The Third National Childhood Language Disorders
Clinic and Learning Center Conference

Vernon B. Ingraham, 33°, and Tracy Kovach, Ph.D., CCC–SLP
754 Dexter Street, Denver, Colorado 80220–5044

Pictured right are four of the key participants in the Scottish Rite's Third National Childhood Language Disorders Clinic and Learning Center Conference held September 8–9, 2000, in St. Petersburg, Florida. They are (l. to r.): Dr. Barry Pendry, Ph.D., Administrative Director, Developmental and Rehabilitation Services, All Children's Hospital; Therese Montanari, M.S., CCC, Manager, Speech–Language Pathology, All Children's Hospital; Dr. Amy M. Wetherby, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communications Disorders, Florida State University; and Ill. Robert L. Goldsmith, 33°, S.G.I.G. in Florida, Grand Orator of the Supreme Council, and host of the Conference.
Dedicated, professional, caring, committed—these words only begin to describe the speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and clinic directors from across the nation who attended the Third National Childhood Language Disorders Clinic and Learning Center Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 8–9, 2000. This conference lived up to expectations set by the previous two conferences in Denver (1996) and Dallas (1998). Ill. Robert L. Goldsmith, 33°, S.G.I.G. in Florida, host of the conference, expressed the feeling of everyone attending when he said, "We are deeply indebted to everyone from All Children's Hospital and the Scottish Rite Brethren who made this conference a great success."

These national professional development conferences allow Scottish Rite Masons a substantive way to support our care-giving partners who provide services at our Childhood Language Disorders Clinics and so give the gift of communication "For a Child's Sake." Through a variety of seminars, workshops, and discussion groups, these conferences provide an opportunity to share research, experience, and methodologies. Equally important, they provide a venue for networking and sharing information about the various Scottish Rite clinic operations.

Seventeen S.G.I.G.s and Deputies were in attendance as well as Grand Commander C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33°; Grand Executive Director Ill. William G. Sizemore, 33°, Grand Cross; 60 Scottish Rite Masons; and 145 speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and clinic directors.

Florida's Childhood Language Disorders Program was established in 1975 in Tampa. Eleven clinics now operate throughout the Orient, including one at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. A twelfth clinic is in the planning phase for southeast Florida. During 1999, the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida contributed financial support for the treatment of 854 children, and over 4,000 children have received assistance since 1975. In 1999, All Children's Hospital treated 276 children with Scottish Rite assistance and has treated 2,018 children with such assistance since the beginning of its participation in the program in 1975.

The Orient of Florida and the staff of All Children's Hospital jointly developed this year's conference. Its theme, "The Language Disordered Child: Functional Assessment and Treatment in the New Millennium," was evident throughout the 10 seminars and workshops conducted over the two-day conference. The clinical program, for instance, included presentations on Autism Spectrum Disorders, management of challenging behaviors, clinical practice and management, sensory-based learning disorders, sensory integration, hearing loss, assessment and intervention of language-based reading and writing disorders, and selection of educational and developmental toys.

The first day featured a major presentation by Dr. Amy M. Wetherby, Ph.D., Professor of Communication Disorders at Florida State University. Dr. Wetherby is a nationally and internationally known researcher, author, and speech-language pathologist recognized for her work in preverbal communication and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Although her presentation focused on young children with ASD, Dr. Wetherby also used extensive research results and video case studies to stress the importance of assessing preverbal and predictive communication skills and developing sound clinical outcomes and intervention plans for all children with early communication disorders.

An especially important session for the Scottish Rite Masons attending the conference was an overview of planned giving and how it benefits donors and the Scottish Rite. Participants learned about planned giving strategies as well as programs available through the Supreme Council's Development Office including estate planning seminars and comprehensive financial reviews. If you would like more information regarding these programs, please contact the Supreme Council's Director of Major Gifts, Ill. Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°. See pages 56 and 57 for contact information.

The first day's activities concluded with a banquet during which Grand Commander Kleinknecht expressed the Rite's appreciation to the Orient of Florida and All Children's Hospital for their hard work, which resulted in a highly successful conference. He thanked the professional clinic personnel for their dedication and commitment for helping make speech a reality for the language-disordered child. Mr. J. Dennis Sexton, President and CEO of All Children's Hospital, provided a most informative and interesting presentation on the work of the hospital with special emphasis on speech pathology. The evening was capped by a high-energy, child-oriented musical play put on by hospital employees.

Scottish Rite sponsorship of professional development activities for its Childhood Language Disorders Program is increasingly important, especially since the Southern Jurisdiction now has 140 clinics, centers, or programs with an additional four to open soon. Since the Childhood Language Disorders Program started in 1953 at The Children's Hospital in Denver, over 45,000 children have received treatment throughout the Southern Jurisdiction. We, in Colorado have a significant share in this work as about 20 percent of the children treated in the Southern Jurisdiction are "Colorado Kids."

If you haven't become involved in some aspect of your Orient's program, we encourage you to do so and then attend the Fourth National Childhood Language Disorders Clinic and Learning Center Conference to be held in September 2002 in St. Louis, Missouri. We look forward to seeing you there—"For a Child's Sake."

  Vernon B. Ingraham
is the Executive Secretary of the Scottish Rite Foundation of Colorado and Chairman of the Colorado Grand Lodge Public Schools Committee. He is a CPA and retired accounting chief of the federal and Indian oil and gas royalty accounting program for the United States Department of the Interior. 
Tracy Kovach, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
is Director of Augmentative Learning Services in the Department of Audiology, Speech Pathology, and Learning Services at The Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. In this role, she also manages the Assistive Technology Clinic. Dr. Kovach has over 25 years experience as a speech-language pathologist and has worked in public schools, private practice, and in hospital settings. She speaks nationally and internationally.