Welcome to 2025! Start the year with a Great Read!

AZCEC 2025 Spring Book Study

PLEASE ADD info@Humanitix.com TO YOUR SPAM FILTER OR SCHOOL WHITE LIST TO RECEIVE EVENT CONFIRMATION AND EMAILS.

Registration Information

You can register for any or all of these book studies! For each book completed, you will earn 20 hours of professional development credit that can be used for professional development hours (CEUs), ADE recertification credit or for DHS licensure credit for speech/language professionals.

Cost: $45 for each online book study. You are responsible for acquiring the book from any vendor. You must register and pay and then information on getting started will be sent to you. Registration ends February 7 and the book study begins on February 10. The book study must be completed by June 1, 2025. Professional development credit is issued after the book study is complete.

Watch for an email on Feb 10 with all of the information you need to get started with the book studies. You are responsible for purchasing or borrowing the book.

Book 1: Finding the Words: Empowering Struggling Students through Guided Conversations, by Dr. Hayley Watson

Educators can’t always fix or change students’ challenging situations, but with Dr. Hayley Watson's Finding the Words, they can create compassionate, safe spaces to truly make a difference to student wellbeing. As educators, we are in a position where we can help students break out of cycles of anxiety, low mood, and peer struggles, without needing to be a mental health expert. This book shows you how to support students with issues like parental loss, low body image, bullying, addiction, and more―with practical language that you can use anytime you are on-the-spot with a struggling student. This language helps you set boundaries to protect your own wellbeing, by guiding your students towards self-reliance and resilience.

With this book, you will feel like you have a psychologist on hand to support you in those moments when you know your response could mean the world to a struggling student.

Understand the common issues your students face―anxiety, low body image, acting out, and beyond
Read first-person accounts from youth ages 5-19, showing how appropriate responses can nurture and support students through any challenge they face
Gain specific, practical techniques and takeaways to use right away in your interactions with students
Learn the most effective language to use when you are on-the-spot with a struggling student

Book 2: Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices by Kathleen Budge and William Parrett

Drawing upon decades of research and myriad authentic classroom experiences, Kathleen M. Budge and William H. Parrett dispel harmful myths, explain the facts, and urge educators to act against the debilitating effects of poverty on their students. They share the powerful voices of teachers—many of whom grew up in poverty—to amplify the five classroom practices that permeate the culture of successful high-poverty schools: (1) caring relationships and advocacy, (2) high expectations and support, (3) commitment to equity, (4) professional accountability for learning, and (5) the courage and will to act.

Book 3: 401 Practical Adaptations for Every Classroom by Beverley Holden Johns

Award-winning educator Beverley Holden Johns offers a valuable collection of modifications and accommodations for students with special needs. Busy teachers can put these proven strategies to use immediately with minimal time and expense. In this book, she shares her extensive experience in inclusive settings through concise "3 x 5 card" summaries and relevant examples, in concert with:

Hundreds of adaptations for lectures, worksheets, vocabulary instruction, student response, testing, and the classroom environment
Practical coverage of the legal basis for adaptations, including current updates
The role of adaptations in Individualized Education Programs

This book is invaluable for teachers who are new to working with students with special needs. All teachers will gain fresh ideas and discover how applying adaptations can snowball into increased student engagement and optimized learning.

Book 4: Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives Edited By Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happé, Jo Egerton

Often thought of as a predominantly ‘male’ disorder, autism has long gone unidentified, unnoticed and unsupported in girls – sometimes with devastating consequences for their social and mental well-being. As current research reveals a much more balanced male-to-female ratio in autism, this book provides crucial insight into autistic girls’ experiences, helping professionals to recognize, understand, support and teach them effectively.

Drawing on the latest research findings, chapters consider why girls have historically been overlooked by traditional diagnostic approaches, identifying behaviours that may be particular to girls, and exploring the ‘camouflaging’ that can make the diagnosis of autistic girls more difficult. Chapters emphasize both the challenges and advantages of autism and take a multidisciplinary approach to encompass contributions from autistic girls and women, their family members, teachers, psychologists and other professionals. The result is an invaluable source of first-hand insights, knowledge and strategies, which will enable those living or working with girls on the autism spectrum to provide more informed and effective support.