On behalf of the MSU Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC), Faculty and Staff, we would like to invite you to the upcoming 34th Annual Herbert & E. Jane Oyer Endowed Lecture Series on March 21, 2025.
We are pleased to welcome Keli E. Licata, M.A., CCC-SLP from the University Center for Language and Literacy at the University of Michigan as the invited speaker. Ms. Licata will be presenting on the topic of aphasia.
We hope you can join us for this special event – either in-person or remotely via Zoom. Our invited speaker will be presenting on-campus, in-person. Welcome and refreshments to begin at 1pm in the Communicative Arts and Sciences building on campus, with the lecture from 2-4:00pm. ASHA CEUs available (0.20).
Connection is Key: Supporting Families Living with Chronic Aphasia
Description
This course discusses the impact of aphasia on the individual with aphasia and their care partners. The need for family-centered care across clinical settings is highlighted. Clinical considerations and resources are presented, related to supporting clients and their care partners in feeling connected to each other, the larger aphasia community, and their healthcare providers.
Learning Objectives
Participants who complete the course will be able to:
1. Describe the impact of aphasia on families and the potential mental health consequences for both clients with aphasia and their care partners.
2. Identify ways in which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can implement person- and family-centered speech-language therapy services within the LPAA framework to support meaningful connections with others and reduce feelings of isolation.
3. Explain the benefits of support groups and ways in which SLPs can help connect families to the larger aphasia community.
4. Describe the barriers that families often encounter in accessing mental health support services and the role that SLPs can play in counseling, making appropriate referrals, educating and collaborating with mental health professionals, and advocating in support of families living with chronic aphasia.
Agenda
- 1:00 – 2:00 Optional social hour and refreshments (no CEs)
- 2:00 – 4:00 Keynote presentation: Keli Licata
- 20 minutes: Introduction, Impact of aphasia and potential mental health consequences
- 30 minutes: Functional communication and meaningful connection in treatment sessions
- 30 minutes: Helping the individual with aphasia and their care partners feel connected to the broader aphasia community
- 30 minutes: Facilitating connections with providers across disciplines; Educating mental health professionals about supporting families living with chronic aphasia
- 10 minutes: Question & Answer
Keynote Speaker
Keli Licata, M.A., CCC-SLP
Bio Sketch: Keli Licata is a Senior Speech-Language Pathologist and the Education Coordinator at the University Center for Language and Literacy (UCLL) at the University of Michigan, where she works with individuals with aphasia and their families within the University of Michigan Aphasia Program (UMAP), leads caregiver support groups, coordinates internship placements for graduate student clinicians, and participates in various collaborative, interdisciplinary research initiatives. She earned her B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology from the University of Michigan and her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from Indiana University. Ms. Licata holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is currently licensed to provide teletherapy services across seven states. She has supervised a number of student clinicians at UCLL and is also currently an Adjunct Instructor at Michigan State University, where she teaches the graduate-level Acquired Language Disorders course. She has also spent several years living overseas (Thailand, Germany) and teaching English to adult language learners in both University and professional/business settings.
Financial Disclosure: Ms. Licata received an honorarium from the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University for participation in this symposium.
Nonfinancial Disclosure: None.
