Professional Development Workshop for Professionals & Trainees working with children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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In this three-hour training, professionals and trainees who work with children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder and broad delays are invited to learn how to use puppetry as a tool in their work to enhance engagement, motivation, build relationships and more. All professionals and trainees working with neurodiverse populations are welcome to attend.

 

Puppetry can be used as a tool for interaction, pretend play, communication, de-escalation, joint attention, turn taking, and more!  Led by professional puppeteer Lindsey "Z." Briggs, participants will learn the basics of puppetry performance technique as well as discuss ways to utilize puppets in their current practice.  Each participant will receive their own personal puppets to utilize within the PD and for ongoing work their patients/clients.

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Participants will learn an introduction to puppetry and the basics of hand puppetry skills and techniques, moving mouth puppets, lip sync, character voices, DIY puppets, classroom pet puppets, short videos with puppets, and more!  Special attention will be given to connecting the new skills participants are learning with the work they are currently doing.​

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Date & Time:  March 21, 2025   1pm-4pm​

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Please email z@wondersparkpuppets.com with any questions.  Registration Deadline: January 31, 2025

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Lindsey “Z.” Briggs is the Muppet performer of Niamh, who has recently made her debut on Sesame Street.  Niamh (pronounced Neeve) is a proud member of the Power of We Club and loves to help her friends and community.  Z. can be heard as the voice of Foley, the host of The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley and Friends, now in its third season on Audible and winner of a 2024 BANFF World Media Festival Rockie Award, 2022 Silver Signal Award, and nominated for a 2023 Kidscreen Award and 2021 Audie Young Listeners Award.  Her work with Sesame Street also includes the role of monster foster mom Dalia in Season 51 Karli’s Life Box and in Sesame Street in Communities Foster Care Initiative.  Z. performed background character work, right hand and props assisting in the third season of the Apple TV+ show Helpsters, and recently co-starred with Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson in the upcoming feature film The Naked Gun (coming to theaters July 2025).
 

Z.’s innovative professional development course for educators, counselors and therapists working with kids on the Autism Spectrum, Making Connections Through Puppetry, has empowered hundreds of professionals and parents to learn how to use puppets when working with neurodiverse populations. This innovative program originated through the Jim Henson Foundation and is supported by the Museum of the Moving Image.  Making Connections Through Puppetry has received funding from The Kennedy Center VSA Program Sites and Next for Autism.  
 

Z. is the co-artistic director of WonderSpark Puppets, in which she and her husband Chad Williams build and perform live puppet theater shows for children and families throughout New York City and beyond.  Z. studied at the University of Connecticut’s renowned Puppet Arts MFA program and has been working as a professional puppeteer since 2004.  She has been a guest lecturer at Yale and Carnegie Mellon University, is the mom of two amazing kids, and is the manager of mascot operations for The New York Mets.

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