Bandi, MA, BCBA

Build Stronger Teams through Emotional Intelligence

September 19th| 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Dr. Angela Nelson

Jennifer Wilkens, MA, BCBA

Behaviorally Speaking Live: Developmental Disabilities

October 17th| 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Dr. Angela Nelson

Kristin Bandi, MA, BCBA

How to Navigate Holiday Stress

November 21st | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Dr. Joseph (J.J.) Ferrito

Screen Time for Kids

December 19th | 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Kelly Deacon, BCBA, LBA

Vivian Escobar, MAT., BCBA