REGISTERED USERS HAVE UP TO 8 WEEKS TO COMPLETE THE COURSE FROM THE DATE REGISTERED. After 8 weeks from the date of registration, the registered user's account becomes inactive if the course has not been completed.

Teaching Critical Communication Skills On-Demand Workshop

Help! I can't Wait to ask for a Break...and more!

This training discusses how to teach critical communication skills that lead to greater independence in the home, work, school and community settings for all students regardless of communicative modality.

There are many skills that are typically taught in communication intervention programs. Individuals with complex communication needs, however, must master certain critical communication skills if they are to function independently in the home, community, school and/or vocational setting. One set of critical skills deals with expressive communication – skills individuals need to convey important messages to others. Specific skills include: requesting reinforcers; requesting help; requesting break; acceptance and rejection skills. These skills are crucial because if a person cannot calmly and effectively communicate wants and needs, s/he may demonstrate a range of contextually inappropriate behaviors. To reduce such behaviors, we need to teach five critical expressive communication skills. A second set of critical skills relates to receptive communication – a person’s ability to understand important messages from others. Specific skills include: waiting; following direction; schedule following and transitions. Failure to understand such messages may be distressing and/or dangerous for the individual. In order to reduce contextually inappropriate behaviors that occur as the result of such distress, and to ensure that the individual is safe, we need to teach four critical receptive communication skills. This one-day workshop focuses on why these nine skills are the highest priority for teaching and how we teach them. The strategies covered are relevant for anyone with complex communication needs, regardless of their communication modality (e.g. Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), signing, speech).This workshop is a must for anyone working and/or living with people with complex communication needs. It is an important adjunct to training in PECS, but also stands alone for those who have not completed PECS training. Parents, care givers, and professionals alike will benefit from this day.

Participants will be able to:

• Define functional communication.
• Identify and evaluate the nine critical communication skills.
• Design effective teaching strategies to promote these skills independent of modality.
• Incorporate effective visual strategies for all communicators.

Presenter and Disclosures: Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP and Catherine Horton, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, CAGS

CEUs Offered

ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures. This course is offered for 0.65 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate level, Professional Area)	Pyramid Educational Consultants is an approved BACB® ACE Provider for Continuing Education Credits. The BACB does not warrant, endorse, sponsor, approve, or partner with the event, organization, or instructor. This course is offered for 6.0 BACB CEUs If you have any questions or comments please contact our ACE Coordinator, Catherine Horton at chorton@pecs.com.	Pyramid Educational Consultants is an approved provider for IBAO™ Continuing Education Credits. This is an asynchronous event. This course is offered for 6.0 IBAO CEUs. The IBAO does not warrant, endorse, sponsor, approve, or partner with the event, organization, or instructor.	This course is offered for 6.5 NASP Approved continuing professional development (CPD) hours. Pyramid Educational Consultants is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to offer professional development for school psychologists. Pyramid Educational Consultants maintains responsibility for the program.

Pyramid Educational Consultants is an approved QABA CEU Provider for Continuing Education Credits. This is an asynchronous event that offers 6.0 QABA CEUs.
Disclaimer: QABA does not warrant, endorse, sponsor, approve, or partner with the event, organization, or instructor.

Satisfactory completion of this course requires participants to be present for the duration of the recorded course and to participate in all student responding activities (e.g. questions, quizzes, activity packets, and surveys/evaluations).

This course offers 6.5 contact hours and takes approximately 6.5-7 hours to complete. Please see specific CEU details above for more information.