Program Chair:
Emily Wilson
Kowalski, Wilson & Vang, LLC
Madison
Presenters
Dr. Rachel Bogatay
The Psychology Center
Madison
Brian J. Bushaw
Outagamie County Circuit Court
Appleton
Josh Davidson
Waisman Center
Madison
Katherine C. Harrell
Stafford Rosenbaum, LLP
Madison
Kathleen Hipke
UW Health
Madison
Dr. Kathleen Kastner
Waisman Center
Madison
Sharyl J. Kato
The Rainbow Project, Inc.
Madison
Amanda Pandl
Waisman Center
Madison
Dr. Laura Prado
The Psychology Center
Madison
Erin Thomson
Waisman Center
Madison
Dr. Liliana Wagner
Waisman Center
Madison
8:30 am Autism & Neurodivergence in Kids
- What is neurodiversity – natural variations in brain function
- Acceptance and support – what that looks like
- The diagnostic process and how to read reports
- Autism, Global Developmental Delay/Intellectual Disability, ADHD, & Trauma
- Levels of Support
- Educating the family
- Resources and best-practice recommendations
Dr. Kathleen Kastner, Dr. Liliana Wagner
10:00 am Break
10:15 am Practical Considerations regarding Autism & Neurodivergence in Kids
- Insight from a variety of professionals who work with children and within the legal system
- Understand how some of these issues are resolved and landmines to avoid
Brian J. Bushaw, Josh Davidson, Katherine C. Harrell, Dr. Kathleen Kastner, Amanda Pandl, Erin Thomson, Dr. Liliana Wagner
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:00 pm What's Going On With This Kid? Mental Health and Trauma in Court-Involved Children
- Overview of common childhood and adolescent mental health diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, DMDD, OCD, and ODD
- How these conditions actually present in kids, and how presentation shifts across developmental stages
- Where symptoms overlap and get confused with one another, and with ordinary development
- What trauma is, and the difference between acute and complex/relational trauma
- How to differentiate trauma from mental health diagnoses, since trauma is often mistaken for conditions like ADHD or ODD (and vice versa)
- How the family and juvenile court process itself can become a source of trauma for children
- Developmental impacts of trauma, and the signs attorneys can watch for
- Practical ways to be more trauma-informed
Dr. Rachel Bogatay, Dr. Laura Prado
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm Topic - TBD
Sharyl J. Kato
3:35 pm Program Concludes
- Collaborate more effectively across disciplines by understanding what evaluators, GALs, and court personnel each bring to the table, and what they need from you
- Develop strategies to better assess an individual child's needs and build the best interest argument for them
- Present clinical and developmental information to the court in a way that is accurate and persuasive
- Understand how cases involving neurodivergent children and children with mental health needs can affect custody, placement, and parenting disputes
- Guardians ad litem for minors
- Family court services professionals
- Family court commissioners
- Divorce lawyers
- Family law practitioners
Book Bonus!
Family Law in Wisconsin: A Forms and Procedures Handbook
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*Discount applies to both print and digital Books Unbound® editions of this title and cannot be applied to previous purchases. Offer valid through 12/31/27. For Books Unbound users, discount may be applied to purchase of individual Books Unbound title only and may not be used on the purchase of libraries. Discount cannot be combined with any other offers.