Featured by:
Executive Functioning & ADHD with Speech Language Pathologist, Michael McLeod
Did you know that there is a correlation between children with language impairment and verbal/nonverbal measures of executive functioning? In fact, executive functioning involves higher order language and cognitive skills. These skills are highly connected with academic and life success. Executive functioning (EF) includes areas of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and self regulation. Often times, individuals with executive dysfunction have difficulty with planning, organizing, and task initiation. Many children and adolescents who receive speech/language services in the school or private practice settings may have difficulty with executive functioning.
Last month, I interviewed Michael McLeod, an ASHA certified speech language pathologist and executive functioning/ADHD specialist. He is the owner of GrowNow Therapy Services, LLC, a specialized private practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a clinician, he focuses on the unique skill of Internal Language while constructing interpersonal relationships and meaningful varied experiences for students. He utilizes the evidence-based GrowNow Model, a holistic approach towards decreasing prompt dependency, fostering independence, strengthening Executive Functions, through the lens of the academic, social, and emotional methodology.
During this interview, Michael clearly explains executive functioning in depth and how important it is to daily and independent life skills. He explains what a child or adolescent with executive functioning challenges may experience regularly in the school and home environments. He discusses the role of speech language pathologists in targeting executive functioning in therapy sessions vs. popular social language groups. Additionally, he shares practical tips that speech language pathologists can provide teachers and families to improve the academic and daily functioning for children and adolescents with ADHD. You definitely need to watch this interview. Speech/language pathologists will learn practical tips to provide those who struggle with executive functioning. It may be just what you need as a clinician to ignite new learning for your clients or students with language impairment, executive dysfunction, and ADHD. Michael has traveled internationally, presenting and training families and professionals on his unique GrowNow Treatment Model for fostering Executive Functions & Resiliency. Make sure that you access this excellent information.
Here are some beneficial resources:
https://www.grownowtherapy.com/
ADHD Facebook for Speech Language Pathologists
Executive Function in Speech Language Impairment
I welcome your comments on my website. If you are an SLP, educator, or parent with further questions feel free to contact me or Michael McLeod. I am available to answer any questions and connect you with the appropriate specialized services as needed.
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Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Equitable Literacy Instruction in Special Education with Dr. Lauren McClenney-Rosenstein
Speech language pathologists play an important role in remediating language and literacy disorders in children and adolescents with special learning needs. We address foundational literacy skills such as print awareness, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, and listening comprehension. During language therapy we frequently use evidence based therapeutic intervention to increase the correct use of language form (phonology, morphology and syntax), language content (semantics), and many other areas. In fact, many children and adolescents with speech/language disorders struggle immensely with reading and have co-occurring specific learning disability and/or dyslexia. It is critical for them to receive quality literacy instruction. Did you know that 1 in 5 children with learning disorders have dyslexia? Many of these children are on the caseload of school based and private practice speech language pathologists and special education teachers. Dyslexia impacts the lives of individuals in many ways and they can attain success with skilled professional support.
This interview with Dr. Lauren McClenney-Rosenstein focuses on equitable literacy instruction in special education. Over the years, I have observed that some intervention programs or approaches provided in the public school system by special education teachers contribute to student success while there are some that may not be as effective. Some children with learning disabilities may continue to struggle with literacy if they are not provided quality literacy instruction. While some make progress with Wilson Reading System, S.P.I.R.E., Barton Reading & Spelling, or other research based approaches, other children may need a different method of structured intervention that is effectively implemented with consistency. It is important to remember that children are unique learners and specialists must tailor interventions to their needs. It is also important for speech language pathologists, educators, literacy specialists, and instructional coaches to collaborate in the best interest of these children.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is an evidence based way that may be used to increase the literacy skills of those with dyslexia. Dr. Lauren McClenney-Rosenstein discusses the six components of structured literacy instruction. She is the founder of Think Dyslexia and is a learning specialist, instructional coach, and Orton-Gillingham Specialist. Dr. Lauren has a passion for educating, advocating, and bringing awareness to dyslexia at the domestic and international levels. She has been a certified Special Educator for a decade and earned her Doctor of Education in Teaching, Learning, Leadership, & Curriculum in 2019 from Northeastern University and holds a dual masters in Special Education and Elementary Education from Syracuse University and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Syracuse University. She currently resides in Maryland and continues to provide services and extensive resources for children and families.
Watch this interview to learn more about the components and benefits of the Orton-Gillingham approach. Make sure to subscribe to the Building Successful Lives YouTube channel to stay connected, learn, and grow so that you too can improve the lives of children and adolescents with special needs.
Here are some resources to add to your SLP or educator toolkit:
Understood – For learning and thinking differences
Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
Phonological Awareness Progress Monitoring
I welcome your comments on my website. If you are an SLP, educator, or parent with further questions feel free to contact me. I am available to answer any questions and provide services as needed.
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Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction in Special Education with Dr. Shawn Robinson
Literacy includes all four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Quality literacy intervention is structured, multi-sensory, and incorporates diverse literature. It is imperative that children and adolescents have access to literacy intervention and instruction that will enable them to attain grade level standards and thrive after graduating from high school. Speech-language pathologists, educators, reading specialists, intervention specialists, consultants, professors, children, and families can work together to improve the literacy skills of struggling readers. According to the 2019 National Assessment of Education Progress, only 34 % of 4th graders in the U.S. were reading at or above grade level. Literacy is truly the foundation for academic and life success. Professionals and families must know how to connect with dyslexic individuals for them to attain effective literacy skills and set them on a path to succeed.
In this interview, Dr. Shawn Robinson shares his mission to reach, serve, and empower students with dyslexia in special education to achieve greatness. Dyslexia is a language based learning disability that is neurobiological. It is genetic and is characterized by challenges with reading accuracy, reading fluency and poor spelling. Individuals with dyslexia have a phonological language impairment. The learning differences that a dyslexic person experiences are not due to cognition or their level of intelligence. However, phonological deficits contribute to difficulty with reading comprehension and writing as well. Did you know that 1 in 5 children or 80-90% of children with learning disorders have dyslexia? They can attain success if they are provided evidence based and quality intervention.
Dr. Robinson is committed to improving the lives of individuals who struggle with language and literacy. He is a reading instructor for adults at Madison College in Wisconsin, a Senior Research Associate in Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, an entrepreneur, and co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude LLC. You will hear his journey as an individual with dyslexia and how he was not diagnosed until he was a junior in high school (11th grade). You will learn about some of his current research projects, about the International Dyslexia Association, how he positively influences children as Dr. Dyslexia Dude, how he makes an impact in the lives of adults with dyslexia, and more. According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 85 % of all students in special education with a learning disability have impairments specifically in language processing and reading. Therefore, speech language pathologists, educators, and parents will benefit from the information shared in this interview. We have the direct opportunity to continue building successful lives for children, adolescents, and even adults by providing culturally responsive literacy instruction. Access the interview now. I welcome your comments on my website.
Resources:
International Dyslexia Association- www.dysleciaida.org
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Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Developmental Language Disorder & Emergent Literacy in Diverse Children with Dr. Karla Washington
Developmental Language Disorder is the most common early childhood disorder and contributes to difficulties with receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language disorder. It is prevalent in 7-15 % of kindergarten children and it is not due to hearing impairment, autism, or intellectual disability. It affects five times more children than autism. DLD contributes to reading difficulties in 50-70 % of children. Additionally, approximately 20 % of children in the U.S. are bilingual and speak another native language including some Caribbean children. There are other children that are multilingual and speak three or more languages. This month, Building Successful Lives Speech & Language Services is continuing our celebration of Caribbean American Heritage and today’s interview feature for the Diversity, Equity, & Culture series will primarily focus on bilingual Jamaican children.
Dr. Karla Washington, Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, has extensive experience with culturally and linguistically diverse children. As a licensed speech-language pathologist, professor and researcher, she is knowledgeable about developmental language disorder, Jamaican Creole/Patois, and the benefits of shared book reading. She has certification and licensure to practice speech/language pathology in the United States, Canada, and Jamaica. She focuses her research on typical and disordered speech-and-language development in monolingual and bilingual contexts. Dr. Washington is active in National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored research investigating Jamaican children’s speech productions. She is the Director of the Pediatric Language, Literacy, & Speech (PedLLS) Outcomes Lab. She is an Editor for the journal Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools and is a member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech.
During a June interview, she shares information about the linguistic characteristics of Jamaican Creole and bilingual children who speak Jamaican Creole and English. She discusses research projects pertaining to bilingual children with developmental language disorder and the use of shared book reading. Additionally, Dr. Washington shares information about the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) and how it relates to research in communication sciences. Additionally, you will learn about a study abroad program organized by Dr. Washington to Jamaica for university students in the Communication Sciences & Disorders program. She shares the benefits for students participating in this program. During this interview, speech-language pathologists will learn practical tips that monolingual and multilingual SLPs can implement to distinguish developmental language disorder vs. linguistic difference here in the United States. SLPs will learn significant considerations that they should remember and implement to ensure that they are providing culturally responsive assessment and therapeutic services.
Resources Compiled by Dr. Karla Washington:
Application of ICF in Multilingual Contexts-
Westby, C., & Washington, K. N. (2017). Using the international classification of functioning,
disability and health in assessment and intervention of school-aged children with
language impairments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 48(3), 137-152.
https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_LSHSS-16-0037
Wright, R., Washington, K. N., Crowe, K., Jenkins, A., León, M.,, Kokotek, L., Raisor Becker, L., &
Westby, C. (2019). Current methods of evaluating the language abilities of multilingual pre-schoolers: A scoping review using the ICF-CY. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50, 434-451.
https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_lshss-18-0128
ASHA Resources:
ICF Overview and Functional Goals
https://www.asha.org/slp/icf/
Multilingual and Multicultural Constituency Groups:
Multicultural Constituency Groups
Special Interest Groups:
https://www.asha.org/sig/special-interest-group-descriptions/
https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/iepmcs
International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech+. (2012). Multilingual children with speech sound disorders: Position paper. Bathurst, NSW, Australia: Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE), Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/position-paper. ISBN 978-0-9874288-0-6. +
International Expert Panel is comprised of a group of equally contributing researchers who work with multilingual and multicultural children. Karla N Washington is an invited member of this group.
McLeod, S., Verdon, S., & International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech+. (2017).
Tutorial: Speech assessment for multilingual children who do not speak the same language(s) as the speech-language pathologist. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 6(3), 691-708. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_AJSLP-15-0161
https://pubs.asha.org/pubs/rights_and_permissions
International Expert Panel is comprised of a group of equally contributing researchers who work with multilingual and multicultural children. Karla N Washington is an invited member of this group
Language Development and Disorder Publications (Jamaican Children):
Washington, K. N., Fritz, K., Crowe, K., Shaw, B*., & Wright, R*. (2019). Using Index of Productive Syntax to characterize bilingual preschoolers’ spontaneous productions: Considering Jamaican Creole and English. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50(2), 179-195. https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2018_LSHSS-18-0072
Washington, K. N., Westby, C., Fritz., K., Crowe, K., Wright Karem, R.,* & Basinger, M*. (2021).
The narrative competence of bilingual Jamaican Creole- and English-speaking preschoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52, 317-334. https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00013
Wright Karem, R., & Washington, K. N. (in press). The cultural and diagnostic appropriateness of standardized assessments for dual language learners: A Focus on Jamaican preschoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.
https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-20-00106
Dr. Karla Washington – University of Cincinnati https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/washink2
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
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Caribbean American Heritage Month
Summer is an excellent time to celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month! Many Americans routinely travel to the islands on vacation each year to relax and celebrate special ocassions. There are over 30 island nations in the Caribbean that each have a unique history and diverse culture that needs to be preserved. Cultural heritage preservation is essential for current and future generations. It is important that we recognize and understand the significant contributions that people of Caribbean decent have contributed to various facets of American society. They have served as authors, speech language pathologists, educators, psychologists, engineers, doctors, nurses, politicians, musicians, athletes, in the hospitality industry and in various other essential professions.
Since 2006, June has been designated as Caribbean American Heritage Month in the United States by presidential proclamation. Here is information from the U.S. Department of State and the 2021 proclamation. People of Caribbean decent speak English, Spanish, French, and/or various native creole languages that are a mixture of African and other languages. In fact, some individuals are truly bilingual and multilingual. This is partly due to learning two or more languages and being formerly colonized by England, Spain, France, and/or the Dutch. Additionally, indigenous Carib, Taino, and other Amerindian tribes also inhabited some of the islands and descendants remain contrary to the research of some scholars. Caribbean linguists are currently preserving the many Amerindian languages. Many indigenous people lived alongside the Maroons. Many other ethnic groups migrated to some of the islands like Jamaica from India, China, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Portugal.
Jamaica is the beautiful Caribbean island where I was born. Although Standard Jamaican English is the official language, Jamaican Creole or Patois is the true native language for many individuals. Jamaican Creole is a distinct language and not a dialect. It has vocabulary, phonology, morphology, and syntax that has roots in African languages (e.g. Akan people in Ghana, Congo, Igbo people of Nigeria) and also English influence. There are variances in the orthography or spelling of Jamaican Creole. Within Jamaican families there are differences in the proficiency in which children and adults speak Standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole. This is often due to regional and educational differences throughout the island. For Jamaican Americans residing in the U.S., there are also linguistic differences based on their levels of language competence. For example, I lived in Jamaica the first five years of my life where I learned to speak Standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Patois. Both were spoken in my home and Standard Jamaican English was the language of instruction at school. When I moved to Miami, Florida at the age of 5 1/2, I was exposed to Standard American English and Spanish. I received formal spoken and written instruction in both languages in elementary school and beyond.
It is very important that speech-language pathologists and educators acknowledge that many Jamaican American individuals living in the United States are bilingual and some are multilingual. This is important when professionals provide speech, language, and literacy assessments and therapy for children and adolescents from diverse Caribbean backgrounds. Later this month, I will feature information on my website for speech language pathologists to learn more about Jamaican Creole and cultural/linguistic considerations when providing professional services to this population.
Additionally, you will learn about children’s literature selections to use meaningfully this June and throughout the year that will introduce children to Caribbean culture while building essential skills. Have you visited one or several Caribbean islands before? If so, let me know in the comments. Have you tasted Caribbean food before? My favorite is jerk chicken with rice and peas. What about you?
Here are resources to learn more about the Caribbean region, Historical Caribbean Americans, & Global Cultural Heritage Preservation:
Global Caribbean Partnership-World Bank
Caribbean American Heritage Month Infographic
2020 Caribbean Heritage Language & Literacy Books
Tamara Anderson, M.S.,Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Diversity, Equity, & Early Intervention
Welcome back to another feature in my Diversity, Culture, & Equity series that is highlighting various speech/language pathologists, allied health professionals, and community supporters of children and families. It truly takes a team of service providers so that children with special needs can learn and thrive. Today’s feature focuses on the significance of early intervention for birth-3 year old children in the areas of speech, language, and feeding therapy. It is imperative that they have access to essential pediatric evaluations and therapy services. In early intervention, a family and caregiver centered approach is key to successful therapeutic services. When children receive effective services early on, they will be able to acquire functional skills that will increase their readiness for preschool and kindergarten.
On May 19th, I had the pleasure of speaking with Shareka Bentham, a speech language pathologist, Clinic Director, and owner of Easyspeak Enterprises in Barbados. For the past 11 years, she has successfully provided valuable services to children and families in her Caribbean community. She completed her graduate training in speech language pathology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand where she earned her Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Therapy. She is a registered member of the New Zealand Speech Therapy Association as well as an International Affiliate with the American Speech Language Hearing Association. While in New Zealand, she had the opportunity to develop her skills providing culturally responsive assessments and intervention with diverse clients including various Pacific Islander families. Since that time, she has adapted strategies learned so that they are beneficial when working with clients in Barbados.
During the interview, she shares how her team advocates for early intervention services for children with potential speech/language delay or communication, language, and feeding therapy needs. In Barbados, there are very few speech language pathologists. Therefore, community education is key so that others can understand the types of services therapists in her clinic may provide. She discusses how she raises awareness about essential speech/language therapy services. Additionally, Shareka shares the importance of parent coaching to ensure increased practice opportunities to build skills and helpful strategies from the Hanen “It Takes Two to Talk” program. She previously received Hanen training, SOS Approach to Feeding, and is Level I Prompt trained.
Her clinic also provides teletherapy services to children in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos, and other islands in the Caribbean. You’ll learn about what types of communication disorders and clients responded well to teletherapy services during this pandemic season and how it can help children generalize communication skills. She discusses tips for other speech/language pathologists to implement to ensure that they are providing equitable and culturally responsive services. You may watch the interview here and learn about Shareka Bentham’s clinic here.
If you have questions about your child’s speech/language development, you can contact me for more information. Access a complimentary resource guide with communication success tips for children 12-36 months. You may also learn more information from the American Speech Language Hearing Association.
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Diversity & Culture in the Asian Community
The month of May in the United States is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It is a special time to recognize the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the fabric of American society. The latest feature in my Diversity, Culture, & Equity series is an interview with Cindy Wilson, an accomplished speaker, author, and business professional from Jackson Mississippi who currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She is an alumna of Jackson State University where she obtained a Bachelor’s in Psychology & Master’s in Counseling. She later received her MBA from Belhaven College. She is committed to positively impacting her business organization through her focus on recruiting, mentoring, diversity, and inclusion. Cindy is passionate about serving others and dedicates her time volunteering at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and other organizations in Atlanta. She is a strong advocate for community and social issues.
During this 4/19/21 interview, speech/language pathologists, educators, administrators, and community supporters will hear her perspective about the significance of affirming and respecting the cultural identities of children and adolescents in the Asian community as well as others from diverse backgrounds. She shares ways that communities can work together to reduce racism and prejudice against Asian Americans and other nationalities in the United States. A few years ago, Cindy Wilson wrote a book about her life experience as a child born in Seoul, Korea who was adopted by an African American family. In the interview, she discusses her motivation for writing her book, Too Much Soul: The Journey of an Asian Southern Belle. This is a relevant interview for professionals who work with children and adolescents so that they can continue on their journey of being culturally responsive in their therapy and education practice. This is imperative so that children can acquire essential communication, language, literacy, socio-emotional, and life skills. You will learn the importance of fostering successful school environments when teaching children from Asian American or diverse cultural backgrounds. It is important to have increased collaboration across sectors such as corporations, non-profit, and education so that we can attain more culturally responsive and successful communities. We truly need solidarity across racial, ethnic, and cultural groups to advocate for anti-racist behavior and to continue building successful lives for children and families. We must also celebrate and respect the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Asian Americans.
You may learn more about Cindy Wilson’s lived experiences and transformational work in her community on her website www.toomuchsoul.com Learn ways to support the Asian American community at Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – San Francisco (apaheritage.org), https://asianpacificheritage.gov/, https://nea-apic.com/aapi-resources/, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and Stop AAPI Hate .
It is my desire that all those who visit my website, read my blog, and use speech/language therapy materials that I create will self-reflect on the topics shared and purposefully use resources so that children and families will thrive.
All the best,
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Diversity, Equity, and Memory in Special Education
On April 5th, 2021, I interviewed Dr. Tracy Packiam Alloway, an award winning psychologist, professor, author, and TEDx speaker. She has published 15 books and over 100 scientific articles on the brain and memory. She has provided consultancy to the World Bank on reading in developing countries and is a sought after speaker internationally. In this interview, she explains the types of memory, the impact of memory on children with language impairment, learning disabilities, and autism. Dr. Alloway describes the best ways that speech language pathologists, teachers, and parents can assist children with special needs improve their memory skills. Memory is definitely an area that can improve with targeted practice and is essential for successful communication, language, literacy, academic, and life success! Dr. Alloway discusses slow, medium, and fasting acting working memory tips that can stimulate memory neurotransmitters and lead to positive results.
Additionally, you will learn how professionals can ensure that children and adolescents receive tailored and equitable interventions that truly lead to measureable and lifelong gains. Children with special needs may have language weaknesses as well as memory strengths. For example, autistic children may have above average memory skills while others may have auditory memory and visual memory difficulties. Did you know that visual memory deficits may contribute to pragmatic language and nonverbal challenges? Many children with language disorders also have auditory memory challenges. It’s important for clinicians and educators to understand a child’s ability to encode and retrieve information. It is important to evaluate a child’s memory profile without semantic features as well to gather a clear understanding of a child’s memory abilities. Psychologists have the knowledge to effectively assess this information and the results gathered are important for teams working with children with special education needs. Speech/language pathologists may observe language and auditory memory difficulties during phonological awareness, receptive language, expressive language, and pragmatic language evaluation and therapy in children and adolescents.
Watch this interview to access this information, success keys for children and adolescents to excel academically, socially, and emotionally, and much more! Dr. Alloway’s research has also been featured on BBC, Good Morning America, the Today Show, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and many others. You can learn more about her research and transformational professional work on her website.
You may access an effective informal auditory memory assessment here and listening comprehension/auditory memory bundle here.
All the best,
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Equity, Bias, & Disproportionality in Special Education
Equity in special education is all about giving children exactly what they need to thrive and be successful at school academically, socially, and emotionally. Children who receive special education services have been identified with one disability area or other co-occurring exceptionalities such as speech language impairment, Deaf/hard of hearing, specific learning disability, other health impairment, autism, or intellectual impairment. Every child and adolescent are different. They have different strengths and areas of need. Therefore, it is imperative that they have effective interventions and classroom instruction that is tailored to their diverse learning and socio-emotional needs. There really should not be one standard manner of instruction that is provided for all students in any classroom and especially not in a special education classroom. Speech/language therapy & instruction must be differentiated according to learner needs. Each child must receive what they need to be successful at school. Instruction and expectations must be developmentally appropriate.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jillian Whatley on March 14th, 2021 on the topics of Equity, Implicit Bias, and Disproportionality in Special Education. We had an excellent discussion on how professionals can advocate for equity in education for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) children and adolescents. She explained implicit biases and how these biases contribute to the over representation of minority males in special education. We discuss how multidisciplinary teams should ensure that culturally responsive assessment methods are used for initial evaluations and re-evaluations in the public school system. Dr. Whatley shared how parents may be involved in a positive manner to advocate for an increase in equitable educational practices for BIPOC children and children with special education needs. This interview is packed with beneficial information for speech/language pathologists, educators, psychologists, and administrators. You will learn success keys for children and adolescents so they may excel academically, socially, and emotionally. Click here for direct access to the interview. Dr. Whatley shares information about the significance of trauma informed care, mental health, mindfulness, and having an effective bank of quality interventions for students.
Dr. Jillian Whatley is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She is the founder and CEO of Jillian Whatley & Associates, LLC that provides implicit bias training for educators and professionals with research that contributes to changed practices, perceptions, and expectations for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Her family has a predominate role in the Civil Rights Movement and she obtained her undergraduate degree from Miles College in Birmingham. She earned her M.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and later attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a M.A. in Developmental Psychology and Specialist degree in School Psychology, with an emphasis in deafness.
Dr. Whatley is a phenomenal servant leader. In 2018, she successfully defended her dissertation, “Implicit Bias as a Contributing Factor to Disproportionality of African Americans in Special Education, and graduated with her Ph.D. in Education & Leadership from Mercer University. She is the current Executive Director of Student Services for The Clarke County School District and an adjunct professor at Georgia State University. Her prior positions include acting as the Coordinator of Psychological Services for Atlanta Public Schools and School Psychologist for Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Supports (GNET) serving Fulton County Public Schools.
You can stay connected to the passionate and life changing professional work of Dr. Whatley here. I welcome your comments on my website.
All the best,
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist & Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
Diversity, Equity, & AAC
Anne Page, ASHA certified speech language pathologist, educator, and AAC coach joined me for an interview in my Diversity, Culture, & Equity series and shared her perspective on these topics. She currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona and she is passionate about Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) because she loves the challenge of finding the best communication support system for her students. Anne acknowledges the need for increased diversity in the field of speech/language pathology and special education. As an Assistive Technology lead in her district, she is able to provide consultative and communication services for various schools and special education teams. In doing so, she recognizes the need for representation in many ways including the icons that are used on Alternative and Augmentative Communication(AAC) devices. Anne previously worked at a Title I school for 14 years and understands how important building rapport with children, families, and staff is to the success of children with special needs.
During the interview, we discuss ways that speech language pathologists can advocate for and create diverse materials for AAC users with complex communication needs. We discuss the significance of attaining access to AAC for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) children and families. At times, there may be limitations to getting funding and devices and that is why SLPs truly play an important role in speaking up for these children so that they have the resources that they need to communicate. Children need to share their voices and we can help ensure that they have that opportunity to do so in the classroom, at home, and in their communities. She provides ideas on how to involve parents and colleagues to increase equity for BIPOC children with complex communication needs.
Additionally, you’ll learn ways that you can effectively increase the language & literacy skills of AAC users. She explains the differences between options of devices based on children’s communication abilities. After this interview, speech/language pathologists and special educators will be able to continue on their journey of being more culturally responsive when working with children with complex communication needs. You may watch the interview here. I welcome your thoughts in the comments.
All the best,
Tamara Anderson, M.S., Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Education Specialist/Consultant
Diversity & Equity Advocate
