#118 - Breaking Down Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices with Emily Byers Chaney

This week on the Autism Little Learners Podcast, I'm bringing back a powerful and important conversation with Emily Byers Chaney, SLP — and it felt like the perfect time to revisit it during Autism Acceptance Month. 💛

Have you ever found yourself wondering things like:
• What does it mean to be neurodiversity-affirming?
• Why do many autistic children have pronoun reversals?
• What is gestalt language processing?
• Why should we honor protests from autistic children?
• Why aren’t WH-question goals always appropriate for young autistic students?

If these questions spark your curiosity, this episode is for YOU. Emily shares so many invaluable insights that every educator, therapist, and caregiver of young autistic children should hear.

Emily is the Speech and Language Program Director at the Pediatric Therapy Playhouse in LA, has been published in ASHA’s national magazine, and specializes in gestalt language processing and neurodiversity-affirming therapy. She’s trained in Floortime, PROMPT, Hanen’s It Takes Two to Talk and More Than Words, Natural Language Acquisition, and more!

Topics Discussed:

•What it means to be neurodiversity-affirming

•Pronoun reversals and autism

•What is gestalt language processing?

•Why WH question goals aren’t always appropriate for gestalt language processors

•Modeling AAC without expectation

•Learning through play-based approaches vs. compliance-based approaches

•Building connections with autistic students

•Why planned ignoring doesn’t work

•Honoring protesting

Where You Can Find Emily:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ndaffirming.slp/

Watch this interview on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/cBTM0Y7aonQ?si=oOyRgo0ZVrdkrbHr

You may also be interested in these supports:

1. Visual Support Starter Set 

2. Visual Supports Facebook Group

3. Autism Little Learners on Instagram

4. Autism Little Learners on Facebook