This is a most advantageous and critical time to join the Colorado Speech, Language, Hearing Association!
Maintaining a strong CSHA office assures advocacy for you, the profession, patients, and families. Where do membership dollars go?
1. Representation at the State Capital-- PRICELESS!! As professionals, your representation at State level is critical for issues regarding licensing & certification, professional standards, and response to bills that could impact your practice in all settings.
2. A CSHA Administrative Assistant who is available to answer your questions, direct consumers to experts, and
disseminates the newsletter, email communications, and much, much more!
3. Continuing education, the Job Fair, special interest groups, and networking events
4. Telecommunication of conferences across the state
5. CSHA website

IS YOUR VOICE REACHING CO STATE GOVERNMENT ?

In the past two years, CSHA has focused its efforts into three major areas:
Public Policy – retaining a paid state lobbyists for the first time in many years and hosting a Breakfast at the Capital for May is Better Hearing & Speech Month to educate legislators about our professions and the clients we serve
Education – expanding our educational offering to include video-linked opportunities across the state and recently partnering with the state associations of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho to sponsor a bi-annual regional convention, the IMASH – Inter Mountain Area Speech & Hearing Convention. In fact, in 2013, the IMASH Convention will be hosted in Denver!
Membership – increasing membership activities to include "coffee talks" (back by member request!), the March of Dimes Walk, A Day at the Ballpark and coming up, fielding a team for the Race for the Cure
For more information about the membership drive, see attached brochure.

JOIN TODAY AND YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS GOOD UNTIL FEBRUARY 29, 2013!!! REGISTER AT: www.cshassoc.org
 
 
 

Amy Thrasher, '97, clinical assistant professor at SLHS, was interviewed by the Boulder Daily Camera regarding The Perspectives Program, a cooperative effort between the Temple Grandin School and SLHS. The program uses radio interviewing as a way to teach better communication skills. During the video (below) interview with Amy she explains that "learning to interview is a way to help students to understand another person's perspective". The students get to practice these skills in an interesting, professional studio setting, a motivating environment to say the least. Amy supervises several graduate students who also were involved in the three-week program. See full Daily Camera article at http://www.dailycamera.com/health-fitness/ci_18315700 and an earlier article on the Perspectives Program from our site http://www.speechlanguagepractice.org/?q=node/260

Sheila Cullen, '92

Sheila Cullen, a Bilingual Preschool Specialist at Santa Barbara County Education Office in Santa Barbara, CA graduated with her masters degree from CDSS in 1992. During her time at CU she recalls that she developed a strong interest in bilingual language development, “I made a request to take Spanish as my school-required elective, and even though denied, took the class anyway”. Since then she has put her bilingual knowledge and passion to work full force. “The County Ed office provides all the preschool special support services for the Santa Barbara district. Because I am the only bilingual therapist, my caseload consists entirely of emerging bilingual children from Spanish-speaking families.” A new article by Sheila titled The SLP as Second Language Learner was recently published in the ASHA Leader and can be seen at http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/110705/First-Person-on-the-... “The original article I wanted to write for the Leader was meant to encourage therapists who work with Spanish-speaking clients to learn even a little Spanish, so that they may form better bonds with family members. Even a small effort at bridging the cultural and linguistic gap can go a long way in building trust and communication with Spanish speaking families. One needn't achieve the levels described by ASHA as 'bilingual' in order to significantly improve the quality of interaction between the English-speaking therapist and Spanish-speaking family. There are many avenues for acquiring a beginning level of Spanish, from community college courses, online private Skype lessons, to self-teaching through books and audio tapes.”

For more on Sheila’s work with bilingual populations, see our Alumni Spotlight piece about her at: http://www.speechlanguagepractice.org/?q=node/266

Alum Susan Elling, MA SLP, CCC has branched out from her SLP work to produce a new video for Boulder Community Hospital's Center for Integrative Care focusing on the benefits of their integrative approach for patients with cancer. The Center, located on Foothills Campus, provides care during and after active cancer treatment and includes: acupuncture (individual and group sessions), healing touch, lymphedema treatment, massage therapy, reflexology, Reiki (individual sessions and classes) and Wellness & Integrative Care consultation with a RN. Visit their website at http://www.bch.org/cancer-care-services/integrative-care.aspx Susan received her BA from CDSS (SLHS) in '82 and her MA in '86. Read more about Susan at http://www.speechlanguagepractice.org/?q=node/117

Susan Elling '82, '86

Sue McCord

Sue McCord, Coordinator of Early Childhood Programs at SLHS from 1986 to 2004 has exciting news. Her new book, The Storybook Journey: Pathways to LEARNING Through Story and Play (ISBN 978-1-45370-830-9) is now available.

Dr. Anne Whitney, SLHS alum and Clinical Professor at SLHS announced that the department “is excited to begin a collaboration with the fine teachers, parents, administrators, and students of the Temple Grandin School in a project titled PERSPECTIVES”. The program seeks to help bridge the social communication gap between students with Asperger’s or similar profiles in grades 6-12. The program duration will be three-weeks, 2 hours a day, five days a week.

Temple Grandin School is named after Dr. Temple Grandin, CSU Professor, world-famous animal scientist and autism self-advocate, named in 2010 by TIME 100 as one the magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. The school is a new, not-for-profit independent school located in NE Boulder established to provide a challenging academic curriculum along with integrated social skills to students with Asperger's and similar learning profiles.

The PERSPECTIVES project also brings in radio station KGNUas a 3rd partner to offer youth a summer program that will introduce students to a variety of unique experiences associated with radio broadcasting. KGNU has been broadcasting community radio programming since 1978. The students will be spending a week at KGNU where they will have the opportunity to learn about real radio broadcasting, from the technology to the journalism to the performance aspects. Students will design a short program about a favorite topic: develop, record, edit it & broadcast it, either on live radio or on the web while learn interviewing and communication tips. Supervised by CU faculty, SLHS graduate students will work with students, who will be interviewing each other on topics of their own interest and focus on skills of perspective-taking and appropriate pragmatic language for interviewers and interviewees. CU Graduate Students will support the program and learn about radio along with students.

Jennifer Wilger, co-founder of Temple Grandin School, is also excited about the collaborative venture and the possibilities for students they will serve, "These amazing young people have a unique and powerful voice that deserves to be heard and often resonates with many outside the Autism community. Internationally-famous professor, lecturer and animal expert, Temple Grandin is just one of many potential examples of this." For more information on the school and Temple Grandin herself, visit http://templegrandinschool.org. and http://www.templegrandin.com/

Tikki & Denys with Richard Garcia,Colorado Parent Coalition, who nominated them

CDSS alumna Elizabeth “Tikki” Heublein, PhD ’'85, and Denys Vigil, Co-Directors of the Center for Alternative and Responsible Education (CARE) received the Hawkins Lifetime Achievement Award at a banquet held by the Boulder County for the Education of Young Children (BCAEYC) on April 28, 2011. The award is in honor of David Hawkins (1913-2002) and his wife, Frances Pochman Hawkins (1913-2006), who founded the Mountain View Center for Environmental Education, a popular learning center and laboratory for educators located on the CU campus during the 70s and 80s. The Hawkins’ work influenced a wide range of professionals, including speech language pathologist who taught and studied at SLHS (CDSS). The Hawkins also worked with Head Start and Follow Through programs, the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, Native American Reservations, and a variety of school across the U.S. Although the Hawkins have passed, their work is actively shared through The Hawkins Centers of Learning

Sharing the banquet theme from the African Proverb "It takes a village to raise a child", Matt Eldred, BCAEYC President, announced the award, "This years Hawkins Lifetime achievement award winners could not be more deserving. They exemplify the heart and soul of the award and have dedicated their lives to children and families, particularly those that don't have access to high-quality programs and services. Denys and Tikki are an amazing team and it is only fitting that they be recognized together. They make a great team and we are blessed to have them as a part of the Early Childhood community in Boulder County."

Denys and Tikki established the Center for Alternative and Responsible Education (CARE) in 1992. CARE is a private educational consulting firm committed to alternative and responsible education for children, youth, and adults. As the name suggests, CARE’s primary purpose is to provide learning support to adults, families, children, businesses and communities through educational interventions in the areas of bilingual and multicultural education, multiple intelligences, early childhood education, parent engagement, and program evaluation.

They also provide support to immigrant families with children who are U.S. citizens; and who are threatened with deportation. Their combined educational expertise and Denys' roots in South and Central America and his extensive travels in Mexico allow them to provide court evidence about the extreme and unusual hardship family deportation would have on the children who are legal citizens. Court judges in these cases tend to agree which results in fewer families being deported.

Tikki interacting with children in CLC

Tikki and Denys have a broad range of teaching and training experience which includes preschool, elementary, middle school and high school students, parents, community members, practicing teachers, and undergraduate and graduate students. Denys is bilingual and bi-literate in English and Spanish and composes bilingual children’s music, which as musicians, they perform together.

Denys interacting with child in CLC

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8. NAEYC is committed to becoming an increasingly high performing and inclusive organization. Founded in 1926, NAEYC is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.

CU Photos by Casey A. Cass

The Speech Language and Hearing Sciences recognition ceremony 2011 was held on May 6 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., at the UMC Middle Ballroom.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL GRADUATES AND WELCOME TO OUR CU SLHS ALUMNI WEBSITE!
The phrase "the last best place" was coined by William Kittredge, a well-known western writer, as the title for an anthology of stories, poems and memoirs about Montana. We'd like you to think of CU SLHS as one of your last, best places, where you worked hard, prepared for your career and shared experiences with fellow students. Stay in touch with the SLHS department and visit your alumni website often, we want to hear about your experiences as you establish and continue your career.

Here are some ways to stay in touch as a CU alum (continued):

Kathleen Kronenwetter MA, CCC-SLP

AHSA’s Continuing Education Board (CEB) presented Kathleen Kronenwetter, ‘92, with her 3rd Association Award for Continuing Education (ACE Award) on October 2010. The award notes that Kathleen "joins a select group of individuals who have made a concerted personal effort to continue professional learning beyond an academic degree”.

Some of the many CEU's Kathleen accumulated were received at the 2010 National Stuttering Association (NSA) in Cleveland, Ohio, a dynamic conference attended by adults and children who stutter, their family members, and speech-language pathologists. She shared that with the CEU's she received at NSA, she "was able to compile enough CEU's to receive the ACE Award", adding that "SLP's can have a unique experience while working on their continuing education at NSA". At the conference Kathleen presented an innovative, hands-on workshop titled "No More Tests, No More Homework, Just Fun". Using her philosophy of total acceptance in a natural, social setting, she assembled an impressive variety of child-friendly centers in a large ballroom. The centers were developed with children's interest in mind and required direction-reading, score-keeping and other verbal performances. Specific activities included a magic act, puppet show with stuffed animal puppets, finger puppets, finger string activities, Chinese jump rope, card games with written directions to be read out loud, a magnet house center and a Parcheesi Board with directions. During activities, Kathleen demonstrated fluency-shaping techniques including easy talking, easy onset, stretching, and bouncing during natural interaction in small and large groups. Some activities gently nudged children out of their comfort zone to practice advanced communication skills. Adults and children gathered together to watch the children present magic acts from a provided script (see example in video below). At the end of the workshop all children were able to select their own tie-dyed T-shirt from a collection made by Kathleen.

Kathleen with NSA Conference Participants

Kathleen credits much of her inspiration to Sue McCord and the Storybook Journey, along with Doris Downey, who used center-based activities in SLP therapy. Kathleen also attributes her training in Inter Reactive Learning (INREAL) with helping her to understand an “inside-out” approach to therapy which builds on children’s existing interests and skills. She also cites Dr. Peter Ramig, and a particular book he recommended titled “The Stutterer’s Story” by Frederick P. Murray, Ph.D, "The book is an autobiography that gives a detailed account of how severe stuttering can affect one's thinking, actions, and way of living". According to Kathleen, “Dr. Murray believes that, regardless of severity, those who stutter can accomplish much towards achieving gratifying fluency and a workable solution to the difficulty”.

Kathleen is also launching her newly designed web site this month, openbooktherapy.com to work with ESL/Accent Reduction and (PWS) Stuttering clients. As part of her private practice, she has joined mypurepotential.org, a SKYPE based service. In addition you can check out Open Book Therapy's Facebook page

Congratulations Kathleen!

ASHA members & professionals share stories from their work as speech-language pathologists and audiologists on ASHA's YouTube Web Channel. You can subscribe to this channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ASHAWeb#g/c/4B9A00415D10944A See other video topics here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ASHAWeb#g/p