Professional Learning: Intervention & Instruction

Formal professional learning opportunities offered by the Diagnostic Center, Northern California (DCN). This is part of the 2024-25 Professional Development Catalog.

Catalog Home | New Trainings in 2024-25 | Trainings by Series | Trainings by Topic | Trainings by Presenter

Topic Areas: Assessment | Behavior | Dual Language Learners | Intervention & Instruction | Mental Health

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in the Classroom: Creating an Environment with Universal Communication Access Supports (New!)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Teachers
  • Speech-Language Pathologists
  • School psychologists
  • Board Certified Behavior Analysts
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Para-educators
  • Any professionals supporting students using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices

Sessions

  • IN065: In-Person (4 hours)
  • IN063: Virtual (Part 1 - 2 hours)
  • IN064: Virtual (Part 2 - 2 hours)

Many teachers and support providers work with students who use AAC and rely on the District Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) to support implementation. But communication happens all day, every day, not just in the speech room. What happens when the SLP is not around? How do you create an inclusive classroom and school environment that supports students with a range of communication access needs? This session is designed to get the classroom team on the same page by building a shared understanding of communication modalities and universal classroom supports for AAC users. We highly recommend that classroom teams and service providers attend together. Attendees will leave with resources and practical strategies that can be implemented immediately!

Participants Will

  • See all students as communicators and understand that there are no prerequisites to communication access
  • Recognize their active role as communication partner
  • Learn to build opportunities for students to participate in their educational environment consistently across settings
  • Support implementation of low, mid and high tech tools throughout the school day (universal and student specific)
  • Ensure that classrooms are designed for communication access and have embedded language enriched supports
  • Understand and implement universal strategies to support skill development with AAC systems

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Social Communication in School-Age Students

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Administrators
  • Special education teachers
  • School psychologists

Sessions

  • IN014: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN032: Virtual session 1 of 2 (1.5 hours)
  • IN033: Virtual session 2 of 2 (1.5 hours)

George is having a hard time making friends. In conversations, he sometimes interrupts or changes the topic abruptly. He doesn't pick up on nonverbal cues and often misinterprets his classmates' intentions or feelings. In the classroom, he struggles to follow rules. He always seems to be in trouble. His classmates sometimes tease him. As part of an interprofessional team we are often asked to evaluate and intervene with students who, like George, struggle with social communication. This training will address what social communication is, how we assess it and evidence-based strategies for intervening. The training will focus on students who are in late elementary through high school.

Participants Will

  • Define social communication and its disorders
  • Describe assessment strategies for students' social communication
  • Explain how to implement evidence-based interventions for students who struggle with social communication
  • Work as part of an interprofessional team to address social communication

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Reading and Writing: What's Language Got to Do with it?

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Teachers
  • Reading specialists
  • School Psychologists
  • Administrators

Sessions

  • IN015: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN034: Virtual session 1 of 2 (1.5 hours)
  • IN035: Virtual session 2 of 2 (1.5 hours)

John can't remember sight words! Jose knows a word on one line and then on the next he doesn't! Jane doesn't understand anything she reads! Joe can't spell! Maria just guesses at words! Daniel just sits in front of a blank page! What can an educator do? Many students struggle with language that impairs their ability to acquire reading and writing skills. In this training we investigate the impact of language on reading and writing, why traditional approaches to reading and writing may not work for these students and how we can collaborate to use evidence-based practices to move these students forward.

Participants Will

  • Gain a better understanding of language and how it impacts reading and writing
  • Learn why traditional literacy programs may not work for all students
  • Learn how to implement the latest evidence-based practices in reading and writing as part of a collaborative school-based team to support all students

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Integrating Phonemic Awareness into Speech and Language Intervention

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Speech language pathologists
  • Administrators

Sessions

  • IN041: In-Person (3 Hours)
  • IN019: Virtual (2 hours)

We all know how important phonemic awareness is to the development of reading and writing skills. So many of our students with speech and language impairments are lacking in these skills. What is a busy SLP to do? How can we efficiently integrate phonemic awareness into our sessions to address these essential skills? This webinar will get you fired up to do just that!

Participants Will

  • Explain the importance of phonemic awareness in literacy acquisition
  • Provide engaging intervention that integrates speech, language, and phonemic awareness skills

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How Paraprofessionals Can Support the Communication of Students Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Para-educators
  • Teachers new to supporting students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

Sessions

  • IN042: In-Person (3 Hours)
  • IN023: Virtual (2 hours)

Are you a paraprofessional who works with students who use AAC? Ever wonder how you can help support your students' communication? Well, this is the training for you. We will start with an overview of AAC. Then we will dive deep into three research-based techniques to support communication. First, we will discuss augmented language input. What it is and why it is essential for your students. Next, we will talk about storybook interactions and how to get the most out of them. Finally, we look at how you can help with a shared writing activity. Plenty of examples and opportunities to practice will be provided.

Participants Will

  • Describe augmentative and alternative communication - what it is and why it is important
  • Support students who use AAC with techniques such augmented language input, storybook interactions and shared writing

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Language & Literacy Instruction for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers
  • School psychologists
  • Administrators
  • Speech language pathologists

Sessions

  • IN044: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN043: Virtual (2 hours)

Even small, incremental improvements in independent reading and writing skills can have drastic effects on quality of life. Students who acquire even elementary language and literacy skills can access many more texts than a nonreader. Alone, functional literacy programs which focus on rote visual learning of words do not provide the skills needed to read text with understanding and write independently. Recent research has found comprehensive literacy programs focusing on word level reading and language comprehension skills are most effect for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). In this training we will explore this recent research, what to include in a comprehensive approach to language literacy instruction and practical activities to implement tomorrow.

Participants Will

  • Define comprehensive and integrated literacy instruction
  • Describe research aligned instruction for students with intellectual impairments
  • Implement engaging instruction to develop language and literacy skills for students with intellectual disabilities

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Dysgraphia and Writing Supports

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers (transitional kindergarten - high school)

Sessions

  • IN051: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN026: Virtual (1.5 hours)

All of us have students who struggle in writing; however, it can be difficult to pinpoint what part of the writing process is giving our students the hardest time. The purpose of this training is to get a better understanding of how to assess a student who struggles in writing. We will discuss what formal writing assessments to give, how to take the standard scores and determine which area of writing needs the most support, and finally how to create goals from that data. This training also offers a handful of writing supports, strategies, and accommodations that teachers can instantly implement in the classroom.

Participants Will

  • Discuss the elements of dysgraphia
  • Explore which evaluation tools assess for dysgraphia and how to use assessment data to determine the supports and strategies needed
  • Determine how to utilize data and create SMART IEP (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound Individualized Education Plan) goals
  • Learn writing strategies, accommodations, and modifications that can be used across classroom settings
  • Receive access to a Padlet with various word documents, links, and printouts that the teacher can use immediately with their students in the classroom setting

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Elementary and Middle School Math Screeners and Tier 2 Interventions

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers (transitional kindergarten - 8th grade)
  • General education teachers (transitional kindergarten - 8th grade)
  • TOSA (teachers on special assignment focused in math)
  • School principals (elementary and middle school)

Sessions

  • IN049: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN048: Virtual (1.5 hours)

According to the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, before special education teams assess a student for a specific learning disability, it is best practice to have the student participate in a multi-tiered intervention program. This training will take a deep dive and investigate WHY intervention is important, why collecting data is important, and how to use our data to determine which students belong in Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention programs. This training will also address Tier 2 and Tier 3 Math Intervention Programs that are currently being used in districts.

Participants Will

  • Learn what RTI and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) have in common and how they are different
  • Discuss the importance of math screeners
  • Explore both Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions
  • Discuss the most popular Tier 2 Math Interventions that are being used today
  • Gain access to an online Padlet that is full of math intervention resources

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Tips and Tricks on how to Organize your Caseload

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • New elementary resource teachers

Sessions

  • IN047: In-Person (1.5 hours)
  • IN016: Virtual (1.5 hours)

Being a new teacher can be very overwhelming and one of the best ways to decrease that stress is to stay organized! There is not a class in graduate school that teaches you all these tricks to help make your first few years of teaching run as smooth as possible, so that is why we have created this training for new teachers! In this training you will learn helpful beginning of the year tips and tricks that can make your life in the classroom so much easier!

Participants Will

  • Learn strategies to organize your assessment calendar for the entire school year
  • Create a shared team planning document for all Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings
  • Create your own "IEP At A Glance" separate from the one provided on Special Education Information System (SEIS)
  • Learn various ways to create student groups that you pull throughout the week
  • Learn strategies on how to connect with the general education teachers and help them become aware of their students' needs, accommodations, and modifications that will take place in all classroom settings

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Elementary Math Instructional Strategies

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers (kindergarten - 5th grade)
    General education teachers (kindergarten - 5th grade)

Sessions

  • IN050: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN022: Virtual (1.5 hours)

Looking for engaging teaching strategies to use during your math lessons? This training is full of strategies to use in the classroom during math lessons that will get students moving around, actively participating, and are simply FUN! In this training we will discuss various ways to teach math vocabulary, skip counting, math facts, math word walls, and much more!

Participants Will

  • Learn various ways to teach and display math vocabulary words
  • Address the importance of skip counting for multiplication and division and learn some fun chants/raps that can be used with skip counting
  • Discuss various ways to incorporate movement into math lessons
  • Examine various ways to practice math facts (beyond flash cards)
  • Explore how to engage students by creating classroom transformations
  • Receive access to a Padlet with various resources

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Executive Functioning (EF) Academy - Part 5: How Does EF Affect Writing?

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers (transitional kindergarten - high school)
    General education teachers (transitional kindergarten - high school)

Sessions

  • IN053: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN052: Virtual (1.5 hours)

Executive functions help us to set goals, plan, and organize our writing. They also help us manage our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during the writing process. This type of self-management is known as self-regulation, and it's critical for writing. Many students who struggle in writing have a hard time with the various executive functions that they rely on to create a sentence or multi-paragraph essay. This training takes a deep dive into what exact executive functioning skills are required in writing and how we can support our students in each of these areas when they are given writing assignments.

Participants Will

  • Explore the various executive functioning skills that are required during the writing process
  • Learn various executive functioning strategies and accommodations to support students
  • Review a case study of a middle school student
  • Receive access to a Padlet filled with resources, links, and printouts to support students

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Universal Design For Learning (UDL) - Part 2: Engagement, Representation, and Assessment Choice Boards (New!)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers (transitional kindergarten - high school)
  • General education teachers (transitional kindergarten - high school)
  • Administrators

It is recommended that participants have a fundamental understanding of UDL to participate in this training. Participants are encouraged to take "Introduction to Universal Design For Learning (UDL)" prior to this training.

Sessions

  • IN069: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN068: Virtual (2 hours)

Universal design for learning (UDL) helps create inclusive and accessible learning environments for all students. By providing multiple means for action, expression and engagement, UDL allows for different learning styles and abilities to be accommodated. This leads to increased student engagement, motivation, and success in the classroom. This training takes a deep dive into understanding the three pillars of UDL (engagement, action & expression, and assessment). You will also learn how to create choice boards in each of those three pillars and have access to an extensive Padlet that contains ready to use resources for teachers to include on their choice boards.

Participants Will

  • Describe the three pillars of UDL (engagement, action- & expression, and assessment)
  • Explore a variety of choice boards and discover how important they are in the UDL framework
  • Engage in instruction on how to create choice boards in all three pillars (engagement, action & expression, and assessment)
  • Receive access to a UDL Padlet that is full of resources, templates, examples, videos, and suggested reading materials

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Dyslexia Academy - Part 3: Interventions

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Education specialists
  • General education teachers
  • Reading specialists
  • Administrators
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Any specialists who would like to gain a fundamental understanding of dyslexia and how it impacts student performance

Sessions

  • IN010: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN027: Virtual (1.5 hours)

The team has identified students who are struggling with reading....now what?
This training will provide resources for effective reading intervention for students with both phonological and orthographic deficits. Learn syllable types, decoding strategies, and multi-modal interventions for vowels and consonants.

Participants Will

  • Learn multi-modal instructional strategies for students with phonological processing deficits
  • Learn instructional support for students with orthographic processing deficits
  • Learn technology tools to support reading intervention programs

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Dyslexia Academy - Part 4: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Dyslexia (New!)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • General education teachers
  • Education specialists
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • School psychologists
  • Administrators
  • Para-educators
  • Any specialists who would like to gain a fundamental understanding of dyslexia and how it impacts student performance

Sessions

  • IN067: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN066: Virtual (1.5 hours)

Reading challenges impact students in all grade and content areas. Learn how Universal Design For Learning (UDL) can support and develop students' reading, decoding, and reading comprehension skills. This training will provide attendees with technology tools and UDL ideas that are immediately implementable and increase access to grade level standards to all students no matter their reading skill

Participants Will

  • Learn the state of California's adopted definition of dyslexia
  • Learn to identify student weakness in phonologic processing or orthographic processing
  • Learn UDL strategies for improving decoding and reading comprehension
  • Learn and practice using technology tools that can increase access to all learners

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Introduction to Universal Design For Learning (UDL)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Education specialists
  • General education teachers
  • Reading specialists
  • Administrators
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Any specialists who would like to gain a fundamental understanding of UDL

Sessions

  • IN012: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN030: Virtual (1.5 hours)

How can we support our students in the classroom no matter their function?
California's Education Task Force (2015) determined that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the framework for improving educational outcomes for all students. Learn how Universal Design for Learning can improve outcomes and accessibility for all students.

Participants Will

  • Review CAST.org checkpoints for UDL implementation
  • Learn the basics of UDL implementation
  • Learn technology tools to support curriculum access for all students

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Executive Functioning (EF) Academy - Part 3: Goal Writing

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • General education teachers
  • Education specialists
  • School psychologists
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • School counselors
  • Administrators
  • Any educator who would like to learn about how to support, accommodate, and teach EF skills

Sessions

  • IN040: In-Person (2 hours)
  • IN039: Virtual (1.5 hours)

In this intermediate level training, educators will learn how to collect baseline data and write Executive Functioning goals for Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and align them to the California Content State Standards (CCSS).

Participants Will

  • Review Executive Functioning domains and develop strategies for Executive Functioning data collection
  • Learn how to connect Executive Functioning goals to the California Content Standards
  • Learn how to write SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals to develop and support executive functioning skills

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Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in a Hearing Environment

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Teachers - general education, special education, deaf and hard of hearing, special day class
  • Resource specialists and reading specialists
  • Program specialists
  • Administrators and special education leadership
  • School psychologists
  • Speech-language pathologists

Sessions

  • IN060: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN058: Virtual - Part 1 (1.5 Hours)
  • IN059: Virtual - Part 2 (1.5 Hours)

California has approximately 17,000 students who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Several types of DHH educational programs operate in California within two State Special Schools (SSS) and traditional schools. Approximately 85% of DHH students attend mainstream schools with their typically hearing peers, 30-40% of these students have one or more additional disabilities (Gallaudet Research Institute, 2005). School programs vary by classroom, setting, and instructional approach. Within the classes students use interpreters, sign language and state-of-the-art hearing technology. This training will support those who serve DHH students across the vast variance in programs.

Participants Will

  • Describe the benefits of access
  • Identify technology services and devices
  • Learn how to recognize and repair malfunctions with technology
  • Identify necessary and appropriate assessments
  • Identify strategies that support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students including accommodations listed on the Individual Education Plan (IEP)
  • Understand American Sign Language educational interpreters and their roles

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Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Concussions - Part 2: Supports

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • 504 coordinators
  • School nurses
  • Physical education coaches and athletic directors
  • School psychologists and counselors
  • Administrators

Sessions

  • IN025: Virtual (1.5 hours) (May be pre-recorded)

Recovery from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions is a sensitive process that requires keen observational skills and ongoing adjustments to students' educational programs. This follow-up session focuses on supporting traumatic brain injuries, including concussions. Neurobiological, neurochemical, and environmental considerations will be detailed in this session. The goal of this session is for participants to recognize the importance of swiftly developing individualized return to school protocol when students experience head injury.

Participants Will

  • Identify factors that influence TBI recovery
  • Resource short-term supports for TBI
  • Resource long-term supports for TBI
  • Outline Special Education assessments for TBI

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Writing Measurable Social-Emotional Goals

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers
  • Counseling enriched program teachers
  • School psychologists and counselors
  • Mental health clinicians

Sessions

  • IN024: Virtual (1.5 hours)

This training introduces service providers to a framework that addresses social-emotional needs using an operationally defined and measurable system. This framework emphasizes conceptualizing the presenting issue into three categories: symptom, self-report, and coping skill. Definitions of these categories will be expanded upon, and sample Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals will be discussed.

Participants Will

  • Discuss when social-emotional goals are required
  • Increase skills to operationalize and measure social-emotional goals

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Supporting Girls with Autism

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • School Psychologists
  • Speech-Language Pathologists
  • Education Specialists
  • General Education Teachers
  • Administrators

Sessions

  • IN046: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN045: Virtual (2 hours)

Students are being identified with subtle forms of autism. How can we support these students in school? This training will examine strategies and supports that address executive functions and social communication at school. Examples and opportunities to practice will be provided.

Participants Will

  • Describe supports to help girls with autism with executive functions
  • Explain interventions to support girls with social communication

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Executive Functioning (EF) Academy - Part 4: Supports, Strategies and Intervention

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • General education teachers
  • Education specialists
  • School psychologists
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • School counselors
  • Administrators
  • Any educator who would like to learn about how to support, accommodate, and teach Executive Functioning (EF) skills

Sessions

  • IN013: In-Person (2.5-3 hours)
    Sessions can be taken individually, or as a sequence. Individual sessions will build off information from the previous ones.
  • IN031: Virtual (2 hours)
    Sessions can be taken individually, or as a sequence. Individual sessions will build off information from the previous ones.

Executive functioning refers to a set of processes that have to do with managing oneself and one's resources to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for neurologically based skills involving mental control and self-regulation. It is now commonly believed that executive functions are essential for purposeful, goal directed behaviors and actions, and there is substantial evidence that academic achievement and appropriate executive function skills are correlated.
In this intermediate level training, educators will learn how to identify interventions, supports, and strategies to develop students' EF skills in the classroom.

It is recommended that participants have a fundamental understanding of EF to participate in this training. Participants are encouraged to take EF Academy Part 1 first if their understanding of executive functioning is at a beginner level

Participants Will

  • Learn how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies can support executive functioning deficits
  • Learn strategies for academic and behavioral support for students with executive functioning deficits
  • Learn how to develop intervention plans to effectively target student's EF needs
  • Learn how to incorporate EF training and intervention into the classroom

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Data Design and Collection in the Classroom

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers
  • Administrators and professionals supporting goal and learning data collection

Sessions

  • IN017: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN036: Virtual session 1 of 2 (1.5 hours)
  • IN037: Virtual session 2 of 2 (1.5 hours)

The task of writing Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals that are objective and measurable can be difficult. However, the task of implementing valid measurement systems for all those goals is often overwhelming! This training will provide information on how to write goals in a way that is easy to measure and track progress.
Further, strategies will be presented for creating easy-to-use data collection forms and ideas for creating systems to organize and track student progress.

Participants Will

  • Understand how to set attainable and reasonable mastery criteria for IEP goals
  • Identify the appropriate type of data collection to use based on IEP goal examples
  • Take away ideas for systems to implement ongoing data collection
  • Discover organizational strategies and design systems to collect data & monitor progress

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Strategies for Effective Consultation within the School Setting

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Administrators
  • Board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs)
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Other professionals providing consultation to teachers

Sessions

  • IN057: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN056: Virtual (2 hours)

The focus of this training will be on how to provide effective consultation to teachers within the school setting. It is often difficult to find ways to provide feedback, recommendations and supports for busy and stressed teachers. Honing your consultation skills is an art and can result in more collaborative and fruitful consultative relationships with the school staff that need support. Evidence-based interventions for consultation will be reviewed. There will be ample time for discussion and problem solving related to consultation barriers within the school setting.

Participants Will

  • Learn about evidence-based interventions for consultation
  • Explore simple, straightforward methods for providing consultation
  • Reflect on their consultative approach and discuss alternative approaches

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How to Design a Day of Effective Direct Instruction for Students with Significant Learning Needs

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Special education teachers teaching in a special day class (SDC)
  • Special education administrators accompanying teachers
  • Staff supporting instruction within the SDC classroom setting

Sessions

  • IN011: In-Person (4 hours)
  • IN028: Virtual session 1 of 2 (2 hours)
  • IN029: Virtual session 2 of 2 (2 hours)

The design and implementation of instruction is the primary role of an effective teacher. Furthermore, instructional design significantly impacts student learning and success in the classroom. However, designing instruction that is effective and relevant for all students, when student ability and academic skills can vary widely can be difficult! This workshop will cover the basic elements of Direct Instruction and how to interpret cognitive profiles to support designing effective instruction. The training will include strategies for identifying how to group students for small group instruction, the important elements of direct instruction for all students, ideas for curriculum design, and tips for management and implementation of a well-designed educational program.

Participants Will

  • Learn the critical elements of effect direct instruction for students at varying levels of support
  • Understand how to read and interpret psychoeducational reports and testing
  • Practice highly effective strategies for engaging all students in learning
  • Understand how to create instruction and manage staff & students
  • Create a plan for next steps in improving their classroom instruction practices
  • Walk away with takeaway strategies that can be quickly implemented within any classroom

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What is the Science of Reading and What is in it for Me?

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Education specialists
  • General education teachers
  • Reading specialists
  • Administrators
  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Educational psychologists
  • Any specialists who would like to gain a fundamental understanding of the science of reading

Sessions

  • SP003 In-Person (6 hours)
  • SP005: Virtual Session 1 of 2 (2 hours)
  • SP006: Virtual Session 2 of 2 (2 hours)

Recently there has been lots of talk about following the science of reading but what exactly is it and how does it impact my classroom or intervention room? In this presentation we will explore the science of reading. We will talk about what it is and is not and how, we as school-based teams, can apply this information to our most challenging students. Through case studies, participants will learn about this information and how it can be applied.

Participants Will

  • Describe what the science of reading is and is not
  • Learn how the science of reading can be applied to students
  • Explain what each component of reading is and why it is important
  • Explore assessment and instruction for all components of reading

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Telling Stories in School with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (New!)

Presenter(s)

Intended Audience

  • Speech-language pathologists
  • Special education teachers

Sessions

  • IN062: In-Person (3 hours)
  • IN061: Virtual (2 hours)

Narrative skills are essential to both social and academic development, but these important skills are often overlooked for students who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), particularly when students are at the beginning stages of language development and device use. How can we support the development of these crucial skills in storytellers who use AAC? This session examines the importance and assessment of narrative skills for these students. Finally, we explore evidence-based interventions to support the telling of both personal and fictional narratives from the beginning levels of storytelling to development of episodic stories.

Participants Will

  • Describe the importance of narrative skills for the social and academic development of AAC users
  • Evaluate students' current level of narrative skills
  • Develop intervention plans to increase students' narrative skills

Visit our Special Training Opportunities web page for additional training opportunities!

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