This is Part 1 of a two-part series. This course will provide a language therapy toolkit refresher for SLPs who work with students from preschool to elementary school. The role of the SLP in literacy, background information on the nature of reading, specific interventions for both preschool and elementary school, and ways to maximize motivation and develop rapport with this population will be discussed.

The course provides an overview of influences on early language development, with particular emphasis on pragmatics and semantics. Resources are provided for the speech-language pathologist to use in clinical practice.

This course will introduce modern video-based assessment methods of pragmatic language across six new pragmatics domains (including nonverbal language) that produce a comprehensive pragmatic language profile, and discuss how using these results leads to more accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. Social communication profiles of individuals with various neurodevelopmental disorders will also be reviewed to assist clinicians with differential diagnosis. The course is designed to address the needs of children and young adults, ages 6 to 18.

This course will (1) describe the nature of a "multiliteracies" approach to language literacy learning and development of self-identity, and (2) demonstrate how this methodology has been implemented with elementary school-age refugee children, English Learners, and children with complex language impairments. This course is presented in joint partnership with the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders (ABCLLD).

The integration of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and guided metaphors with behavioral models of SLP delivery is often vital to unleashing confidence and the courage to communicate. This course will demonstrate how stories can be used as metaphors to help improve outcomes for individuals with speech disorders.

This course will provide SLPs with a critically important view of how and why poverty has a tremendous impact on both language learning and academic success. Key strategies for working with school teams and conducting therapy will also be shared.

This course will provide information on the connection between early experiences and early formation of language. Through this framework, the course will look at the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and serve-and-return interactions on the language gap that exists for many communities across the US.

This course describes the characteristics of Velo-cardio-facial syndrome that are of the greatest relevance to SLPs: those that affect feeding, speech and language. Best practice for intervention is also explained.

Pearson's EBP Briefs are case-based courses designed to assist with everyday decision-making in clinical practice. This case examined the question, “Do kindergarteners with language impairments who use e-books containing interactive features exhibit greater vocabulary gains than children using e-books with static illustrations?” The related literature search & analysis, along with the resultant clinical decision & application to clinical practice, will also be discussed.

This course will empower Speech-Language Pathologists to take a more active role in the identification and treatment of dyslexia by exploring the specific areas in which our expertise in language development intersects with literacy learning. Evidence-based frameworks for contribution to multi-disciplinary evaluations and intervention programs will be shared.