Name: Personal Best Program
Start: 2026-12-03T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-12-04T16:00:00-05:00
Location: Ackerman Institute for the Family

Personal Best Program

Helping Parents and Children Thrive

Earn 10 CE Contact Hours This two-day workshop prepares participants to implement the Personal Best program with parents and caregivers of young children. The goal is for parents to become resilient, self-aware and engage in positive interactions with their child. The 16-session curriculum provides guidelines for discussion, small and large group activities and personal reflection. […]

Portrait of family taking a selfie together at home

Earn 10 CE Contact Hours

This two-day workshop prepares participants to implement the Personal Best program with parents and caregivers of young children. The goal is for parents to become resilient, self-aware and engage in positive interactions with their child. The 16-session curriculum provides guidelines for discussion, small and large group activities and personal reflection. Personal Best was designed as a group intervention but it can also be implemented during 1:1 sessions or home visits.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

To increase parent confidence, social support, executive function and social-emotional skills.
To describe the unique neurobiological and familial influences on child learning and behavior.
To identify stress triggers, responses and self-regulation strategies.
To discuss parenting beliefs that influence the parent-child relationship and parenting practices.

Who Should Attend:

Agency staff, clinicians and alumni

Dates/Times:

Thursday, December 3, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday, December 4, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Meet Dr. Judy Grossman:

Judy Grossman, DrPH, OTR, is Associate Director of the Center for the Developing Child and Family at the Ackerman Institute for the Family and Former Director of the Resilient Families: Children with Special Needs project. She is adjunct faculty at NYU; previous academic appointments include Chairperson, SUNY-Downstate Medical Center; Associate Research Scientist, Yale School of Medicine; and adjunct faculty at Columbia University. She has conducted early intervention and special education policy studies for the NYS Department of Education, NYC Board of Education, and school systems in Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT. Dr. Grossman has published and presented nationally and internationally in the areas of family resilience, parenting, mental health consultation and best practices in early intervention/special education. She consults to community agencies and maintains a private practice working with couples and families.