Beckham earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Therapeutic Recreation and a Master of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology at Oklahoma State University. She has worked in a variety of settings since 1990 and developed an early interest in social communication while working in acute care and rehabilitation settings in the Midwest. Beckham and her family moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado in 1996 where she served as staff therapist and director of the Speech-Language Pathology and Cognitive Rehabilitation departments at The Brain Injury Recovery Program. Her responsibilities included evaluation and treatment planning for adults and children, cognitiverehabilitation program development, in-service training, client care coordination and public education. Beckham also served as staff therapist at The Speech-Language Stimulation Center in Ft. Collins working with clients from birth to 3 years as well as adults with voice disorders.
In 2009, Beckham began working in the public school system as a staff speech language pathologist in both elementary and middle schools and spent time supervising interns, developing in-service training programs and consulting with IEP teams. She noticed a rapid rise in students with autism on her caseload whose strong verbal language skills combined with relatively weak social and emotional regulation skills interfered greatly with their ability to function academically and socially across settings. Her immediate search for more effective teaching strategies lead her directly to Social Thinking® and she has never turned back.
Beckham completed the Social Thinking Clinical Training Level 1 in 2008 and the Clinical Training Level 2 in 2009, and has been a member of the Social Thinking® Speaker’s Collaborative ever since. She stays current in the latest trends and teaching methods by regularly attending annual Social Thinking and related conferences around the country. Currently, Beckham runs her own private practice called Heartland Social Learning Center LLC and has dedicated her career to supporting students, parents and teachers in the process of becoming more effective communicators and personal problem solvers.
Other Experience:
- Speaks nationally for the Social Thinking® Speakers Collaborative
- Developed a ‘Social Think Tank’ for sharing of intervention ideas among school district staff
- Presenter: Closing the Gap Conference: Social Thinking and Story Grammar Marker applications
- Developed and implemented summer social therapy programs for kids ages 3-13
- Provided multiple district wide teacher/parent education talks on Social Language challenges
- Contributor: Facilitating Relationships! Six Second Stories and Other Social Communication Strategies. Maryellen Rooney Moreau, M.Ed., CCC-SLP and Gwynne McElhinney, M.S., CCC-SLP
- Received the ASHA Award for Continuing Education (ACE)
- Developed Metacognitive awareness training presentation for neuro-rehabilitation professionals
- Organized and lead social support group for adults with TBI
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Financial Disclosure
Financial: Speaker for Think Social Publishing, Inc. and receives speaking fees.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships exist.
