Friday, January 28^th & Saturday, January 29^th, 2005
Jakarta, Indonesia

Sponsored by

SARANA Pusat Terapi Terpadu, Jakarta &

Explora Learning Company Pte Ltd, Singapore

Venue: Conference Hall, Level 11^th, Graha Simatupang Blok II, Tower A&D,

Jalan Let Jen.T.B. Simatupang Kav 38 Jakarta 12450 Tel: (62)(21)782-7980, Fax: (62)(21)782-8906

Workshop Objectives

The workshop aims to:

·         Provide participants an understanding of ‘affective interaction’ and ‘oral sensory-motor behaviour, it’s assessment and management;

·         Cultivate an awareness of the relationship between speech and feeding and to enable participants to positively impact oral-motor development through food;

·         Explore and experience various Interactive Oral-Sensory Motor (IOSM) tools and techniques that may be applied directly to their caseload within both home and clinical settings.

Workshop Description

Many children with communication deficits present with poor engagement, limited shared affect, short attention span, poor pronunciation and speech difficulties. These challenges are not unique to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders but include children with Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Disorder, Developmental Delay, Dysarthria, Sensory Integration Disorder, and other Neurological impairments.  It is also common for these children to experience feeding difficulties including selective food preferences and delayed oral-motor patterns. Indeed feeding is the first and primary reason we use our oral system and impacts oral-motor development, attention, regulation, and social interaction. The effectiveness of other oral-motor strategies is limited if this primary need is not improved.

Traditional therapy focuses on training verbal output without establishing the critical foundation skills of engagement, shared affect, two-way communication and correct oral-motor patterns. By establishing affective interaction and developing oral-motor skills, the child is then ready to learn speech, language and communication within a social-interactive context. 

Participants during this two-day workshop will be empowered with the skills and strategies to develop affective communication by helping the child link oral-experiences to pleasurable interactions while simultaneously expanding their capacity for speech and language.

Workshop Format

A combination of lecture, practical sessions and group discussions will be used. Various case studies and videos will be used to illustrate strategies. Participants are expected to trial strategies and feedback during practical sessions or group discussions.  Powerpoint presentation will be in 2 languages: Bahasa Indonesia & English.  Question & Answer session will be conducted in Bahasa and English.

Who Should Attend

This course is offered at intermediate level to professionals who work with children with speech and communication challenges, including medical professionals, speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education professionals.  Parents of children with speech and communication difficulties are also welcomed to attend.

Workshop Day 1: Friday, January 28^th,2005 (9.00pm to 4.45pm)

Faculty:

Chithra Kathiresan, Paediatric Speech-Language Therapist

B. App. Sc. (Speech Pathology), Australia.

Hanen Certified (ITTT, MTW)

Certified in Paediatric Dysphagia

Trained in Sensory Integration & Floortime

Learning Objectives

• To understand the pre-requisites to speech and communication
• To understand the implications of feeding patterns to oral-motor and speech development
• To analyze children’s communication and oral sensory-motor behaviours
• To facilitate oral-motor skills through modifying the daily diet
   

Note: Powerpoint Presentation will be in 2 Languages: Bahasa Indonesia & English

Workshop Day 2: Saturday, January 29^th,2005 (9.00pm to 4.30pm)

Faculty:

Vasu Govindasamy, B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc.,

Certificate of Clinical Competence – Speech-Language Therapist

American Speech-Language & Hearing Association (ASHA)

Learning Objectives

• To determine interactive oral sensory-motor therapy objectives based on individual profiles
• To learn and implement the use of various oral sensory-motor tools and techniques for development of affective communication and capacity for speech.
• To practice therapy tool selection and applications
• To monitor outcomes of intervention strategies

Note: Powerpoint Presentation will be in 2 Languages: Bahasa Indonesia & English

FACULTY BIO

Vasu Govindasamy, B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc.,

Certificate of Clinical Competence – Speech-Language Therapist

American Speech-Language & Hearing Association (ASHA)

Vasu Govindasamy, B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc., CCC-SLP, is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist. In 1993, he was awarded the Singapore Therapy Scholarship and has since worked with children and adults with various communicative disorders. He holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Association (ASHA).  He specialises in people with cognitive–communicative disorders, auditory/language processing deficits, motor speech disorders and hearing impairment (AVT). In 1997, he spearheaded the early intervention programmes for Singapore Association for the Deaf and its multi-sensory sound laboratory. He has worked as a medical speech-pathologist at the Veteran’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, USA and Singapore General Hospital. Currently, he runs his own private practice and currently conducts weekly clinic at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore. He has taught, trained and supervised other therapists and professionals on topics related to speech-language disorders and organised many local and international seminars and conferences. Vasu has also contributed several articles to The Strait’s Time and Reader’s Digest. Vasu is married and has a baby boy.

For more information on Speech-language Pathology; go to American Speech-Language Association:  www.asha.org

*********************

Chithra Kathiresan

Paediatric Speech-Language Therapist

B. App. Sc. (Speech Pathology), Australia.

Hanen Certified (ITTT, MTW)

Certified in Paediatric Dysphagia

Trained in Sensory Integration and Floortime

Ms Chithra Kathiresan graduated with a B.App.Sc (Speech Pathology) from the Flinders University of South Australia in 1994. Since then she has worked in both Adults and Pediatrics. 

She worked at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) with adults with communication and swallowing difficulties. Her passion for working with children quickly led her to join KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 1995. There she worked both as a Speech Therapist and subsequently as the Head of Speech Therapy at the KK Hospital Rehabilitation Department. She was responsible not only for the assessment, diagnosis and management of her caseload, but also for the development of therapy services within the hospital.

She has had extensive experience working with infants and children, from birth to early adolescence, with a wide variety of communication, oral motor and feeding difficulties. Her broad experience includes working with children with autism, cerebral palsy, cleft lip and/or palate, genetic abnormalities, language delays, learning disabilities, premature infants, and slow learners. She has conducted numerous talks, seminars and workshops for parents, nurses, doctors and other professionals. She has been actively involved in raising public awareness and educating professionals through forums and scientific meetings.

She left full-time employment as Senior Speech Therapist at KK Hospital Rehabilitation Department in 2000, to care for her two children. Currently she is in private practice and consults at a private clinic in Singapore, Kaleidoscope Therapy Centre. She works as part of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of occupational therapists and physiotherapists to provide a holistic approach to the care and development of children with special needs.

Chithra was first certified in 1997 in the Hanen level one workshop, It Takes Two to Talk (ITTT). Chithra continued to work within traditional models using modified ABA, TEACCH and PECs. Further to her

training and experience in the areas of Sensory Integration and Floortime, Chithra came to recognize the benefits of child directed social-pragmatic approaches. She pursued her advanced level Hanen certification in More Than Words (Parent program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders) in 2003 in Sydney, Australia. She conducts the ‘More Than Words’ parent training program on an ongoing basis in Singapore.

She is also certified in the Management of Paediatric feeding difficulties, an interest that blossomed from her early days at TTSH and extended into her work at KK Hospital. She together with her speech therapy colleagues’ successful implemented several feeding programs at both hospitals. This included the Dysphagia Mealtime Program, MultiDisciplinary Feeding Clinic, Videoflouroscopy Clinic and Cleft Feeding Program. She conducted a 2-day seminar in Malaysia on ‘The Practical Management of Feeding Difficulties in Children’. Further to her training in M.O.R.E. (Integrating the Mouth with Oral, Respiratory and Postural Functions) Chithra came to realize the subtle oral-sensory motor and feeding challenges of children with communication deficits.

She has come to incorporate a multitude of the approaches to the benefit of these children. Chithra is committed to continuing to empower parents, professionals and caregivers to help their children become effective communicators.