Community Workshops for Seniors, Autism/Asperger's Groups, Brain Injury Groups

Upcoming Community Workshops

Sept 12: Social Relationships, Social Skills, and Healthy Aging

Program Highlights

Learn how social relationships can protect the brain against disease.
Know what’s essential for healthy aging.
Protect your finances and independence.

Program Description Social intelligence is a conscious and unconscious survival skill that allows us to track social interactions around us, and to interact with others effectively. Social intelligence is essential for good functioning and well-being throughout life. We’ll talk about human sociality, based on our primate past & the communal foraging lifestyles of our ancestors. We’ll cover components of social skill (e.g., emotion recognition, avoiding deceptive scams). Dr. Stone will explain recent research from social neuroscience on the brain basis of social intelligence, including research in Alzheimer’s and healthy aging.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't handle your finances just because you're getting older. Research shows that in healthy aging, people get better at detecting scams as they get older. However, people with dementia are at greater risk.

Dates & Locations

In Santa Rosa, CA: Sept. 12, 2010 9:00am-1:00 pm, Council on Aging.
Workshop cost $60 for general public ($100 for continuing education credit).

To register, call 303.669.8528 or email us (register@assesscompetency.com) with this information: Name, phone, your interest in senior issues (e.g. "I am a senior" or "I provide elder care," and where you heard about the the workshop. We'll send you payment information.

Fall, 2010: The Rewards of Friendship: Social Skills and Social Safety for Teens and Adults on the Autism Spectrum

Get specific tools to help you or your loved ones gain new confidence in the three most stressful social situations: dating, workplace interactions, and meeting new people.

Unlike in a lecture, in this dynamic, hands-on workshop, you'll practice

When to use common social conventions
Roleplays using rules for specific social situations
What to say when someone asks you for your money

You'll get specific skills you can use the next day.

Dr. Valerie Stone is passionate about bringing scientific research into the real world to improve people's lives. She is an internationally recognized expert on social competence, and protecting vulnerable people from exploitation and aggression. She trained with Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen in England.
Click here to download free tipsheets about

Starting a conversation with someone you don't know.
Avoiding scams and bullying.

The tools for social competence that Dr. Stone teaches are based on recent scientific research. She believes in making the latest research useful to you!

Date & Location TBA

For information, call 303.669.8528
or email (register@assesscompetency.com)

To request a workshop for your organization, or a specific family or seniors' group, send Email to Dr. Valerie Stone (vestone@assesscompetency.com)

Past Workshops Nationwide

Autism Society of Boulder County: "Getting More Comfortable in the Social World: Social and Emotional Competency, For teens & adults with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism, or those close to them
Wednesday, 14 July, 2010, 7pm-9pm, Imagine!, John Taylor Conference Room, Lafayette, CO,
presented byValerie Stone, Ph.D. & Erika Rosenberg, Ph.D.

Brain Injury Association of Colorado: "Assessment of Disability Following TBI Should Include Objective Social Measures"
Wednesday, 7 October, 2009, 1:30pm, DTC Marriott, Brain Injury Association of CO Annual Conference,
presented by Valerie Stone, Ph.D.
One hour talk on consequences of social competency deficits and the importance of assessing social competency in people with TBI.

“Why Scammers Target People with Dementia”
Wednesday, 1 October, 2009, 11:30am - 1pm, Golden, CO,
presented by Valerie Stone, Ph.D.

Are you tired of people assuming that just because you're older, you're necessarily losing your mental abilities? Do you and your loved one get emails, phone calls, and letters from scammers? Do you have a loved one with early stage dementia, or one who is beginning to suffer serious memory problems, who might have been taken in by a scammer?
Lunch discussion about what scientists are discovering about the decision-making savvy of the elderly in healthy aging. Also covered general information on the brain, dementia, and stroke, and how having a brain disorder can increase the risk of being taken advantage of financially, common scams, how to protect your loved ones, and how to turn in scammers to the authorities.

“Social Safety for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome: Avoiding Exploitation & Aggression by Others.”
Sat., 22 Nov., 2008, 9:00am - Noon, Newton, MA. Sponsored by the Asperger’s Association of New England and the Integrated Center for Child Development,
presented by Valerie Stone, Ph.D.

Have you or a loved one ever been bullied because of Asperger syndrome? Have you or a loved one ever been cheated out of money or possessions because someone decided to take advantage? Have you or a loved one ever been misunderstood by teachers because they don’t “get” Asperger syndrome? In this seminar, Dr. Valerie Stone will discuss recent research on social vulnerability and bullying in Asperger syndrome in older kids and teens, and how adults with Asperger syndrome may experience social vulnerability as they reach maturity. We will talk about how to be on the watch for common scams to cheat people out of their money, and how to protect one’s property and one’s person from those who try to take advantage of others.