The Communication Sciences and Disorders program in the College of Education and Health Professions hosts a professional development conference for speech-language pathology professionals and students every year.

This year, the conference moved to a larger venue to accommodate the more than 400 speech-language pathology community members excited to meet and learn from featured presenter Jennie Bjorem, a prominent expert in the field of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).

"She's an SLP superstar," said Michelle Donnell, a lead speech-language pathologist for Springdale Public Schools.

"This is big time. Jennie is a speech-language pathology celebrity. This is functional. It's practical. I will use this information in my therapy," said Chelsea Hawes of Jarvis Pediatrics in Springdale and Rogers.

"She's the queen of apraxia," Abby Sanders raved. Sanders, a lead speech-language therapist for the Fayetteville Public School District, added, "I've been looking forward to this. I appreciate that Lexi puts together quality training every year. We know we're going to get excellent professional development and the opportunity to gather as a community every spring."

Clinical instructor Lexi Catterlin spearheaded the conference. She offers speech and language services for pediatric patients at the U of A Speech and Hearing Clinic, supervises undergraduate and graduate students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program and is the undergraduate coordinator.

Kate Mamiseishvili, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, kicked off the conference by surprising Catterlin with a WE CARE Round of Applause Award. The round keepsakes — which feature the college's WE CARE logo — are awarded to faculty, staff members or teams who are "caught caring."

Mamiseishvili said the nomination letter noted that Catterlin is "always willing to make personal sacrifices to help others succeed and is consistently 'we focused' rather than 'me focused.'"

"That's exactly the spirit that the WE CARE Rounds of Applause recognize in our college," Mamiseishvili said. "You are a great example of what we try to foster and promote. Thank you for all your work." 

Steven Wheeler, head of the college's Department of Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy, took the stage next, introducing Bjorem briefly since the crowd was already well aware of her work.

Bjoren lives in Colorado but still owns two clinics in Overland Park, Kansas, where she started in speech and language therapy. She created Bjorem Speech based on the educational tools she began using with her own therapy clients. She focuses on parent education and addressing the challenges associated with CAS. Bjoren maintains a small caseload of children, ensuring hands-on involvement in her field of expertise but spends much of her time traveling the world presenting on CAS assessment and intervention. She's also well-known on social media, which makes her teaching more accessible.

Bjorem's presentation at the Fayetteville Public Library was interactive, dynamic and engaging. She immediately energized the audience by enlisting their help with a video to wish her 23-year-old son a happy birthday. Bjorem, a mom to four kids ages 13 to 30, paused for a moment to text the video to her son. She earned a big laugh from conference participants when she noted that kids get upset if you don't text them early enough on their birthdays.

Bjorem's training focused on assessing, diagnosing and treating CAS. She used videos of therapy sessions with the children in her practice to highlight various speech concerns.

She advised therapists to record themselves during sessions so they could critique the good and bad. "It will make you a better therapist," she said. She discouraged using the phrase "good job" with pediatric clients, advocating instead for words and phrases that encourage a growth mindset. "For example, 'I saw how hard you worked on that today. Your brain is really growing.'" She also mentioned the power of the word "yet." As in: You don't know how to do that yet.

Bjoren was generous with giveaway prizes, rewarding those who answered questions correctly or incorrectly, in some cases. Bjoren was humble and self-deprecating.

"We're all here to grow and learn together," she told the crowd, many of whom represent clinics where Communication Sciences and Disorders students earn observation hours as undergraduates or intern as part of their two-year graduate program. Many of the audience members are also alumni of the U of A communication disorders program.

During a break, students and therapists alike were buzzing about the speaker.

"We actually use her therapy materials in class," said Addie Collins, a master's student in her second year. "Getting to learn directly from her is exciting."

Karina Escobar, also a second-year graduate student, said Bjorem gives real and actionable tips for speech-language therapists that makes learning fun for children.

Haley Herring, an alum from the U of A program and a therapist at Pediatrics Plus in Van Buren, said she was excited to gain an advanced understanding of apraxia and assessment strategies and was thrilled to meet Bjoren. "Kids love her products. They are so colorful. She was one of the first people to create resources for children in speech-language therapy," she said.