KoganSteps: A Movement Intervention
A New Therapeutic Approach For Neurodivergent Children of All Ages to Unleash Their Full Potential, Move More Effectively, Learn Better, and Improve Social Skills.
It’s easy to believe in what you do when you see results. But it’s even sweeter when you read the research that has come out in the field of movement to support the idea that movement works, that it makes a difference, that it could, in fact, be one of the most important missing links toward function for these children.
Become a powerhouse for change.
Ana Nery Fragoso, former Director of the New York City Department of Education Dance Department, introduces Ellen as NYC occupational therapists and teachers begin a KoganSteps workshop.
Bridging the gap between dance and science,
between practice and theory.
Dance taught me the power of movement.
OT taught me how to use that power to help children.
Children have been waiting too long for what they need...
Start now to provide what is missing.
Children learning movement studies from a KoganSteps workshop. Informed movement practices are targeted to the child's needs.
A Therapeutic Understanding in an Artistic Package.
Dancers and pediatric professionals alike
KoganSteps, created by a dancer and occupational therapist is a Movement Intervention designed to help pediatric professionals and educators, integrate movement practices into their current treatment for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and other neurological challenges. The program seeks to educate all those who are or want to use movement with the children they serve.
Self-paced distance learning online course
You start as soon as you enroll and will have immediate 12-month access to our self-paced, 8-contact hour online curriculum. Whether you complete KoganSteps in a day or a year, we are here with you every step of the way. As you study, contact Ellen Kogan with questions, concerns, or just to share. We recommend participants wear comfortable clothing.
Receive 8 contact hours, awarding you 0.8 CEUs
This online program awards 0.8 AOTA CEUs at an Intermediate educational level. This is an intriguing and dynamic presentation that uses music, props, and visual cues. Participants are directly involved in doing activities while they are learning. Several different disciplines are intertwined in such a way that the strategies are easy to understand and beneficial to all disciplines.
AOTA Approved
8 Contact Hours = 0.8 AOTA CEUs
Satisfactory Completion Process:
✔️ Complete all 8 modules
✔️ Pass the simple quizzes
✔️ Submit 2 assignments, and
✔️ Complete the required post-course satisfaction questionnaire.
*Learners have 12 months upon enrolling to complete the satisfactory completion process to receive a Certificate of Completion.
There is a power in movement that everyone can learn to use. You don’t have to be a dancer or a “mover” or change your own movement, to be effective. Find your creative self in my evidence-based course and using the movement skills you already have, help children move more effectively, learn more, and improve social skills.
These children had literally no movement instruction or outlet during the day...
I created The Movement Program in response to the needs of the population I was working with between 2001 and 2015. I was employed full-time at a school in Westchester and from the beginning, was shocked to see what poor movement skills the children at the school had.
Many children were in good physical condition but, because of their disability, were unable to attend the school's daily gym period.
These children had literally no movement instruction or outlet during the day.
The middle school principal knew there was a problem in the school. Most children with autism simply sat down on the floor during the gym period or hung on the walls.
They either could not or would not participate.
The principal asked the OT department to set up a program where children would move. I set to work.
All functional movement depends on the ability to feel and use the weight of your head, trunk, and limbs against gravity in space and time to do everyday activities. These children had not learned this.
They could not turn their heads freely so they could not use their eyes properly...
They could not lift their arms over their head and feel the space above them or look at what was above them...
They could not rotate their trunks from side to side and take in all that was going around them, go from a straight to a curved back, or bend their knees...
They had such poor body awareness that they didn't know where they were in space and so they bumped into things...
They didn't understand personal space, so they stood too close to you...
They either couldn't stop moving in space or were so under-aroused that they couldn't get through an academic day...
Some of the kids had such poor postural control they could not sit in a chair...
They couldn't grade how much energy to use even when writing, so what they wrote was too light or they tore the paper...
Their timing was off, and they missed their mark, or they were so unpredictable that people felt uncomfortable being around them and moved away...
The program began working and was inspiring to all who encountered it. It took place daily and served 26 children of all ages.
Soon other disciplines, including speech therapists, counselors, and teachers, were bringing themselves and their clients to the program.
I ran the program, they saw the results and joined in.
Because of this treatment approach, the children began to learn about their bodies and how to move their own weight more functionally in space and time.
Because of that, they moved more effectively in their school, communities, and homes.
Teachers, service providers, parents, and administrators commented. The administration was supportive.
The children learned better, had more fun, and felt better about themselves.
They demonstrated improved motor control, social cohesiveness, and a level of independence that was surprising and inspiring to all who were involved. They lived richer, more functional, and less alone lives.
There is a power in movement to make a change in people’s lives, to help them grow, and even at times to heal themselves.
Testimonials
“I was amazed at how Ellen Kogan has seamlessly merged her dance experience into her occupational therapy outcomes...my co-workers asked me why I was almost glowing when sharing what I had learned at this seminar! Quite frankly, this program should be in every school.”
- Margot Serwer OTR/L, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, A movement specialist specializing in motor planning and coordination, sensory processing, primitive reflexes, brain and body integration, and executive functioning.
"Ellen approaches her workshops with intellectual precision and passion. Rather than giving off-handed answers to students’ questions, Ellen looks beneath the questions to their source and answers on a level that has the power to change not only how one moves, but also how one actually thinks about and perceives movement overall. Hers are not textbook answers but rather answers that come from her own ongoing quest to understand the complicated universe which is the human body….and further, to understand that body’s relationship to space, time and to art itself.”
- John Mead, Ph.D., NYU
“Ms. Kogan is brilliantly bridging the gap between theory and practice while showcasing students at their best... using her skills and expertise to deliver the important themes of Space, Time and Weight/Energy wrapped in creative dances.”
- Priscilla L. Feir Ph. D., Former Education Director the Hallen School
“Before our eye we see children that normally will not look at anyone or touch or be touched by another person, suddenly laughing, helping each other, dancing in a circle or conga line and ready to participate as a community.”
- Carla Maxwell, former Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company
Your Instructor
Ellen Kogan is a seasoned professional recognized in both the dance world and as an occupational therapist. She has had an extensive involvement with movement and dance for over forty years and is known for her extensive knowledge of the human body, emotional and intellectual intensity, and deep curiosity to explore new ideas.
Her dance career began as a member of Eugene Loring Dancers and San Francisco Ballet before becoming a soloist with The Bat-Dor Dance Company in Israel and The Cliff Keuter Dance Company in New York City, sponsored by Sol Hurok. In 1981, she founded Kogan Solo Dance, a company of one, created to explore and present solo dance. Her solo work has been critically acclaimed both in the United States and abroad and she has appeared in major theaters and festivals worldwide including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theatre, with Ohio Ballet on the Cleveland Series, and Brooklyn Academy of the Performing Arts, The Place, The Laban Center for Movement and Dance, and Tate Gallery in London under the auspices of the Dance Umbrella in Edinburgh and London. Kogan Solo Dance was funded by The National Endowment for the Arts for seven consecutive years and The New York State Council of the Arts.
In 1996, Ms. Kogan began using her skills and opportunities to help children who are unable to help themselves, due to physical, emotional, and cognitive influences. She received a degree in occupational therapy in 2000 and, since then, using her special mix of traditional and movement treatments, has worked with a wide range of disabilities.
In 2007, she founded “Sensory Steps” - A Movement Intervention - for children with autism and other neurological disabilities to help them move more effectively, attend better, and improve social skills. As part of the movement experience, the program fosters expressiveness, creativity, social cohesiveness, teamwork, increased cognition, and a greater sense of self.
In 2013, driven by “what works”, armed with extensive research and a deep conviction in the power of movement, Ms. Kogan created a series of workshops called “KoganSteps” to help service professionals, educators, artists, and parents integrate movement practices into what they already do with the children they care for. “KoganSteps” has been presented live throughout the New York area and internationally.
Ellen Kogan, M.A. Dance, M.A. OTR/L
Speaker and Author
Presenter Disclosure: Financial: Ellen Kogan is the author of this PD Activity and receives royalty payments for delivering this course and is an employee at KoganSteps LLC. Non-financial: Ellen Kogan has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Content Disclosure: This learning event does not focus exclusively on any specific product or service.
The Mission of KoganSteps: A Movement Intervention
The mission of KoganSteps: A Movement Intervention is to inspire all children, especially those with autism and other neurological challenges, to unleash their special strengths and individual potential through a highly effective, enriching movement therapy that celebrates each child’s unique gifts. By understanding the scientific significance of movement as an intervention and integrating informed movement practices, targeted to the child’s needs, KoganSteps opens the door to an exciting, innovative approach that empowers each therapist to bring lasting change to the children they serve.
The missing treatment...
While researchers have talked about the advantages of embodiment techniques for years for children with autism, there are few structured, clinical movement programs. to address these children's needs through a targeted understanding of movement and neurodivergent children...
Until now.
We invite you to join us in this mission so you too can use movement to create Functional Movement for children who need us so much.
Join me in bridging the gap between theory and science.
The Course Overview
Beginning Discussion and Activities
- A basic understanding of the 3 elements of movement - Space, Time, and Energy.
- How to prepare a designated space to move in.
- Becoming aware of your own natural movement skills.
- How to gain the child’s trust.
Module #1〡Space, Time, Energy, and Functional Movement
- Acquiring a deeper understanding of The Movement Evaluation Continuum (MEC) to assess movement challenges, underlying motor skills, Neuromuscular factors, Client Factors and Sensory Processing.
- How to define Functional Movement on a scale of 1-10.
- Relating to movement through the eyes of a child with disabilities.
Module #2〡Eight Dances to Illuminate and Inspire
- The Tire Dance, The Plate Dance, The Card Dance, The Mountain, the Mozart Dance, The Shape Dance, The Scarf Dance and The Claps.
- Understanding how misunderstanding the three basic elements of Movement: Space, Time and Energy can impact a child’s functional movement, ability to learn, and social skills.
Module #3〡Informed, Fun Movement Activities for Your Toolbox
- Understand how to use visual supports including everyday objects, cards, and hoops.
- Explore how a child can go from a simple activity to a more complex one where they make a phrase, or even a short dance.
- Understand what is meant by “authentic movement” and how it relates to skill level, mental health, individuality, and well-being.
- Become aware of the interplay between space, time, and energy and the underlying skills of movement.
Module #4〡Finding Your Creative Self
In this module you will creative your own movement activity through a 20-minute assignment.
You’ll finish this module knowing that you have successfully assimilated new knowledge and skills, transferred those skills into your own body and made the material your own.
Module #5〡A New Way to Think - A New Kind of Science
- The link between the Mirror Neuron System, Movement, Imitation and Functional Behavior.
- Engaging the brain via the body.
- Modeling, Music, and Movement.
- Joint Attention, “Theory of Mind”, Socialization.
- The Benefits of Auditory Rhythmic Cueing.
- Creating new muscular patterns.
- Predictability, routines, Boundaries, Safety.
Module #6〡Bridging The Gap Between Practice and Theory
In this module you will create your own movement activity in a forty-minute assignment.
You’ll finish this module with confidence knowing that you can use the natural movement skills you already have, integrate new knowledge into what you already know, go from theory to practice, and create your own movement activities for the children you work with.
Module #7〡The Power of Movement
In this final module, you are reminded of the distance you have come while taking this course, the power movement has to make a change in people’s lives, and the power movement has to make children with disabilities more functional human beings, unleash their special strengths and inspire them to reach new heights.
Conclusion
In conclusion, learners complete a 20-question multi-choice test and post-satisfaction questionnaire form to be submitted back to Ellen through this online course platform.
There is nothing like this in our Practice...
The Tire Dance
Using a ramp and a box to jump off, The Tire Dance was originally created to help children learn to bend their knees. Over time it was used to increase awareness of other body parts, memory, planning, sequencing, dealing with one's own weight and moving forward and backward in space.
It works.
It's fun.
It gets results!
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this professional development activity, participants will be able to:
1. Analyze embodiment concepts and body-based practices and demonstrate an understanding of why they are effective treatment approaches for children with autism and other neurological challenges.
2. Identify how functional movement skills can promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration to improve health and wellbeing.
3. Develop 2 or more hypotheses of why children who learn differently may benefit more from a structured movement program than other more traditional methods.
4. Identify the three elements of movement – Space, Time, and Energy – and analyze how they can become a therapeutic intervention for motor control, attention, and social skills.
5. Analyze a simple assessment tool, The Movement Evaluation Continuum, to identify diminished movement skills and motor control challenges in an individual child or group of children.
6. Develop a minimum of three informed, targeted movement strategies to be integrated into existing treatment plans.
7. Analyze how rhythm, synchronization, and a positive response to music can impact change.
8. Adapt commonly used movement vocabulary words to one’s professional practice and field of expertise.
9. Identify three interventions that focus on either sensory processing, imitation, rhythm, body awareness, or spatial orientation.
10. Learners will identify two ways to navigate their environment and organize their space and objects in preparation to safely and productively implement a movement intervention including technology setup.
Combination of Science & Art
Ellen Kogan Photo: © Jack Mitchell
Movement is a birthright. Something most of us do naturally.
But this is not true for children with disabilities who often must be taught and get better with practice. For these children, movement is the difference between function versus dysfunction.
Enroll now to help these children live richer more functional lives.
Here is what you get when you enroll.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
If the learner is not satisfied with the content of the Professional Development Activity for any reason and the Professional Development Activity has been started with less than 1 (one) module completed, the learner may request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
More Testimonials and Reviews
"This course provided a framework to think about kids differently with the time, energy and space concept. It forced me to think harder about the activity choices and match it with my client's needs. Also, as much as I did not want to make a video, I learned from the experiences, and I truly appreciated the thoughtful comments in response to the dances.
I have already used (knowledge and skills gained in the course) with one of my clients and plan to continue to do so. The plate dance is a favorite! "
-Susan Schwartz, OTR/L
KoganSteps is a skillfully developed series of lessons and activities designed to provide a therapeutic movement program for individuals with autism and other neurological impairments. Beautifully merging the most recent scientific knowledge about the brain and its functioning with the artistry and creativity of dance, KoganSteps takes the participant, step-by-step, through a combination of listening, reading, moving, and creating one's own dance activities to present to students. It offers methodology by which to evaluate each student's movement patterns, strengths and weaknesses, tailoring individualized dances for each one, or as a group.
Ellen Kogan, a recognized Dance artist and Occupational therapist brings her decades of experience in both fields, providing a very warm, sensitive, and encouraging teaching style. To study with Ellen is to experience her passion and dedication to this field and her empathy for young people with disabilities. As a lifelong dancer, dance educator, General and Special educator, and sister of an individual with a disability, I highly recommend this inspiring and innovative program!
- Joan Kavadlo Cohen, New York City Department of Education, Retiree
“Going through the process of how to evaluate and how to then design movement activities makes it easily applicable in a variety of settings and a variety of needs. Also, you have such a great style of talking to the camera, I felt like you were really talking with me, and engaging me. All the variety of videos of examples were so helpful. The website is well designed, and easy to use. Having to design my own dances really got me to review the information and apply it right away.”
- Brigette Hill , OTR/L
I thought the course was great! I appreciated how the information was presented, especially all the video examples, which provided a great visual demonstration of the concepts.
- Courtney Jacob , OTR/L
“I am struck anew at the power that movement, song, and touch can bring to healing. I cannot say enough wonderous things about Ellen Kogan and her work. You must experience it yourself.”
- Carla Maxwell, former Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company
“I found Ms. Kogan thrilling to watch as she combined her two worlds to benefit many underserved students. ….an endless desire to use one’s skills and opportunities to help those who are unable to help themselves due to physical, emotional, or cognitive influences. Ms. Kogan exemplifies and gives witness to the commitment, dedication and creativity of a true professional…I wholeheartedly endorse her search to continue to practice her art and science to make significant differences in the daily lives of students using a mix of her traditional and movement treatments.”
- Priscilla L. Feir, Ph. D., Accreditation Officer Middle State Association
“This was wonderful, I love the hands-on approach to the session and what Ellen does is inspirational.
A great program!
Super presentation.
Master at this population.
A highly creative program for use with the school. I wish my school had this program.
Excellent balance experiences, seeing video and explanation.”
- 2013 Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Young Child Expo and Conference, 2013
“Enjoyed all of it. Thanks. Very Helpful
The workshop’s strategies and techniques will be helpful for my students.
Very engaging and relevant. Wonderful. Can’t wait to share and utilize this new knowledge.
I loved the experience of movement. The program is amazing.
Fun and well-planned! Excellent! I absolutely would recommend this workshop.
This was happy hour for me.
Outstanding presenter! Engaging, knowledgeable, caring, and passionate.
Great Workshop. Thank you
Amazing presenter. Loved the hands-on learning. Able to coordinate knowledge with all levels of practice.
Highly informative. Loved the physical involvement of teacher and workshop. Theory and practice paired very nicely.
Ellen is excellent. I was excited the whole time.
Ellen is awesome. Thank you.
This was an excellent workshop! Very interactive and fun. I learned so much. Amazing presenter!
Ellen was amazing!
All practical “hands on” activities for groups and individuals. Thank you.
Loved hands on approach. We didn’t stay seated looking at slides. Thank you.
I liked creating our own scenarios and seeing others. It was great participation so we could see it first-hand.
Ellen was very energetic and knowledgeable. I enjoyed learning so many fun movement activities to incorporate into my treatment sessions. I would highly recommend this course.
Please invite this presenter for future workshops. I really would like for other colleagues to be able to learn the types of techniques I learned today.”
- New York Therapy Placement Services, Inc. New York City
"Ellen dearest - what an absolutely beautiful document of the masterful, loving and sensitive work you have been doing! Really so touching and at its core, so very very joyous. Exemplifying the immense power of movement to open doors in all children, this is movement therapy taught from a dancer's point of view. It's wonderful how you reinforce trust, create a calm, safe atmosphere, instill cooperative learning expectations, impart basic movement concepts and vocabulary, elicit eye contact and physical contact with others, build mutual appreciation, and introduce the pleasure of aesthetics - love those original group tableaux! Your use of props like the plastic plates to facilitate certain movement patterns works so well. And the kids look so happy to be participating.
Brava!!!"
- Joan Finkelstein, Dance and Dance Education Consultant
Dance Education for Diverse Learners a Special Education Supplement to the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance for NYC schools.
Former Director of Dance for NYC Department of Education.
Currently Director of Dance for Harkness Foundation.
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A sense of stillness, the presence of others, inhibition, and visual attention bring the body and mind into focus.
