The ABA Speech Podcast - Easy Strategies For Parents and Professionals

How are you utilizing effective communication with parents? Parents, how are you effectively communicating with the educators in your child's life? Ria Reive from HiMama is a former early childhood educator. She shares actionable tips to improve communication with parents and teachers. As well as the overall benefit from effective communication in a school setting. You may not see how impactful parent engagement can be in the day-to-day, but down the road, there is going to be an immense benefit when both the parent and the educator have the knowledge on both sides.What are Ria’s three big strategies for effective parent communication? It all starts with being yourself because you are starting the map of engagement from the get-go.Continue to be a source of knowledge for the parent. Be that stepping stone when a parent is ready for help, they may not be accepted right away, but if you continue to be that source, you may be surprised by what they are taking in. Seek professional development on communicating with parents, take the time to invest in yourself, and you will find those interactions and engagement are a lot more successful.So what kind of daily information are you providing parents on a day-to-day basis? For Ria in the classroom working with younger kids, that's going to be feeding, naps, diaper changes, etc., and then kind of how their day went, did it go amazing, or maybe they had a rough day and some of that daily info can clue in on that. So when she was in the classroom, that was translated via paper. However, we talk a lot about how parents do not need one more piece of paper, and that's where HiMama comes in. HiMama provides a digital piece of communication for efficient, direct, dissemination of information between teachers and parents.What happens when there may be a problem or disagreement? Ria and I talk about the benefits of creating an action plan. Decide how you’re going to handle problems with parents and remain professional and supportive. Remember, there is a time and place,  during drop-off at the classroom door, probably isn't it. It takes a team to educate and support students with autism, and all students. Parent engagement and communication from both sides is a skill really integral to the success of the child at hand.#autism #speechtherapyWhat's Inside:The importance of effective communication with parents and teachers.Actionable tips for educators to improve communication.What kind of information should be communicated between parents and teachers?How to handle tough conversations.What is HiMama and how could it help your education communication?Mentioned In This Episode:HiMama - The Best Childcare App for Daycare CentersABA Speech: Home 

Have you ever wondered about how your child should be playing? Today Kayla Chalko,  SLP from Walkie Talkie, talks with me today about the importance of play for learning. We talk all about play milestones and the importance of parent-to-child connection in building up to those. What are the benefits of play? The amount of time that someone could spend doing formal instruction, versus the time spent playing while introducing content, much more information will stick. Shared activities with an adult and child or multiple children also bring impactful connections and social skills.Parents can get nervous when hearing the word milestones, especially if they find their child isn't measuring up. Milestones are a guideline and a point on which to work from. So what are some basic play milestones?6 months - 12 months: Engaging in social games such as peek-a-boo or patty cake, usually paired with words and songs. Silly games involving back and forth and imitation. 18 months: Using tools to pretend actions like hammering, pouring and mixing. Playing with sensory items. Developing their imagination with more pretend play, they may pretend to feed dolls or mom. 2 years: Continuing pretend play. They may imitate normal activities from their home. They may play house, clean up, and imitate the caregivers. At this brainstage, they are ready to pretend based on their environment. Beginning to try joint play with other kids. Change your mindset from working specifically on milestones to genuine connection. Play can be an intimidating word for parents, but make it all about connection. What makes you and your kid feel silly? Start with something like that, loosen up and feel silly. Mindset is the most important piece; this is how you create connection with the child, and that's where those play skills will come through.Therapy should be fun for the child and for the clinician. Creating an atmosphere  that is fun and functional is important. A lot of therapists are eager for a list of toys for their therapy room. Kayla’s go-to toys are her balloon pump, a ball, markers, puppet books, and bubbles. However, she says regardless of toys, it is all about the mindset and connection. Sometimes your best toys are your hands, voice, and facial expressions. It doesn't matter what you’re playing with; it's how you're playing with it.Kayla’s closing advice is to get rid of the pressure and perfection. Stop worrying about milestones and connections. She says that if parents can focus purely on connection with their child for just a week, she guarantees that they will improve and learn so much more over the course of that time!#autism #speechtherapy What’s Inside:A breakdown of play skill milestones.What does play look like for children 6 months to 2 years of age?How parents and providers can support play skills.Mentioned In This Episode:Walkie Talkie Speech Therapy | Speech Therapy in San Diego

Ineffective communication in all humans, will affect how we behave. Children who cannot communicate, do not have the life experience to handle their feelings and situations and that presents in their behavior. Ashley Scott, SLP-BCBA, shares in this episode the ongoing and intentional processes of building expressive language in children. There is a difference between having vocabulary and functional language skills. A child may be able to count, say their ABCs, or identify color, but they may not be able to communicate. So they may know the color orange, but if they want an orange, can they say “mommy I want an orange”. Functional language is not just talking but using words to request, negotiate, and communicate with their parents and peers. It is not cut and dry, “a kid can talk so they start talking”. If you are working on getting a child to talk, there are so many things that need to be in place, so it is important to have less focus on words and more focus on foundational skills as simple as learning to sit. Ashley’s advice for parents is to ask fewer questions. Narrating is a key to building language skills and understanding the meaning behind words. Ask less questions and comment and narrate everything as you and your child are doing it. Pair everything you’re doing with real words, to build connections between the activity or item and the word. We want to expose kids to a rich vocabulary, but when kids aren't communicating, keep words simple. They don’t have to be long sentences, but instead small phrases and keywords. For example, you don’t need to say “you’re putting on your shoes” instead hold and point to the shoes and say “shoes on” or you don’t need to say “let’s open the door now” instead say “open” but say it a few times, clear and exaggerated.One of Ashley’s big questions for therapists and parents is, “how much are you facilitating?” Wait time is a big piece. It is critical to give children time to process and respond. One thing Ashley said that makes so much sense is working on language is an art form, a unique balance between foundational skills, modeling, narrating, and allowing silent time for processing language. Another key part of therapy is that the skills a child can perform in therapy should be able to be performed, across all of their environments  and with all people they interact with. It's important to create opportunities for communication. This differentiates the difference between can’t do or won’t do. Reinforcement is critical, modeling what it looks like to respond to a request. Repeating a request over and over is not effective. Say it one time, and if they do not comply, physically complete the request with them. For example, you don't need to say come here over and over. If they do not come the first time, show them what coming here looks like. Building expressive language is about building independence. There are so many teaching opportunities that are missed because as adults we meet the child’s needs that they can do themselves and we do not give them the opportunity to ask for help or demonstrate their knowledge. The biggest takeaway for parents and professionals here is language and communication is more than just talking. #autism #speechtherapy What's Inside:Getting started with expressive language delays.Real tips and strategies for parents and professionals.The art form of building expressive language.Building language happens in more than just the therapy room. Mentioned In This Episode: FREE live webinar- Autism Therapy Strategies for Toddlers and

Crystal Sanford is an SLP,  Autism Mom, and owner of Sanford Autism consulting. She is sharing her professional and parental journey. Crystal’s focus is on IEP advocacy and parent support.It's really integral to include parents as part of the team. The whole process can feel daunting for parents. To begin with, parents can feel isolated in dealing, and navigating the special ed process can make it especially hard. Therapists can feel defensive and nervous, but parents can be really overwhelmed and advocates play such an important role. IEPs are really a different language for parents. Advocates go in as a liaison and support person to bridge the gap between school and parent. They will ask some of the parents’ concerns, discuss goals, and make sure the parents’ voice is heard.One thing about the pandemic was the creation of Zoom IEP conferences. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to 20 sweaty people sitting around a room. The addition of Zoom conferences has allowed the setting to be more flexible and collaborative. In the past, it's been very “us against them” in some cases, now we’re all together and we're focusing on the success of the child. Parents should always trust their gut and ask questions. For parents that are new to the process, think about your child and what works well for them. Use that information. If things are coming up that you’re not sure about, ask those questions. Be persistent in what you want for your kids, but also be a listener. The law requires special education staff and therapists to provide what is appropriate for your child, not what's best. Crystal works with parents on understanding the difference, and how to find balance. It is so important for parents, therapists, and other professionals that are involved in the IEP or service process to remember that the key focus is the child. Parents really are the expert on their child. Crystal’s tip to convey this is to develop a “Parent Input Statement”. Every year they should draft a statement to include who their child is, their diagnosis, what works well at home, focus points for the school year, and the best way to contact them. As the child gets older, include them in that process as a segue to self-advocacy.It is okay to think out-of-the-box for kids. It’s important for therapists to advocate why they are teaching things and how they are working for them. Oftentimes, skills and therapy gets generalized; it's necessary to get therapy into real situations, especially in older grades in middle and high school when you're working on big life skills. Crystal has such a great perspective on therapy and parent involvement as a professional and parent. I hope that by listening to this episode, you’ve found some tips to put into action in your next IEP meeting or therapy session, whether you’re the parent or the provider! If you have any questions, please reach out to me and be sure to  sign up for my free webinar, Autism Strategies for Toddlers and Preschool Aged Students. #autism #speechtherapy What’s Inside:What is the purpose of parent advocacy?The IEP process, and how it’s changed through the pandemic.Parents as the experts on their children.Teaching self-advocacy in children.Out-of-the-box therapy. Mentioned In This Episode:Register for my new FREE live webinar- Autism Therapy Strategies for Toddlers and Preschool Aged Students 

Knowledge is power. When you know more, you’re going to understand more. If you are listening in real-time, my brand new toddler course launches this week! I have created the course, Start Communicating Today, for parents and professionals to help their toddlers and preschool-aged students with Autism communicate. This ASHA-certified course, from the set-up to the material, is parent-friendly. With Covid, there are a lot of families on waitlists or who aren't able to get the service level they need because of safety concerns. This is a great course for anyone with a child with Autism, a struggling communicator, and even those waiting for a diagnosis. By signing up, you gain access to the course AND access to a private Facebook group full of members of both this toddler course and my school-aged course. This page is a place of community, dialogue, and feedback. Start Communicating Today is a 5-hour course broken up into 7 Modules. This course is full of great information you can actually use in your everyday therapy practices. I was very systematic in the creation of this course. You will see these modules build upon each other in a flow of importance.  Every single module comes with a printable, to reference as a resource in everyday therapy. I created this course to answer the question; what do we work on with students who are early learners and not communicating on their own? These modules provide detailed information, resources, examples, and even video tutorials on implementing these best practice tools. The Seven Modules:Assessments: The “Gold Standard” Assessments, what assessments do I find helpful,  and all of the points that make up a good assessment.Goal development: How to set goals that drive the success of intervention for toddler-age students.Foundational Skills of Communication: Expressive Language, Communication, Play, and Joint Attention.Materials: The language developing materials I use with preschool and toddler-aged students.Group skills: How to frame group therapy and resources and ideas for planning.Training: Creating a cohesive team for parents, paraprofessionals, and therapists.Data Collection: How to capture and use data while maintaining engagement. I have been able to connect with amazing parents and therapists who have taken my courses through the Facebook group. I am so excited to be able to share this information with you. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, and be sure to  sign up for my free webinar, Autism Strategies for Toddlers and Preschool Aged Students. What’s Inside:My new course for toddlers with Autism; Start Communicating Today.The seven modules of my new course.How to work with toddler and preschool aged students.How to help early learners with struggling communication. Mentioned In This Episode: Free Webinar - Autism Strategies for Toddlers and Preschool Aged Students 

Allison Fors is an SLP, blogger, and product creator. She has worked in both a school and private setting and is now a stay-at-home mom focusing on her resource creation. Today we’re discussing the big word in the development world; milestones. What does that even mean? A milestone is a skill that 90% of children are doing at that age. The problem is, we often treat milestones as averages when an average is about what 50% of children are doing and that is where you see a bigger gap.When looking at milestones, it's important to understand the difference between expressive and receptive. Expressive is how the child communicates, whether verbally with words or through signs and gestures. Receptive is what the child understands. Children will typically have a higher receptive communication. If you have a pre-verbal child, determine how they are expressing physically and the amount they can show they understand. It’s not just about the milestones, you have to look at the whole child. Figure out what their speech looks like, physical development; you really need the big picture. Allison, as a product creator, has developed easy-to-read graphics for the milestones and all of the areas that Speech-Language Pathologists cover. It has such a broad scope of practice and this can be helpful for determining what SLPs can help with and how. Allison has also created a grammar resource for older children where there isn't a lot of guidance in the SLP world.The more charts there are for guidance to help parents and professionals, the better. Looking at milestones, If you have concerns, do not wait. Get your child assessed by a pediatrician or in a clinic. If you’re on a waitlist like so many families, there are always options out there if you're able to pay for private care. There are also online options. Allison's advice for professionals to look at the whole child. Do not get sucked into these developmental marks. There are so many pieces of the puzzle that could really change the direction of therapy or the level of concern. Her advice for parents is don’t wait, time is precious and it is better to be safe than sorry when talking about the development of your child. I am coming out with a toddler course that you can find on my website. It’s going to be great information for parents and professionals. In this episode, I share some important information that will be included. Be sure to get on the waitlist!What's Inside:What are milestones for speech and language?How to analyze the milestones, whether you’re a parent or professional. How to look at the whole child to understand the whole scope.Mentioned In This Episode:ABA Speech - Join the Waitlist!

Jaclynn Bosley is a great friend and colleague who I have worked with across many different settings over the years. She is the owner and operator of Thrive Early Learning Center. We discuss the importance of family involvement, some ideas for parents as they’re seeking the support of ABA therapy, and what early intervention looks like in Jaclynn’s center. Getting a new diagnosis can be overwhelming for parents. Jaclyn reminds parents to take a deep breath and go to the expert and have them provide you with the road map of where to go next.  Also, steer clear of Facebook groups and internet forums, it can often be a scary place if you don’t have the right questions or all the information. Trust your gut with your providers and do your research on the program that's right for your family.We discuss some things to look for and think about when looking for and starting therapy.Indicators of a good program:Transparency.Parental involvement.Children’s positive nonverbal cues.Human connection and relationship with the provider.Funding sources for therapy:State-specific scholarship programs for children with Autism or other disabilities.Health Insurance. This is typically only for early intervention and can come with stipulations of reduced hours or a cap on hours as your child gets older.Beginning at 3, what services are your public schools required to offer?For the Thrive Early Learning Center, Jacylnn starts with the initial intake. This will be in a scheduled block of time when no other students are in the building so that the child can have a full roam of the space. Parents and the clinical director will be present to observe and take down lots of anecdotal information. Assessments will take place once a child starts. At Thrive, they use  ABLES or VB-MAPP. ABLES is great for students with more communication needs. VB-MAPP works for students with more language skills.For group therapy at Thrive, it is typically a small group of 3-5 kids. One person is giving instruction as the students are participating, other therapists will come over and quietly prompt and redirect individuals if they get off task. One-on-one support can be a barrier layer because the therapist becomes the interpreter. Teaching students to cue into their environment by looking around to see what their peers are doing. Fading out prompts. They practice watching and listening to a leader during circle or story time. Then allow for shared activity during literacy centers, craft time, and gross motor play.Jaclynn’s advice is that navigating therapy is a marathon, not a sprint, you don't have to be perfect coming out of the gate. Give yourself the grace to change and adapt. There is always time to make progress. When you first get a diagnosis, put yourself on narration mode, to keep your child immersed in the language, talk to your kids like you would even if they don't have a disability, and watch the journey unfold! You’ll get there together with your providers, and it will keep that journey happy!What’s Inside:Parent involvement in therapy.Indicators of a good provider.What therapy looks like at Thrive Early Learning Center.Jaclynn’s advice for parents with a new diagnosis.

As we prepare to go back to the classroom for face-to-face education, I think it's important to talk about play and social skills for our younger students. Unstructured play time can be something students with Autism or other complex communication issues really struggle with.Often these students do not independently engage so it's important to ask, “What can I do to help these kids engage?” As a therapist, my goal is to facilitate peer-to-peer interaction and encourage shared activity. One of the ways I do this is by implementing modified games at the end of group therapy. These games look very different from their original counterparts. This is because they are more accessible for students with Autism and other complex communication issues by eliminating the need for strategy and putting the emphasis on a shared group experience.Modified GamesMusical ChairsAs opposed to traditional musical chairs, I never take a chair away. I give the directions, “when you hear the music you walk when it stops you sit down”. This is fun because the students are moving and you can use popular music or themed music. All you need is a device to play music like your cell phone, chairs, and the students.MemoryCards of all different types to play this game are usually readily available. This game can typically take an hour or more, so to cut time and make it more accessible, I remove the majority of matches. I go through and pick the matches, and put one part of the matches in a pile face down, and then line up the other part of the matches face up. This way they can see all the pictures. They take turns picking a card and finding the match. What’s great about this is that it is a game that they can definitely play at home with their parents or family too!Simon Says I modify this game by ALWAYS saying “Simon says”. Essentially I am the leader (Simon) and I am giving directions and demonstrating and they are following directions by imitating. This is not only great practice for leisure skills but also imitation. GoNoodleThis is a free website with amazing dances and brain breaks. If you have a smart board, you can let students go up and pick the video. All the dances have motions to imitate and cooperate with the group, they are so fun and interactive that you’ll want to move along too!The Grocery Store GameI've been playing this game for 20 years, it is super fun. You write different letters of the alphabet down. The sentence starter for this game is “I bought…”. Go around the room and start with the letter and have students say what they bought with the corresponding letter, i.e. “I bought apples...I bought bananas...etc.” I have even created a resource with visuals to help students who are having difficulty recalling a word. A great thing about this is that it is also accessible to students using AAC devices. There are a lot of things you can work on as a therapist in group settings: Greetings, engaging in the group, student engaging in a variety of tasks, expanding leisure repertoire, joining others in play, and sustained social time. All of these are accessible for students who are yet verbally communicating, up to students who are fully conversational. I put these resources together to provide real tips and strategies to put to use to increase communication in play and social skills across all environments. I really want you to feel comfortable and ready to get to work helping your students and children. There is so much communication involved in interaction and fun that should be explored!What's Inside:Play and Social skills for students with autism and other complex communication issues.Tips for returning to face-to-face school post-pandemic.Providing all-day communication, practicing individually and with peers.Facilitating peer

Dual certified SLP-BCBAs are rare in our therapist community, so many providers find it very difficult when collaborating with other professionals who overlap the scope of care. I am discussing a great professional article that tackles this hot topic with my former supervisee and fellow SLP and BCBA, Eleyonzettah E. Bonilla. The article, Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Between Behavior Analysts, and Speech-Language Pathologists, is available on ABAI.For many SLPs or BCABs, it is difficult to see when other people are doing what you are trained to do. It can often feel like you're being encroached on. This is bound to happen when many times the care requires an overlap. Eleyonzettah and I talk about how crucial it is to embrace this overlap. The article actually discusses the importance of highlighting the strengths of the different providers. When working with two providers who have knowledge about multiple different points of care, you have an advantage.Training can be a great aspect of collaboration. When working with other providers, you can facilitate role extension and role release. While you may not ask another provider to teach a skill from scratch, you can release an extension of practicing a skill by training the other provider on what you need from the learner. We do not own these skills, the skills are there as points for teaching. When facilitating a collaborative relationship, professionalism is key. Eleyonzettah and I both relate to having poor encounters with other professionals. We feel that many other SLP or BCBAs also encounter other professionals they do not care for, this does not mean every encounter has to be negative. It is important to keep language and communication clear and productive. When you're speaking with another provider during collaborative work, the patient should be first. You are a team with the goal of helping the learner.Discussing this secret problem in the ABA community, Eleyonzettah and I kept coming back to a common theme. The child, learner, or patient comes first! Our job is to facilitate learning and quality of life for our learners and collaborating with other professionals can sometimes be the only way to do that!I enjoyed this discussion with Elenyonzettah greatly and it is my hope that you found some tips or beneficial information in today’s episode that you can put into practice right away!What's Inside:SLP and BCBA Collaboration.How to work with people from different fields and expertise.Translating research into everyday practice.Putting the child or learner at the forefront of the work.

We should inspire and not require students when on our journey to beginning communication. Anne Page emphasizes this as she joins me today to discuss her role as an Assistive Technology Lead and the importance of how we use AAC with our students. Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) is a tool that can be used for students with varying needs and  accesses. We discuss the wide variety of applications on the market for use as AAC. Anne gives us some points of thought for parents and professionals as they are choosing AAC for their students.  What are the individual's needs? How is the individual able to access the app? What is the history and future of the development of the app? Will the app sustain rich language for the long-term use of the individual?In addition to applications, we discuss the physical device used by our students. There are many AAC apps specifically designed for use with an iPad. However, there are still dedicated devices in use out there. The type of device is really important when considering the access point of the child and the insurance coverage of the device. As iPads are becoming more common as AAC, Anne has noted that some apps with heavy-duty iPad cases are now being approved via insurance. It doesn’t have to all be high tech. There are many low tech options out there that can be used in addition to devices. These can be great to overcome the barriers AAC can have such as use in an outdoor or pool environment, a problem with the device’s battery, and so on. Anne tells us about the Core Board she created that is available free on her website!When beginning AAC, start with preferred activities. Use AAC with things that bring your students joy. Once students are successful using their device and applications, then teaching using non-preferred activities can start. AAC should help our students find their voice because communication is a human right. Anne highlights throughout this episode that this should be a positive experience that inspires our students. I hope you found this show informative and can put these ideas and strategies to use with the AAC users in your life!What's Inside:What is an Assistive Technology Lead?What AAC apps are available and how to choose one.How to help every single student find their voice.Inspiring not requiring students.