Supporting Immigrant Families and Refugees Series: The Power of Play

Link to materials: bit.ly/3THPoaD
Through play, children learn about the world and themselves. In this training, participants will learn about the significance of play in the lives of immigrant and refugee families with young children. We will discuss how exposure to toxic stress inhibits play and highlight special considerations pertaining to culture and children with special needs when planning for play, along with strategies to integrate play into daily family life experiences.
About the presenters:
Griselda Marie Chavez is an Infant Development Specialist in Early Intervention Services at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. She is a Co-Director of the Center of Excellence for Immigrant Child Health & Wellbeing.
Griselda Marie was born from Mexican immigrant parents, and was raised in the Central Valley near Modesto, California. After attending Modesto Junior College, Griselda transferred to San Francisco State University and graduated with a BA in Liberal Studies. She went on to teach preschool for several years before returning to school to complete a dual program at Mills College where she graduated with an MA in Early Childhood Education and Teaching Credential in Early Childhood Special Education. She taught a preschool special education classroom for children with Autism before coming to work at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland as an Infant Development Specialist.
Domenique Embrey, OTD,MS OTR/L is an  Occupational Therapist with over 34 years of  experience. She has worked extensively with children from birth through 18 years old. Ms. 
Embrey has worked in public and private schools, preschools, Pediatric Intensive care and  Neonatal Intensive care hospital units, as well as  private therapy clinics. She has experience in  mental health, developmental disabilities, sensory processing difficulties, handwriting, 
ADHD, Autism Spectrum, Down Syndrome, and Dyslexia. She is the consulting occupational therapist at California School for the Deaf. She currently teaches at Samuel Merritt University and is the clinical coordinator for their free pediatric occupational therapy community clinics in Oakland CA.
Goli Hashemi is an Iranian Canadian who has been living in the US for over 15 years. She left Iran at the age of 11 during the Iran/Iraq war. She is an Occupational Therapist (OT) with over 24 years of experience working in a range of settings across the life span. Currently she is director of Arts and Wellness with the nonprofit ARTogether and teaches at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland in the department of occupational therapy. Ms. Hashemi has been working closely with the refugee and immigrant population in the Bay Area over the past 5 years by volunteering as an OT with a number of refugee and immigrant agencies.