2025 NHSLHA Spring Conference

Trauma-Informed Pragmatics for Neurodiverse Learners

Friday, April 11, 2025, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Puritan Conference and Event Center, Manchester, NH

Course Description

How do SLPs provide instruction in pragmatics for diverse learners in a sensitive, affirming way? This in-person conference will focus on understanding trauma-informed care and its applications to pragmatic language instruction across the lifespan, with an emphasis on learners who have Autism or who use AAC.

Morning Schedule (All Attendees):

Keynote Presentation: Trauma-Informed Clinical Rapport Building: Affirming, Person-Centered Approaches

Presenter: AC Goldberg, Ph.D. CCC-SLP

Afternoon Schedule (Choose One):

Track 1: Let’s Get Pragmatic! Developing the Use of Language in Individuals Who Use AAC

Presenters: Amy Bereiter, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP, BCS-CL and Emily Pinkham, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP

Track 2: Pragmatic Communication Therapy for Learners Across the Autism Spectrum

Presenter: Elizabeth Ives Field, CCC-SLP

Schedule of Events

7:30-8:00 a.m. Registration

8:00-9:30 a.m. Welcome/Opening Remarks & Keynote Presentation

9:30-9:45 a.m. Morning Break/Visit with Vendors

9:45-11:15 a.m. Keynote Presentation (continued)

11:15-11:30 am NHSLHA Business Meeting for all in attendance

11:30-12:30 p.m. Lunch provided/ Visit with Vendors

12:30-2:00 p.m. Afternoon Presentations, two tracks

2:00-2:15 p.m. Afternoon Break/Visit with Vendors

2:15-3:45 p.m. Presentations (continued)

3:45-4:00 p.m. Questions/Closing Remarks/Certificates

4:00-5:00 p.m. Happy Hour

Trauma-Informed Clinical Rapport Building: Affirming, Person-Centered Approaches

AC Goldberg, Ph.D. CCC-SLP

During this lecture and interactive workshop, participants will learn the basic tenets of trauma-informed care through the lens of affirming transgender and non-neurotypical populations. Because of institutional trauma and the intersections of race, neurotype and disability, trauma-responsive practices are necessary for fostering positive clinical relationships with individuals with minoritized backgrounds. Learning what person-centered care entails when working with transgender and non-neurotypical people will enable participants to act with the cultural and clinical sensitivity required to address the needs of this diverse segment of the population, leading to optimal outcomes. From TBI to strokes to stuttering to mental health to CAPD to voice disorders to school students…every person is more than just a diagnosis, neurotype, race, culture or SES bracket. Let's dive in!

Learner Outcomes: 

1.     Participants will explain terminology related to gender, neurotype, and intersectionality and its relevance to   service provision

2.     Participants will distinguish the tenets of trauma-informed care

3.     Participants will devise ways to foster trusting relationships with populations who have experienced     institutional trauma

AC Goldberg (he/him) is a neurodivergent, physically disabled, intersex/transgender professor at Northeastern University and contractor at Prismatic Speech Services. His mission is to cultivate affirming spaces for all people and to be the role model he needed as a younger professional. AC’s work centers around empathy, humanity and intersectional cultural responsiveness. His continuing education nonprofit, The CREDIT Institute, is dedicated to advancing equity in educational and healthcare settings. AC is considered a top international educator in gender-affirming voice, trauma-informed care and neurodiversity inclusive practices. As a founding member of the Trans Voice Initiative, he has dedicated countless hours to mentoring and educating younger TGNC SLPs. AC is the 2022 recipient of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Outstanding Service Award. If you’d like to get to know him, he's @transplaining on Instagram.

Disclosures:

Financial: AC is Assistant Clinical Professor at Northeastern University and founder of The CREDIT Institute Inc. He’s a community partner with CHAT Life Changing Speech Therapy, Boothby Therapy Services, and a contractor with Prismatic Speech Services. He received a registration waiver and honorarium for this talk. 

Non-Financial: AC serves on the community advisory board overseeing research out of Boston University about the effects of exogenous testosterone therapy on communication in AFAB speakers. AC is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Communication Disorders.

Afternoon Sessions (choose one): 

Track I: Let’s Get Pragmatic! Developing the Use of Language in Individuals Who Use AAC

Amy Bereiter, M.S., CCC-SLP, ATP, BCS-CL and Emily Pinkham, M.S., CCC-SLP, ATP

Description: As SLPs tasked with helping to improve language and literacy outcomes for those who use AAC, it can be easy to lose focus on the ultimate purpose of AAC, which is to allow someone to effectively communicate ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others. There tends to be a hyperfocus on the technology itself and on a limited set of communicative functions (e.g., labeling and requesting things) versus the use of language to communicate for a variety of purposes, to produce a narrative, and to participate in discourse. Language assessment and intervention for people who use AAC and exhibit language learning challenges should address language form, content, and use, and the 5 components of AAC communicative competence: linguistic, operational, social, strategic, and psychosocial. In this session, we will assist SLPs considering how to situate pragmatics in the broader context of language and AAC communicative competence, and reflect on the environment around the AAC user through the lens of the social model of disability. We will discuss how to critically assess if a particular AAC language system allows the user to engage socially and communicate for a variety of purposes, and reflect on whether our intervention supports their overall language growth. We will consider how social language assessment and intervention are the same and/or different for those who use AAC, and provide suggestions for AAC-specific tools that can be used. For school-based SLPs, we will explore how to develop social language goals that align with the CCSS/DLM. This session will include video examples, adult learning activities, and reflective discussion time with colleagues.

Learner Outcomes: 

1. Participants will define AAC Communicative Competence.

2. Participants will describe how pragmatics fits into the broader definition/context of language.

3. Participants will explain the impact of AAC language system design and organization on the user’s ability to  communicate.

4. Participants will define the social model of disability and what communication partner skills SLPs need to

    develop when working with people who use AAC.

5. Participants will describe where and how the CCSS/DLM addresses social language skills.

Amy Bereiter, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP, BCS-CL 

Amy Bereiter received her Bachelor of Health Sciences degree from the University of Kentucky and her Master of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Redlands. She has been a speech-language pathologist since 2004, working with toddlers through young adults. Amy has worked in a variety of settings including private practice, in-home Early Intervention, public schools, pediatric rehabilitation, and University clinics. She currently serves as the Service Delivery Manager of the AAC/AT Team at Boothby Therapy Services (BTS). Prior to joining BTS as a manager and AAC Consultant, Amy held positions as Assistant Director of speech-language services and as Clinical Director of a University graduate program. She has held Clinical Professor positions at two different Universities and is passionate about clinical education, supervision, and mentorship. She has taught graduate-level courses on clinical practicum and AAC. She has lectured and conducted clinical education seminars regionally and internationally on language development and AAC. Amy is an active member of ASHA and several ASHA special interest groups. She is a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional, a Board Certified Specialist in Child Language (ABCLLD), and a LAMP Certified Professional. She serves on the USAAC Education Committee and the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders Marketing and Communications Committee. 

Disclosures:

Financial:  Registration waiver and honorarium from NHSLHA, salaried employee at Boothby Therapy Services

Non-Financial: Member of ASHA SIG 1 and 12. Serves as a member of the USAAC Education Committee. Serves as a member of the ABCLLD marketing and communications committee. 

Emily Pinkham, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP 

Emily Pinkham is an ASHA-certified Speech-Language Pathologist and RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional who obtained her Bachelor of Science in Education & Speech-Language Pathology from Kutztown University and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Towson University. Additionally, Emily received her AT Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh. Emily has been a licensed speech-language pathologist since 2011 working in school districts, private practices, and skilled nursing facilities. She has experience working with a wide population from toddlers through adulthood. Emily currently works at Boothby Therapy Services (BTS) as an AAC/AT/Apraxia consultant traveling to school districts throughout the state of NH and Maine completing evaluations and providing consultative services and training to both school teams and families. Emily is a member of the BTS AAC Team functioning as one of the Team Leads, providing additional support, training, and mentorship to other members of the AAC team as well as other BTS providers. Emily is an active member of ASHA and is a part of ASHA’s Special Interest Group 12, Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 

Disclosures:

Financial:  Registration waiver and honorarium from NHSLHA, salaried employee at Boothby Therapy Services

Non-Financial: Member of ASHA SIG 12 

Track 2: Pragmatic Communication Therapy for Learners Across the Autism Spectrum

Elizabeth Ives Field, CCC-SLP

Description: Pragmatic means practical; I’m using the term two ways.  First, therapy must be useful to learners, now and in the future, to address functional goals that will improve their quality of life. Second, expectations need to be realistic in terms of an individual’s ability and the team’s capacity to provide an individualized program and the needs of the school or program. This three-hour session will begin with an overview of the need for pragmatic communication therapy for autistic individuals of varied ages and cognitive abilities. There will be a description of some biases and pitfalls to avoid and some tips about methods that are helpful in many situations. I will describe the variation of autism characteristics across the spectrum as they relate to the communication issues and needs that will be considered in the remainder of the presentation. We will address autistic learners who are at a pre-symbolic level of language development, have emerging speech, are echolalic, or have adequate or advanced language with some gaps. Each of these groups will be considered separately, with a description of some common communication problems and solutions that have been effective. The majority of the presentation will be supported with video examples of interventions. These will include an object-based communication system, snippets of a two-year progression through echolalia, and a sample of collaboration with a student to create a social narrative to support behavior. There will be time for questions at the end of each 90-minute segment of the presentation.

Learner Outcomes: 

1.  Explain the importance of pragmatic-based communication therapy for learners at different severity levels of

autism.

2. List four biases to avoid when planning or doing communication therapy with autistic individuals.

3. Organize a practical, effective plan of therapy for echolalic learners.

4. Describe two (or more) pragmatic communication activities for autistic learners at each of three different   communication levels.

Elizabeth (Betsey) Ives Field, CCC-SLP, has provided communication therapy and consultation to autism teams for over 45 years and has presented at national and regional conferences on topics of autism and communication. She has considerable experience with echolalia and autism in both sighted and blind or visually impaired children. She has written three books on autism, including a book of strategies to address communication and social behavior across the spectrum, a practical guide that focuses specifically on intervention for echolalia, and a memoir of a long collaboration with one unusual student. She publishes a monthly newsletter, “Autism Fieldwork,” on LinkedIn. Betsey presents webinars and provides online consultation about autism and communication to parents, therapists, and teachers. She lives in Hudson, MA.

Disclosures: 

Financial:  Registration waiver and honorarium from NHSLHA; holds intellectual property rights, and receives consulting fees and royalties from book sales.

Non-Financial: None 

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

(Please note: We are unable to offer refunds) 

NHSLHA Members: (early bird through 3/21/2025) $220.00 

Non-Members: (early bird through 3/21/2025 ) $290.00 

General Registration NHSLHA Members: $250.00 

General Registration Non-Members: $325.00 

SLA Members: $50.00 

SLA Non-Members: $75.00 

Student Members: Free 

Membership to any other state SLP or Allied Health Association calculates as a NHSLHA member. Please forward your proof of membership to [email protected]

Your membership is appreciated and will support NHSLHA’s educational, advocacy, and professional efforts. To become a member: Go to http://www.nhslha.org/store/

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Puritan Conference and Event Center, 245 Hooksett Rd, Manchester, United States