Sessions at Working Together in Schools: Whole Child, Whole Team

Pre-recorded sessions will be on demand and last about an hour, so you can watch them whenever time permits during the 20-day conference! 

Building a Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom Using a Co-Teaching Model
Greta P. West, MS, CCC-SLP, and Virginia Keil, MS

This session explores foundational considerations for building a neurodiversity-affirming educational space for autistic students. The session focuses on middle- and high-school-age students, but the presenters also include suggestions for how to modify for elementary-age students. During the session, you will engage in critical analysis of your personal goals and identify important components of a successful co-teaching collaboration.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• develop a personal and classroom values framework to use in instruction as well as when partnering with other educators
• build a framework for collaborating effectively with students and colleagues to develop neurodiversity-affirming materials and IEPs that center student voice
• create an outline for lesson plans that are neurodiversity-affirming and easy to implement for the first weeks of a school year
• list resources to locate neurodivergent experts who can speak with clinical expertise and lived experience to address questions and further your learning

Supporting Children With Developmental Language Disorder and Emotional/Behavioral Disorders in Schools
Erin S. Wallace, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will share low-effort, evidence-supported strategies to minimize challenging behaviors and maximize language potential when providing services to students with developmental language disorder (DLD) in individual and group settings. The session will define, explain, and provide examples of how to effectively implement behavior-specific praise, error correction and performance feedback, group contingencies, modeling, wh- questions, scaffolding, and expansion to promote language development and positive behaviors.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify and explain characteristics typical of children with both DLD and behavioral disorders
• implement proactive language- and behavior-supportive strategies in the classroom 
• support children with DLD and emotional/behavioral disorders in individual and group settings

Language Sampling to Improve Outcomes for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Kristina Blaiser, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Kameron C. Carden, PhD, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd

When working with young children who are Deaf or hard of hearing, data collection from comprehensive assessments, including language sampling, provides many opportunities for collaboration and intervention planning to support language development. This session will share practical tips and takeaways for effectively using language samples as a part of service delivery for children who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• describe how language samples can be used to identify unique communication needs of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing
• communicate language sample results to an interprofessional team
• integrate language sample findings into an intervention plan

Differential Diagnosis of Speech Sound Disorders in Multilingual Children
Leslie E. Kokotek, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Rachel W. Karem, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will explore key characteristics of multilingual speech development, resources for locating a diverse range of linguistic descriptions to guide assessment, strategies for communicating with families and team members in a culturally sensitive manner, and considerations for comprehensive multilingual assessments. While all experience levels are welcome, the information in this session will be best suited for SLPs who have some familiarity with assessing children for speech sound disorders and who feel they would benefit from additional guidance on providing comprehensive speech sound assessments for multilingual children. (This session can count toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for DEI.)

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify at least three resources to support assessment for speech sound disorders in multilingual children
• differentiate between expected linguistic differences and features of a speech sound disorder
• explain your decision-making process using accessible, parent-friendly language

Building AAC Capacity: Creating a District-Wide Culture of Inclusion
McKinzee Steve, MA, CCC-SLP

This session will share a case study of a large, urban school district that successfully created systems for supporting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment and intervention by building the capacity of the communication partners who support students who use AAC. The presenter will share replicable ideas to facilitate a cultural shift focused on the inclusion of AAC users by expanding communication partners’ knowledge and skills around AAC.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• explain to colleagues or administrators the benefits of using a capacity-building model of AAC service delivery to support equitable access to assistive technology and high-quality, evidence-based interventions
• identify five barriers to participation for students who use AAC as well as their potential solutions
• design one or more capacity-building projects to support communication partners’ knowledge and skills in the area of AAC

Executive Functioning Supports in Schools: Beyond the Basics of Checklists, Timers, and Sticker Charts
Karen L. Dudek-Brannan, EdD, MS, CCC-SLP

This session will describe the external signs and internal mental processes associated with executive functioning challenges and identify five skill areas that can assist SLPs with intervention planning. The presenter will discuss barriers to generalization associated with different service delivery models and identify steps you can use to design effective interventions with your school-based team members.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• define external and internal mental processes associated with executive functioning and their impact on students’ academic, social, and emotional functioning
• identify five skill areas on which multidisciplinary teams can focus to inform interventions and strategies that support executive functioning
• describe barriers that can occur when utilizing common service delivery models to address executive functioning challenges

Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Improving Treatment Outcomes With Interprofessional Collaboration
Kimberly A. Farinella, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will illustrate the interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) framework in school settings for children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) to optimize academic outcomes. The presenter will highlight the clinical significance of IPCP in accurately diagnosing and effectively treating the speech, language, literacy, and motor impairments often observed in students with CAS. The session will also provide practical suggestions for overcoming barriers to collaboration to successfully implement IPCP for children with CAS.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• evaluate your school’s current method of service provision
• list the speech and co-occurring language, literacy, and motor deficits frequently associated with CAS
• describe how integration of IPCP into assessment and treatment can more accurately determine and address each child’s unique challenges
• explain to colleagues the benefits of IPCP and potential ways to overcome barriers to collaboration when working with children with CAS in the school setting

Cross-Team Educational Supports for Students With Traumatic Brain Injury
Angela Ciccia, PhD, CCC-SLP

SLPs are in a unique position to help unify the school-based team of professionals to provide the necessary formal and informal accommodations students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) need. This session will focus on the needs of students with TBI and the roles of the members of the multidisciplinary team.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify the individuals in your workplace that would be appropriate team collaborators to support students with TBI
• educate members of the team on the importance of providing both formal and informal supports for students with TBI
• collaborate with the team to identify ways in which supports for students with TBI are similar to supports for other neurodivergent students

Emphasizing the "Co-" in Coworker: Breaking Down Perceived Barriers to Collaboration With ABA Providers
Jaime M. Branaman, MA, CCC-SLP

The scopes of practice for SLPs and behavior analysists overlap significantly. This overlap has contributed to a contentious relationship between fields, often to the detriment of the students being served. This session will strive to break down these perceived barriers by identifying historical differences, highlighting strengths of both fields, discussing the spread of misinformation, and emphasizing the benefits of successful collaboration.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• reflect on past experiences working with behavior analysts, and list instances of success and areas of challenge that have created barriers to collaboration
• initiate discussions with behavior analysts to define scopes of practice within your specific setting, and identify a lead professional for any overlapping areas
• develop trainings for behavior analysts in areas outside of their scopes of competence (e.g., AAC, articulation) while also seeking out more knowledge about applied behavior analysis

Addressing Early Literacy Through Partnership With Educators
Melissa J. Feller, MS, CCC-SLP

This session will focus on ways SLPs can leverage their expertise in language to support early literacy outcomes for students in kindergarten through second grade. The presenter will discuss the role of oral language in early literacy development, ways SLPs can partner with educators to more accurately identify and intervene with language weaknesses in the early grades, and how to use resources to align efforts across instructional tiers. The session will share tools to support decision-making for screening, progress monitoring, and instruction.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• describe the role of oral language in early literacy development and the nature of under-identification of language deficits in the early grades
• explain how knowledge of poor reader subgroups can inform SLP-educator partnerships in reading assessment and intervention in the early grades
• list ways to apply a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) decision-making tool to align speech-language with general education and special education efforts to support early literacy in grades K-2 across instructional tiers

Word Detectives: An Interprofessional Language-Literacy Program for Dyslexia and Struggling Readers
Sarah Young Hong, MA, CCC-SLP

Students who struggle with reading typically receive reading and language instruction from separate professionals and mostly in separate settings. One barrier to integrated service delivery is SLP comfort with reading instruction. This session will examine the Word Detectives program at Northeastern University, which has demonstrated success as an integrated model of language-literacy instruction. The program includes an interprofessional teaching team, allowing SLPs to play a stronger role in literacy instruction. This session will describe the program and share examples of instructional routines and strategies.

Content disclosure: This session will focus on a single instructional model, Word Detectives.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• discuss Word Detectives, an interprofessional model of reading instruction for students with dyslexia and those who struggle with reading that is co-taught by reading specialists and SLPs
• describe evidence-based components of the Word Detectives program
• identify two instructional activities or strategies that can be integrated into speech-language sessions and reading instruction lessons

Lessons From a Collaborative, Project-Based Staff Training Program in AT and AAC
James Feeney, PhD, CCC-SLP

Individuals who work with children with complex communication needs require training in assistive technology (AT) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that they can apply to their everyday interactions with these students. This session will review a collaborative and project-oriented AT and AAC staff training program implemented through a partnership between Bridgewater State University (BSU) and LifeStream, Inc., a community-based agency serving individuals with disabilities in the southeastern region of Massachusetts. The session will examine lessons learned in the implementation of the program over 2 years, using participant feedback and self-study methods. The presenter will highlight the components of successful project-oriented AT/AAC training using video illustrations, sample project materials, and participant testimonials.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• describe the underlying theoretical and practical rationale, connections to related literature, and the components of the project-oriented AT/AAC training program
• apply lessons learned from the staff training program to real world teaching contexts
• evaluate video illustrations, samples of AT/AAC project materials, and participant testimonials in relation to methods to promote transfer/generalization

Rethinking Goal Writing: SLPs and Teachers Working Together for Student Curriculum Outcomes
Meagan E. Avitable, MEdL

Collaborative goal writing can improve student outcomes, decrease generalization time, and improve interprofessional relationships. In this session, a former educator shares case examples of rethinking, reframing, and reworking goal writing to include the curriculum and classroom-based learning. We will take a "goal walk" through examples from the perspectives of educators and SLPs and then explore the benefits of reframing goal writing to include the classroom teacher.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• write IEP speech-language goals that align with the goals of other service providers

SLPs and OTPs: Maximizing Co-Treatment to Improve Student Outcomes
Deborah Schwind, DHSc, OTR/L, BCP, SCSS, FAOTA

Collaboration is an evidence-based practice, and professionals can maximize both speech-language and occupational therapy outcomes for students when they provide co-treatment opportunities. This session will share examples of co-treatment sessions that SLPs and occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) can provide together across a variety of student abilities and grades.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• explain the importance of collaboration and co-treatment sessions
• list ways that co-treatments can be implemented in your work setting
• create a collaborative document to facilitate a co-treatment session

You Hit Where You Aim: Using an Inclusive Mindset to Create Impactful IEPs
John J. Heilmann, PhD, CCC-SLP; Andrea Bertone, MS, CCC-SLP; and Alyssa Wojtyna, MS, CCC-SLP

When creating educationally relevant IEPs, SLPs with an inclusive mindset naturally consider both addressing educational content (such as performance on curricular tasks) and serving in educational contexts (such as the classroom). In this session, the speakers will demonstrate how an inclusive mindset and strong collaboration are invaluable when assessing a student’s present level of performance, developing goals, and aligning services to meet the student’s needs. The speakers will share firsthand insights from SLPs who work inclusively as well as tools to expand your inclusive mindset and practices, including rubrics tied to academic standards, handouts to give to teachers to request student work samples, and rubrics to evaluate student work.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• evaluate whether your common practices are inclusive and are addressing educational content within educational contexts
• evaluate strategies and tools to assess present levels of student functioning using classroom data and observation
• evaluate strategies and tools to assist with aligning services to meet a student's educational needs

Collaborative Evaluations With School Psychologists: Reduced Testing Time and Increased Diagnostic Specificity
Andrew Shanock, PhD

School psychologists (SP) and SLPs often do separate evaluations even though many of the assessments are similar. This session will explore procedures for collaborative SP/SLP assessment and how working together can assist with data collection, interpretation, and intervention development. The presenter will also discuss language processing, dyslexia, and specific language impairment, and how to differentiate among them, using the Simple View of Reading framework.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• organize your assessment plan by collaborating with the school psychologist
• identify where over-testing is occurring between yourself and the school psychologist, and reduce total testing time for a student by at least an hour
• use a practice-ready, pattern-of-strengths-and-weaknesses model to organize and interpret assessment data across all school-based service providers
• differentiate specific learning disability, dyslexia, and specific language impairment for more precise intervention

We’re All in This Together: Collaborating to Meet the Challenges of Children With Complex Medical and Communication Needs
Marianne E. Gellert-Jones, MA, CCC-SLP, and Kristin McKeown, MEd, ATP

In this live session, an SLP and an assistive technology professional (who is also a special education teacher) will discuss how collaboration is essential within the evaluation process and to inform treatment for students who present with medical and communicative complexities. Through case studies, the presenters will discuss the development of cohesive and collaborative plans that meet the needs of this challenging population across varied environments at school and in the community.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify ways in which the collaborative evaluation results in a more cohesive and complete evaluation of the whole child with medical and communication complexities
• explain how interprofessional collaboration informs treatment across various environments
• describe how the collaboration process can improve the carryover of treatment concepts across various environments

Coaching for Collaboration and Change: Practical, Language- and Literacy-Focused Strategies for SLPs
Lesley Maxwell, MS, CCC-SLP, and Eleni X. Steadman, MS

This live session will share practical coaching strategies SLPs can use to enhance collaboration with teachers. The session will also provide tips for becoming a leader in the areas of language and literacy within your school or school system.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• utilize three powerful coaching strategies with teachers and other school professionals
• explain to colleagues and administrators in 30 seconds or less why SLPs should be part of language and literacy leadership teams in schools
• identify one or more areas of evidence-based practice in language and literacy to personally study more deeply in the next 3 months

Interdisciplinary Autism Evaluations: Igniting the Spark of Innovation
Elizabeth M. Delsandro, MS, CCC-SLP

What is the SLP’s role in autism evaluation? This session will discuss choosing appropriate assessment measures, collaborating with other professionals, and interviewing and educating families. The speaker will also discuss additional supports for autistic students who are currently receiving services.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• make a list of measures to use when participating in interdisciplinary autism evaluations
• develop a bank of interview questions for interdisciplinary autism evaluations
• create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document about autism evaluations and supports that can be shared with school personnel, including administrators

Determination of Support for Students Utilizing Cochlear Implant Technology
Christy Hiergeist, MS, CCC-SLP, CED, LSLS Cert. AVT

This session will explore the use of cochlear implant technology and its impact on student access to curriculum. The presenter will share how SLPs, audiologists, teachers of the Deaf, and special educators can work together to ensure the best outcomes for students who use cochlear implants.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify the unique needs of students who have unilateral hearing loss and use cochlear implants
• effectively collaborate with other professionals (e.g., audiologists and teachers of the Deaf) so that students who use cochlear implant technology can experience the full benefits of the equipment
• analyze curricular materials and classroom environments, and advocate for materials and environments that support students who use cochlear implants and other hearing technology

"I loved how there were different perspectives on the same subject. I liked the tips and practical strategies that were provided."