Idaho Webinar Series: Closure, Ambiguity, and Stress for Students with Significant Support Needs
This three-part webinar series presented by Maurice Belote will explore the impact of closure and ambiguity for students who have significant support needs. Read descriptions of each session below and register.
Session 1: May 23 4:00-6:00 pm Mountain
The Basic Human Need for Closure: Why We Want It, Why We Crave It, and What Happens When We Don’t Get It
This session will cover what the need for closure is, why closure is important, and the ways in which this need is reflected in the everyday lives of students with significant support needs.
Session 1 Registration
Session 2 May 30 4:00-6:00 pm Mountain
Ambiguity and Its Impact on Well-Being: What It Is, What It Does, and Why It Matters
The second session in this series will focus on ambiguity as a key component in understanding the basic human need for closure. Ambiguity makes achieving closure difficult and it also plays a significant role in our ability to make choices, predict the future, and plan accordingly. The session will cover current brain science specific to ambiguity and how might it inform us as we teach and/or raise children and young adults who have significant support needs. This session will also address the ways in which ambiguity contributes to stress and anxiety, and the links between ambiguity and negativity bias.
Session 2 Registration
Session 3 June 6 4:00-6:00 pm Mountain
Everyday Strategies to Address Closure and Ambiguity in Order to Increase the Active Engagement of Students with Significant Support Needs
The third and final session in the series will focus on evidence-based and emerging practices to support students’ need for closure and reduce the impacts of ambiguity through instructional planning, development of predictable routines and environments, and communication strategies that support active engagement. The session will also introduce the Familiar Five rule as a strategy for reducing anxiety and stress and promoting active engagement.
Session 3 Registration