Courtney Mullins, Tanya Shores

Speaker Bio:

Tanya Shores is currently a Speech-Language Specialist for Seminole County Public Schools and has experience as a speech-language pathologist in both school and private settings working with children with wide variety of speech and language deficits.  She attended Florida State University for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology as well as receiving certification in Developmental Disabilities and specialized instruction in Autism Spectrum Disorders through Project ASSET.   Additionally, Tanya has worked on early intervention projects including the First Words Project and Family-Guided Routines-Based Intervention as well as completing research in the area of using technology to collect data from families participating in intervention projects.    She was named the Seminole County Public Schools SLP of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year along with previous recognition as a Special Speechie, Rookie Teacher of the Year, and ASCD Outstanding Young Educator.  Tanya is a licensed speech-language pathologist and member of ASHA with special areas of interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders, inclusion for students with disabilities, Response to Intervention, social skills training, theory of mind, and technology.

Courtney Mullins is a Speech-Language Pathologist for Seminole County Public Schools.  She works at Lake Mary High where she serves a variety of students including Language Impaired, Developmentally Delayed and students with Autism.  Courtney attended The University of Central Florida for her Bachelor's Degree and Nova Southeastern University for her Master's Degree.  Courtney's additional responsibilities within Seminole County Public Schools include mentoring new SLPs and providing CFY supervision.  She has been recognized as an outstanding SLP as a four time recipient of the "Special Speechie" award.  Courtney is a member of ASHA and a licensed SLP in the state of Florida.  Her additional experience extends to working in private settings and skilled nursing facilities.  Her main interests include assistive technology and integrating technology into therapy settings. 

Title:

Using the Apple iPad to Enhance Engagement and Achievement in Speech and Language Therapy for High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Description:

Providing activities to engage and educate high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is often an overwhelming challenge to the professionals and parents who support them. Speech-Language Pathologists who work with high school students with ASD struggle with this task on top of finding ways to individualize activities in order to meet specific learning goals for multiple students within a group therapy session. This presentation highlights the use of the Apple iPad as a therapy and learning tool for high school students with ASD, providing suggestions for use in order to increase engagement in learning tasks, target multiple objectives simultaneously, and reduce challenging behaviors.

Objectives:

1) To provide information on the success of using an Apple iPad to improve achievement for high school students.

2) To suggest methods for using an Apple iPad as a therapy tool and to support behavior improvement.

3) To identify specific applications utilized and how to differentiate use for a variety of functioning levels.

4) To apply the considerations and outcomes presented to effectively implement this technology in other settings. .