Speaking Events

"Excessive and Non-complementary Screen Use; Effects on Health, Wellness, and Development: EEG assessment, diagnostic markers, and successful therapeutic interventions. American Psychological Association (APA) Continuing Education (CE) 12 credit workshop. In this 12 APA CE credit workshop, Dr. Swingle will present her ground-breaking research mapping the effects of excessive, unhealthy use of technologies on the developing and adult brain. She will identify EEG patterns associated with various screen addictions and discuss diagnostic methods and Neurofeedback treatment interventions. http://www.floridabiofeedback.org/tl_files/biofeedback/documents/BSF%20October%202019%20workshop%20brochure.pdf

The effect of screen-based technologies on children’s cognitive, social and emotional health used to be the elephant in the room.  Now it is a Goliath. Everyone knows about it; yet the giant prevails. Despite ever-mounting clear scientific evidence that play in nature is a fundamental developmental need, technology continues to be disproportionately promoted as beneficial for children. It is no longer enough to steer children back to nature-based play, parenting and education. We need a counter attack of knowledge. This session will be exactly that: based upon the goals, concerns and interests of attendees Dr. Mari Swingle will take a tour from the clinical trenches debunking many of the arguments / red-herrings of the tech for kids movement.  This will be an interactive session (top down & bottom up). It may include how and why i-tech hijacks and alters brain development (e.g., basic brain function, arousal & vestibular system); what specific emotional and cognitive skills (e.g., self-soothing, reading emotions and facial expressions) are being permanently lost when children no longer interact in real/natural environments alone or with others.  Participants will leave armed not just with pro-nature projects but with counter arguments for those that seek to stall them.

Dr. Swingle’s research is showing how a lot of our excessive or otherwise inappropriate use of screens is affecting brain function and behaviour, --and she wants to remove confusing and ambiguous language from the "screen time" conversation. In this presentation Dr. Swingle will explore otherwise complex and specialised concepts in language that is clear and easy to understand.  She will present the science of screen time in simple terms to help assist parents, teachers, and healthcare practitioners make informed choices and decide for themselves what aspects of screen-based technology to accept, embrace, or reject, and what aspects deserve further consideration.

Keynote Synopsis:  Screen use is slowly but surely eclipsing our relationships with both the physical world (nature) and each other.  No where is this more evident than in children. In this pivotal lecture, Dr. Mari Swingle will explore the effects of screen-based technologies on the developing brain, behavior and the evolution of our species. –And the related imperatives of children maintaining a relationship with nature not only for ourselves but for the health of the planet. Her explicit concern is our assimilation of technologies in parenting, education and play long before we understand their effects on our mental and physical health, socialization and development. To this end, she will examine the emergent state of science and the evidence of social, emotional and cognitive alteration in infants through adolescents. She will also explore and challenge the counter argument promoting the early use of technology. Her mission: Informed choice. To help us remain masters not servants to the technologies we bequeath generations to follow. Facilitation Synopsis: A panel of 6 Childhood Health Experts will lead an interactive discussion on the 'state of modern childhood'.  

This session will explore changes seen in the brain (EEG), and behavior, of clients with excessive or otherwise uncomplimentary relationships with interactive screen-based technology (e.g., gaming and other forms of systematic addictive like constant connectivity), and present helpful therapeutic intervention strategies.    The session will help clinicians define what excessive usage is and how it may vary from client to client based on culture, environment, epigenetics, chronological age, age of introduction, and state of immersion. The session will explore a wide range of effects including vestibular destabilization, mood deregulation (anxiety, depression, conduct, hyperarousal, etc.) as well as cognitive, social, and neurophysiological alterations (e.g., attention deficits, insomnia, peer bonding, emotional cue reading, erectile dysfunction, etc.).  Presenting symptoms, EEG signatures, and treatment outcome variations will be explored in tandem with both case and group studies. Attendees should leave with an understanding of the most successful protocols and strategies for positive therapeutic outcome.