Two-Day Event: Speech-Language Pathologists: Helping Students with Reading and Language Deficits Presented by MariBeth Plankers Outstanding SLP, ATP and Presenter

Specifically Designed for School-Based SLPs, School and District Administrators, serving Grades P-12

Practical Ideas and Strategies

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, your expertise in oral language and literacy skills makes you an invaluable member of the literacy team at your school. In this institute, MariBeth Plankers, an experienced Speech-Language Pathologist and Assistive Technology Professional, will share practical methods for assessing and treating reading and writing skills in students with language disorders. You will learn more effective, efficient and easy-to-implement techniques to identify children who struggle with decoding, reading comprehension and written language. MariBeth will share with you evidence-based practice, from the ASHA evidence-based triangle, about the language skills that strongly predict learning deficits across settings and situations and provide strategies that will address these language skills in your daily therapy, whether it is online or in person. This institute will focus on practical strategies that can be implemented in the context of therapy, as well as utilized across settings and situations. You will leave with numerous ideas for reading comprehension, writing, language, and games to assist your students with moderate to severe reading, writing and language deficits, as well as ways to maximize your effectiveness as an SLP in the school setting.

A Practical, Two-Day Institute Focused on the SLP’s Role in Helping Students with Literacy and Communication Deficits

Plan to attend as a school or district team in a two-day institute that will address the needs of your students with practical assessment and intervention practices. Learn how to build on the success of your current program and expand your repertoire of skills and strategies. Time is of the essence and your use of time is valued as a practicing professional, identifying key components that have the greatest impact on student achievement and success. Leave equipped with assessment and intervention tools supported by evidencebased practices.

Develop a Plan to Structure Your SLP Program to Boost Expertise and Collaboration for Student Success with Literacy and Communication

Discover attributes of highly effective SLP programs and how you can incorporate them into your own program. During the two days, you will learn strategies to add to your repertoire of informal assessments and engaging interventions. Gain specific tips for students who present with unique needs and behaviors. You’ll also receive an extensive digital resource handbook to help you implement all you learn when you return to your school district.

Here's What You Will Learn...

• Measurable informal assessment tools, and functional and practical intervention strategies
• Applicable ways to incorporate reading and writing goals into all aspects of your oral language therapy
• Advanced strategies for addressing phonological awareness systematically and hierarchically
• How to align your language therapy with the reading programs your students use in the classroom and in their specialized reading interventions
• Efficient, effective methods for assessing reading comprehension and written language in the context of your language evaluations
• Current technology resources that support both language skills and the development of reading and writing skills that SLPs address every day
• Specific ideas and strategies to strengthen the core language skills that allow your students to become better readers
• Functional therapy techniques you can use that align with English Language Arts state standards
• How your unique role as an SLP differentiates you from the literacy specialist and how to be a key contributor on your team
• Ideas for incorporating multi-disciplinary instruction, Universal Design for Learning and Assistive Technology in programs addressing language and literacy deficits
• Generalization strategies to help teachers and paraprofessionals more effectively carryover the skills learned during therapy
• Practical ideas for setting up collaborative treatment programs that are more motivating for all learners
• Strategies to make therapy sessions more motivating, engaging and effective for your students
• Accessible supports from the Assistive Technology Professional to support learners from no-tech to a level of high-tech

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

For many years, I have taught students with language disorders leading to challenges in reading comprehension and writing and I can’t imagine any skills that are more important to learn! With an educational background in the development of language, the SLP is equipped to be highly involved with reading and writing success of students. Over the years, our role as SLPs has expanded, and our expertise in language and literacy is now more recognized than ever before. An increasing number of schools are discovering the benefit of the practical approach to addressing literacy skills along with the oral language goals in the context of current therapy programs. In addition, the SLP also supports the work of teachers with effective strategies based on what we know about language and literacy.

I have developed this institute to share with you the best practices that we, as SLPs and other specialists, can use to support students with language and literacy deficits. We will explore the alignment of oral language and literacy skills and how valuable your expertise is to the school IEP team. We will explore the different types of reading challenges that your students with language disorders encounter across the curriculum. The emphasis will be on practical, doable methods to evaluate students and to develop individualized planned programs that may be implemented through direct intervention, the general education classroom, through distance learning, and consultation.

My goal for this institute is to send you and your team back to your school empowered with many new ideas you can put into practice immediately! We can lower the barriers in order to raise the level of success for our students.

Sincerely,
MariBeth Plankers, M.S. CCC-SLP, ATP

P.S. I know how valuable your time is, so my focus for the day will be on sharing practical strategies that work in today’s schools with today’s students.

Who Should Attend

School-Based SLPs, School and District Administrators, serving Grades P-12

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Resource Handbook
Each participant will receive an extensive digital resource handbook giving you access to countless strategies. The handbook includes:

• Comprehensive descriptions of all the skills and strategies addressed throughout the institute
• A review of research in reading comprehension and written language, including an extensive reference list
• Engaging resources to address a variety of the skills discussed within the digital handbook
• An extensive list of helpful materials and tools to support implementation
• An appendix with the strategies outlined in this program applied to literature used in the classroom

For in-person seminars, registrants will also receive a printed copy of the resource handbook as long as their registration is received in the BER office at least 15 calendar days before the event.

ASHA - CEUs

ASHA-Required Disclosure Statement for MariBeth Plankers:
Financial:
Presenter for the Bureau of Education & Research and receives honorarium compensation.
Nonfinancial:
No relevant nonfinancial relationships exist.

Semester Credit Option
Up to four graduate level professional development credits are available with an additional fee and completion of follow-up practicum activities. Details for direct enrollment with University of Massachusetts Global, a nonprofit affiliate, will be available at this program.

Meet Inservice Requirements
Participants of both the Live Online Seminar and those completing the Recorded Version online can receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify five continuing education hours. State CEUs are available for both versions of the course. For specific details, visit www.ber.org/ceus.

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