CASEN Connect was created.

• CASEN Connect is a social media platform designed for students with social-emotional needs, as well as other differences. CASEN originated as CASEN Connect in 2017. CASEN Connect is used as a precursor for students before going on mainstream social media platforms. CASEN is meant to support adult leaders such as teachers, parents or caregivers, social workers, psychologists and anyone who works with student groups with children who have a social deficit. In addition to the adult leaders using CASEN’s social media platform as a tool to provide learning content, CASEN provides a question of the day to build critical thinking and social awareness skills.

CASEN Outreach begins community engagement. 

• CASEN Outreach goes into the community and engages with churches, camps, community centers, and other organizations to present a healthy approach and outlook toward social media. In the summer of 2019, CASEN was invited to present CASEN’s concept through CASEN Outreach at Camp Xtreme in Norristown, Pennsylvania. During their time with Camp Xtreme, CASEN presented two one-hour sessions per week for six weeks. The first hour was for a group of campers 7-10 years of age and the second hour was for a group of campers 11-13 years of age. CASEN paired with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General to teach the children the dangers of social media. Then CASEN spent the next several weeks teaching about types of bullying and cyberbullying, child predators, sexting, social media statistics, and some sexting laws, among other things.
• The campers reported in a survey that they really enjoyed having a safe place to talk. Some campers even reported that they would report acts of bullying in the future, whether it was experienced or witnessed.
• CASEN also presented at Bethel Deliverance International Church Education Conference with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General in August 2019. This was a two-hour workshop for students 9-13 years of age.
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CASEN Education Social Network Wellness Academy is introduced.

• Developed in 2020, CASEN Education Social Network Wellness Academy is designed to teach social wellness to students. The Social Network Wellness Academy identifies the strengths of students and then builds upon their strengths to teach social wellness. Many education platforms only identify a student’s weaknesses and deficits which may cause them to feel less than or behind their peers. CASEN believes that for students to become appropriate on social media, they need to learn what it means to have social wellness. This is achieved by taking practical lessons on social-emotional learning already taught in school, and connecting them to real life situations and experiences. With CASEN, the student’s challenges and weaknesses are identified and strengthened. Then these skills will be practiced in a safe online platform via CASEN Connect.
• Social wellness is taught through CASEN Education Social Network Wellness Academy. The Social Network Wellness Academy is an online course containing seven learning modules for students 9-13 years of age. CASEN’s approach is to empower the student where they currently are and stimulate them to want to learn more. This will be done through a series of Once the CASEN curriculum is completed, the students will progress to the CASEN Connect social media app to practice what they have learned.

CASEN Connect is developed and introduced to users.

• CASEN hired consultants and web developers to streamline their vision and take CASEN to the next level. With a new design and CASEN-owned platform, the CASEN social media app evolved into what it is today.
• CASEN Connect is for children of all abilities. However, the primary focus is children with learning and thinking differences. It is a social media site with training wheels and filters that teaches children in a safe, monitored, protected place. 
• CASEN Connect is a precursor to regular social media sites. CASEN Connect is also a learning management system (LMS). This platform allows teachers to communicate with students in a safe, controlled environment with protections in place to prevent bullying and inappropriate behavior. Student posts are not visible to other students without teacher approval. This is a monitored site that checks for bullying behavior online. CASEN Connect is by invitation only, which prevents child predators from gaining access to children.

CASEN upgrades their courses based on community feedback

• CASEN courses were piloted with typically developing and gifted children on a community-based Zoom platform, as well as an in-person high school autistic support classroom. CASEN took the feedback from the students and facilitators and made the appropriate changes. 
• To produce the updated curriculum, CASEN collaborated with a company that specializes in creating social-emotional learning content, school curriculum, and children’s journals to assist with the social-emotional learning portion of the lessons to help make it a seamless flow.

CASEN extends education program to include parents.

• CASEN Parents was created to empower parents and caregivers with the same tools they use to empower children. In this program, parents are equipped with tools to help keep their children safe on social media, as well as resources and techniques to teach their children about social wellness and bullying identification. 
• CASEN Parents can take any course from CASEN Education that is offered to the children, but the content is presented on an adult level. This affords parents the opportunity to continue the conversations the children are learning in the program at home. Parents also communicate with other parents concerning these topics. CASEN Parents has a LinkedIn group for parents to connect, encourage one another, build relationships, and share tips that they find useful and supportive in this community.