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KoganSteps Online Course: Therapists and Teachers in Motion

How pediatric therapists can help neurodivergent kids build confidence, move better, and improve social skills—without added stress, burnout, or fatigue.

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A Therapeutic Understanding in an Artistic Package.

Who Is This For?

KoganSteps, created by a dancer and occupational therapist, is a Movement Intervention designed to help pediatric practitioners and educators integrate movement practices into their current treatment for neurodivergent children and teens. The program seeks to educate all those who are or want to use movement with the children they serve.

When Does It Start?

You start as soon as you enroll and will have immediate 12-month access to our self-paced 6-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.

What's Included?

This online program awards 0.6 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 CEUs

6 Contact Hours = 0.6 AOTA CEUs

After completing this intermediate, 6-hour self-paced course, you will be awarded 0.6 CEUs (6 contact hours) only if you:
✅ Complete all 6 modules     

✅ Pass the 20-question test

✅ Submit your  case study, and

✅ Complete the required-post-course satisfaction questionnaire.

You'll have lifetime access to the content but have 12 months upon enrolling to complete the course to receive the CEU.

 

broken image...

Become a powerhouse for change.

I almost gave up on helping children move, focus, and connect


Many people don’t know this about me, but I really struggled when I first started as a school-based Pediatric Occupational Therapist



My biggest goal was to be the most impactful therapist I could be for the students and schools I served



Let me tell you a quick story about the time I was working with one of my 15-year-old, non-speaking students, Darien, who struggled with attention, social participation, and movement...


He rarely joined in group activities, often froze during gym, and had difficulty organizing his body in space...


Then one day, during a school field trip to an amusement park, I noticed something that completely changed the way I understood movement



While all the other students eagerly climbed into go-karts, he stood completely still...


He wasn’t being resistant — he simply couldn’t bend his knees or lower himself into the seat



His entire life had been lived between two static positions: standing or sitting


That day, my heart broke. And at the same time, I knew I had to find a better way



Up until then, my focus had been on meeting state-mandated IEP goals — measurable on paper, but rarely meaningful in real life



The truth was, most of my students’ goals didn’t reflect the actual emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration needed for true progress



Almost all of my caseload wasn’t participating in gym or group movement



And I wasn’t alone — when our middle school director asked the OT department to develop a movement program for students not participating, many of my colleagues admitted they didn’t know where to begin



Movement, rhythm, and body organization simply weren’t taught as core therapeutic interventions in OT school



I was exhausted, frustrated, and feeling like I was failing the very children I wanted to help



When the middle school director asked the OT department to create a movement program for children who were struggling to participate, I felt something shift inside me...

I knew these students weren’t defiant—they were disconnected



So I built a program grounded in Space, Time, and Energy, and as I watched movement evolve into a language of connection, I witnessed incredible change: improved motor control, greater focus, and children who finally felt seen, capable, and part of something bigger



I began exploring how diminished movement skills, sensory processing differences, and poor motor control affected each child’s ability to learn and connect...


I discovered that by integrating rhythm, synchronization, and positive responses to music, we could awaken participation in even the most withdrawn or dysregulated children



Through movement-based sessions that combined rhythm, imitation, body awareness, and spatial orientation, I started to see profound changes



Children who once avoided gym began smiling, clapping, and moving to the beat!

They began navigating their environments more confidently — organizing their space, using objects safely, and engaging with peers in ways I had never seen before



I realized that movement could be a bridge — a way to integrate emotional, social, and cognitive systems through the body...


It was the missing link between physical skill and meaningful participation...


Now, with this evidence-based movement intervention system, I teach pediatric and school-based OTs how to:


● Use Space, Time, and Energy to design structured movement sessions that build motor control, attention, and engagement.
● Integrate rhythm, synchronization, and music to support self-regulation and social interaction.
● Address sensory processing, body awareness, spatial navigation, and imitation as foundational tools for learning.
● Organize the environment and technology setup to create safe, productive, and engaging movement interventions in the classroom or therapy space.


Because of this approach, my students started to move — and live — differently



That same young man who once refused to bend his knees?


After months of rhythmic low-space activities, he began bending, crawling, and dancing with joy



For the first time, he wasn’t just moving — he was connecting



Now I’m living my dream of guiding school-based occupational therapists to help their students integrate body and brain through meaningful movement — so they never have to feel stuck, isolated, or unsure of how to truly reach their most challenging cases again



If you implement each step I show you in this course, you’ll know exactly how to approach behaviors through movement, address the real underlying challenges, use rhythm and space to unlock attention and engagement, and finally see your students move — freely, confidently, and joyfully — once and for all.


Lock in today's price before it increases in the future. As I add more and more content, the price will go up - but enroll today, and you'll get all the future updates and modules completely free.
Sincerely,
Ellen Kogan, M.A. Dance, M.A. OTR/L
Speaker and Author of KoganSteps

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.
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.

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TESTIMONIALS

What Pediatric Therapists are saying

"Quite frankly, this program should be in every
school."

“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

★★★★★

"Think about kids differently with the time, energy and space concept."

"This course provided a framework to think about kids differently with the Time, Energy and Space concept. It forced me to think about my activity choices and match it with my client's needs. 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

★★★★★

"Designing my own dances really got me to apply it right
away."

"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. I felt like you were really talking with me, and engaging me. All the variety of videos of examples were so helpful. Having to design my own dances really got me to review the information and apply it right away."

- Brigette Hill , OTR/L

★★★★★

Unlock the Power of Movement in Every Child — While Earning Your CEUs Online

Discover how to harness the science and creativity of movement to transform your OT practice.
In this evidence-based, engaging online CEU course, you’ll learn practical, proven techniques to help children move with confidence, learn more effectively, and build stronger social connections — all using the movement skills you already have.
You don’t need to be a dancer or “mover” to make a difference — just a passionate OT ready to elevate your practice and renew your license with purpose and creativity.

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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


✅ Learn how to create “A Trust Dance” using touch, eye contact, visual attention, modeling, and repetition, building a cooperative alliance with your students.
✅ Explore how you can share rhythm with your students, engaging on a kinesthetic level while supporting regulation, focus, and movement skills.
✅ Improve attention through co-contraction of opposing muscle groups and connecting with your body.
✅ Address spatial orientation and relations and help students gain the confidence to move freely in their environment.
✅ Increase body awareness through feeling your own weight and the use of props.
✅ Use components of timing, such as rhythm and tempo control, to bring students closer to functional movement.

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.

Unlock the Power of Movement in Every Child — While Earning Your CEUs Online

 

✓ 0.6 AOTA CEUs
  6 contact hours, AOTA approved, self-paced online
✓ CPT 97112 Aligned
    Motor planning, coordination, balance, proprioception
✓ The MEC Assessment
    Done-for-you movement evaluation tool, 1–10 scale

“I was amazed at how Ellen Kogan seamlessly merged her dance experience into OT outcomes... my co-workers asked me why I was almost glowing.”

- Margot Serwer, OTR/L

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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 disabilities.

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.

It works. It's fun. It gets results!

Here is what you get when you enroll.

KoganSteps: Therapists and Teachers in Motion Online Course

KoganSteps: On-Demand Online CEU Course

  • ✓ Lifetime access to New 2026 KoganSteps On-Demand Online CEU Course.
  • ✓ Certification of Completion awarding you 0.6 AOTA CEUs and 6 Contact Hours.
  • ✓ New Dance and Movement activities, and interventions.
  • ✓ Exclusive access to KoganSteps's done-for-you informal assessment, The Movement Evaluation Continuum.
  • ✓ A deep understanding of the power of movement to make change.

Today Only $297

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TRY IT RISK FREE

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

If the learner is not satisïŹed 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.

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.

FAQs

Combination of Science & Art

A sense of stillness, the presence of others, inhibition, and visual attention bring the body and mind into focus.

Ellen Kogan Photo: © Jack Mitchell

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Customer Reviews

Margot S., OTR/L, Pediatric Occupational Therapist

★★★★★

"The MEC has completely transformed how I approach movement in my practice"

"The MEC has completely transformed how I approach movement in my practice. It’s more than just an assessment tool—it’s a powerful lens that helps me truly see how each child moves through Space, Time, and Energy. The 1–10 scale is intuitive, flexible, and easy to use. It gives me clear, actionable insights into a child’s movement patterns and supports my ability to design more individualized, engaging and meaningful interventions. It naturally fits into my therapy sessions, doesn’t take much time, and is data-driven—so I can clearly track progress. The activities I create from the MEC are deeply personalized and help to improve the functional tasks my clients struggle with. The MEC has deepened my clinical reasoning. I honestly can’t imagine practicing without it."

Alana Urda (she/her) Director of Education, Notes in Motion/Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre

★★★★★

"Empowered our team to bring new engaging, inclusive, and joyful activities for all"

“As Director of Education for Notes in Motion Dance Theatre, I am delighted to share the success of our recent professional development workshop with Ellen Kogan. Ellen’s expertise and passion guided our teaching artists through innovative and engaging dance activities tailored to support students with disabilities. This experience has empowered our team to bring new engaging, inclusive, and joyful activities for all learners into the classroom that build students’ confidence and foster a sense of community. We are deeply grateful for Ellen’s invaluable contributions to the field of dance education, her curriculum inspired by years of working with students of diverse abilities, and the lasting impact it will have on the classrooms we serve.”

 John Mead, Ph.D., NYU

★★★★★

"Ellen approaches her workshops with intellectual precision and passion"

"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.”

Priscilla L. Feir Ph. D., Former Education Director the Hallen School, Accreditation Officer Middle State Association

★★★★★

"Space, Time and Energy wrapped in creative dances"

"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. 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."

Carla Maxwell, former Artistic Director of the LimĂłn Dance Company

★★★★★

"Suddenly laughing, helping each other, dancing in a circle"

“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. 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.”

Courtney Jacob , OTR/L  

★★★★★

"The course was great!"

"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."

Joan Kavadlo Cohen, New York City Department of Education  

★★★★★

"Beautifully merging the most recent scientific knowledge about the brain and its functioning with the artistry and creativity of dance"

"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!"

New York Therapy Placement Services, Inc. New York City  

★★★★★

"I was excited the whole time"

“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.

2013 Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Young Child Expo and Conference, 2013  

★★★★★

"A highly creative program for use with the school. I wish my school had this program"

“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.”

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.  

★★★★★

"Exemplifying the immense power of movement to open doors in all children"

“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!!!"

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