Amy Graham - Tackling Tricky Cases: Effective Treatment for Speech Sound Disorders in Children - Melbourne

***** Early Bird Tickets Are Now Available! *****

Join Amy Graham in Melbourne - June 27th 2025!

Amy Graham will be presenting in Australia this coming June for a practical workshop designed specifically for speech pathologists who are keen to add to their therapy toolkits. 

Who should attend?

This workshop is tailor-made for speech pathologists who support children with complex speech sound disorders. Whether you are a seasoned clinician or just starting out, the practical, evidence-based strategies shared in this course will significantly boost your confidence and ability to handle the toughest speech sound disorder cases. This is a must-attend for any speech pathologist looking to expand their skill-set in tackling severe phonological, articulation and motor speech challenges.

Meet your Presenter - Amy Graham

Amy Graham, M.A., CCC-SLP, is an experienced speech-language pathologist, international speaker, and the owner of Graham Speech Therapy, a private practice in Colorado specialising in paediatric speech sound disorders. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Fullerton.

In addition to her clinical work, Amy is a sought-after international speaker and educator. She is passionate about providing professional development, offering in-depth training on the assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders. With over 25 years of clinical experience, Amy is known for her dedication to empowering speech pathologists with the tools and knowledge they need to assess and treat the most complex speech sound cases.

Amy has also developed a wide range of assessment and therapy tools, specifically designed to support clinicians in their work with paediatric populations. As the creator of a series of SSD-specific resources used by clinicians worldwide, her approach focuses on bringing clarity and simplicity to the assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders.

Why attend this course?

Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are a frequent occurrence within most speech pathologists' caseloads, but some cases can be particularly challenging, testing even the most experienced clinicians. This intensive, full-day workshop is designed to provide you with a deeper understanding of SSDs and effective therapeutic interventions, ensuring that you leave with a robust toolkit to help children with the most complex SSDs.

This workshop will equip speech pathologists with advanced strategies for effectively and efficiently addressing these tricky scenarios. We will cover how to implement evidence-based approaches for remediating severe phonological impairment, techniques for treating challenging articulation errors, like lateral lisps and /ɹ/ distortions, as well as methods for effectively addressing motor speech deficits among children with childhood apraxia of speech.

You’ll not only learn the theoretical basis for advanced articulation, phonological and motor speech treatment techniques but also gain practical, hands-on strategies you can immediately implement in your practice.

Key Topics Include:

• Advanced Phonological Interventions: Learn how to implement evidence-based approaches to treat severe phonological impairments, including the complexity approach, cycles approach, and multiple oppositions approach. These methods will enable you to provide targeted, effective interventions for children with the most significant challenges in speech sound production.
• Remediation of Articulation Errors: Understand the best practices for treating persistent and tricky articulation errors such as lateral lisps and /ɹ/ distortions. Amy will demonstrate how phonetic shaping and cognitive reframing techniques can be used to help children of all ages overcome these stubborn errors and achieve long-lasting improvements in their speech production.
• Motor Speech Deficits and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS): Gain insights into the latest techniques for treating motor speech deficits, particularly CAS. This workshop will cover how to select the right targets and utilise motor learning principles to improve speech planning and production for children with CAS, enabling more effective and faster progress in therapy.
• Real-World Elicitation Strategies: Learn specific strategies for elicitation and carryover that are tailored to different types of SSDs, including phonological, articulation, and motor speech disorders. Amy will provide practical examples of how to generalise speech skills from structured therapy sessions to spontaneous, everyday speech.
• Target Selection and Therapy Planning: Discover how to make informed, strategic decisions when selecting speech therapy targets, particularly for children with severe phonological impairments and motor speech deficits. You’ll leave with a clear understanding of how to structure your therapy to maximize the effectiveness of each session.

This course goes beyond the basics, diving deep into the most effective, research-backed methods for treating complex speech sound disorders. Amy will equip you with advanced strategies that will not only help you tackle the trickiest cases but will also enhance your overall clinical skills. With her extensive experience and innovative approaches, Amy provides actionable, real-world strategies that you can immediately apply in your therapy sessions, helping your clients achieve faster, more meaningful progress.

Key Learning Objectives:

1. Phonological Intervention Techniques: Participants will explore how evidence-based phonological interventions can be applied to treat severe phonological impairments. You will learn how to implement three phonological interventions most appropriate for children with severe phonological impairments, including the complexity approach, cycles approach, and multiple oppositions. You will gain a deep understanding of how to choose the most effective approach for each child’s unique needs.
2. Persistent Articulation Errors: Amy will cover effective strategies for remediating habitual articulation errors, such as lateral lisps and /ɹ/ distortions, using techniques like phonetic shaping and cognitive reframing. You will gain practical tools to address these common yet challenging errors.  
3. Elicitation and Generalisation: You will learn specific elicitation strategies for different SSD subtypes and gain insights into how to ensure these skills carry over into spontaneous speech. This includes understanding how articulation, phonological and motor speech disorders require different approaches to elicitation. 
4. Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Participants will explore techniques for improving motor-planning skills in children with CAS. You will learn how to select appropriate therapy targets and apply motor learning principles to ensure effective and efficient therapy.

What is included in the ticket price?

• This is a catered event; morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided.

Please note that we use Humanitix, a non-profit platform where the booking fee is donated to a children's charity. The booking fee is in addition to the ticket price.

Location

The workshop will be held at a venue in the CBD.  We will announce the venue once we have a clearer idea on the number of attendees.

What is the refund policy?

As the majority of the expenses to run the workshop are paid upfront, no refunds are possible. However, you will be able to transfer your ticket to a friend or colleague.