Shadden Symposium Promotes Educational Growth for Speech-Language Pathology Students, Practitioners Across Arkansas

Speech-language pathologists across Arkansas recently joined College of Education and Health Professions graduate students at a conference focused on the latest evidence-based strategies around executive function, which includes tasks such as planning, organizing and self-regulation.

Hosted by the college's Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, this year's professional development conference was renamed the Shadden Symposium in honor of Barbara Shadden, a former director of the program. Shadden was one of the original founders of the annual event, which promotes continued learning, collaboration and professional growth among students, faculty and practicing speech-language pathologists.

Dean Kate Mamiseishvili presented Shadden with a plaque and other mementos at the event to show appreciation for her recent endowment of the high-impact symposium and to celebrate her many accomplishments in the field. Shadden recently received the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Honors of the Association Award, the organization's highest distinction. The award cited her influence in the field of speech-language pathology globally through her research and contributions to the study of aging, aphasia and other neurologic disorders.

Mamiseishvili noted that this was only one of the numerous awards Shadden has received over the years. "She's a legend," Mamieisvhili said. "She has made an impact on a global scale. We are fortunate to have had her here at the university for over three decades."

Mamiseishvili noted that the conference fosters innovation in clinical practice and advances the Department of Communication Sciences and Occupational Therapy's broader mission of serving the communication and rehabilitation needs of Arkansas communities.

The day was packed with learning opportunities and attendees earned continuing education units. Speakers included Kimberly Highfill, who teaches in the college's Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, and Tamara Henschell, a speech-language pathologist with the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative.

Cynthia Watson, co-founder of Children's Therapy T.E.A.M., experienced a full-circle moment at the event. Watson now teaches future speech-language pathologists in the college and helped put this year's conference together. For many years prior, she attended the annual conference with her T.E.A.M. team. "We count on this conference every spring to get great training," she said. Shadden was one of Watson's professors when she was a student in the program, so honoring her at this year's event was especially meaningful.

Watson borrowed Dean Mamiseishvili's idea of bringing a bucket to the event so attendees could serve as "bucket fillers" and add positive comments about Shadden's impact on their lives.

"I wouldn't be here today without her," Watson said. "That's what many others are also saying. She was my teacher and my adviser. Her door was always open." Watson said she hopes to emulate Shadden in her teaching role at the U of A.

Watson said the conference's topic this year was especially important for speech-language pathologists because so many children struggle with executive functioning. She said learning these skills is crucial for a child's success.

"This is super applicable," said Alex Clark, the speech-language pathologist at Root Elementary in Fayetteville. "Teaching executive function is what we do all day." Clark said she appreciated learning new strategies she can use daily with children and plans to share them with teachers at Root.

Graduate student Gracie Pendergraft is currently interning at Butterfield Trail Elementary School in Fayetteville as part of her training in the communication sciences and disorders master's degree program. She said it was great to put language to some of the interventions she has been using with the young children at her school. For example, using visual checklists to help them understand the order of how things will happen, which improves organization and reduces anxiety. "They get a little serotonin boost each time they check something off," she said with a grin.

Cole Burton, another graduate student in the program, said he's excited to take advanced strategies back to students in Huntsville. "It has been good to further stretch into learning more about executive functioning," he said. "I have new ideas for how to work with the kids at my internship."

Graduate student Haley Shover noted that the professional development also addressed executive functioning over the lifespan. She works with adults at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' outpatient clinic. "We're looking at the whole person," she said. "Whether it's an adult or a child, we're learning to meet the patients where they are."