Is Your Therapy Educationally Relevant?

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) guidance document for school based Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) identifies a need for educational relevance. SLPs often struggle with incorporating academically relevant tasks when designing therapy. Using classroom versus generic materials when teaching students strategies to improve their language abilities is functional, fast, free, and assists with faster skill acquisition and generalization. This course will focus on challenges of implementing curriculum based therapy, ways to overcome those challenges, and how to use digital tools to get the information you need for planning, monitoring and executing curriculum based lessons.

How to Tackle Narrative Assessment and Intervention with Confidence

In this course, participants will learn how to implement narrative intervention, with a focus on facilitating meaningful and functional outcomes for our students. Participants will be presented with strategies to gather relevant assessment data. Participants will also review the relevant evidence and will be provided with practical demonstrations of how to implement evidence-based strategies when targeting narrative goals in therapy.

Why Speech Sounds Matter for Literacy

This workshop will discuss the role of phonological representations as they relate to the development of literacy skills for children with speech sound disorders and dyslexia. Background information will include a brief review of relevant theories and application to clinical practice. A definition as well as some common myths of dyslexia will be reviewed. Audience members will be asked to consider the whole child when reconceptualizing how speech sound disorders manifest and are treated. Implications for assessment and intervention are included.

Proving Adverse Effect for Children with Cognitive Communication Deficits

Every year a number of children return to the classroom after experiencing an acquired brain injury. As speech-language pathologists, we are tasked with evaluation, determination of appropriate services, and decision-making for treatment goals and objectives for these children. Many of the standardized assessments for school-aged students are not designed to assess the deficits unique to this population. This presentation will discuss how to synthesize the normative data obtained from age-appropriate receptive and expressive language assessments and standard deficits seen in individuals with acquired brain injury which are generally obtained through informal assessment. The synthesis of this data will help you support the need (or lack thereof) for educational speech and language intervention in children with neurogenic communication disorders in both the outpatient and school setting.

The Ultimate Crash Course On Stuttering Treatment (Even If It Still Scares You)

This course will teach you, step-by-step, how to evaluate stuttering, make clinical decisions, treat stuttering using 16 evidence-based treatment techniques, and overcome many of the common challenges found in stuttering therapy with practical, simple, evidence-based tips.

Pediatric Dysphagia Demystified for School Based Speech Language Pathologists

Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) typically are the most qualified professional to address dysphagia in schools. According to ASHA’s 2014 Schools Survey, 13.9 percent of SLPs who responded provide dysphagia services in their school. Nonetheless, this low-incidence disorder has high impact, and even those SLPs who are competent in treating it may feel the need to sharpen their skills in this area. For others, dysphagia may not have been a major part of their preparation and training, so they need to further develop their knowledge and skills. This session will provide the learner with information to help demystify pediatric dysphagia by discussing the complexity of the swallowing stages; focusing on the oral phase; and implementing strategies and tools to improve a child’s overall oral motor skills. School based SLPs will learn information to acquire or broaden their skills, ability, and knowledge to manage feeding and swallowing disorders in the educational setting effectively.

Managing Voice Disorders in Schools: Development of an Intervention Algorithm

Children with voice disorders respond to therapy, given an appropriate diagnosis and intervention. This presentation will identify what is known about these children with voice disorders, differentiate what causes “hoarseness,” identify appropriate intervention options based on the child’s age and voice problem, and conclude with cast studies highlighting effective management.

Evidence-Based Tips for Implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Struggling to find evidenced-based, practical ways of getting everyone on board when teaching an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system? Confused about ways to efficiently train communication partners or what to focus on? In this course, participants will learn how to successfully implement AAC systems using evidence-based strategies. This course will focus on family-centered intervention practices and training communication partners in critical skill areas. Course material will hone in on areas that research has consistently shown to be the most important for AAC success.