ASHA Health Care/Business Institute 2008:
Session Descriptions

Unless otherwise noted, the instructional level of all sessions is Intermediate.

Opening Plenary Session

PL1 - Speak Up, Speak Out, Be Heard
Susan Miller, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 8-9 a.m.

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

ASHA Business Institute 2008

B1 - Start Smart! Developing a Business Plan for Success
Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructional level: Introductory
Saturday, April 5, 9:15-10:45 a.m.

Whether you're just starting out or want to monitor the health of your business, creating a business plan is your first step on the path to success. Your business plan guides you through your day to day operations, helps secure funding, and keeps you on track as your business grows and changes. This seminar will guide you through the process of developing an effective plan for your private practice or small business. "Start smart" and you will find success!

After completing this session, you will be able to:

List at least three reasons for developing a plan for your private practice
Identify the critical components of an effective business plan
Locate resources from a variety of media to support the development of your business plan
Create an effective business plan for a new or established business to facilitate success

B2 - Pricing Professional Services
Alan F. Hauff, MBA
Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Pricing your services is one of the most important decisions an administrator or business owner makes. But too often, new business owners approach pricing naively—and so are unable to generate adequate profits from their businesses. This workshop will give you a more informed approach to pricing professional services. You'll learn how to calculate an overhead percentage for your practice and factor it into the selling price of billable hours. A practical exercise will give you hands-on experience in pricing labor for a professional services business. You'll also look at pricing strategy, discuss alternatives to competing on price, and analyze factors other than price that create value in your clients' eyes. You'll be able to set prices that let you compete in the marketplace and generate reasonable profits from your work.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Identify twelve alternative strategies to competing on price
Use a seven-step template to calculate an overhead percentage
Calculate the selling price of billable hours for an SLP office
Discuss factors other than price that create value for clients

B3 - Developing Marketing Strategy for Your Business
Alan F. Hauff, MBA
Saturday, April 5, 2-3:30 p.m.

This workshop will help you define and analyze your market so you can communicate effectively and efficiently with your target audiences. It will help you understand marketing terms, give you a process for identifying the needs and wants of your internal and external customers, and help you develop a detailed assessment of current market conditions in your area. You'll come away better prepared to identify the most productive marketing opportunities and compete more effectively.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Define and analyze your market and your customer/client
Assess current marketing conditions
Differentiate your services from those of your competitors
Select promotional strategies for building relationships with your clients

B4 - Business Roundtables
Saturday, April 5, 4-5:30 p.m.

Focused, facilitated conversations on topics of special interest, roundtables offer the chance to share business-related problems and solutions with speakers and colleagues from around the country. Roundtable topics will include productivity, recruitment and retention of staff, private health plan reimbursement, documentation, and more. Complete topic list provided on site.

B5 - Avoiding Employment-Related Litigation
David Rosenberg, MA, JD
Sunday, April 6, 8:30-10 a.m.

In this session, you'll learn how to avoid litigation problems related to hiring, firing, and other employment-related issues; how to quickly resolve employee disputes; how to effectively handle non-compete and non-solicitation issues; and how to insure against employee disputes and claims.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Avoid many work related disputes
Resolve employee disputes effectively and successfully
Properly document employment problems
Discuss the nuts and bolts of covenants not to compete and solicit
Effectively insure against employment related disputes and claims

B6 - Nuts and Bolts of Contracting
David Rosenberg, MA, JD
Sunday, April 6, 10:15-11:45 a.m.

This session addresses contracting basics that every SLP in private practice or management needs to know. You'll learn how to adequately and protectively contract with therapists in private practice; how to avoid unenforceable covenants not to compete; and how to effectively contract with and manage independent contractors.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the importance of basic, protective contractual provisions
Describe the components of a valid, enforceable covenant not to compete
Effectively retain and contract with independent contractors
Identify important contractual considerations for the practitioner

B7 - Stand-Out Customer Service: How to Get, Keep, and Wow Customers in a Competitive Market
Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 1:15-2:45 p.m.

No business, regardless of its size, can afford to provide less than excellent customer
service. In fact, fantastic service that truly meets customers' needs and wants is what separates
mediocre businesses from the cream of the crop. This seminar offers proven strategies for achieving stand-out customer service and gaining the competitive edge in today's business climate.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the relationship between customer service and business success
Identify your internal and external customers
List at least four strategies for improving customer service
Deal effectively with difficult customers (internal and external)
Develop an action plan to improve customer service in your business setting

B8 - Speaking in Code: Coding for Reimbursement
Nancy B. Swigert, MA, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 3-4:30 p.m.

Coding systems exist to provide a standardized nomenclature for service providers and third party payers. Whether you are dealing with Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, you must select the right diagnostic code (ICD-9CM) and procedural code (CPT) in order to be reimbursed. This program reviews the diagnostic and procedural coding systems and explores such issues as which procedure codes can be used with which diagnostic codes; whether certain diagnostic codes are covered at all, and why; how procedure codes relate to fees paid; when you can (and cannot) negotiate rates; and more.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe the difference between the two major coding systems
List typically-used CPT codes
Discuss edits placed by third party payers on use of certain codes
Select appropriate diagnostic and procedure codes for example scenarios

B9 - Negotiating With Private Health Plans
Steven C. White, PhD, CCC-A
Saturday, April 5, 9:15-10:45 a.m.

This session prepares you to advocate and negotiate with private health plans for comprehensive coverage and reasonable reimbursement rates for your services. You'll review the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) process to understand how procedures become codes. Contract terminology and the benefits of incorporating national fee data into negotiations will be discussed. You'll be introduced to the various reimbursement "players" and gain insight on current state and federal health care environments. The elements of effective persuasion will be outlined along with tools for initiating contact.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Develop an advocacy plan
Explain the process by which procedures become codes
Negotiate health care contracts and calculate appropriate fees
Discuss applicable federal and state laws

B10 - Risky Business? Deciding to Step Out on Your Own
Susan Miller, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructional level: Introductory
Saturday, April 5, 2-3:30 p.m.

According to film director and producer George Lucas, "You have to find something you love enough to be able to take risks." In this session you'll explore the sometimes risky business of launching your own practice. The speaker will describe how she transformed her professional life, moving from treating head and neck cancer patients as an SLP employee of a hospital, to running her own communication consulting business. You'll learn how to assess your personal risk tolerance, and identify actions you can take to reduce, mitigate, or manage the risks associated with starting a new business.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Explore your capacity for risk-taking
Develop and consult with a supportive network
Define your strategic options
Develop and validate your new business's startup plan
Confidently execute your plan while pursuing opportunities to grow

B11 - I Used to Have a Handle on Life, But it Broke! Strategies for Managing Time and Stress for Business Owners and Managers
Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 8:30-10 a.m.

Business owners and managers face unique challenges in managing time and stress. Juggling the demands of work and home can overwhelm even the most capable individuals. Unfortunately, having too much to do and too little time can lead to serious consequences such as poor health, weakened relationships, and business failure. This workshop will provide you with proven strategies to help you work smarter, find personal time, and maintain your balance in an unbalanced world. Laugh while you learn to "de-stress for success!"

After completing this session, you will be able to:

List at least three consequences of unmanaged stress
Identify your personal time stealers and stress producers
Set and prioritize personal and professional goals
Implement effective time management techniques
Use strategies to actively manage thinking and behavior to reduce stress

ASHA Health Care 2008

Track 1: Dysphagia

D1 - Current Approaches to Swallowing Evaluation
John C. Rosenbek, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 9:15-10:45 a.m.

This session examines the ongoing evolution in clinical and instrumental (especially videofluoroscopic) approaches to swallowing evaluation. Bolus type and size, method of administration, special manipulations, and standardized scoring will be discussed, with emphasis on the place of the videofluoroscopic swallow examination (VFSE) in the eat/no-eat decision.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe the information a clinical examination can reliably yield
Produce data about sensitivity and specificity
Discuss the VFSE as a menu of possible tasks and procedures
Reliably score penetration and aspiration events

D2 - Role of Strengthening in Dysphagia Management
John C. Rosenbek, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Discuss the influences of strength and endurance on swallowing, criteria for choosing a strengthening exercise, principles of strengthening, and strengthening methods. The emphasis will be on the newest methods, combining conceptual and practical issues.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe when the best treatment for swallowing is not swallowing
List the principles governing strengthening
Describe methods consistent with those principles
Implement appropriate respiratory muscle strength training exercises

D3 - Environmental Interventions to Improve Food Intake in People With Dementia
Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC/SLP
Saturday, April 5, 2-3:30 p.m.

By manipulating the physical environment, and how food is prepared and presented, you can provide significant support for clients' swallowing goals without attempting to change their behavior. This session examines environmental barriers and facilitators to oral intake and meal participation for people with dementia. The emphasis is on evidence-based approaches that can be adapted to various environments.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Analyze three environmental factors that may influence the functioning of a person with dementia during meals
Evaluate alternative methods of food service for the environment in which you work
Select at least four evidence-based interventions that may improve an individual's oral intake and participation in meals

D4 - Esophageal Function and Swallowing
Caryn Easterling, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Saturday, April 5, 4-5:30 p.m.

This session reviews the anatomy and physiology of the esophagus, presents diagnostic instrumentation to evaluate physiologic function, identifies common signs and symptoms of esophageal disorders manifesting as oropharyngeal swallow problems, and explores the SLP's role in the care of patients with esophageal dysphagia.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Identify the anatomy and physiology of the esophagus related to deglutitive function
Discuss instrumental procedures for evaluation of esophageal function
Identify characteristics of esophageal dysfunction and make appropriate recommendations to physician specialists
Identify the most common esophageal disorders that affect oropharyngeal swallow function

D5 - What's Hot and Why: Topics in Dysphagia
Nancy B. Swigert, MA, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 8:30-10 a.m.

New approaches to diagnosis and treatment require clinicians to make evidence-based judgments about these approaches' appropriateness for clients. Decision making is especially challenging when research results are scanty, inconclusive, or contradictory. In this session you'll discuss some current hot topics in dysphagia, including cervical auscultation, e-stim, and blue dye, with emphasis on using a series of critical-thinking questions to guide your clinical decisions. You'll come away with up-to-date information on evidence and practice patterns in these hot topics, as well as a flexible approach to evidence-based decision making.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

List critical-thinking questions to ask when considering the use of a new technique
Describe physiological problems with the concept of surface electrical stimulation
Discuss false negative results when using the blue dye test
Describe the premise of cervical auscultation

D6 - Communication Challenges for Dietitians and SLPs in Dysphagia Management
Jennifer Blomberg, RD, LD
Russell Mills, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Sunday, April 6, 10:15-11:45 a.m.

To provide the best care for patients with dysphagia, dietitians, SLPs, and food service workers need to communicate well and collaborate effectively. In this session, led by a registered dietitian and an SLP, you will explore common communication challenges and learn how a dysphagia team involving both SLPs and dietitians can effectively address them. Topics include the factors dietitians consider when assessing patients and two unique models for the organization of dysphagia management teams.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe how dietitians assess patients
Discuss the relationship among dietitians, food service staff, and speech-language pathologists
Describe two different ways dysphagia teams can function to provide quality care to patients

D7 - Liquid Viscosity and Diet Texture Selection
Russell Mills, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Jennifer Blomberg, RD, LD
Sunday, April 6, 1:15-2:45 p.m.

This session, led by an SLP and a dietitian, addresses issues in the selection and use of thickened liquids and altered diet textures with adults who exhibit oropharyngeal dysphagia. The SLP will discuss the evidence base concerning thickened fluids, difficulties frequently encountered with their use, and the effects of common oral impairments on the oral processing of food textures. The dietitian will discuss challenges in creating specifications for altered-texture diets, and food-service production issues that arise when thickened liquids and diet textures are prepared in the hospital kitchen.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

List at least three reasons why a thickened liquid may not meet the needs of a given patient
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly-used thickening agent
List five oral conditions that may limit oral processing abilities
Discuss challenges food production professionals face in producing liquid viscosities and diet textures specified by SLPs

D8 - Using the Laboratory Assessment Battery for Dysphagia (LAB-D)
Russell Mills, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Instructional level: Advanced
Sunday, April 6, 3-4:30 p.m.

Dysphagia does not exist in isolation. It affects the patient in a holistic way, and clinicians must take the patient's overall health status into account when making management decisions. In this session you'll learn about the tests comprising the LAB-D and what they can tell you about a patient's overall health status. The presenter will discuss how lab values are collected, interpreted, and integrated into management decisions, using case studies to illustrate key points.

After this session, you will be able to:

Discuss differences between the traditional model of dysphagia and a holistic model
List six health status factors that are assessed by the LAB-D
Describe the relationship between nutrition status and immune system status
List the laboratory values that may help identify patients who are likely to experience negative outcomes
Discuss the integration of laboratory data into management decisions

Track 2: Adult Neurogenic Disorders

N1 - Case Studies in Aphasia Group Treatment: Forming Groups and Measuring Outcomes
Jan R. Avent, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 9:15-10:45 a.m.

Review a caseload of individuals with aphasia and discuss rationales for grouping participants to form aphasia groups based on cultural background, aphasia severity, and duration of aphasia. Based on group treatment goals and type of group treatment, you'll participate in determining outcome measures of treatment effectiveness. Research on group treatment efficacy and effectiveness will be presented.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe criteria used to form aphasia groups
Apply criteria to the formation of groups
Outline treatment goals and treatment effectiveness measures using the World Health Organization framework
Summarize the evidence to support the use of group treatment

N2 - Environmental Interventions to Improve Communication and Care in People With Dementia
Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Changes in the physical environment and the way things are done can significantly support or impede communication success in persons with dementia. This session focuses on environmental factors and presents evidence-based interventions to improve individuals' participation in conversations and daily activities.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Analyze three environmental factors that may influence the functioning of a person with dementia
Differentiate between declarative and non-declarative memory systems as they relate to speech therapy interventions
Select at least four evidence-based interventions to improve an individual's participation in conversations and daily activities

N3 - Treatment of Apraxia of Speech
John C. Rosenbek, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 2-3:30 p.m.

Apraxia of speech treatment is evolving, guided by new principles and supported by new data. This presentation will describe briefly an approach to evaluation that is critical to differentiating motor from linguistic deficits. Next, principles of skill learning will be described and treatments consistent with these principles discussed, with emphasis on clinical application.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Differentially diagnose apraxia and aphasia
Outline the principles of skill learning that influence current approaches to treatment
Describe current methods of treatment
Plan relative amounts of language and motor therapy for individual patients

N4 - AAC and Aphasia: Assessment and Treatment Across Health Care Settings
Joanne P. Lasker, PhD, CCC-SLP
Saturday, April 5, 4-5:30 p.m.

This session presents information on implementing meaningful assessments and designing useful treatment goals for people with severe aphasia across health care settings, from acute hospitalization to inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient settings. You will learn strategies to help people with severe aphasia increase their communicative participation or independence using augmentative and alternative communication approaches. Case studies will show how to use data from clients' skills and needs assessments to write reimbursable goals and objectives, and how AAC treatment can be integrated with traditional, speech-based treatment goals.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe people with severe aphasia according to a clinical taxonomy as either partner-dependent or independent
Implement three primary AAC strategies useful to partner-dependent communicators with aphasia
Explain how to implement strategies for transitional and independent communicators with aphasia
List steps in the AAC-aphasia assessment process
Describe factors related to device selection for people with aphasia

N5 - Evaluation of Speech Breathing in Clients With Neuromotor Speech Disorders
Jeannette D. Hoit, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 8:30-10 a.m.

This session offers a detailed protocol to evaluate speech breathing in clients with neuromotor disorders, using a conceptual framework based on current understanding of normal and abnormal speech breathing. The evaluation includes the speech breathing case history (including client perceptions of speaking-related dyspnea), auditory-perceptual examination, physical examination, and instrumental examination, as well as a bedside screening examination.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the components of a speech-breathing case history
Define the primary speech breathing variables and their auditory-perceptual correlates
Describe the general components of physical examination of the breathing apparatus
Identify instrumentation used to evaluate speech breathing disorders

N6 - Management of Speech Breathing in Clients With Neuromotor Disorders
Jeannette D. Hoit, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 10:15-11:45 a.m.

Many neuromotor speech disorders are caused, at least in part, by impairments of the breathing apparatus. This session addresses management of speech breathing disorders, including a variety of management approaches to target specific speech breathing variables and compensatory strategies. The focus is on clients who can breathe on their own, with general comments about clients who require ventilatory support.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe a conceptual framework for managing speech breathing disorders
Discuss management techniques that target specific breathing variables
Discuss management techniques that target specific compensatory strategies
Describe some of the challenges of managing clients who require ventilatory support

N7 - Pragmatic Communication Disorders in Adolescents and Adults
Lyn Turkstra, PhD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS
Sunday, April 6, 1:15-2:45 p.m.

In the field of communication disorders, pragmatic communication ability has been defined as the ability to use language in context. The explosion of research in autism, driven largely by researchers in cognitive science, has recast pragmatic communication within the framework of social cognition. In this presentation, we will discuss the literature on social cognition and how it relates to pragmatic communication. Applying research information to clinical assessment and intervention will be discussed, illustrated by case studies of persons with traumatic brain injury.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Define social cognition as it relates to pragmatic communication disorders
Identify current trends in the study of social cognition and their application to pragmatic communication disorders
Describe current approaches to assessment of pragmatic communication ability in adolescents and adults with acquired and developmental communication disorders
Give an overview of the "state of the science" for treatment of pragmatic communication disorders in adolescents and adults with traumatic brain injury

N8 - Cognitive-Communication Disorders in Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Lyn Turkstra, PhD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS
Sunday, April 6, 3-4:30 p.m.

This session reviews current intervention approaches across the continuum of care for adolescents and adults with TBI. We will discuss strategies for assessment and evidence for intervention in the domains of memory, attention, executive function, and behavior. Although the focus is on TBI, this information is relevant to cognitive-communication disorders resulting from acquired brain injuries of other etiologies.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Describe current approaches to assessment of cognitive-communication ability in adolescents and adults with TBI
Summarize the evidence in support of intervention for disorders of attention, memory, executive function, and behavior in individuals with TBI
Identify gaps in the research literature on intervention for acquired cognitive-communication disorders
Critique your own clinical practice in relation to the evidence

Track 3: Pediatrics and Early Intervention

P1 - Challenges in Infant Feeding
Robert J. Rothbaum, MD
Saturday, April 5, 9:15-10:45 a.m.

Infants with and without underlying medical conditions can pose challenges to usual feeding techniques and practices. Careful identification and characterization of these feeding dilemmas leads to the most effective and least invasive therapeutic interventions. In a series of clinical cases, we will analyze the types, etiologies, and courses of common feeding problems in infancy. The pathophysiology, manifestations, and therapy of gastroesophageal reflux will be reviewed in detail.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Analyze dilemmas of the irritable infant
Identify appropriate evaluations and interventions for infants with gastroesophageal reflux
Counsel families about refusal to eat
Advise partnering health professionals about infant feeding problems

P2 - Establishing Nipple Feedings for the High-Risk Fragile Feeder in the NICU
Catherine Shaker, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The high-risk fragile feeder presents challenges for the entire NICU team. Gain insight into the swallowing and breathing behaviors of high-risk NICU infants, learn what research tells us about this population, and how to collect essential elements of their histories. We'll discuss how fragile infant systems can adversely affect swallowing safety, and also examine how beliefs and values of NICU staff may affect clinical decision making. The most critical strategies for diagnosis and intervention are presented, including a "gentle" feeding approach essential to supporting these infants.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Profile the high-risk fragile feeder in the NICU relative to evidence, history, and swallowing/feeding behaviors
Identify diagnostic and intervention strategies for this specialized population
Discuss challenges to safe and successful feeding arising from infant biology and caretaker psychology
Describe a "gentle" feeding approach, and strategies to optimize interdisciplinary support for fragile feeders

P3 - Feeding/Swallowing Challenges for NICU Graduates and Families
Catherine Shaker, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-S
Saturday, April 5, 2-3:30 p.m.

Research shows that feeding is a primary concern for families of NICU "graduates" through the first year of life and often beyond, affecting not only the infant's growth and development but family well-being. This session presents information to support clinicians in effective problem-solving and clinical decision-making for this unique population. Gain insight into the "parent-infant journey" during the NICU stay and after discharge, as well as critical infant systems that may adversely affect feeding success. The most common feeding issues reported by parents will be highlighted and problem-solving strategies discussed.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Cite the relevant evidence base on feeding outcomes in NICU graduates
Identify and obtain essential history and background information
Discuss the effects on feeding success of infant respiratory, nutritional, and gastrointestinal systems
Discuss the most common post-NICU feeding issues and key intervention strategies

P4 - Early Identification: Why Physicians May Overlook Children With Disabilities and What You Can Do About It
Frances Page Glascoe
Saturday, April 5, 4-5:30 p.m.

Despite widespread support for early intervention, family physicians identify fewer than 70% of children with disabilities before school entrance. Missed opportunities for early intervention may lead to school failure, the need for expensive remedial programs, and secondary developmental and emotional problems. This presentation identifies the leading causes of under-identification and examines how active engagement by the early intervention community can help address the problem.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Identify the leading reasons why pediatricians and family doctors may fail to identify children with disabilities
Discuss which of many screening tools are workable in busy pediatric clinics
List the types of information health care providers need when initiating quality screening services in their offices
Create a plan for effective collaboration with primary care professionals

P5 - Infant/Toddler Behaviors That Suggest Autism
Elizabeth Crais, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 8:30-10 a.m.

Prevalence rates of autism are rising, yet most children are not diagnosed until age 2-3. Recent studies analyzing home videotapes of infants later diagnosed with autism indicate that these children can be differentiated from infants with typical development by particular gesture and play behaviors. This presentation will focus on "typical" and "atypical" development in these areas to guide decisions about whether to refer children for autism-specific testing and diagnosis.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Recognize common barriers to early identification of young children with autism
Describe current means of identifying young children with autism
Discuss the developmental course of early social and communicative behaviors seen in typically-developing children
Identify a set of child behaviors that may guide referral and intervention planning for children suspected of having autism

P6 - Preparing Prereaders for Reading Comprehension
Anne van Kleeck, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 10:15-11:45 a.m.

Speech-language pathology has made enormous gains in helping preschoolers and kindergartners at risk for later print decoding difficulties by fostering their phonological awareness skills. A fairly large cohort of children, however, do not have decoding problems, but have difficulties that show up later as reading comprehension deficits. To help these children, our interventions need to focus on oral language skills known to be critical to children's later ability to comprehend written text: vocabulary depth and inferential language skills. This session presents evidence for developing vocabulary depth and inferencing skills in prereaders, describes assessment and intervention methods, and analyzes the effects of potential cultural variation in children's exposure to such skills at home.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss how recent theory and evidence underscore the importance of the preschool years for later reading comprehension abilities
Distinguish between vocabulary breadth and depth and discuss how they relate to two different components of later reading ability
Define inferencing and describe its relationship to story comprehension and to patterns of language use characteristic of classroom discourse
Compare how different cultural values and beliefs can result in preschoolers' having very different amounts of experience with inferential language

P7 - Parents' Role in Assessing Young Children With Disabilities
Elizabeth Crais, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 1:15-2:45 p.m.

It has been argued that the family's central role in assessment is critical to gaining a representative view of the child, parent-professional consensus, parent satisfaction, and results that are functional for the child and family. Nevertheless, the few available studies suggest that in a number of family-centered practices in child assessments, a gap often exists (for both professionals and families) between what actually takes place and what is viewed as "ideal" practice. This presentation will focus on the research findings about the roles that families take in child assessment, the role preferences of families and professionals, and strategies that professionals can use to "close the gap" between actual and ideal practices.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the importance of family participation in assessment of young children
Identify common roles that families play in assessment of young children
Describe several strategies for gaining greater participation of families in assessment of young children
Identify possible ways to increase family participation in your assessments of young children

P8 - Pediatric Craniofacial Disorders: Current Trends in Care
Lynn Marty Grames, MA, CCC-SLP
Sunday, April 6, 3-4:30 p.m.

This presentation will describe craniofacial disorders in children, and illustrate the speech, language, hearing, feeding, or swallowing issues that may result. Current approaches to medical or surgical care for individuals with various disorders will be presented. Discussion of the roles of other professionals on multidisciplinary teams will provide insight on how to collaborate on interventions and optimize functional outcomes.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Identify multiple craniofacial disorders associated with communication impairment
Describe current trends in the medical and surgical care of individuals with craniofacial disorders
Describe the advantages of collaborative, multidisciplinary teams in the triage, care, and management of children with craniofacial differences