First Ever ASHA Convention: Impressions & Overview

2014 ASHA Convention
We got to the Convention Center fairly early on Thursday morning. I expected long lines since I didn't have my badge mailed to me. I was super impressed with the organization: I zipped in, had my badge printed, and immediately got my registration materials. Just. Like. That. I didn't take a peek on Friday morning to see what the lines were like, but I would have to imagine that there probably was a line. Being directionally (I guess that isn't a word because spell check is wanting me to correct!) challenged, I would've wandered around the center for a while if there hadn't been footprints on the floor telling me which way to go. Kudos, ASHA!
The shuttles from the hotel were clearly marked as advertised in the program planner. Everyone was extremely helpful with all of our questions, and didn't make us feel like idiots.
My co-worker and I were very pleased with our Poster Session. We had a lot of people stop, read our poster, and ask questions about how we do a 5 Minute Day Within a Traditional Setting, and many said they were going to take that information back home with them and try it.
If you're interested and didn't come by or didn't make it to ASHA, our handout is in the Program Planner. We're seriously considering expanding the poster into a 30 minute seminar for Schools 2016. 
I have to give a huge shout-out to our local Office Depot. They were very patient with me as I asked questions & took our poster file to them several times to get their input. They even ran a test poster for us...at no charge! We saved a bundle by having them print it out for us. Even with buying a tube & shipping it to our hotel so it was waiting for us, we got an excellent deal.
With regards to the sessions: I went to one session that was full, but there was an overflow room. The only problem was that the video was the right session, but the audio was on swallowing. After 20 minutes, we were herded into another overflow room where the audio & video matched. I think that would have been an excellent session if we hadn't missed half of it. It was kind of like going into a movie when it's halfway over and trying to figure out what you missed. Out of all of the sessions we attended, we each had 1 that was excellent, and 1 that we attended together that was good. The others...not so much. Maybe we just picked the wrong ones to attend. Or, maybe it had to do with us being school-based. I guess I need to attend a Schools Convention to see how it compares!
Overall, an excellent job by ASHA! It was a wonderful experience; hopefully I'll have the opportunity to experience it again!
Come back tomorrow for a post on the incredible people I met.




2 comments:

  1. Great post and poster! I was wondering how you correct placement and get so many trials. Do you use visual cues, or do you practice before the trials? thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laura: the 5 minutes that I spend with the student is nothing but "kill & drill". The more proficient they get with their target, the more productions I get. I don't practice before the trials. When a student has just started working on the word level, the amount of productions may not be as high as it is when he is almost ready for the next level. I hope that makes sense!

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