Call for Posters Submissions for Schools Connect 2023

July 26–August 7, 2023 | Online Conference

This is your chance to present your ideas as part of the Schools Connect 2023 online conference! Presenting a poster gives you the opportunity to highlight your school-based clinical or professional research study. An online poster allows you to grow your presentation skills and share your work with hundreds of engaged school-based SLPs.

As you prepare your poster proposal, be sure to review our step-by-step guide to the submission process below. 

Note: Oral sessions at Schools Connect are given by invited speakers only. The proposal submission process for online posters is open to all.

Posters for Schools Connect 2023 will be part of the online conference, happening virtually July 26–August 7, and will not be presented at the in-person event.

Important Dates

• Submission deadline: March 8, 2023
• Acceptance/non-acceptance notifications: April 14, 2023
• Deadline for presenting poster authors to register for conference: June 1, 2023
• Deadline for poster authors to submit final online poster and record audio: June 30, 2023

About Poster Submissions

Posters are a structured yet informal way to share your work, get visibility for ideas, and stimulate discussions with colleagues. Ideally, posters will highlight:

• Outcomes of clinical tools and programs
• Innovative service delivery models
• Interesting case studies
• Interprofessional collaborations
• Business solutions and efficiencies
• Research results

Online posters at Schools Connect 2023 will include a one-page electronic poster that can be created in PowerPoint, Google Sheets, or other readily available software and saved as a PDF, as well as a 15-minute audio presentation that will be recorded in the conference platform. Online posters are available in the online conference site for the duration of the event. At least one poster author must register and participate in the online conference by responding to comments and questions on the discussion board devoted to the poster. Unlike in-person conferences, one individual is able to present multiple posters during the event. You are welcome to submit more than one poster proposal and present more than one if accepted.

ASHA is not able to provide financial support for authors to participate in the conference. If your poster is selected, you must pay all registration fees associated with your participation.

The Submission Process

The information below is meant to guide you step-by-step through the online Call for Posters submission process for Schools Connect. Please thoroughly read the guidelines and explanations before beginning the submission process. 

We recommend that you draft, edit, and save your proposal in a Word/text document and then copy and paste the text into the submission system to ensure accuracy in word count, spelling, and grammar.

When drafting your poster proposal, consider that it will be rated by reviewers based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to school-based practice
• Clarity of learner outcomes
• Consistent with current theory and best practice
• Contains a statement of supporting evidence
• Overall clarity of proposal
• Provides practical information that can be applied to practice
• Submission is innovative and stimulates a new way of thinking

Sign In and Begin a New Abstract/Proposal

To comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, all submitters will need to register a new account, even if you submitted a poster proposal for Schools Connect in a previous year. Select "Create Account" on the submission system landing page and fill out your profile information to begin your submission (sometimes referred to as "abstract" in the submission system).

Follow the links to begin a new Abstract and enter the required information:

• Proposal/poster title: Maximum of 15 words/200 characters

After you select the "Submit" button, you will see your Task List, which contains five items that must be completed.

1. Proposal Authors

You will automatically be listed as an author. To add co-authors, type the co-author's first name, last name, and email address, and check the appropriate author role (presenting or non-presenting). You can move authors up and down in the list using the arrows. 
 
Each author needs a complete profile. You may fill in each author's information using the "Edit Profile" button or invite each author to complete their own profile using the "Invite" button (which sends an email to the author's email address). You must edit your own profile to select your author role (presenting or non-presenting) and fill in any remaining required fields. Please ensure that accurate contact information is provided for each author; include the author's institution, mailing address, email address, phone number, and ASHA affiliation or student status, if applicable. You will also have to provide a brief biographical sketch for each author.
 
Note: You will not be able to complete the task using the "Save Authors" button if any author's profile is incomplete. After you invite the other authors to edit their profiles, simply scroll up to the teal bar and select "Tasks" to continue working on other parts of your submission while you wait for the co-authors to complete their profiles.

2. Proposal Content

Instructional Level

As part of this section, you will need to indicate the instructional level of your proposed poster.

Introductory: Instruction at the Introductory level of difficulty is generally intended for professionals with novice experience in the content area. Material presented is based on fundamental principles or concepts that are fairly well-known and regularly applied. Often this level of training is intended to be a prerequisite to successive, more difficult topics offered at the Intermediate level. At times, experienced professionals might be advised to take this training for review or in preparation for more advanced-level training. Introductory level can also be used to describe course content related to new or emerging areas of practice.

Intermediate: Instruction at the Intermediate level assumes some familiarity with the basic literature as well as some experience in professional practice within the area covered and is targeted for more experienced professionals. The pace of the training and difficulty of concepts presented require more advanced knowledge and skills than the Introductory level. Examples used at this level are often based on recent research and case studies that are complex in nature.

Advanced: Instruction at the Advanced level assumes the participant already has established experience, knowledge, and skill within the area covered. The focus of courses at this level is on comprehension of findings in the current literature and the synthesis and application of information presented to advance current clinical and research practices. The pace and level of difficulty of material presented is commensurate with the needs of a professional with comprehensive knowledge, ability, and experience in the content area.

Poster Focus

You will need to answer this question about the focus of the poster: Will this proposed poster focus on one specific approach, product, product line, tool, technique, service, or model without mention of or information about other similar approaches, products, services, techniques, tools, or models?

This guideline, established by ASHA’s Continuing Education Board (CEB), has prompted clarity questions. The intent is by no means punitive, nor will a particular response preclude a poster from being considered. Rather, the purpose is to provide participants with more information about the precise content of posters. Some participants may prefer posters that focus on a particular product, product line, tool, technique, service, and/or model, while others may prefer posters that cover more than one approach. This information allows us to properly categorize posters into a more robust taxonomy.

Examples:

• You and your fellow authors conducted a study using one instrument. You are proposing a poster where you report on the results of the study but will talk about the instrument you used. Since you did not use other instruments, you will not mention other similar instruments. In this situation, you would answer "yes" to this question.
• You are proposing a poster on a new model you are using in your graduate program. You will be comparing that model to other models used previously and other models used in other universities. In this situation, you would answer "no" to this question.  

Abstract

The abstract is a brief description of your proposal, in 50 words or less, that will be used (if accepted) in the online program materials. Poster abstracts may be edited after acceptance, but make sure you proofread your work carefully. 

Summary

Please provide an expanded summary of your proposal, not to exceed 1,000 words, that the program committee can use in its review of your proposal. The summary should include a main argument, procedures, and results. This information is not published.

References/Citations

Though references are not required, you are encouraged to provide references (not to exceed 500 words) that the program committee may consider as part of the proposal review.

3. Learning Objectives

You will need to enter 2-3 learning outcomes for your proposal. Learner outcomes describe what participants will be able to do as a result of attending your poster session. Outcomes must be stated as observable behaviors completing the sentence, "After completing this activity, participants will be able to..." Avoid verbs denoting mental states such as "know," "understand," and "appreciate."  Instead, use action verbs such as "describe," "discuss," and "explain."

4. Author Disclosures

Every author must complete a disclosure form indicating any financial or nonfinancial relationship(s) related to the content of the proposed poster. Select the button with your own name to complete your disclosures as the submitter. Then select the teal "Invite" button to send each co-author a message and link to complete the disclosure form. A green check mark will appear below each name after each author completes the disclosure form.

Note that your submission will be considered incomplete until each author has submitted the form. Any proposals with incomplete disclosures at the call for posters closing date will be withdrawn and will not be reviewed.

After you invite the other authors to complete the disclosure form, simply scroll up to the teal bar and select "Tasks" to continue working on other parts of your submission while you wait for the co-authors to complete their disclosures.

Read more about Conflict of Interest Disclosures in Speaker Disclosures Explained.

Disclosure Policy

As part of ASHA's Continuing Education Board requirements, everyone submitting (or listed as an author on) a poster for an ASHA event is required to complete a disclosure form indicating any financial and nonfinancial relationships related to the content of the proposed session. 

ASHA's Continuing Education Board defines a conflict of interest as any financial or nonfinancial consideration or relationship relevant to course content that compromises or has the potential to compromise professional judgment. Providers of events approved for ASHA CEUs must identify and disclose to participants any such interest on the part of any speaker or instructor.

Please note that having a disclosable financial or nonfinancial relationship does not prevent you from presenting a poster. Disclosing such relationships is intended to give participants a more complete context in which to consider the information you provide. As a general guideline, err on the side of disclosure.

Refusal to disclose any financial or nonfinancial relationships disqualifies you from presenting a poster at the online conference.

If your poster is accepted, the information you provide will be disclosed on the conference website. Note that for financial relationships, dollar amounts are not disclosed.

In addition, you will be expected to disclose relevant relationships in your poster materials, both verbally and visually (view sample disclosure example #5). We will provide additional guidelines for disclosures in poster materials after acceptance.

Relevant financial relationships are those in which you receive a financial benefit from a source related to the content of the poster and include:

• Salary
• Royalty
• Grant funding
• Speaking fee
• Consulting fee
• Honorarium
• Intellectual property rights
• Gifts
• In-kind services
• Ownership interest
• Patent on equipment

Relevant nonfinancial relationships are any relationships that might introduce bias into the poster and include: 

• Formal affiliations such as volunteer positions
• Volunteer membership on a board or advisory council
• Volunteer teaching or speaking engagements
• Volunteer consulting
• Affiliations with political, religious, or professional organizations relevant to the content of the poster

5. General Submission Agreement

Every author must read and agree to the general submission agreement. Select the "Edit" button with your own name to complete the agreement as the submitter. Then select the teal "Invite" button to send each co-author a message and link to complete the agreement. A green check mark will appear below each name after each author completes the agreement.

Note that your submission will be considered incomplete until each author has submitted the submission agreement. Any proposals with incomplete agreements at the call for posters closing date will be withdrawn and will not be reviewed. After all authors have completed the agreement, you must select the "Complete task" button.

After you invite the other authors to sign the agreement, simply scroll up to the teal bar and select "Tasks" to continue working on other parts of your submission while you wait for the co-authors to sign the agreement.

Call for Posters Agreement

By submitting a proposal to present at Schools Connect online conference, you explicitly agree that if accepted you will:

• Ensure at least one presenting author registers for the Schools Connect 2023 online conference by June 1, 2023.
• Ensure at least one author will be available to participate by responding to comments and questions in the discussion board devoted to the poster for the duration of the conference.
• Ensure at least one author uses the in-system recording tool to record an audio presentation by June 30, 2023.
• Adhere to the deadlines as detailed in the acceptance notification regarding additional information, presentation materials, etc.
• Provide appropriate evidence to support any claims related to efficacy, validity, or reliability of any content shared in the poster.
• Refrain from overt statements or pointed humor that disparages the rightful dignity and social equity of any person or group.
• Complete the required disclosures that identify any financial or nonfinancial relationships that may create a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, as defined in ASHA's guidelines concerning transparency and disclosure.
• Update your disclosure information and inform ASHA if you develop or acquire a financial or nonfinancial interest related to the content of your poster at any time before the conference.
• Include disclosure information for all authors on the written and audio poster materials. View sample disclosures.
• Refrain from attempting to persuade attendees to purchase or use a specific product, service, piece of equipment, or device.
• When discussing a specific product or service, offer information on its theoretical framework, relevant evidence, and operational details; disclose in advance if your poster will not address the range of competing products or services; and refrain from overt selling.
• Ensure any research in which you participated and may be discussing in this poster is in compliance with mandated national and institutional policies and procedures pertaining to animal and/or human subjects research.
• Comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and ensure the privacy of students/patients/clients by refraining from using names, photographs, or other identifiers in your poster without the student's/patient's/client's knowledge and written authorization.
• Follow the guidelines for crediting authorship for research presentations as outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
• Obtain written permission from copyright holders for the use of any previously published material in your poster or handouts
• Grant permission to ASHA to record/photograph your image, or likeness, and to publish them solely for ASHA publications or marketing efforts.

ASHA's acceptance of a proposal does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures.

Final Review

After you have completed all five tasks, select "Preview Proposal." Use the "preview" link on the bottom to preview your submission. You may go back and edit any part of your proposal until the submission deadline (February 24, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern time). Once you are sure you don't need to make any additional edits, select "Submit" to complete your submission. 

After you have officially submitted all of your proposals, please log back into the submission system and withdraw any remaining incomplete proposals by selecting the proposal name on the Task List and changing the status from "active" to "withdrawn."

Questions?

Contact ashaconnect@asha.org.