National Conference FAQ

Parents/Caregivers/Community Members – $300

Professionals – $385

Professional Group Rate – $300
(3 or more from the same business)

Students – $150
(undergraduate or graduate students studying communications disorders, audiology, hearing)

Yes, there will be a select set of recordings that will be available virtually to all In-Person Conference attendees at no additional cost. These recordings will be available beginning July 1st through July 31. If you are unable to attend the In-Person National Conference, you may register for access to pre-recorded sessions.  The link for accessing the recordings will be sent out a couple of days Prior to July 1 to everyone registered for either the in-person or for the recordings via the virtual platform.

Virtual Recordings only registration – $125

Yes, there is a Pre-conference session for professionals. Sue Caspari and Ruth Stoeckel will gear the information towards professionals who already have a foundational knowledge about apraxia who want to dive deeper into evidenced based practice for CAS. The three-hour morning session (9:00 am-12:00 pm) will discuss assessment and the three-hour afternoon session (1:00-4:00 pm) will discuss treatment. SLPs can attend either the morning or afternoon session for $55.00 (includes the meal prior to the session starting) or both sessions for $100.00 (includes both breakfast and lunch). ASHA CEUs will be available for both sessions. 

Apraxia Kids will be hosting an adult-only cruise on the Gateway Clipper Fleet the evening of July 12th.  Boarding for the cruise will begin at 6:30 p.m. The evening will include dinner, an opportunity to meet apraxia families and SLP’s, and a chance to catch up with some familiar faces all while seeing our great city from the deck of the Gateway Clipper.

The Gateway Clipper kitchen contains allergens; they cannot guarantee an allergen-free meal. The menu includes vegetarian options.  They can provide special dietary meals for vegans & gluten free guests. These meals must be confirmed by June 30th.

Tickets are $40.00 per person that is non-refundable.  There will be a cash bar available.  If you purchase a ticket and find that you cannot attend, please let Apraxia Kids know at your earliest convenience.

No. Apraxia Kids does not have the financial resources to be able to livestream sessions as they are happening. We rely on speakers to volunteer their time to provide a pre-recording of their session before the conference to make some sessions available to virtual attendees.

Yes. Conference registration is required in order to attend conference sessions and events associated with the National Conference. Your registration includes all sessions, the opening reception Thursday evening along with breakfast and lunch Friday and Saturday.

Registration fees help pay for the costs associated with a conference of this scale, including providing necessary spaces, breakfast and lunch for registrants, and offering the highest caliber of speakers. We have surveyed other similar conferences and our registration fees are relatively modest compared with other large national conferences. Feedback from previous conferences tells us that many parents and professionals found it well worth the cost for what they had learned.

The full schedule and registration information is available by clicking the link below:  

https://www.apraxia-kids.org/apraxia-kids-national-conference/

Registration for the National Conference will close on July 7th.  We encourage you to register at your earliest convenience as we anticipate a sell out crowd.

Yes. Seat availability for each session is limited, so all in-person attendees need to choose what sessions they want to attend. Please visit https://www.apraxia-kids.org/apraxia-kids-national-conference/ to view the conference session descriptions and presenter bios to choose sessions prior to registering.

Registration is now open. When you register, you will need to choose which sessions you will attend. Prior to registering, please look at the complete conference schedule with session descriptions and speaker bios by clicking the link below:  https://www.apraxia-kids.org/apraxia-kids-national-conference/

If you wish to change your session choices for the conference after you have completed registration, please email nationalconference@apraxia-kids.org for more information.

If you would like to be added to a waitlist for a session that is currently full, please email nationalconference@apraxia-kids.org.

You will receive breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday as part of your registration.  We will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions.

Each registration is for one person. One possibility for parents/caregivers is to share one nametag. In other words, you and your partner can take turns attending sessions by trading off a shared nametag. You would not be able to attend together since an official nametag is required to enter conference session rooms.

No. Meals are associated with a nametag and cannot be shared. You must have your shared nametag on in order to enter the dining area.

Yes, group rates are available! You can register for a group rate directly through the website with groups of 3 or more professionals that are within the same agency, practice, or school district. Please note that all tickets must be purchased in one transaction for the whole group. A code will be distributed to the purchaser so that each professional can go online and register themselves.

Please contact us at nationalconference@apraxia-kids.org to request a group rate for accessing the virtual recordings.

The deadline for ordering the official 2024 National Conference T-Shirt is May 20, 2024 as part of registration.  We will have a limited supply available at the in-person conference for sale if you do not order one before the May 20th deadline.

The conference registration includes your admission to the conference sessions, access to conference materials, an opening reception, and breakfast & lunch for two days. You must make and pay for your own hotel reservations and travel arrangements.

The 2024 National Conference will take place at The Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.    We encourage you to book your hotel once you have registered as rooms are limited at our group rate of $179 per night.    https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1707152020861&key=GRP 

If you will be parking a car at the Sheraton, upon entry pull a ticket from either the parking garage across the street or the open air lot beside the hotel and bring that ticket to the Front Desk by 11:59pm on the day of arrival for re-programming to allow in/out privileges without additional fees during the duration of your stay. Parking rates are currently $30/vehicle/night.

The National Conference is designed to be an educational event for families and professionals.  Some families opt to bring their children, however there are no specific activities organized by Apraxia Kids at the conference for children. Apraxia Kids also understands the difficulty of arranging for childcare for children with special needs, but unfortunately, children are not permitted to attend conference sessions so that parents and professionals may focus on what is being taught. The only exceptions are nursing infants under one year of age. However, if an infant begins to fuss or cry, it is expected that the caregiver will take the infant out of the conference session until he/she is quiet again. Parents of infants who do not follow this guideline will be asked to leave the conference session so as not to be disruptive to others.

Unfortunately, there is not an opportunity for evaluations at our conference. You can visit our searchable  Speech-Language Pathologist Directory (https://www.apraxia-kids.org/search-directory) to find a specialist near you who could conduct an evaluation.

On Friday and Saturday, we will set up “topic tables” during lunch time. Each table will be marked with a sign indicating a specific topic that registrants might like to discuss. You can then choose a table and discuss the topic with others who are also interested in that particular subject. Apraxia Kids appreciates hearing any feedback you may have on sessions you would like to see at future conferences.

Prior to the conference, participants will receive an email with a link to download the handouts. It is the participant’s responsibility to bring handouts to the conference, either printed or in electronic format. Printing may not be available at the hotel, so arrangements should be made prior to traveling.

The SLP-Is-In Booth provides an opportunity for parents and therapists to get advice and guidance from an apraxia specialist during scheduled times at the National Conference. Details regarding sign-up will be shared in June to all registered participants.

We recommend watching the following 3 videos to familiarize yourself with basic information and terminology that you might hear at the conference.  

• CAS 101 – Assessment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EOMKXF4TMI
• CAS 101 – Definitions and Characteristics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhPDAmbjjR8 
• CAS 101 – Treatment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7yZKUsmFo0 

Bring a notebook, comfortable shoes, water bottle, and sweater/jacket to wear inside the hotel. Get involved by talking to other families/professionals during lunch and breakfast, sign up for the SLP-Is-In Booth, or join a topic table at lunch on Friday to meet others.

Yes. Provided participants comply with all requirements, ASHA members are eligible for Apraxia Kids to file their ASHA CEUs for attending the conference based on the sessions attended both in person and virtually. Professionals need to provide their ASHA number during registration and will need to complete online surveys for each session attended for both in person and online sessions.  CEUs will be filed with ASHA within 45 days of the end of the conference.  A Certificate of Attendance for the in person conference will be available for those who track their own CEUs after the conference has ended. Certificates of Attendance will also be available when you complete the survey for each virtual session.

It depends. All attendees of the conference will receive a Certificate of Attendance. Several professional organizations other than ASHA will accept certificates of attendance from Apraxia Kids as proof of attendance and will offer continuing education credits to its members. You will have to check with your own professional organization in order to determine if this applies to you.

Please click here to make a donation to Apraxia Kids. You may also donate money when you complete the registration form.

Please email nationalconference@apraxia-kids.org or contact our office at 412-785-7072.

If you find that you cannot attend the conference after registering, please note our refund policy below. 

• • The deadline for a full refund is April 30, 2024.
  • Partial Refunds will be provided May 1 –  May 31st. 
    • Conference registration less a $50 processing fee for general and professional registration
    • Conference registration less a $20 processing fee for student registration
• No refunds will be provided after May 31, 2024.  In-person attendees will receive access to the Virtual recordings