In August 2021, the CEU Smart Hub (Powered by the Lavi Institute) has launched a new certificate program: The Science of Reading (SOR) Literacy Certificate for SLPs. Because of the multitude of questions we have received in advance of the certificate rollout (Financial Disclosure: I am a 50% partner in the CEU Smart Hub/Power Up Conferences), I am writing this post today in an attempt to answer some of the commonly asked questions regarding this certification.
Who is the certificate for? The certificate is open to SLPs who are interested in gaining in-depth knowledge in the areas of assessment and treatment of children with language and literacy disorders. This certification offers not just continuing education hours in the advanced practices pertaining to the assessment and treatment of literacy but also a final examination and 2 lengthy in-depth projects requiring professionals to appropriately and comprehensively design assessment plans and treatment goals to work with literacy impaired clients.
Is the certificate open to international SLPs from other countries? YES, as long as they can provide appropriate documentation of their credentials and can meet all other certificate requirements.
Is the certificate open to professionals in related fields? Potentially, yes, if they had completed certain prerequisite coursework and have comparable MA degrees from related fields (psychology, special education, etc.) however, it really depends on a case by case basis. Interested parties should email [email protected] with any relevant queries.
Requirements:
- MA or equivalent (from other countries) in speech pathology.
- Relevant licensure (state), country (e.g., CASLPO) or ASHA certification (CCC), etc.
- A minimum of 3 years of professional experience.
- 75 hours of intermediate and advanced professional development specific to language and literacy assessment and intervention
- Successful completion of 2 case study projects on assessment and intervention (discussed below)
- Successful completion of a final examination
How to Apply:
- Pay a $300 processing fee (this is the cost of reviewing a letter of intent, both projects, and a final exam). Please note that as compared to other literacy certifications which cost thousands of dollars and are far less vigorous, we offer not only a fair and a highly competitive fee but also highly practical application of gained skills and knowledge.
- Fill out an online application
- Submit current CV
- Attach a letter of intent stating your approach to the assessment and treatment of language and literacy disorders and what you are hoping to gain out of this certification
- Attach proof of continuing education coursework
- Attach 2 pdf files containing your evaluation and treatment projects
- Complete final written examination
How much time do I have to complete the certification: 1 year from the start date.
Are certificate extensions granted? Yes, provided we receive the request in writing which explains the extenuating circumstances why the applicant was unable to complete the certification in the allotted time period. A $75 processing fee will be charged at the time of extension acceptance.
How many hours in language and in literacy are needed for the certificate hours breakdown-wise? Currently, the programming recommendation is to split up the time rather equally between language and literacy (~35 hours in language and 40 in literacy).
Are there specific courses that must be taken for certificate completion purposes? Yes, in order to satisfy the course requirements a variation of the following coursework is required (samples of courses/not exhaustive/ subject to change):
- Appropriate selection of psychometrically sound standardized language and literacy instruments
- Clinical assessment of language disorders in speech-language pathology
- Clinical assessment of literacy for SLPs
- Standardized test application: strength and limitations interpretation
- Narrative/discourse assessment, interpretation, and treatment
- Contextualized intervention therapies
- Assessment and treatment of phonological awareness
- Assessment and treatment of orthographic knowledge
- Assessment and treatment of reading fluency and comprehension
- Assessment and treatment of morphological competence
- Assessment and treatment of spelling
- Assessment and treatment of writing
Is the certificate accredited by an outside agency? Since we are not a degree-granting program, it is not necessary for us to go through the accreditation process at this juncture. The Lavi Institute, however, is an ASHA accredited CEU provider and all of the currently offered CEU Smart Hub course content is presently approved by ASHA for CEUs.
Does CEU Smart Hub have enough coursework to cover the 75-hour requirement? Yes, there are already approximately 100 hours of courses in the CEU Smart Hub. That number is expected to almost double after both the August and December 2021, Power Up Conferences.
Will attending the Power Up Literacy Conference/watching recorded courses count as part of the 75-hour requirement? Yes, provided that the SLP is a paid member of a CEU Smart Hub since we will need proof of course attendance (certificates of attendance, ASHA CEUs, etc.).
I am already a CEU Smart Hub Member. Will my past coursework count as part of the 75-hour requirement? Yes, some (but not all) of the courses will be counted toward the requirement (e.g., courses on CAS assessment or AAC will not be applicable). Coursework will be reviewed and relevant courses will be counted.
Must I be a member of the CEU Smart Hub to complete certificate requirements? That is not necessary. The 75 hours of coursework can be obtained from any relevant educational organization (e.g., IDA), if not obtained through the CEU Smart Hub. If it is obtained from another organization, the following information is required to be listed for each taken language/literacy course as proof of coursework. Please note that there is a $100 processing fee to review coursework documentation.
- Organization name through which the course was taken
- Course Title
- Course Description
- Learning Objectives
- Number of hours/CEUs obtained
- Confirmation of successful completion (proof of completion/attendance)
Does the certification require maintenance? Yes, maintenance requires a yearly completion of 20 hours of required language and literacy coursework. Courses can be accessed through the CEU Smart Hub or obtained through other organizations (a processing fee of $25 will apply for course review). The cost of yearly certification maintenance is a $75 processing fee.
What can I do with my literacy certificate once I receive it? Upon receipt of the certificate, you will be ready for a number of thoughtful professional changes.
- Perform rigorous independent comprehensive language and literacy assessments and consultations
- Collaborate with Advocates and SPED attorneys on literacy-related client cases (assessment and review)
- Perform program observations to determine the appropriateness of delivered literacy-based interventions
- Design effective EBP treatment programing to effectively address literacy goals
- Undertake professional speaking opportunities on the subject of language and literacy for a variety of state associations and non-profit organizations
What are the benefits of the literacy certificate?
- Professionals names will be placed in a national professional directory accessible to parents, advocates, as well as special education attorneys seeking professionals to conduct comprehensive language and literacy assessments of students with literacy impairments
- Professionals will be hired by parents, school districts, and attorneys as consultants on complex literacy cases to conduct independent evaluations and design EBP literacy interventions
- By becoming better informed regarding the evidence-based literacy assessment process, professionals will become not only highly effective evaluators but will be able to design more targeted language and literacy goals which will expedite therapy gains and result in more expeditious service discharge
When is the application link available? The application link will be available in early August 2021. It will be sent out to all Smart Speech Therapy as well as Lavi Institute subscribers via email. In the meanwhile, you can read more information on the CEU Smart Hub website, HERE
Do you have any other questions? Please email them to [email protected]
Today I am reviewing a newly released (2019) kit (instructional guide and cards) from the Learning By Design, Inc. entitled Wordtivities: 
Lately, I’ve been seeing more and more posts on social media asking for testing suggestions for students who exhibit 
Several years ago I wrote a post about how to perform clinical reading assessments of 
Several years ago I began blogging on the subject of independent assessments in speech pathology. First, I wrote a post entitled “
It’s early August, and that means that the start of a new school year is just around the corner. It also means that many newly graduated clinical fellows (as well as SLPs switching their settings) will begin their exciting yet slightly terrifying new jobs working for various school systems around the country. Since I was recently interviewing clinical fellows myself in my setting (an outpatient school located in a psychiatric hospital, run by a university), I decided to write this post in order to assist new graduates, and setting-switching professionals by describing what knowledge and skills are desirable to possess when working in the schools. 
Those of you familiar with my blog, know that a number of my posts take on a form of extended responses to posts and comments on social media which deal with certain questionable speech pathology trends and ongoing issues (e.g., controversial diagnostic labels, questionable recommendations, non-evidence based practices, etc.). So, today, I’d like to talk about sweeping general recommendations as pertaining to literacy interventions. 
On a daily basis I receive emails and messages from concerned parents and professionals, which read along these lines: “My child/student has been diagnosed with: dyslexia, ADHD, APD etc., s/he has been receiving speech, OT, vision, biofeedback, music therapies, etc. but nothing seems to be working.”
As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) working with school-age children, I frequently assess students whose language and literacy abilities adversely impact their academic functioning. For the parents of school-aged children with suspected language and literacy deficits as well as for the SLPs tasked with screening and evaluating them, the concept of ‘academic impact’ comes up on daily basis. In fact, not a day goes by when I do not see a variation of the following question: “Is there evidence of academic impact?”, being discussed in a variety of Facebook groups dedicated to speech pathology issues. 
