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Now Available for In-Person or Virtual Speaking Engagements
The Parish School’s Speakers Bureau is an adult education initiative co-created by therapeutic providers and educators at The Parish School and The Carruth Center in Houston, Texas. The goal of the Speakers Bureau is to provide practical tools and strategies to adults charged with the remarkable responsibility of facilitating communication as it relates to child development through interactive presentations given by child development experts. Most talks are free of charge, with a few exceptions offered for a minimal fee of $100 or for travel over 30 miles from our campus. Explore our menu of presentations to access quality evidence-based professional development or parent / caregiver education opportunities.
Speaker Topics
Early Childhood
Recognizing Signs and Understanding Typical Language Development
What is normal language development and when should parents intervene and seek expert help? Amy Lerman, MA, CCC-SLP, Community Outreach at The Parish School, will provide a comprehensive overview of the world of speech and language and how it relates to children under the age of five. Identifying the signs of communication delays can help caregivers distinguish between expected developmental milestones in children and red flags indicating a child is at risk for a language disorder.
Reframe Your Approach: Integrate, Regulate, Communicate
Children access learning from a basis of safety and security. An infant develops interaction, as caregivers intentionally respond to a child’s regulatory needs. Regulation goes beyond emotional self-control; it also consists of biological, cognitive, and social aspects. This session discusses a whole-child therapeutic framework supporting the development of early learners.
Practice Growing Language at Home (And Make it Manageable) – for parents
Language happens throughout the day. It’s woven into play, activities of daily living, carpool, and even trips to Target! Amy Lerman, MA, CCC-SLP, and Community Outreach at The Parish School will provide a brief intro to language development. In addition, Amy will provide practical strategies to encourage language development at home.
Growing Language Throughout the Learning Day
Language happens throughout the day. Its woven into play, activities of daily living, carpool, and even trips to Target. Amy Lerman, MA, CCC-SLP will provide a brief intro to language development and discuss tools and strategies to help foster language development throughout their every-day living activities.
Navigate Tough Talks: How to Address the Elephant in the Room
We have all been in a parent meeting that involved hard to hear news. Either we avoid the uncomfortable conversation, make mistakes in the delivery, or conduct a thoughtful and empathetic dialogue. Amy will provide participants with tools to navigate tough talks with first-hand accounts, research, and clinical experience.
Elementary
5 Pillars of Literacy
The 5 pillars (Orton Gillingham relates to them as “the big five”) are the five components of reading instruction- phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The chat I did in the past was a basic overview of these five components, how the components work with each other, and how they applied to our students.
Five Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction How can we teach all children to read accurately, rapidly, and with comprehension by the end of third grade? The National Reading Panel Report provides an answer to this question.
The National Reading Panel Report (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000) summarized several decades of scientific research that clearly shows effective reading instruction addresses five critical areas:
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
Adventurous Play and Loose Parts
Child-directed play is a deeply embedded and essential tool for processing the world, but finding time and space for tinkering, exploring, and discovering can be a challenge to fit in between life’s many responsibilities. Join Jill Wood, Director of Adventure Play at The Parish School and Founder of Bayou City Play for an overview of the many benefits of play and tips on how to set up environments that encourage creativity, independence, and problem-solving skills
Developing Social Competence and Resilience
Presented by: Amy Lerman, MA, CCC-SLP
Children with communication delays and learning differences often struggle socially. They may miss other people’s non-verbal cues, misread other’s intentions, or fail to think about their communication partner’s perspective. Developing social competence takes direct teaching and practice. Learn how you can help your student find better success in social situations. Resilience and social competence have been identified as the two critical abilities a child needs to be successful as an adult. However, many of our children lack resilience due to their communication delays and learning differences. As a result, they struggle to persist during difficult tasks, maintain positive self-esteem and problem solve as they interact with others, learn new ideas and show their academic knowledge. Learn how to support your child in becoming more resilient throughout their life.
Experiencing A Language/Learning Difference
Does your child or grandchild struggle in school? Has he or she been diagnosed with a communication delay or learning difference? Learn how you can help them! Join us as Parish staff takes you on a journey to experience classroom life when you have a learning difference. This hands-on presentation will change the way you look at how we learn and what you may feel when learning is a challenge.
“Our non-profit preschool has had the joy of involving The Parish School Speakers’ Bureau in our summer teacher training for three years! New and experienced teachers on our staff have gained valuable, research-based insight and practical skills from Amy Lerman’s interactive presentations year after year. More importantly, her clear passion for children and how to help them thrive in group learning environments shines through in every talk she gives to our team. It ignites that energy we all need to repeatedly refresh in this challenging environment! Having access to free resources like the Speakers’ Bureau is pivotal to our success as an effective staff for our community’s preschoolers.”
– Candice Croker, Director – Johnson Memorial School (est 1967)