167. The ABC's to Improve Autistic Speech Development

Over 20 years ago, I moved from the "I want" sentence strip to the "Look at" one in working with children with Autism. Why? This episode explores the advantages of using a "Look at" sentence strip over an "I want" sentence strip to optimize gains in the development of communication skills in children with autism in both the short and long term. Ready to take action? Don't delay and join me at the intervention drawing board by joining the SIS Membership today at kellyvess.com/sis

We're diving into one of the most common and heart-wrenching challenges faced by parents, educators, and therapists—separation anxiety. Leave this episode with a simple, yet effective, four-step process to ease anxiety and build relationships with confidence and compassion. Make sure to set yourself up for success by understanding a child’s temperament, triggers, and favorite things—before they walk in the door by downloading the tried and true, free parent input form now at kellyvess.com/parentinputform  Don't delay by rolling up your sleeves and taking action today b joining the SIS Membership at kellyvess.com/sis P.S.  If you loved this episode, please follow, rate, and review the show. Your support helps spread responsive, evidence-based practices around the world. 

Are you working with anxious children who are exhibiting challenging behavior? What can you do to help? Check out this episode for six actionable steps you can take right now to make a difference. Don't delay and join the SIS Membership today at kellyvess.com/sis to receive educationally rich activities weekly that treat the whole child and empower you to focus on what matters most: meaningful interactions.

This week, we are diving into play. We will discuss the importance of transitioning from sensory to symbolic play levels. Ready to take action and engage in educationally rich play activities during your sessions? Don't delay and join the SIS membership today at kellyvess.com/sis

Researchers estimate that a majority of children with developmental delays have Sensory Processing Disorder. What to do? Let's dive in! Raevsky, M., Nabalta, C. A., & Atiles, J. T. (2025). Managing sensory processing disorders in an early childhood classroom: Evidence-based strategies for teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-01904-z Ready to put research into practice every week? Join me at the drawing board by joining the SIS Membership at https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

We're diving into the latest scoping review of the impact of intervention focused on reducing echolalia for children with Autism. We must ask: Is echolalia something to embrace or extinguish to optimize outcomes? Learn how to improve outcomes by capitalizing on echolalia using the SIS Membership activities and treatment targets. Join at https://www.kellyvess.com/sis Source: Dinello, A., & Gladfelter, A. (2025). Intervention techniques targeting echolalia: A scoping review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 34(3), 1528–1543. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_ajslp-24-00211

Are you frustrated by a lack of progress in treating children with Developmental Language Disorder? It could be your treatment target. Perhaps, you are aiming too low. Learn my favorite 'go-to' target to create optimal gains in language and literacy skills. I will share my tried and tested six-step process that builds agency and automaticity for the child. Only action can create change. Join the SIS Membership and receive complex, language paragraph targets that you can put into practice today when you join. Sign up at: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

Does having a speech sound disorder put a preschooler at risk for persistent language and literacy delays? The latest research includes 290 effect sizes that compare children with speech sound disorders to their neurotypical peers. It indicates that the risk for children with speech sound disorders is greater for both language and literacy delays, and these delays, sadly, tend to worsen over time. Check out this episode and leave empowered with three steps you can take today to improve speech, language, and literacy outcomes when treating speech sound disorders. Ready to DSD? Don't delay. Roll up your sleeves and join the SIS membership at kellyvess.com/sis today. You can join for a month, receive powerful speech and language targets, and simply unsubscribe if it isn't for you. Walquist-Sørli, L., et al. (2025). Are speech sound difficulties risk factors for difficulties in language and reading skills? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68(1), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_jslhr-24-00170

Your success in addressing speech sound disorders will largely depend on your treatment targets. How do you choose effective targets? This episode will provide you with five essential questions to determine whether your speech treatment targets are optimized for creating change. Are you ready to implement these evidence-based targets? Don't wait; join the SIS Membership today to instantly receive powerful sentence and paragraph treatment targets at https://www.kellyvess.com/sis. If it's not a good fit for you, simply unsubscribe after one month.

SLPs often equate "R" with 'hard work'. However, "R" is your best friend in making someone of the trickiest sounds easy. In this episode, learn how to use "R" to make the most complex treatment targets easy. Hint: Get out your blender.  Ready to join me in putting innovative, empirically-based strategies to work next Monday? Don't delay and join the SIS Membership at kellyvess.com/sis