Events

PLAY-SIGN / SELECT / SAY

A TWO-DAY IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

with guest speaker Tamara Kasper, M.S., CCC-SLP, BCBA 

March 20-21, 2025 at Keeley’s Banquet Center in Portland

 

Click Here for Individual Registration  Click Here for Group Registration

CEU Information:

Speech Pathology/ASHA CEUS:     This course is offered for 1.1 ASHA CEUs, Intermediate level, Professional Area

BACB/ACE CEUS:    This course is offered for 12.0 Learning ACE Event CEUs: 2.0 Ethics, 2.0 Supervision

Day 1

The first day of our experience focuses on using social play chains to enhance assent, engagement, and verbal behavior in children with autism, particularly within the framework of evidence-based Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI). By defining, measuring, and shaping “indicating responses”-clusters of eye gaze, gestures, and vocalizations-participants will learn how to identify a child’s likes and dislikes, thereby respecting their autonomy and complying with ethical standards in behavioral analysis that require we shape and honor conventional and unconventional communication of assent and assent withdrawal.

Key strategies include:

  1. Creating Social Behavioral Play Chains: Participants will learn how to develop play chains using different categories of play to promote early non-verbal communication and social engagement.
  2. Incorporating Novelty and Pausing: Techniques will be shared on how to add novelty or pauses within play to reinforce and shape communication and condition social interactions as reinforcers.
  3. Expanding Reinforcer Variety: Emphasis will be placed on broadening the range of reinforcers, especially for children with limited motivating operations, to enhance cooperation and learning outcomes. The presentation will use direct instruction, mnemonics, video analysis and highlight how behavioral skills training and role-play can be used to teach effective implementation. Outcome data from a company-wide implementation will be presented, showcasing no negative impact of these interventions on learning opportunities.

Learning Objectives Day 1

  1. Understand the concepts of assent and assent withdrawal according to ethical codes.
  2. Understand the role of punishment and escape extinction according to the ethical codes.
  3. Use sensory matching to identify potential reinforcers.
  4. Identify critical elements of social behavioral playchains.
  5. Identify evidence-based methods for staff training.
  6. Identify evidence-based methods to assess ongoing performance by staff.
  7. Identify how team members can partner to assess verbal vocal repertoires in natural settings and structured teaching environments.
  8. Learn to accurately identify and transcribe speech sounds and calibrate your  team toward improved differential reinforcement.
  9. Use data to identify potential echoic shaping procedures.
  10. Select speech targets based on phonetic complexity and syllable shape complexity.
  11. Combine speech and AAC in the context of playchains.
  12. Learn Which is true of the BCBA and SLP Ethical codes?

Day 2

The second day of the presentation will focus on the use of social play chains to promote speech and augmentative and alternative communication {AAC) across different modalities. It emphasizes analyzing the learner’s environment, communication contexts, and strengths to choose appropriate AAC modalities and instructional strategies. Case examples will demonstrate systematic methods to increase complexity in communication and strategies for shaping speech production. These include collaboration between the fields of speech-language pathology and behavior analysis to promote indicating responses combined with vocalizations, sign language combined with vocalizations, use of delay to reinforcement, developmentally based echoic trials, successive approximations to the target (Kasper and Kaufman, and phonetic hand cues, all within natural and structured teaching settings. Finally, use of matrix training and contriving mands for information within the context of play chains for AAC users will be showcased.

Participants will leave with a comprehensive plan to enhance speech production and communication skills in children with autism, informed by over 35 years of experience in the field.

Learning Objectives Day 2

  1. Learn to partner with SLPs to assess the verbal vocal repertoire in the natural environment and structured teaching.
  2. Learn to accurately identify and transcribe speech sounds and calibrate your team toward improved differential reinforcement.
  3. Use data to identify potential echoic shaping procedures.
  4. Select speech targets based on phonetic complexity and syllable shape complexity!
  5. Combine speech with AAC in the context of play chains.
  6. Expand to multiword utterances and mands for information.

 

About the Speaker:

Tamara S. Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, is a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who has treated children with challenging behavior since 1990, specializing in children with autism since 1995. Tamara’s commitment to the children she serves led her to pursue treatment methods outside the field of Speech-Language Pathology. Under the mentorship of renowned Behavior Analyst Dr. Vincent Carbone and his protégé, she became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2006. She partnered with Nancy Kaufman, an expert in treatment of apraxia of speech to create The K&K Sign to Talk Materials and Strategies. She is a contributing author to the book, “Understanding Ethic in Applied Behavior Analysis: Practical Applications.” Described by attendees as “inspirational” and “empowering,” Tamara is a frequently invited international lecturer, enthusiastically sharing intervention techniques that promote early non-vocal communication skills, build functional verbal and vocal behavior, improve speech production skills, promote social communication skills and combine social skills training with physical training. She has lectured and treated individuals across the United States and Canada as well as in Ethiopia, Senegal, Greece, Germany, England, Ireland, and other countries. She is past recipient of WISHA’s Clinical Achievement Award. Tamara directed The Center for Autism Treatment near Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 15 years, continues providing consulting and training through Kasper Enterprises and also serves as Director, Clinical Center of Excellence for Caravel Autism Health.

View Detailed Schedule & Additional Details Here

Location

Keeley’s Banquet Center

178 Warren Ave.

Portland, ME 04103