by Susan Boswell
In July, hundreds of school-based speech-language pathologists—and, for the first time, audiologists—will flock to Florida to delve into clinical topics, hear well-known speakers, network with peers, and expand their knowledge base as they prepare for the coming school year.
The theme of ASHA Schools 2008, set for July 25–27 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World, Florida, is appropriate—"The Power of Partnerships"—reflecting the decision of the Educational Audiology Association (EAA) to meet concurrently with ASHA's school-based SLPs.
The EAA's annual conference, on July 24, will kick off the schools conference with a day of cross-disciplinary topics including classroom acoustics; genetics research on speech, language, and hearing disorders; and intervention strategies for auditory processing
disorders. Participants will also learn how to develop auditory skills in children who have cochlear implants and work with teachers to promote carryover of those skills in the classroom.
Popular presenter Richard Lavoie will open the conference with "Tales from the Road." A special education teacher and administrator who has touched the lives of thousands of children with learning disabilities, parents, and teachers, Lavoie will present his perspective on the state of special education today. Lavoie's conference session will include tips and strategies from his recently released book, The Motivation Breakthrough: Six Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child.
At the close of the conference, 2008 ASHA President-Elect Sue Hale will focus on strategies that clinicians can employ to enhance partnerships with other professionals crucial to school-based practice—general education teachers, related service professionals, principals, and others.
Partnerships in Action
In conference sessions, presenters will discuss how teamwork strategies can be used to address clinical issues such as selective mutism—a social and communication anxiety disorder that is on the rise, surpassing the incidence of autism in students. Sessions will also focus on working with preschool teachers to bring evidence-based approaches for emergent literacy development into the classroom; key partnerships with interpreters/translators in evaluating and serving a greater number of students who are English-language learners; techniques for effective supervision; and strategies for supervising students and speech-language pathology assistants.
Conference sessions will probe hot topics such as real-world implementation of caseload/workload; how to implement response to intervention within the workload model; promising new approaches to service delivery models; and changes in federal, state, and local policies.
A session on social-emotional intelligence will provide assessment and intervention strategies to help students navigate the social world of school and thrive in classroom interactions.
Other session topics include strategies for dealing with challenging student behaviors, cultural competence, integration of augmentative and alternative communication and assistive technology into the curriculum, fluency disorders, links between reading and written expression, and dysphagia.
Roundtables
Two consecutive roundtable discussions are scheduled—always a popular item on the agenda. Two poster sessions will highlight research in the schools.
This year's conference site, Walt Disney World, offers participants legendary customer service, four theme parks, two water parks, and conference discounts on park passes. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation Fundraiser (see sidebar) will provide a spectacular vantage point for Disney's nightly display of fireworks on Sat., July 26.
More than 60 companies will exhibit at the conference; attendees will enjoy a continental breakfast and lunch with exhibitors and have the opportunity to win donated door prizes.
Members of ASHA and the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists who register by the June 11 early bird deadline receive a discounted registration fee ($385). Special discounts are available for students and affiliates of Special Interest Divisions 1, 2, and 16; a special one-day rate is available for EAA members. Conference participants can earn up to 1.6 ASHA CEUs.
The conference is supported by corporate sponsors Pearson/AGS, Progressus Therapy, EBS Healthcare, and ASHA Special Interest Divisions 1, 2, 11, 13, and 16.
For more conference information and registration, go to ASHA Schools 2008 or contact Susan Karr, associate director of school services in speech-language pathology, at skarr@asha.org or 301-296-5684.
Susan Boswell, an assistant managing editor of The ASHA Leader, can be reached at sboswell@asha.org.