WAILUKU - A two-day workshop on the Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention Protocol will be offered March 5 and 6 at the Cameron Center Auditorium.
The gathering, hosted by Imua Family Services, is aimed at speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, special education teachers and early-intervention specialists. The course will offer compensatory hands-on techniques and more than 50 specific intervention strategies.
Debra Beckman will be leading the workshop. She has been working in the field of communicative disorders since 1975 and has made presentations at international conferences. She is an author of professional books and has been published in journals, monographs and Exceptional Parent magazine.
Oral motor skills are critical to body functions when a person is asleep such as controlling saliva, swallowing and maintaining alignment of oral structures to maintain uninterrupted breathing. Oral motor skills are used in sucking and swallowing in infants and speech development, according to the Beckman Oral Motor Web site.
Beckman has developed a program to increase movement, range, strength and control for lips, cheeks, jaw and tongue, the Web site said.
The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. The cost is $450 for registration prior to Sunday; after that, the cost will be $500.
The program offers 1.6 credit units from the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
For more information, contact Christi Masters at Imua Family Services at 244-7467.
To register for the workshop, go to the Beckman Web site at www.beckmanoralmotor.com or call (407) 590-4852.
Imua Family Services works to help children with special needs to achieve their full potential through support, education, prevention and treatment. Each year, Imua Family Services serves more than 2,300 community members.
