We’re excited to announce the details of the 2025 Literacy Intensive Course. The course will be held in July next year, at Glenroy Specialist School, in Melbourne.
The course is a 5 day deep dive into comprehensive literacy instruction for all students, with a focus on students with significant disabilities.
The course includes units on:
- Universal Design for Learning
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication
- Emergent Literacy overview
- Shared Reading
- Letters and Sounds
- Emergent Writing
- Emergent Assessment
- Planning a Comprehensive Literacy Program
- Conventional Literacy overview
- Comprehension Instruction
- Independent Reading
- Working with Words
- Conventional Writing
- Conventional Literacy Assessment
The course will be taught by Jane Farrall and Helen Tainsh
Jane Farrall is a speech pathologist and a special educator who is passionate aboutengendering optimal literacy opportunities and outcomes for the many students shesupports. Based on over 30 years in this field, she believes in the power of literacy forall students irrespective of their formal level of academic ability.
Jane currently works as a consultant to schools across Australia and overseas, focusing onimplementing literacy practices for the best outcomes for all students. She has also, for manyyears, been an advocate of the power of assistive technologies supporting these outcomes. Butshe strongly recognises that the technologies are only a tool – and they take second place tosound literacy and communication practice. She is also passionate about supporting students whouse Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to communicate and has extensivepractical experience in implementing AAC, both electronic and non-electronic.
Helen Tainsh is a Speech Pathologist with 30 years of experience of working withstudents who use AAC. She presents regularly on Augmentative and AlternativeCommunication (AAC) at conferences & workshops. She currently works at theCerebral Palsy Education Centre in Melbourne and also has a private practice. Inher private practice Helen supports children and adults with severe and multipledisabilities, who use augmentative and alternative communication. She supportsaccess to the curriculum within their mainstream school.
Helen consults regularly in a number of Special Schools, supporting implementation of AACand comprehensive literacy instruction. She has a strong interest in AAC and literacy and hasbeen instrumental in using Comprehensive Literacy Instruction with many students to improvetheir literacy skills.
Helen is also a certified presenter in Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (P.O.D.D.)Communication Books. She also has extensive experience in the programming and use ofelectronic communication devices.
We hope to see you there!! You can download the course flyer below.
