Promoting Vocabulary Development: A Robust And Deep Intervention Approach

Children with language impairment and other diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability usually have major vocabulary deficits. These vocabulary deficits negatively impact written and verbal language skills, causing academic and social difficulties that can last a lifetime. This workshop discusses specific, evidence-based practice methods and materials for working with children from infancy through teens who are vulnerable to vocabulary deficits. A research-based, practical, hands-on approach to intervention is addressed in depth.

Prof. Dr. Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Roseberry is also currently a part-time itinerant speech pathologist in San Juan Unified School District where she provides direct services to students from preschool through high school. She has worked in educational and medical settings with a wide variety of clients ranging from preschoolers through geriatric patients.

Dr. Roseberry’s primary research interests are in the areas of assessment and treatment of culturally and linguistically diverse students with communication disorders as well as service delivery to students from low-income backgrounds. She has over 70 publications, including 16 books, and has made over 370 presentations at the local, state, national, and international levels. Dr. Roseberry is a Fellow of ASHA, and winner of ASHA’s Certificate of Recognition for Special Contributions in Multicultural Affairs. She received the national presidential Daily Point of Light Award for her volunteer work in building literacy skills of children in poverty. She lived in the Philippines as the daughter of Baptist missionaries from ages 6 to 17.

Course Outcomes

• Define the term vocabulary and explain its importance to children’s oral and written language skills.
• List practical activities for caregivers of infants and toddlers to build the children’s vocabulary skills.
• Describe practical intervention activities and materials for preschool children (ages 3-5) to build vocabulary skills.
• Summarize practical intervention activities and materials for building oral and written vocabulary skills in school-aged children (ages 6-12).
• Differentiate between Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 vocabulary words.
• Explain specific methods for teaching Tier 2 vocabulary words to school-aged students.
• Formulate ideas for enriching the vocabulary skills of at-risk teen students.
• Explain the thematic redundance approach to teaching vocabulary in a robust and deep way.
• Compose a detailed hierarchy of objectives for enriching vocabulary skills for children of all ages.​

Program Flow

• Fundamentals of Vocabulary Development: A Developmental Approach
• Introduction to the Holistic Strategies Approach: Multiple Exposure and Active Participation to Develop Deep and Expanded Semantic Networks
• Practical Strategies for Improving Vocabulary in Infants and Young Children: A Scientific Based Approach (Audience Activities, Videos)
• Practical Strategies for Supporting Vocabulary Development in Preschool Children: Verbal and Pre-literacy Language Skills (Audience Activities, Videos)
• Practical Strategies for Supporting Vocabulary Development in Preschool Children (Continued)
• Transition to Primary School: Intervention Activities Targeting Verbal and Literacy Vocabulary and Language Skills Development Small Group Events with Case Studies (Audience Engagement)
• Inquiry-Based Hierarchical Strategies for Developing Verbal Vocabulary Skills in School-Age Children (Audience Participation Activities, Videos)
• Social Vocabulary Development for School-Age Children and Adolescents: Application of Mind Theory Principles First, Second and Third Grade Vocabulary and Vocabulary: Link with the School Curriculum (Audience Activities, Videos)
• Intervention Strategies for Developing Vocabulary by Increasing Morphological, Phonological and Written Awareness in School-Age Children (Activities with Audience Participation)
• Intermittent Work, Transfer and Family Participation Principles