This is a 2-part webinar by Dr. Lori Geist, on 16 and 30 October 2019, from 1-2pm.

Dr Lori Geist is a Research Assistant Professor and a certified speech-language pathologist with an emphasis in assistive technology and augmentative communication. Dr. Geist’s PhD is in Computing Technology in Education from the School of Computer and Information Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. Prior to joining the CLDS team, Dr. Geist led a clinical research and development team for DynaVox Technologies.

The Project Core implementation model is aimed at helping teachers, parents and therapists to provide students with complex communication needs with access to a flexible Universal Core vocabulary and evidence-based instruction to teach them to use core vocabulary via personal augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.

We are excited to announce this course for next year!

The Literacy For All Intensive Course is a 5-day instructional course that covers theoretical and practical aspects of comprehensive literacy instruction for children and adults with disabilities, including complex communication needs. The course covers literacy teaching for both emergent and conventional readers and writers, assessment tools for a range of literacy learners and access to a number of practical resources through the course website.

The course is designed for anyone who wants to support one or more students with disabilities to improve their literacy skills, including teachers, leadership teams, therapists and parents.

The course will run from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Monday to Thursday and from 9:00am to 3:00pm on Friday. It is fully catered with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea – please ensure you enter your dietary requirements when you register.

The Presenters
Sally Clendon is a speech-language therapist who is passionate about communication and literacy for individuals who use AAC. Sally completed her PhD in 2006 at the Centre for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since then Sally has held academic appointments in Australia and New Zealand, whilst also engaging in a variety of consulting work. Sally presents nationally and internationally and has worked with several schools across New Zealand to implement a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction for their students. Sally looks forward to sharing her passion for literacy and all that she has learned from working alongside teachers and students to ensure that ALL children have access to the communication and learning opportunities they need.

Jane Farrall is a speech pathologist and special educator passionate about literacy, AAC and assistive technology. With nearly 30 years of experience in the disability and assistive technology field, she has lots of practical experience working with people with a range of abilities. Jane has worked as a school and adult service based speech pathologist and literacy teacher. She has also worked as an assistive technology specialist and is currently working as an independent consultant in literacy, AAC and Assistive Technology, working with schools and organisations to implement comprehensive AAC and Literacy. Jane was the founder and coordinator of the Big Mouth Camp, a residential camp for children who use speech generating devices, their families, and carers. She also runs regular multi-day professional development workshops around Australia and internationally.