LEAP - University of Maryland

05/02/2025

I’m excited to personally invite you to “Transforming Your Literacy Practice” a one-day professional development event designed for speech-language pathologists and educators who support students with reading and writing disabilities.

This 4-part speaker series will focus on evidence-based identification and treatment of reading and writing disabilities with expert presentations on dyslexia, phonemic awareness, language comprehension, metacognition, and structured literacy in diverse settings.

🗓 Saturday, May 31, 2025
🕘 9:00AM – 3:00PM
📍 Tawes Hall Room 0310, 7751 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742
💻 In-Person: $150 (includes breakfast & lunch) | Virtual: $100

📧 For questions, contact Dr. Courtney Overton at coverton@umd.edu

✅ Registration is now open!
Please complete the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOzXfz4J4C2jB-mRnno9cZArBNfSchG7s190WcpzNJ4oJqeA/viewform

After we receive your form, you will receive a payment link to complete your registration.

This activity has been submitted for 0.4 ASHA CEUs (intermediate level, professional area) and is eligible for 4 Professional Development Points (PDPs) toward teacher licensure.

Agenda
9:00 AM – Registration & Breakfast

9:15 AM – Dyslexia: Early Identification and Phonemic Awareness Strategies
Carla Askew, M.A., CCC-SLP – Reading & Language Learning Center

10:15 AM – Break

10:30 AM – Closing the Language Comprehension Gap: Providing Equitable Access to Grade-Level Content
Elizabeth Carino, M.A., M.Ed. – Arlington Public Schools

11:30 AM – Lunch & Learn: Film Screening & Discussion

12:30 PM – Weaving Together Strands of Metacognition, Reading, & Writing During a Structured Literacy Lesson
Liane G. Thornhill, M.S., CCC-SLP – PlayWise LLC

1:30 PM – Break

1:45 PM – The Preschool Window: Identifying Early Indicators of Dyslexia
Courtney Overton, Ed.D., CCC-SLP - University of Maryland

2:45 PM – Closing Remarks
Courtney Overton, Ed.D., CCC-SLP – University of Maryland

I hope to see you there!

🗓 Saturday, May 31, 2025 🕘 9:00AM – 3:00PM 📍 Tawes Hall Room 0310, 7751 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742 📧 For questions, contact Dr. Courtney Overton at coverton@umd.edu After we receive your registration form, you will receive a payment link to complete your registration.

06/28/2024

As we conclude this 30th Anniversary crowdfunding campaign, I hold an enormous amount of gratitude for all those who have reached out with words of encouragement and praise for the LEAP program. THANK YOU to our supporters, who are a large part of LEAP's success. Without your support, we would not be able to enhance the operational needs that we rely on for training, treatment, and research endeavors.

I am happy to share that LEAP has secured $17,681 toward our $20K goal. Please help LEAP meet this crowdfunding goal by this Sunday, June 30, 2024.

https://launch.umd.edu/project/42507

06/18/2024

In addition to providing comprehensive preschool curriculum and individualized speech and language therapy, the Learning-Language Early Advantage Program (LEAP) provides a clinical setting in support of our undergraduate and graduate students' academic training.

Please help us renovate our classroom space so that we can enhance our teaching methods and support learning outcomes for BOTH our preschool and graduate students.

To date, LEAP has raised $5,206 of its $20K campaign goal. In total, LEAP needs $100K to support this renovation project. Therefore, please consider making a gift—in any amount—in support of LEAP's playground and classroom renovation initiatives.

Thank you in advance for your support! https://launch.umd.edu/project/42507

Send a message to learn more

06/05/2024

Kendall Wright who graduated from the Language-Learning Early Advantage Program (LEAP) in 2007, gained the communication tools that helped him successfully transition into elementary school and navigate the middle and high school landscape. Today, Kendall is a rising senior journalism major at Northwestern University. His mother, Laura Anderson Wright, Sr. Associate General Counsel at the University of Maryland, credits Kendall's formative successes to the instruction and support he received while at LEAP.

Thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Laura Anderson Wright and the Wright Family, all gifts made to LEAP until the end of the campaign will be matched dollar for dollar up to $10,000.

Please make a gift in support of LEAP's playground and renovation project. While LEAP needs $100K to support the playground and classroom project, we are trying to raise $20K by June 30, 2024 to help get this project started.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Help University of Maryland raise $20,000 for the project: LEAP's 30th Anniversary: Renovation Project. Your gift will make a difference!

03/29/2024

I am excited to announce our upcoming Literacy Symposium for SLPs, educators, and reading specialists! Join us on Saturday, April 13th from 9 am-3 pm at the National Foreign Language Center in College Park, MD. Attendees will receive 4 ASHA CEU Hours. The event features workshops by SLPs and literacy specialists, focusing on evaluation and intervention for reading and writing disorders. Check out the flyer with a QR code to register and feel free to share with interested professionals and students. Questions? Email ceayebae@umd.edu.

02/17/2024

We had a fantastic Valentine’s Day party this past week 🩷😍🩷

01/12/2024

Free speech and language screenings at the Beltway Plaza Mall today from 10 am to 2 pm! 🐢