Wow I just got back on the
red eye from the city of angels early this morning. Exhausted but filled with
enthusiasm from the weekend. I just got home from my first trip to ASHA. After
being in the field for 14 years, this was my first visit to this colossal
conference and I can say for sure that it won’t be my last.
Getting there was quite the
adventure and took about 1 whole day – yikes!! I made my hotel reservation the
day that the hotels opened up, so I ended up staying at the JW Marriott – which
was super close and so lovely! I got in on Thursday evening, just enough time
to check into my hotel and head over to the conference to check in and go to a
little reception at the ASHA leader booth for people who have contributed this
past year. I wrote an article called “ It Can Be Fun And Games” in the school
matters section of the September 2017 ASHA Leader. Check it out here.
It was so nice to meet some
of the editors that I had worked with virtually this past year. I had also
contributed a piece to the blog about collaboration strategies for SLPs and
BCBAs. Check that out here.
After saying hi at the leader
booth, I took some of the action builder cards (the product that I have created) to
the Dynamic Resources booth. How exhilarating to see my
product on display for other therapists to learn more about. With that, I was
spent and that made day one a wrap.
On day two, I was up by 5 am
– darn that 3 hour time difference! I had to put up my poster at 6:30 am anyway
– so I was all ready when the time came. I walked over to the exhibit hall and
what was a blank slate became my poster session about collaborative services
for a student with autism – a case study.
I came back to the exhibition
hall and visited distributors who are currently selling the action builder
cards- dynamic resources and the speech corner. I also visited with some fellow
bloggers! It was so wonderful to meet SLP TOOLKIT, SLP NOW, RACHEL MADE and
SPEECH PANDA in person. Oh and Sharon Weber was there – so a selfie was a must!
J
Later that afternoon I
presented my poster. It was so fun to talk about my project with other
therapists. Posters are such a great time to discuss projects you are
passionate about with other professionals in a smaller group format. There were
a little fewer than 2,000 poster presentations as ASHA 2017 – wow!!! I capped
off the night with a wonderful talk about collaborative services with an SLP
and Psychologist describing the service model that they use.
On Saturday I was feeling a
bit fatigued but there was still so much to do. I talked with 3 new potential
distributors for the action builder cards – hope to release this information
soon! On this day I went to the SIG 16 School based issues meeting. I love
contributing to this online community- so it was so nice to put faces with
names from our online discussions. This was followed by sessions about language
samples, coaching with students with autism and using wordless picture books to
work on narrative development. I really enjoyed learning new information from
presenters who were so well versed and passionate about their topics.
Along the way I made some new
friends and ran into former colleagues- so fun to catch up! This wrapped up the
conference for me and now I was on my way back to LAX to catch my first ever-red
eye back to Ohio. I bought the obligatory neck pillow in hopes that slumber
would ensue on the flight home. I would be coming back to 3 little ones under
the age of 8 that would want to hear all about my big adventure. Besides
sitting next to someone who was listening to music the whole 4 hours home – I
did get some rest. This whole red eye thing- is great!!
So to sum it up. ASHA is an
amazing conference!! Whether you are a student who is just getting his or her
feet wet or a seasoned professional – there really is something for everyone. I
left feeling very inspired! See ya next year ASHA! J
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