Workshops

Workshop #1  “Responsiveness to Intervention and SLP’s: Reinventing Who We Are”

Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI) is receiving considerable attention as a new approach to preventing and/or identifying students with learning disabilities.  Various models are being developed in school districts to implement this approach.  Given that RTI is becoming part of the fabric of education, it behooves SLP’s to engage seriously and wisely in efforts to become involved in the models.  Further, involvement in RTI will provide SLP’s an opportunity to redefine who we are; i.e. important contributors to the academic success of a broader sector of the school population and as such valuable collaborators in the education arena.  This workshop will help SLP’s understand the basic constructs involved in RTI and will provide the tools to help them make the unique contributions to this approach that will foster adoption of new roles in the schools.

Presented By: Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
CEUs:  0.5
Date: October 10th, 2008, 8:30 am-3:30 pm at Dickinson Center, Livonia

Course Objectives:  As a result of this activity, the participants will be able to:

1.      Reach a common understanding of RTI.

2.      Explore a variety of roles for SLP’s to make unique contributions within current RTI models.

3.      Identify opportunities and cautions for SLP involvement in a 3-tiered framework.

4.      Analyze the conditions and practices that will facilitate RTI-type approaches.

5.      Plan follow-up actions based on learning in this workshop.

BARBARA J. EHREN, Ed.D, CCC-SLP is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Doctoral Program at the University of Central Florida that focuses on language and literacy.  Formerly she was a research scientist with the University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning (KUCRL), involved in research and development in adolescent literacy, including effective approaches to professional development of educators in this area.  She has been a Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) professional developer for over 20 years in both Learning Strategies and Content Enhancement Routines and is a co-developer of the Content Literacy Curriculum, (CLC), a school-wide adolescent literacy framework.  She maintains close research and development ties to KUCRL, related especially to the CLC.

Her interest in language and literacy spans the ages of struggling reader and writers.  Prior to this position, she held a variety of positions in the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, the eleventh largest school district in the nation.  She was Manager of Professional Development, Manager of Exceptional Student Education Program Services, Program Planner for Inclusive Education and Program Planner for Speech Language Impaired in the district.  Before working in Palm Beach, she was a Professor of Learning Disabilities and Communication Disorders for fifteen years at Florida Atlantic University.  She began her career in the schools, starting as an itinerant speech-language pathologist in New York City Schools and Dade County, Florida Schools.  She also served as a classroom teacher.

She has been active throughout her career in local, state, and national professional organizations.  She was an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Legislative Councilor for nine years and is a Fellow of ASHA.  She is a Board Recognized Specialist in Child Language.  She has served on numerous ASHA committees, including the Ad Hoc Committee on Reading and Written Language Disorders and the Advisory Committee for Evidence-Based Practice.  She is currently chair of the Ad Hoc Committee Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in the Schools.  She is an active member of the Special Interest Division #1-Language, Learning and Education, having served on the Steering Committee, as well as a member of Division #16, School Based Issues.  Much of her work with these groups focuses on the cultivation of evidence-based practice.  She has also served as the DCCD (CEC) representative to the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities.

Her publication and research activities focus on effective communication intervention models and methods with the school-age population. A special area of interest has been literacy instruction for diverse learners in inclusive settings.  She was a consultant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in their formulation of the national research agenda in adolescent literacy.  She was an editor of the Guilford series on Challenges in Language and Literacy.  She was also awarded the Clinical Career Achievement Award by the Florida Language, Speech, and Hearing Association.  She has a special interest in assisting school districts to build capacity at the school level for more effective literacy programs for diverse learners.  She is a frequent consultant to school districts.  A recurrent theme of her work is shared responsibility for student success, highlighting the role of collaborative efforts in the schools.

Workshop #2  How to Identify and Help Individuals with Executive Dysfunction and Memory Problems”

This presentation will focus on identifying learning difficulties in individuals and offer participants useful interventions to help persons with executive dysfunction and memory problems.  In addition to information regarding what executive functions are and how they develop over time, we will cover conditions that may impact attention, memory and executive functioning skills.  Specific interventions that target these difficulties and help promote better understanding and learning skills will be covered.

Presented By:  Roger Lauer, Ph.D. and Isabelle Beaulieu, Ph.D.
CEUs: 0.5
Date: Thursday, December 11th, 2008, 8:30 am-3:30 pm at Dickinson Center, Livonia.

Course Objectives:  As a result of this activity, the participants will be able to:

1.      Understand executive functions: what they are and how they develop over time.

2.      Explain how executive functions affect memory skills and impact on learning skills.

3.      State specific conditions that frequently affect executive functions and memory skills, including language-based disorders.

4.  Apply new strategies and tools to help students who struggle with learning.

DR. ISALBELLE BEAULIEU  is a fully licensed psychologist in the State of Michigan. She has earned her Ph.D in Clinical Neuropsychology from the University of Montreal. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to moving into private practice, she worked as a senior staff pediatric neuropsychologist within the Neuropsychology Department of Henry Ford Hospital for several years. Dr. Beaulieu had the opportunity to assess numerous toddlers, children, adolescents and adults covering a wide variety of neurodevelopmental and acquired neurological disorders. She has presented at several national and local conferences and coauthored articles and book chapters pertaining to her field. She is a member of several professional organizations. Her assessments are focused on providing information pertaining to diagnostic issues and include individualized recommendations to optimize each child’s learning style based on cognitive strengths and weaknesses.

ROGER E. LAUER, Ph.D is a fully licensed psychologist in the State of Michigan who is formally trained as a clinical neuropsychologist. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. After finishing his doctorate, Dr. Lauer completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical Center (UMMC). Subsequently, he worked as a staff psychologist within the Neuropsychology Division at the UMMC.

After leaving the UMMC, Dr. Lauer became a clinical supervisor with the St. Joseph Mercy Health System. He has since moved into full-time private practice, but he maintains an adjunct faculty appointment within the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. He holds memberships in numerous professional organizations and is also on the professional advisory board of the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan.

Dr. Lauer’s private practice is focused extensively on assessment and intervention of learning, attention and developmental disorders. Along with his associates, he sees children, adolescents and adults for psychological and neuropsychological evaluation and therapy. Dr. Lauer also provides long-term management and follow-up for clients in order to track progress and maximize intervention plans.

Workshop#3 “Clinical Management of Preschool and School-Age Children with Feeding and Swallowing Disorders”

Children with dysphagia present a challenge to speech-language pathologists. A variety of etiologies can cause dysphagia, which can range from impaired oral-motor skills to severe food aversions. This course addresses background information about medical disorders associated with dysphagia, ranging from cerebral palsy and cleft palate to gastroesophageal reflux disease and autism. Practical approaches to the evaluation and treatment of children with dysphagia due to a variety of etiologies will be shared. Tips for collaboration with the classroom teachers and aides will be provided. This course addresses ways to tell if the problem involves food selectivity and refusal and if so, how to treat it. Participants will practice developing treatment plans, including selecting short-term goals and treatment objectives.

Presented By: Nancy B. Swigert, M.A., CCC-SLP, BRS-S
CEUs: 0.5
Date: Friday, May 8th, 2009, 8:30 am-3:30 pm at Dickinson Center, Livonia

Course Objectives:  As a result of this activity, the participants will be able to:

1.      Identify the relationship between dysphagia and a variety of medical disorders.

2.      Describe the relationship between physiological and behavioral components of feeding disorders.

3.      Identify relevant information to form a case history.

4.      Explain steps necessary to complete an evaluation of skills and behaviors exhibited by children with feeding disorders.

5.      Develop a treatment plan for children with dysphagia, including specific treatment techniques to treat behavioral feeding disorders.

6.      Demonstrate behavior management techniques helpful in treating behavior feeding disorders.

NANCY B. SWIGERT, M.A., CCC-SLP, BRS-S,  is the director of Speech-Language Pathology and Respiratory Care at Central Baptist Hospital, a 380 bed acute care facility in Lexington, KY, which is a Joint Commission accredited Stroke Center. At Central Baptist, she was instrumental in developing the multi-disciplinary Dysphagia Team. She also serves on the Central Baptist Hospital Home Health Advisory Board and the Neuroscience Executive Council. Prior to assuming these duties at Central Baptist, she was president of Swigert & Assoc., Inc., a private practice, for 26 years.

Her main interests are in the area of pediatric and adult dysphagia and other neurogenic disorders. She has authored seven publications with LinguiSystems: The Source for Dysphagia, The Source for Dysarthria, The Source for Pediatric Dysphagia, The Source for Reading Fluency, The Source for Early Intervention, Reading Fluency and Comprehension, and The Source for Voice Disorders in Children. Nancy is a Board-Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. She has consulted with school districts around the country concerning development of dysphagia programs.

She received her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She is a former President of the Kentucky Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Council of State Association Presidents, and was President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 1998. She currently chairs the Health Care Economics Committee and is he immediate past-Coordinator for the Steering Committee for Special Interest Division #13, Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. She is Past-President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation Board of Trustees.