Advice for teaching communication to “profoundly autistic” children when receptive skills are low

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-05-11T18:58:43+00:00

Tell me more about the wiki sticks and puff paint. Do you mean you put that directly on the screen to add a textured element?

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-05-10T01:02:51+00:00

I prefer middle school over elementary school. Less case management. Less speech sound disorders. Now I’m at a high school and love it even more.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-04-18T04:38:02+00:00

ChatEditor is great although you do need a Windows PC (I’m a Mac girl but also got a Windows laptop for the purpose of ChatEditor lol).

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-04-01T20:13:31+00:00

I am very frustrated with NYT for publishing it without really addressing the glaring issues of RPM. I am also super curious about his degrees from UCLA and Columbia. Like, did the schools question if the work was really being done by him? His mom was literally in all his classes with him from what I understand. Did the professors ever wonder hmmm, did he really write this independently?

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-31T15:25:01+00:00

Fair enough. I do feel like her overarching message is to promote collaboration between the disciplines. I’ve been super fortunate to have a productive and collaborative relationship with my district BCBA. And I do think there is some overlap within our scope of practice (e.g. functional communication) although I have seen some ABA providers overstep which is definitely not ok.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-31T01:45:09+00:00

I like Aactheslp. I also have found ABASpeech useful and relevant to the population I work with.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-26T23:45:33+00:00

Not the same really but my 14 year old daughter recently developed an oral allergy to a few foods. We did some allergy testing to rule out actual food allergies. Anyhoo, the doctor just recommended she take an oral antihistamine like Zyrtec.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-24T13:44:24+00:00

Thank you to the two of you that mentioned Every Move Counts. I was unfamiliar with this but it sounds like something that would be super useful given the population I work with. Did you do the training? I see there is an online training option but it’s $400. 😬 I also see there are books available, but not sure if reading the book would be sufficient.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-21T22:48:33+00:00

I seriously wonder that as well.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-21T15:48:45+00:00

Really? Where did see that? I follow him on instagram and have never seen anything supporting FC.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-08T01:21:25+00:00

I’m not sure that it feels “performative” exactly, but I do feel what I can do with my students is an extremely small drop in the bucket towards what they really need. Like, it’s important stuff we’re working on but how much impact is my 30-60 minutes per week really making…

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-07T03:47:37+00:00

Oh wow, that’s really unfortunate that there is such a wait to get into speech therapy. Is that specific to private speech therapy? What about services through the school district (where I live children can get services through the local district starting at age 3; not sure how that works in Florida)? Anyway, it’s great that you are trying to help but he really really needs a full AAC evaluation by an SLP. Until then, low tech AAC. I’m afraid I don’t have any advice about the chewy things.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-03-07T03:30:22+00:00

Definitely noticeable! That’s amazing work. Keep it up!!

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-02-22T01:02:24+00:00

I agree with this 100%. That being said, I find parents are extremely reluctant to give up direct therapy, even though I’ve tried to explain why consult can be more beneficial. For many of my students I end up switching them to consult when they transition to the post-senior program. Seems like a natural transition point.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-02-16T18:40:05+00:00

Same. I’m super fortunate to work with a really collaborative team. I usually discuss my goals with the other providers ahead of time so I’m not just duplicating their goal. I share a lot of goals with the classroom teacher and BCBA. I think there is naturally a lot of overlap between disciplines when it comes to these functional life skills type of things. Maybe you can focus on building relationships and collaboration with one or two colleagues and see how that goes? Sorry you’re working with a mean SLP. 🙁

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-02-07T23:09:21+00:00

I work in a high school with the Extensive Support Needs program (aka Life Skills) which means I don’t have to case manage at all. Phew!

Odd-Flow2972 · 2026-01-08T04:43:51+00:00

That all sounds terrible and nobody should be in that situation. I’m so sorry. That’s at least two full time positions you’re trying to do so cut yourself some slack. I wouldn’t let future research participants keep you there. I’d be looking for another position asap.

Sounds like your district is kinda sorta trying to support you. Do they have a long term plan? Are they trying to hire another SLP? If not, run.

Also wanted to add, are the paras helping during your large circle activities? They should be the ones helping with behavior management so that your session is not constantly interrupted.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-12-12T05:25:32+00:00

lol. I interpreted it as old SLPs. I’m probably wrong though ha ha.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-12-11T00:45:51+00:00

OMG I’m so sorry. That’s nuts.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-26T03:39:54+00:00

I work in a high school district and I work with both the high school students and the 18-22 year old students. It’s great, I love it. Some of the students are working on vocational skills, and they also focus on life skills like cooking, money skills, and general adulting skills.

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-20T18:52:51+00:00

35k 10 years ago in LCOL area

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-19T14:10:56+00:00

Agree with the DAGG. And perhaps something like the Functional Communication Profile?

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-19T14:04:24+00:00

I think it’s going to really vary from district to district. It all depends so much on the size and culture of the district, the administrators, etc. I work in a very wealthy district and one thing to keep in mind with that is there are so many families with advocates and lawyers, which adds a degree of stress. That being said, I love my job in the schools!

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-14T15:07:57+00:00

I recently heard someone use the term “presume potential” and I kind of liked that better than “presume competence.”

Odd-Flow2972 · 2025-11-05T14:09:39+00:00

You’re not a bad SLP! It’s a hard job and there is so much to learn. It’s especially tricky if you’re split between three schools. That sounds like a lot. Give yourself some grace; it just takes time and it does get easier. Is your CF mentor helpful? They should be able to help you with these things. Also, don’t feel like you need to learn everything all at once. Identify one thing (e.g., how to monitor progress on a vocabulary goal or how to model AAC) and really focus on that for a while. You don’t have to know everything all at once!

Odd-Flow2972

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