Course curriculum

  • 1

    Course content

    • PowerPoint

    • Motor Skill Resource

    • Identifying Articulation Errors in Signed Language

    • Quiz

    • Evaluation

    • Continuing Education Credits

Course info

Course description: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are very familiar with using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to document articulation errors in oral language. However, for SLPs assessing and treating deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children who use a signed language (i.e., ASL in the US and Canada), there is no standardized transcription process to document articulation errors. Further, there is no means by which to communicate unambiguously with other members of the students’ IEP team (e.g., teacher of the deaf, ASL specialist) about articulation issues observed. This presentation proposes a resource to identify and document articulatory errors in ASL and provides recommendations for consulting other professionals. With this resource, clinicians will be better able to determine whether treatment of certain errors is possible and if so, whether the scope of treatment falls within the domain of the SLP or the OT.


Agenda:

10 minutes: Introduction, overview of the document, difference between articulation and language

20 minutes: Need for and purpose of the document

30 minutes: Components of the document and how to use them

20 minutes: Anatomical considerations

10 minutes: Case example for implementation/using this process


Learner outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

  1. Accurately describe articulation errors in ASL in the context of physiology

  2. Identify types of articulatory errors in ASL and their etiology

  3. Understand the collaboration and roles of involved personnel in the process of identifying errors

Instructor(s)

Leah Geer

Dr. Leah Geer is a professor of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at California State University, Sacramento. She received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master's in Linguistics from Gallaudet University. Her current interests are in adult acquisition of phonetics and phonology in ASL.

Kimberly Ofori-Sanzo

Dr. Ofori-Sanzo is a speech-language pathologist and the founder of Language First. She received her B.A. in Psychology and in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Vermont in 2010, her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Gallaudet University in 2012, and her Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology (SLPD) in 2022. She is also a board-certified specialist in child language (BCS-CL) through the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders and has 9 years of experience working at a school for the Deaf.

Caitlin O'Connell

Caitlin O'Connell (she/her) is an occupational therapist and early intervention specialist at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She holds an M.S. in Occupational Therapy from the University of New England and a B.A. in Communication Sciences with a minor in ASL/Deaf Studies from the University of Vermont. Caitlin is energized by exploring relationships between motor and process skills as they relate to meaningful expression of signed languages. Caitlin lives in Portland where she plays ultimate frisbee professionally and spends much of her time exploring the woods and waters of Maine.

Speaker disclosures

Financial disclosures: Leah and Caitlin are receiving royalties for this course. Kimberly is the owner and founder of Language First and receives payment for this course.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Kimberly is a member of American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) and the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders (ABCLLD). Leah is a member of the Linguistics Society of America, California Hands & Voices, California Educators of the Deaf, and the Sacramento Valley Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and is the chair of Kimberly’s SLPD capstone project. Caitlin is a member of the American Occupational Therapists Association (AOTA).

Continuing Education

This course is offered for 0.15 ASHA CEUs.