XIV CLASTA CONFERENCE: HOW DID IT GO?
On May 17th and 18th, the University of Milano-Bicocca, in collaboration with the Department of Psychology, hosted the 2024 Clasta Conference, dedicated to one of the founders of the Association, Laura D’Odorico, on the tenth anniversary of her passing.
Reflecting on the themes that characterized part of her research and theoretical work, the keynote lectures by Núria Esteve-Gibert (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona) and Rosalinda Cassibba (University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) offered new insights and an opportunity for discussion on the importance and role of gestural communication and prosody, on one hand, and early interactions with sensitive adults, on the other, in supporting and promoting language development.
The Symposium, organized by young researchers, along with the Thematic Sessions, offered an overview of the most recent research and intervention programs conducted by members in various fields, ranging from bilingualism to atypical development, language disorders, and exploring different aspects of mother-child interaction and their impact on language skills.
The Poster Session, organized by thematic affinity, also provided a significant opportunity for the exchange of ideas on multiple aspects of communication and language development, integrating research with clinical practice.
The large participation in the Conference (over 160 attendees) and the numerous contributions submitted demonstrate not only the interest and relevance of the topics discussed but also the richness and diversity of knowledge in the field of language and communication development. It highlights the importance of promoting and fostering collaborative networks from a multidisciplinary perspective.
We hope that the ‘apericena’ (informal dinner) organized on Friday evening, attended by many young researchers and members, also contributed, in an atmosphere of “joyful sharing,” to the creation of new projects and working groups.
by Nicoletta Salerni and Laura Zampini
CLASTA organizes every year a two-day conference (Giornate CLASTA) that gathers researchers and practitioners working within the field of language and communication development in typical and atypical populations. The Giornate CLASTA include keynote lectures, thematic symposia and poster sessions.
Since 2014, CLASTA has also been promoting a working group that includes more than 20 Associations, Organizations, and Institutions, for the implementation of a Consensus Conference on primary language impairment. The Consensus Conference is organized in collaboration with the Federation of Italian Speech and Language Therapists.