38th Annual Betty Fusilier Conference for Communication Disorders

This presentation will equip participants with the knowledge, insights, and practical strategies to collaborate with parents and teachers for increased language and pre-literacy development for preschool children. The presenter will highlight components of a parent training program developed for use with caregivers and their preschool children. The goal of the training program was to introduce strategies during book reading to facilitate language and literacy development. Different components of the training program will be described followed by strategies for creating and implementing effective parent training programs within a preschool setting.

Lekeitha R. Morris, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a Professor and Associate Program Director in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (Dallas). Dr. Morris is a transformational researcher with 22 years of clinical experience and has worked in higher education the last 14 years providing academic instruction as well as clinical education to undergraduate and graduate students. Her areas of research specialization are in language development and disorders, caregiver training and prevention models with a specific focus on cultrally and linguistically diverse populations, and advising, recruiting, and retaining marginalized students into the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology. Dr. Morris' work addresses language enrichment and prevention through caregiver training and community-based language enrichment opportunities. Dr. Morris currently serves as an assistant editor for the journal Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences and Disroders and as the Editor for Persectives SIG 11 Administration and Supervision. Dr. Morris regularly publishes peer-reviewed articles and scholarly literature and has formally presented her research at state, national, and international confrences.

Financial-Received a speaking fee from NSSLHA-UCA Chapter.

Nonfinancial-No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

Participants will be able to:

1. Discuss common challenges in collaborating with parents and teachers and identify possible solutions.
2. Describe strategies for designing effective parent training programs.
3. Identify components of an effective partnership between speech-language pathologists, parents, and preschool teachers.

7:30-8:00 Registration

8:00-9:00 Barriers and benefits of parents and teachers as partners

9:00-10:00 Designing effective parent training programs

10:00-10:15 (Break)

10:15-11:45 Establishing partenerships with teachers

11:45-12:15 (Lunch on site)

12:15-2:15 Outcomes of partnering with parents and teachers

2:15-2:30 (Break)

2:30-3:00 (Conclusion)

Host or Publisher NSSLHA-UCA Chapter