This week I took the Intervention Programming for Nonverbal Children course at LinguiSystems and received 0.2 CEUs or 2 hours of Continuing Education Credit.
This course was really fantastic. If you're working with really young children who have limited verbal skills and are wondering where to begin, this course takes you through the basics. It begins by reviewing the pragmatic prerequisites that are necessary for verbal communication: joint attention and turn taking. Then the author reviews pragmatic acts that are essential in communication: greetings, initiation/requesting, and negating/protesting. All five of these pragmatic skills are often valid targets with nonverbal or minimally verbal children. Then she discusses vocabulary intervention in terms of what to target and how to target it. She offers many, many practical suggestions for how to structure therapy with this population. She provides links to internet resources that can be used in planning thematic therapy sessions and describes therapy activities to include in your therapy sessions. I strongly recommend reading this one even if you have no need for the CEU credits.
I know I have some parents out there that follow along. You would probably also benefit from reading this material. I believe that there are many suggestions you could use at home with your children.
The Intervention Programming for Nonverbal Children course was well organized, well written, and easy to read. The 20 question multiple-choice quiz was straightforward and quick to complete. I earned 0.2 more continuing education credits towards the 1.5 I need to earn this calendar year.
Did anyone else take this course? What did you think?
Don't forget to complete Week 4: Introduction to Ethical Decision Making in Speech-Language Pathology - 0.2 CEUs for next Friday!
See the complete 7-Week Free CEU Challenge here.
If you missed it, catch up on my Week 1 review: Counseling Theories and Skills for SLPs - 0.2 CEUs. Then catch up on my Week 2 review: Evidence-Based Practice - 0.2 CEUs.
A Speech Pathologist Mother and Her Daughter Diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Friday, February 8, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
CEU Challenge: Week 2 - Evidence-Based Practice
It's a good thing I committed to taking these online CEU courses once a week. I'll admit, I left things to the last possible minute this time. This week I took the Evidence-Based Practice course at LinguiSystems and received 0.2 CEUs or 2 hours of Continuing Education Credit.
This was a very nice course on why clinical decisions and therapy methods should be based on a combination of high-quality research evidence, practitioner expertise, and client preferences and values. The course discusses how to locate research and evaluate the quality of that research. It also discusses what to do if you cannot find high-quality research available to answer a specific question. I really do believe evidence-based practice is critical to efficacy in therapy.
Two years ago, when it became apparent to me that Ava's speech was significantly delayed in a manner consistent with a motor-speech disorder (apraxia) I knew that I didn't know enough about apraxia treatment to help her. I needed to know more. I dug into the online ASHA archives for any journal articles written about CAS. I purchased the Source for Childhood Apraxia of Speech and read it cover to cover. I came to understand that the evidence shows that CAS cannot be treated with the same treatment methods as a generic articulation disorder or even the methods most appropriate for children with phonological disorders. If you treat a child who has a motor-speech problem that way, treatment results will not be maximized. Therapy progress will be slow.
My research led to an increased understanding of CAS. Understanding CAS helped me to understand the best ways to treat CAS. Understanding the most effective treatment methods helped me to help Ava. As a side effect, I was able to share a lot of that knowledge on this blog. I have also been able to create therapy materials that focus on the unique needs of the CAS population. I wouldn't have been able to do any of that without digging into the research first.
The Evidence-Based Practice course was well written and easy to read. The 20 question multiple-choice quiz was straightforward and fairly quick to complete. I earned 0.2 more continuing education credits towards the 1.5 I need to earn this calendar year.
Did anyone else take this course? What did you think?
Don't forget to complete Week 3: Intervention Programming for Nonverbal Children - 0.2 CEUs for next Friday!
See the complete 7-Week Free CEU Challenge here.
If you missed it, catch up on my Week 1 review: Counseling Theories and Skills for SLPs - 0.2 CEUs.
This was a very nice course on why clinical decisions and therapy methods should be based on a combination of high-quality research evidence, practitioner expertise, and client preferences and values. The course discusses how to locate research and evaluate the quality of that research. It also discusses what to do if you cannot find high-quality research available to answer a specific question. I really do believe evidence-based practice is critical to efficacy in therapy.
Two years ago, when it became apparent to me that Ava's speech was significantly delayed in a manner consistent with a motor-speech disorder (apraxia) I knew that I didn't know enough about apraxia treatment to help her. I needed to know more. I dug into the online ASHA archives for any journal articles written about CAS. I purchased the Source for Childhood Apraxia of Speech and read it cover to cover. I came to understand that the evidence shows that CAS cannot be treated with the same treatment methods as a generic articulation disorder or even the methods most appropriate for children with phonological disorders. If you treat a child who has a motor-speech problem that way, treatment results will not be maximized. Therapy progress will be slow.
My research led to an increased understanding of CAS. Understanding CAS helped me to understand the best ways to treat CAS. Understanding the most effective treatment methods helped me to help Ava. As a side effect, I was able to share a lot of that knowledge on this blog. I have also been able to create therapy materials that focus on the unique needs of the CAS population. I wouldn't have been able to do any of that without digging into the research first.
The Evidence-Based Practice course was well written and easy to read. The 20 question multiple-choice quiz was straightforward and fairly quick to complete. I earned 0.2 more continuing education credits towards the 1.5 I need to earn this calendar year.
Did anyone else take this course? What did you think?
Don't forget to complete Week 3: Intervention Programming for Nonverbal Children - 0.2 CEUs for next Friday!
See the complete 7-Week Free CEU Challenge here.
If you missed it, catch up on my Week 1 review: Counseling Theories and Skills for SLPs - 0.2 CEUs.
Friday, January 25, 2013
CEU Challenge: Week 1 - Counseling Theories and Skills for SLPs
As promised, I took the Counseling Theories and Skills for SLPs course at LinguiSystems and received 0.2 CEUs or 2 hours of Continuing Education Credit.
It was a nice course. The presentation was easy to read and the 20 question multiple-choice quiz was straightforward. It was a good reminder of how counseling skills fit into our scope of practice as Speech-Language Pathologists in a variety of settings. It explained several counseling theories and reviewed specific skills and techniques that can be applied in key moments like conveying a diagnosis, first therapy sessions, and discharge. It also discussed when to refer a client to another appropriate professional.
I enjoyed the reminder that our clients and their families experience a spectrum of emotions in response to the problems they are experiencing and that helping them navigate those emotions is an essential part of effective speech therapy that is easily forgotten.
As a parent of a child with a speech disorder I vividly remember the intense emotions I experienced when Ava was diagnosed and how helpless and paralyzed I felt at first. Even as an SLP, I needed time to handle emotions before I could work productively towards helping her.
Did anyone else take this course? What did you think?
Don't forget to complete Week 2: Evidence Based Practice - 0.2 CEUs for next Friday!
See the complete 7-Week Free CEU Challenge here.
It was a nice course. The presentation was easy to read and the 20 question multiple-choice quiz was straightforward. It was a good reminder of how counseling skills fit into our scope of practice as Speech-Language Pathologists in a variety of settings. It explained several counseling theories and reviewed specific skills and techniques that can be applied in key moments like conveying a diagnosis, first therapy sessions, and discharge. It also discussed when to refer a client to another appropriate professional.
I enjoyed the reminder that our clients and their families experience a spectrum of emotions in response to the problems they are experiencing and that helping them navigate those emotions is an essential part of effective speech therapy that is easily forgotten.
As a parent of a child with a speech disorder I vividly remember the intense emotions I experienced when Ava was diagnosed and how helpless and paralyzed I felt at first. Even as an SLP, I needed time to handle emotions before I could work productively towards helping her.
Did anyone else take this course? What did you think?
Don't forget to complete Week 2: Evidence Based Practice - 0.2 CEUs for next Friday!
See the complete 7-Week Free CEU Challenge here.
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