Schools 2009 Session Descriptions

Unless otherwise noted, all Schools Conference sessions are at the intermediate level and assume general familiarity with the concepts, terminology, literature, and professional practice of the topic.

Friday, July 17

PL1 Speak Up, Speak Out, Be Heard
Friday, 8–9:30 a.m. (1.25 hours)
Susan Miller, PhD, CCC-SLP

Do you capture your audience in the first two seconds of a presentation or conversation? Are you clear, articulate, and direct in your communications? Does the tone of your voice command authority and respect? Do your emotions show during challenging interactions? In this session, you'll examine some crucial aspects of communication that your formal training in communication sciences and disorders may have neglected: presence, voice, and message.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Explore the nonverbal messages your body conveys
• Speak with a pleasant but authoritative vocal tone
• Decrease your anxiety and maintain focus when stressed
• Develop a concise message appropriate to your audience
• Present yourself with poise and confidence in professional and personal situations

CS1 Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Evaluation Challenges
Friday, 10–11:30 a.m. (1.5 hours)
David W. Hammer, MA, CCC-SLP
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 2, Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders

Explore the evaluation and differential diagnosis of children ages 2 through 8 who are suspected to have childhood apraxia. Video examples of children's speech will provide a foundation to discuss issues such as the age at which apraxia can first be identified, key features that lead to diagnosis, and appropriate therapy for preschoolers and school-age children. Strategies to support parents through their child's evaluation and diagnosis are also discussed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• List the hallmark features and characteristics of childhood apraxia of speech
• Identify differential diagnostic factors and treatment strategies that differ from other speech and language disorders
• Outline critical factors for parental impact

CS2 Successful Stuttering Therapy: Five Simple Steps
Friday, 10–11:30 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Kristin A. Chmela, MA, CCC-SLP, BRS-FD
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders

Learn five steps toward more effective stuttering therapy for children and young adults aged 8–18. A problem-solving format will help you track the key elements of a fluency evaluation and identify and address factors that may be impeding students' progress. The session includes video demonstrations of therapy, ready-to-use materials, and brief practice sessions. Overall the goal is to help you help your students identify and achieve their own goals and become more effective communicators outside the therapy room.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify key elements of a fluency evaluation
• Use practical resources to assist in stuttering therapy for school-age children
• Assist students to identify and implement personal therapy goals
• Establish communication partner relationships
• Document therapy success

CS3 Creating Agreement: Preventing and Responding To Special Education Conflicts
Friday, 10–11:30 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Marshall Peter, MS
Instructional level: Introductory

Learn strategies to increase your effectiveness in difficult communications with parents and administrators about special education and other issues. We will review the range of special education dispute resolution options and examine different approaches to addressing conflict. The skills of creating agreement, which apply in personal as well as professional arenas, will be discussed and demonstrated.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Describe options for special education dispute resolution
• Discuss different approaches to addressing conflict
• Describe the tension between personal and relationship needs
• Apply listening skills as a critical component of managing conflict

CS4 Written Language Assessment
Friday, 10–11:30 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Nickola W. Nelson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructional level: Advanced
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 1, Language Learning and Education

Written language samples offer rich information about a child's knowledge of language systems, with implications for both spoken and written language intervention. Analyzing a student's approach to a writing task, processes used, and sound/word and sentence/discourse level production yields insights into self-regulation and executive skills as well as language, while the child is engaged in authentic curricular activities or more structured tasks. This session provides practice using promising measurement techniques for analyzing samples of children's writing, focused on elementary and middle school years. Applications for diagnostic, progress monitoring, and response to intervention (RTI) will be discussed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Analyze writing processes and written products at the discourse, sentence, and sound/word levels
• Analyze writing processes and written products for insights into self regulation and executive skills
• Describe the pros and cons of more and less structured spoken and written language probes for varied purposes
• Use the results of language sample analysis to plan language intervention and scaffold higher level language and communication skills

CS5 AD/HD, (C)APD, or Listening Comprehension?
Friday, 10–11:30 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Donna Geffner, PhD, CCC-SLP/A

Overlapping symptoms make it difficult to differentiate attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) from (central) auditory processing disorder ([C]APD) or a deficit in comprehending spoken language. Although these conditions may co-exist, they must be differentiated for effective management. This session reviews the defining characteristics of each disorder and examines recent research identifying the most prominent language and auditory processing deficits in children with AD/HD. Measures to distinguish between auditory processing and comprehension of spoken language will be discussed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Describe the defining characteristics of AD/HD, (C)APD, and a disorder of spoken language comprehension
• Discuss key deficits in language and auditory processing that are prevalent in children with AD/HD
• Discriminate between a deficit in comprehending spoken language and an auditory processing disorder
• Identify assessment tools to assist in differential diagnosis

CS6 Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Therapy Challenges
Friday, 1:30–3:30 p.m. (2 hours)
David W Hammer, MA, CCC-SLP

Learn practical, hands-on therapy strategies for children ages 2–8 using a multi-sensory, motor-learning-based approach. Video examples illustrate topics including therapy strategies that motivate students while providing repetitive practice; dyad and group approaches; infusing early literacy skill building into therapy; and the use of sign language or other forms of alternative and augmentative communication. Ways to involve families effectively in therapy and enhance home practice will also be addressed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• List the key features of motor learning theory that provide the foundation for therapy for children with apraxia
• Describe how to build early literacy skill enhancement into therapy goals
• Identify multi-sensory therapy strategies effective in facilitating verbal skills
• Outline factors important in family participation and involvement in the therapy process

CS7 Written Language Intervention: The Writing Lab Approach
Friday, 1:30–3:30 p.m. (2 hours)
Nickola Wolf Nelson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructional level: Advanced

Learn how to devise activities that combine curricular instruction for all students with intervention in language and communication skills for students with special needs. The writing lab approach to language instruction and intervention lets SLPs work with students with communication disorders in the context of the full class. The approach can be used with almost any subject (not just language arts), promoting flexibility in scheduling. Topics will include getting started, using general curricular standards and assessment data to plan projects, and embedding IEP-specific interventions within them.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Describe strategies for working with teachers to design writing lab activities that can address any area of the curriculum and provide language intervention for students with special needs along with instruction for all
• Design a mini-lesson to target social interaction, self-regulation, or specific spoken and written language skills
• List three outcome measures that have provided evidence that a writing lab approach can improve students' language abilities at the discourse, sentence, and sound/word levels

CS8 Service Delivery Models: Effective, Efficient, Intensive
Friday, 1:30–3:30 p.m. (2 hours)
Judy K. Montgomery, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-CL
Instructional level: Advanced

Examine the big questions about service delivery in schools today. Powerful educational trends, shortages of qualified service providers, and burgeoning requests for services for challenging populations pose both practical and ethical challenges. Is there an alternative to evidence-based practice in schools, and if so, when is it acceptable? How do we choose service delivery models that are effective, efficient, intensive, and prepare students for discharge from services from the first session? Discussion will draw examples from the literature, empirical research, and practice settings as we examine issues that SLPs in schools must recognize and address if our field is to prosper.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Give examples of effective and efficient interventions
• Describe how to keep your interventions focused on discharge/dismissal
• Categorize and evaluate new service delivery models
• Support the appropriate use of alternatives to EBP
• Recognize at least three ethical dilemmas in school-based practice

CS9 Culturally Responsive Support of English Language Learners (ELLs)
Friday, 1:30–3:30 p.m. (2 hours)
Elenny M. Tuleta, MA, CCC-SLP, MEd
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 14, Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Populations

When are SLPs involved with ELLs? Where and how do we intervene with ELLs? What and whom do we support? How do we distinguish between an ELL learning English and an ELL with language disabilities? These are some of the questions you face as the number of culturally and linguistically diverse students continues to increase. This session focuses on the skills and knowledge needed to respond to the unique needs of ELL students, with emphasis on the perspectives and resources that the SLP can bring to the collaboration among classroom teachers, TESOL staff, and others to support better decision making. Bring case studies from your own practice for discussion.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Discuss core documents that guide SLP scope of practice for ELL students
• Identify the significance of second language learning and culture on assessment and diagnosis of ELL students
• Describe the SLP's roles and responsibilities in support of English language learning in typically developing ELL students, compared to ELLs with suspected disabilities

CS10 What It Takes to Implement Response to Intervention (RTI)
Friday, 1:30–3:30 p.m. (2 hours)
Barbara J. Ehren, EdD, CCC-SLP
Kimberly McCalister, MS, CCC-SLP
Susan Trumbo, MS

If you're facing pressure to become involved in RTI, you may not be at all sure what you are being asked to do or how you can fit RTI into your already-busy schedule. This session will shed light on the real-world challenges and opportunities RTI offers. You'll explore how to structure your workload to accommodate RTI, identify opportunities to improve services with an RTI approach, and get practical ideas on moving forward with implementation. Two SLPs "in the trenches" who have been involved for several years in implementing RTI will share their perspectives on what RTI looks like when implemented well, and obstacles they have overcome.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Discuss opportunities and challenges within RTI
• Explain the relationship between workload and RTI implementation
• Analyze steps needed to develop or refine a school-based RTI approach by SLPs
• Create an action plan for your own venue

CS11 Myths and Realities of SLPs' Roles in Literacy
Friday, 1:30–2:30 p.m. (1 hour)
Barbara J. Moore, EdD, CCC-SLP
C. Melanie Schuele, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 16, School-Based Issues

Although literacy has been at the core of educational reform for over 20 years, school-based SLPs still struggle to define their role in promoting literacy. This session will examine the myths and realities, as well as the concerns, of SLPs delivering service in a literacy-focused environment. You will discuss the real issues surrounding diagnostics, intervention, and service delivery, with a focus on finding system solutions that work for students, schools, and speech-language pathologists.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Differentiate the SLP's role from that of other educators in developing children's literacy skills
• Explain to colleagues the contributions of basic language skills (semantics, syntax, pragmatics, phonology) and higher level language skills (narrative, metalinguistics) to literacy achievement

CS12 IDEA 2004: Finding Flexibility for Quality SLP Services
Friday, 2:30–3:30 p.m. (1 hour)
Judy Rudebusch, EdD, CCC-SLP

This session highlights provisions of IDEA 2004 that yield maximum flexibility for quality SLP services in prevention, identification, and intervention with students with communication disorders. The pivotal references in IDEA 2004 for prevention, identification, and intervention will be provided along with practical strategies for seeing IDEA 2004 in a new light and leveraging change to increase quality of services.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Explain the school-based SLP's role in prevention of communication disorders as referenced in IDEA 2004
• Plan evaluation activities that go beyond testing and identify any adverse effect of the communication disorder on educational performance
• Make three changes in your weekly schedule to provide SLP services in the least restrictive environment

Saturday, July 18

CS13 SLPs in Language and Literacy
Saturday, 8–11:15 a.m. (3 hours)
C. Melanie Schuele, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructional level: Advanced

What is the role of SLPs in addressing literacy? We will consider how school SLPs are particularly challenged to define their role in literacy and differentiate their role from that of other educators. At the same time, we'll examine the SLP's role in literacy as it connects to their role in oral language. Because of the diversity of school settings, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question—instead you will consider your own practice setting to define your role and map out desired changes. We'll stress that roles evolve and change over a career and that change can be energizing if addressed proactively and realistically.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Summarize the unique knowledge and skills that SLPs bring to language and literacy assessment, instruction, and intervention in schools
• Describe the SLP's role in phonological awareness intervention
• Delineate activities that SLPs can undertake to promote literacy
• Describe your current and your ideal role in literacy
• Develop a plan to move toward your ideal role

CS14 Using Children's Literature to Meet Oral and Written Therapy Goals
Saturday, 8–11:15 a.m. (3 hours)
Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP

Tired of the same intervention techniques and materials? Want to facilitate literacy skills without compromising progress in identified areas of oral language? Put some evidence-based "zing" into your therapy sessions by using books to target oral and written communication development at the same time. This session will give you specific examples, interactive demonstrations, lesson ideas, book lists, and materials to share with parents and teachers—everything you need to start providing efficient, effective intervention that supports development in both oral and written domains in children aged 2–12.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Summarize the research on the interconnected nature of language and literacy
• List at least three advantages of using books in clinical intervention contexts
• Select books to facilitate development of critical skills for reading as identified by the National Reading Panel
• Implement intervention using books to address a variety of clinical targets related to various communication disorders
• Facilitate oral and written language skills concurrently

CS15 Play, Language, and Literacy
Saturday, 8–11:15 a.m. (3 hours)
Carol Westby, PhD, CCC-SLP

Literacy does not begin in kindergarten—it begins in infancy and it involves more than the ability to decode print. This session examines the development of four dimensions of play in toddlers and preschool children (up to age 6 or equivalent cognitive level), and looks at the interrelations among play and children's language, social/emotional skills, self-regulation, and literacy. How play assessment can contribute to understanding a child's social and academic strengths and needs is emphasized, and the use of play for recognition and response (an extension of RTI) is discussed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Describe the social/emotional and language underpinnings for pretend play and theory of mind
• Explain the development and interrelationships of cognition, play, language, social/emotional skills, and literacy
• Evaluate a child's cognitive and linguistic skills through play activities

CS16 Schools, Evidence, and Autism: Making a Difference
Saturday, 8–11:15 a.m. (3 hours)
Sylvia F. Diehl, PhD, CCC-SLP

Focus on making functional differences for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in school settings. Children with ASD have a broad range of needs and their learning characteristics tend to confound the translation from skill acquisition to true functional application. This session will explore evidence-based strategies to make real differences in the lives of children with ASD aged 4–18. Lecture, case examples, videos, and other learning activities will be presented.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify the communication and learning characteristics that influence the school success of children with ASD
• Describe evidence-based treatment strategies to support the communication and learning goals of a child on the autism spectrum
• Discuss how evidence-based practice for children with ASD can be operationalized in the school setting

CS17 Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction
Saturday, 8–11:15 a.m. (3 hours)
Anita L. Archer, PhD

As students proceed through school, vocabulary becomes an increasingly important predictor of academic success and is directly related to reading comprehension. When elementary and middle school students have vocabularies significantly lower than their peers, schools put major emphasis on vocabulary development. This session gives you procedures for increasing vocabulary through read-alouds, explicit vocabulary instruction, and word learning strategies. Research-validated procedures will be demonstrated and practiced, with classroom videos illustrating the procedures.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Provide effective, explicit vocabulary lessons to students
• Model vocabulary lessons for classroom teachers
• Describe the evidence base for various vocabulary instruction techniques

CS18 Engaging Them All: Active Participation for Small and Large Groups
Saturday, 1:30–3 p.m. (1.5 hours)
Anita L. Archer, PhD
Instructional level: Advanced

Almost always when we work with groups, some students are not riveted to our every word and don't appear to master our content. The remedy: active participation. Excellent instruction is interactive, involving repeated cycles of input, question, response, and feedback. In this session, a variety of research-validated procedures for gaining responses will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced. Greater engagement will also result in more on-task behavior and fewer behavioral challenges from the students you teach.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Use strategies to increase response opportunities for students from preschool through high school
• List and discuss types of verbal, written, and action responses
• Increase students' on-task behavior and reduce behavioral challenges

CS 19 Communicate With Impact!
Saturday, 1:30–3 p.m. (1.5 hours)
Susan Miller, PhD, CCC-SLP

Practice the art of communicating powerfully in this workshop-style session. We will review principles of effective presentation style and message development, including how to frame a message with your audience in mind, marshal support for your idea, and craft a strong closing. You'll create a message platform for an issue of interest or concern to you, and practice your delivery in small groups with coaching from your peers. You'll benefit from hearing the best of your colleagues' messages, and you'll take away an effective communication approach for use in both personal and professional roles.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Use your voice and physical presence optimally
• Analyze an intended message from the perspective of your listener
• Assemble strong supporting points for your key message
• Develop a personal plan to enhance your effectiveness as a communicator

CS20 Telepractice in Speech/Language: How to Get There From Here
Saturday, 1:30–3 p.m. (1.5 hours)
Jeanne M. Juenger, MS, CCC-SLP
Sponsored by Special Interest Division 11, Administration and Supervision

Examine how telepractice—the use of telecommunications technology to deliver professional services at a distance—could optimize your time and professional resources. Telepractice may allow you to schedule more students for more consistent services at the frequency called for in the IEP. It can facilitate your meetings with parents, teachers, and other itinerant or off-site professionals, and ease scheduling for students. Learn about telepractice tools, technology, and techniques, service delivery models, and the keys to success of a telepractice plan.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify three supports for a telepractice service delivery model
• Name three factors that may contribute to a successful telepractice implementation
• Identify resources currently available in your district that may support a telepractice implementation plan
• Discuss potential impacts of telepractice on traditional team and service processes, student outcomes, and stakeholder satisfaction

CS21 Documentation: If It's Not Documented, It Didn't Happen
Saturday, 1:30–3 p.m. (1.5 hours)
Barbara J. Moore, EdD, CCC-SLP

Review documentation essentials, including requirements of IDEA, FERPA, NCLB, and HIPPA, and how they apply to regular activities of keeping therapy notes, documenting student progress, IEPs, protocols, and Medicaid requirements. Legal defensibility will be discussed, including trends in due process, e-mail, and parental requests for documentation. Finally we will look at emerging practice trends, including documentation for inclusive and collaborative services, response to intervention, and non-traditional assessments and interventions.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Relate federal regulatory requirements to the documentation demands of your job
• Integrate the demands of documentation with service delivery trends
• Review documentation methods that ensure compliance and legal defensibility

Sunday, July 19

CS22 Internet Gold for School Clinicians
Sunday, 9:45–11:15 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Judith Maginnis Kuster, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-F

Do you have a shoestring materials budget? On the Internet you can find a treasure trove of freely available materials to use with children from preschool through high school. This session will help you use the Internet to find and create therapy materials. Topics include interactive sites, reproducibles, therapy ideas and activities for specific disorders, generators and templates, and software programs.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify materials on the Internet that can be adapted to clinical service delivery in schools
• Develop a vision of how Internet materials can be used in therapy
• Locate additional therapy materials on the Internet

CS23 Dynamic Assessment of Language and Literacy
Sunday, 9:45–11:15 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Douglas B. Petersen, MEd, CCC-SLP

Dynamic assessment can result in the identification of language and literacy disorders at an early age, leading to early intervention and prevention. It is a more culturally- and linguistically-neutral assessment, particularly suitable for culturally diverse student populations. Additionally, dynamic assessment can help determine whether a child is having difficulty because of inadequate instruction or because of a disability. This session reviews current research on dynamic assessment, presents procedures for the dynamic assessment of narratives and nonsense word decoding, and gives you tools to begin using dynamic assessment in your school setting.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Explain why dynamic assessment may be a viable alternative to norm-referenced assessments
• Describe the three steps comprising dynamic assessment, define modifiability, and explain the difference between contingent and non-contingent feedback
• Describe methods and procedures to interpret results of dynamic assessments
• Explain how dynamic assessment can be used to estimate future reading difficulty

CS24 SLPs Front and Center in Schools: New and Expanded Roles
Sunday, 9:45–11:15 a.m. (1.5 hours)
Barbara J. Ehren, EdD, CCC-SLP
Ellen Estomin, MA, CCC-SLP
Susan Karr, MS, CCC-SLP

Societal forces affecting education, including legislative and regulatory mandates and education reform initiatives, challenge SLPs in schools to adapt and sometimes extend their roles. Similarly, research advances in areas such as literacy affect SLPs' roles and responsibilities. Responding to this changing landscape, an ASHA committee is revising the guidance document Roles and Responsibilities of the School-Based Speech- Language Pathologist to reflect new realities. If you want to take speech-language services to the next level in your setting, work with committee members in this session to explore how these documents may help you model new, stronger roles and change others' perceptions of the SLP's roles in the schools.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify at least three change forces affecting practice in the schools
• Describe at least five premises upon which new or revised roles and responsibilities are based
• Determine how you will use the new documents in your work setting

CS25 Professional Ethics: More Than Common Sense
Sunday, 9:45–11:15 a.m. (1.5 hours)
David R. Denton, JD, MA, CCC-SLP

This session uses case scenarios common to school-based practice to help you develop better skills to recognize ethical dilemmas, and use appropriate decision-making strategies to confront these issues. Topics will include supervisors' vicarious liability, conflicts of interest in school settings, child custody issues, and clinical fellowship supervision and mentorship. You will also learn about resources and guidance available to you when you face ethical quandaries.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Identify the types and trends of contemporary professional issues that give rise to ethical dilemmas
• Discuss decision-making strategies for applying ethical principles and rules to ensure compliance with professional responsibilities
• Describe the scope and nature of ASHA's ethics program, the work of its Board of Ethics, and how to gain access to ethics resources.
• Identify when you have an obligation to report unethical or unprofessional conduct

PL2 Beyond the Basics: Know It and Show It
Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1 hour)
Tommie L. Robinson, Jr., PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-FD

It's not enough to know your stuff—you have to show parents, teachers, colleagues, and other related professionals what you can do. This session highlights and summarizes some of the important aspects of professional development that will help you reflect what you know in professional practice and advocacy.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• Develop action statements based on ideals that guide you
• Generate plans to organize activities and achieve goals
• Evaluate plans for levels of success in goal achievement

Exhibitor Education Sessions

Earn CEUs at education sessions delivered by selected Schools Conference exhibitors. Sessions will be announced on site. Box lunch provided.

Friday, July 17

EX1 Dissect Videos of Social Situations to Teach Pragmatic Language
Friday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Jennifer Jacobs, Social Skill Builder
Room 2101

Learn how to dissect videos of social situations in order to teach nonverbal and verbal pragmatic language skills to your students. Discuss case studies of students who have improved social language and behavior through video modeling. Learn to begin by targeting simple observations of emotions and core language. Go on to explore understanding of contextual environmental cues and body language to make inferences about what characters are thinking, feeling or saying. Eventually, expand to allow your students to utilize their critical thinking skills and determine social outcomes of scenarios for the highest level of comprehension and social success.

EX2 News-2-You and Unique Learning Systems
Friday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
John Standal, News-2-You®, Inc.
Jacquelyn Clark, News-2-You®, Inc.
Christin Wostmann, News-2-You®, Inc.
Room 2102A

Come and see how weekly news-centered activities and a standards-based curriculum can expand learning opportunities at all classroom levels. Reach every student with ease, no matter what their ability level. Increase communication and vocabulary acquisition while improving reading skills. Achieve math, social studies and science standards through an integrated process. Participants will learn how easy (and beneficial) it is to adapt current events into high/low tech teaching technology and how to use that technology to impact all students.

EX3 Expanding Preschool Language Skills With Repetition and Literature
Friday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Rae Schaper, Read It Once Again
Room 2102B

In Preschool classrooms, storybooks are used in conjunction with thematic units. The stories are changed often and children with receptive and expressive language delays are not given the opportunity to become familiar with key words and cognitive concepts found within the story. This presentation supports the importance of providing literary repetition to increase language development and cognitive learning in the manner that is most productive to children who have language disorders.

EX6 Developing Tomorrow’s School Leaders
Friday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Jean Blosser, Progressus Therapy
Room 2105

Leadership in school is a critical need due to complex challenges. Many of our current leaders will soon retire or move into new roles. Sadly, there may not be a pipeline of young professionals prepared to take their place. Where will the leadership for the future come from? This session will describe a model for developing strong leadership for the future.

Saturday, July 18

EX4 Elaboration SMARTsheets for Language, Content and Social Literacy Inclusion Classrooms
Saturday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Edwin Ellis, Makes Sense Strategies, LLC
Linda Ellis, Makes Sense Strategies, LLC
Room 2102A

SMARTsheets are powerful tools for SLPs collaborating in secondary inclusion classrooms. SMARTsheets have been characterized as “graphic organizers on steroids” because they contain embedded semantic prompts designed to cue students to engage in an array of language-learning strategies, critical thinking, and focus on essential understandings. SMARTsheets for teaching vocabulary, reading comprehension, abstract science and social study concepts, process writing, math and social literacy will be demonstrated and as well as validation research.

EX5 Life is On With Phonak Pediatric and FM Technology
Saturday, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Stacey Rich, Phonak
Room 2101

This session will present research findings from a number of studies evaluating Phonak’s Dynamic FM platform and CORE technology. Specific technology used with the pediatric population will be shared. Key features of the products as well as clinical recommendations for implementing these technologies with the pediatric population will be discussed.

Posters: Research in Action
Saturday, 4–5:30 p.m. (0.25 hours per poster)
Sunday, 8:15–9:30 a.m. (0.25 hours per poster)

Review research projects, case studies, and service delivery models submitted by practitioners, researchers, and students.

Regional Discussion Groups
Friday, 4:30–5:15 p.m. (0.75 hours)

Discuss practical strategies to address current issues of interest. You’ll have input into the topics, which may include school budgets and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds; recruitment and retention of qualified SLPs; IDEA and eligibility for services; and RTI and workload issues. Discussions will be organized by region to facilitate ongoing communication and action planning.

Roundtable Discussions
Sunday, 7:30–8:15 a.m. (0.75 hours)

Share solutions to common problems with colleagues from around the country in these discussions focused on particular topics of interest. Have a topic you'd like to discuss? Note it on the registration form!