Assistive Technology: Tackling the Trends and the Tried & True — Presentation

Presented by Kerrie Lemons Chitwood, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Laura Greiss Hess, PhD, OTR/L.

Assistive Technology (AT) can be the vehicle affording the opportunity for a person with FXS to be more fully included in play, school, home, work, and the community. AT is incredibly broad and can address engagement in the following areas: communication, self-regulation, academic participation, socialization, activities of daily living, vocational skills, cognition, and executive functioning. This family friendly session (co-presented by occupational and speech therapy) will upack the complexities of AT from early childhood to schools / IEPs and through adulthood. We will present the continuum of AT ranging from no / low tech, to high tech including tablets, smart phones, and more.

Runtime: 1:04:01

About the Speaker

Kerrie Lemons Chitwood, PhD, CCC-SLP

Assistant Professor at CSU Monterey Bay

Kerrie Lemons Chitwood, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech language pathologist with 24 years of clinical and research experience. Kerrie currently is the program director for the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and an assistant professor in the Department of Education and Leadership at CSUMB. Kerrie is also co-director for the Center for Reading Diagnosis and Instruction (CRDI). Kerrie completed her PhD in Education from University of California, Davis and her BA and MA in Communicative Disorders from University of the Pacific. Previously, from 2002-2014, Kerrie worked at the U.C. Davis MIND Institute, where she was part of the Fragile X team. She values intervention research and has extensive experience working as an integral member of a collaborative interdisciplinary team. She collaborated on national and international presentations as well as research publications specific to Fragile X syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She is committed to translational research and thrives to bridge the gap between research and practice specifically as it pertains to students and families with FXS and other neurodevelopmental disorders in educational and community settings.

Laura Greiss Hess, PhD, OTR/L.

Associate Professor, PhD, OTR/L at Dominican University of California

Laura Greiss Hess, PhD, OTR/L  completed her BS in Special Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University and began her career as a special education teacher serving students with moderate/severe disabilities in 1992. She went on to complete her MS in occupational therapy (OT) from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and earned professional comprehensive certification in sensory integration, and certification in assistive technology applications. Laura was a school-based OT practitioner for 17 years. Additionally, Laura worked at the UC Davis MIND Institute for 12 years collaborating on research and clinical teams specializing in fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, learning/intellectual disabilities, and assistive technology applications. This work contributed to national and international conference presentations and publications. Laura completed her PhD in Education from U.C. Davis, and is now an assistant professor in the occupational therapy department at Dominican University of California.  She has been passionate about bringing FXS literature and research to pre-service occupational therapy graduate students.