A Jam Packed 2011 ASHA Convention
Never let it be said that moss grows under any SLPs’ or audiologists’ feet! If you were able to attend the ASHA Convention in San Diego a couple of weeks ago, you joined thousands of our colleagues packing as much activity as they could in just a few days. Between attending sessions, answering questions, greeting our colleagues in the booth, and attending special events, our Pearson staff members were in the same boat.
Just a few highlights:
The OASES (Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering) school-age and teen record forms received widespread kudos from SLPs who serve students who stutter. They observed in particular that this self-report of the impact of stuttering on an individual’s life will show progress when traditional stuttering measures may not.
The new OLAI-2 (Oral Language Acquisition Inventory, Second Edition) generated quite a bit of SLP interest. A noteworthy comment was, “Finally! Something solid for me to use in RTI!”
Sounds & Symbols digital storybooks created buzz in the booth! SLPs who viewed the demo of Marti Mouse, one of the beloved characters of this classic “High Hat” pre-literacy program, were excited to hear that all 39 stories from the Sounds & Symbols program will be available in January.
Dr. J. Scott Yaruss (lead author of the OASES) spoke on Pearson’s behalf as the sponsor for the Researcher-Academic Town Meeting this year. He made the connection between his research goals and the desire to disseminate that research through publications to the greater profession. “A good partnership,” he reflected, as he reviewed the last years of his work with colleagues around the country and with Pearson. Thanks, Scott!
How creative are our students in the professions? Very! The NSSHLA luncheon and awards ceremony was filled with great service acknowledgments, healthy competition, and fantastically creative student-made videos. If you have any concern about the future of our professions, they will be put to rest as you spend more time with our amazing and talented cadre of new professionals.
A new technology option for your next presentation! Presenters Judy Montgomery and Barbara Moore, who always have excellent content and great interaction within their sessions, used a tool called Polleverywhere.com—session participants responded to several questions via text message and watched their results tally instantly on screen!
And, still going strong 43 years after the first PLS was published, Dr. Irla Lee Zimmerman joined us in the booth to meet customers and answer questions about PLS-5. She had a great time talking with SLPs about the new test and the Spanish and Screening editions coming out next spring.
