Embracing Expertise: Phonetic Science in Clinical Practice

In this 90-minute kick-off course, we will embrace our expertise related to phonetic science. Phonetic science is incredibly important for clinical practice - but it’s not necessarily taught that way in our graduate education. We will reignite your phonetics knowledge and show you how to use this powerful tool to be a more effective clinician, particularly when working on speech sound production.

Facilitative Contexts for Targets and Words

In this 60-minute seminar, we will apply our knowledge of phonetics to create facilitative contexts. Facilitative contexts offer clients an opportunity to produce a sound or word correctly based on the surrounding phonemes. This is relevant to clinicians working with children who have speech sound disorders. We will also briefly discuss the application to reading and spelling.

Conceptualizing the International Phonetic Alphabet as a Therapy Tool

This course will provide a framework for thinking about the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as a therapy tool. Content will explore how the dimensions of vowels and consonants can be shifted to help children produce new speech sounds. Common therapy strategies will be analyzed using this framework, modeling how new therapy strategies could be developed using this approach.

Phonological Theories to Deepen Your Practice

In this 60-minute seminar, we will deepen our understanding of phonology by reviewing several phonological theories. Don’t panic! We’ll put the “fun” in “phonology”! These theories will be applied directly to clinical practice, including their relevance for reading and spelling.