Friday, October 16, 2026 8:00 a.m - 3:30 p.m.
Biofeedback for R: A Clinician's Guide
About Our Special Guests
Tara McAllister, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Is a linguist and speech-language pathologist who studies speech learning in various populations, notably children with speech sound disorder. As director of the Biofeedback Intervention Technology for Speech (BITS) Lab at NYU, she has conducted multiple studies measuring the efficacy of acoustic and ultrasound biofeedback in the treatment of persistent speech sound deviations. BITS lab research is funded by the NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Since 2014, Dr. McAllister has directed the development of staRt, an iOS and web app to make biofeedback speech training more widely accessible
Lindsey Hockel, MS, CCC-SLP
Is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist based in Texas with specialized expertise in the assessment and treatment of the R sound. Through her private practice, she exclusively serves individuals with R sound disorders, providing highly focused and individualized therapy. Lindsey is also the founder of Rock the R®, an organization dedicated to advancing clinical excellence by offering evidence-based materials, resources, and professional development opportunities designed to empower speech-language pathologists in achieving superior outcomes in R sound intervention.
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Please contact SASHA at sashaboard0@gmail.com if you have questions.
This 6-hour course equips SLPs to use visual-acoustic biofeedback with the staRt app in R therapy. Tara McAllister covers biofeedback basics, wave interpretation, and app setup; Lindsey Hockel covers applied clinical practice, cueing strategies, hands-on use of staRt, and a structured session model. Attendees leave ready to use staRt the same day.
Tara McAllister, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a linguist and speech-language pathologist who studies speech learning in various populations, notably children with speech sound disorder. As director of the Biofeedback Intervention Technology for Speech (BITS) Lab at NYU, she has conducted multiple studies measuring the efficacy of acoustic and ultrasound biofeedback in the treatment of persistent speech sound deviations. BITS lab research is funded by the NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Since 2014, Dr. McAllister has directed the development of staRt, an iOS and web app to make biofeedback speech training more widely accessible
Lindsey Hockel, MS, CCC-SLP, is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist based in Texas with specialized expertise in the assessment and treatment of the R sound. Through her private practice, she exclusively serves individuals with R sound disorders, providing highly focused and individualized therapy. Lindsey is also the founder of Rock the R®, an organization dedicated to advancing clinical excellence by offering evidence-based materials, resources, and professional development opportunities designed to empower speech-language pathologists in achieving superior outcomes in R sound intervention.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify at least two factors that define a good candidate for biofeedback-enhanced /r/ treatment.
- Describe the principles of motor learning that inform when to introduce and when to fade visual-acoustic biofeedback in /r/ treatment.
- Describe how to set up and navigate the staRt app (iPad or web version) for use with a client.
- Interpret the staRt biofeedback wave display for correct and distorted /r/ productions based on formant peak position.
- Describe articulator placement cues to shape distorted /r/ into accurate productions
8:00 a.m. - 8:10 a.m.
Intro & Disclosures
8:10 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Why Is /r/ So Hard?
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Principles of Motor Learning + Biofeedback Basics
9:00 a.m.- 9:30 a.m.
Getting Started with staRt
9:30 a.m.- 9:45 a.m.
Break
9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Understanding and Interpreting the Wave
10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Quest Mode
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Q&A
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch Break
12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
5 Elements of R + Wave Pattern Reference
1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Cueing Strategies + Cue-Watch-Adjust Loop
2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Break
2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Drilling for Automaticity + Case Studies
3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Questions and Answers, Collection of evaluation and CEU forms
Registration is now open:
Registration Fee: $200
Students, Interns, SLPAs, Parents: $75
A $25.00 handling fee will be charged for all cancellations. No refunds will be given for cancellations made seven days or less before the event; however, a credit will be issued toward a future seminar. If you register and do not attend, you are still liable for payment. Substitutions are permitted if SASHA is notified in advance. If cancelled by SASHA full tuition refunds will be issued.
Financial Disclosure:
Tara and Lindsey are being compensated for this presentation. Tara is the inventor of the staRt app. She is a salaried employee at New York University. She is an author and receives royalties from Plural Publishing and Pearson Publishing. She is a grant recipient from the National Institutes of Health. She is also a member of Sonority Labs LLC, which has licensed the staRt app from NYU for commercialization. Lindsey is the owner of Rock the R®. She receives royalties from authored products with Bjorem Speech Publications. She is also an Amazon affiliate and is exploring a financial partnership with the staRt app.
Non-financial Disclosure:
Tara and Lindsey are members of ASHA. Tara is a member of NYSSLHA, and Lindsey is a member of TSHA.
Speech-language pathologists and related professions employed in a variety of settings.
Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge. To earn continuing education credit, you must complete and submit the learning assessment by the end date posted in Program History and CE Information.
Online conference date: October 16, 2026, for the conference date and end date.
