Guest: Karen McWaters MOT, OTR/L

Earn 0.1 ASHA CEU for this episode: https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/the-importance-of-motor-and-language-learning-for-effective-

Originally Aired: September 2023

As SLPs, we can often look at speech and language development in isolation, as our formal assessments encourage us to do; however, it is imperative that we learn from our occupational and physical therapy colleagues regarding motor learning principles and how they parallel those of language development. When we get out of our box, we can further understand the children we work with and their capacities. Erin and Karen will discuss their journey of collaborating within this context and how they learned from each other to help the children they worked with reach further potential.

About the guest: Karen is an Occupational Therapist living and working in Greenville, South Carolina. She received her BS in Public Health from Clemson University and her Masters of Occupational Therapy degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Her professional interests include sensory processing and praxis, neurodevelopment, DIR/Floortime, functional vision, and (most recently) trauma informed care. Karen loves that this job enables partnerships with families to meet each child’s unique needs and harnesses the power of relationships to impact each kid’s life using their motivations and interests.

Mentioned in this episode:

Free Course August 4: Intro to Executive Function Skills for Managing the Home

Enrollment Link: https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/executive-function-home-1 Presenter: Adina Soclof, MS, CCC-SLP This introductory course explores how executive functioning skills affect our ability to manage home life, work responsibilities, and parenting demands. You’ll learn practical strategies to strengthen your own executive functioning and support your children’s development of these skills as well. Helpful tools and resources will be shared to guide ongoing growth and success at home and beyond.