The ABA Speech Podcast - Easy Strategies For Parents and Professionals

Tracey Hawkins became part of the autism community in 2018 when both of her sons were diagnosed with autism—just seven months apart.

When it comes to autism, structure and routine are so important. But as a mother, Tracey couldn't find the right technology to support her family's needs. She knew she couldn’t change the diagnosis, but she could improve the support system around it.

So, she created the Thrive App—a tool desig...

Stephanie Howard, a BCBA and mother, faced a turning point when her son was diagnosed with ADHD at age five. She realized the same executive functioning tools she used professionally could support both her parenting and her son's development.

Executive functioning—skills like planning, impulse control, and focus—is often disrupted in ADHD, autism, and trauma. It’s more than behavior; it’s about how the brain organizes and respo...

Bombarding parents or colleagues with information can shut down meaningful dialogue. Instead, Dr. Monica Gilbert shares how we can use Motivational Interviewing (MI) to foster collaboration and encourage change through using the core principles—OARS + I:

• Open-Ended Questions—Invite Discussion: "How do you see this working for you?"
• Affirmations—Reinforce strengths: "I see how much you care about this."
• Reflecti...

At the ASHA conference in Seattle, I had the opportunity to meet Gabriella Cameron and Jennifer Kent, who presented on their Theme-Based Collaborative Groups within the Endeavour Program at Ivymount, a nonpublic, publicly funded special education environment serving students aged 5–21.

Gabriella and Jen’s theme-based groups are embedded within Endeavour, offering structured but flexible learning experiences tailored to each student....

JD Barker, New York Times bestselling author, was diagnosed with autism at 22—a late discovery that brought long-overdue clarity to challenges he’d faced since childhood. Early in his career, a stint in anger management led a counselor to suggest autism, prompting JD to begin therapy. There, he worked on basics like making eye contact and organizing his thoughts—skills that helped him better navigate both personal life and the dema...

Dr. Matt Zakreski, PsyD, joins me to explore neurodiversity—a term often used, but not always fully understood. Neurodivergent individuals, including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, bipolar disorder, and more, experience measurable differences in how their brains function. It’s not about won’t, but can’t—and that distinction matters.

In classrooms, teachers frequently encounter neurodiverse learners, yet most lack proper training...

​​As professionals, we inevitably face contentious subjects across the field. Today I am sharing a recent example of disagreement met with collaboration. In this case, an SLP determined that a Gestalt Language Processor (GLP) was not yet in the Natural Language Acquisition stage to answer questions. Meanwhile, the BCBA set a goal for the learner to respond to Personal Safety Questions. The team ultimately collaborated to prioritize...

Are the learners in your class or therapy room engaging in behaviors that create barriers to learning? What can you do?

Bailey Payne, author of Behavior Breakthrough: 12 Skills to Transform Behavior at Home and in the Classroom, offers data-driven, evidence-based strategies to help parents and educators reshape their responses, modify environments, and create lasting change. Her book makes Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) concepts ac...

I’m talking with Jessica DeMarco about outside-of-the-box thinking to promote and teach social skills while enriching students’ lives. Project Social Code is a unique program that uses block coding to help children develop teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills while exploring STEM. Funded by a $2.5 million, five-year grant, it ensures that kids of all abilities, including those with disabilities who are often excluded...

Dr. Michael C. Selbst and Dr. Jennifer Cruz from Behavior Therapy Associates joined me to explore Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a subtype of autism spectrum characteristics marked by an anxiety-based drive for control. PDA triggers a fight, flight, or freeze response to both explicit and implied demands, making traditional interventions ineffective. Individuals with PDA often have highly sensitive nervous systems and struggl...

Are you supporting students struggling with reading? Marty Schultz introduces an incredible learning resource, Buddy Books, which provides access to over a million books to help students build confidence and improve literacy.

Designed for students in lower socio-economic districts and those with learning differences like ADHD, autism, or selective mutism, Buddy Books offers a structured yet engaging way to develop reading skills. A ...

At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Kathleen Edmier, BCBA, and Karen Guerra, SLP, work together to bridge the gap between their fields, demonstrating the power of collaboration in supporting individuals with autism. Their work showcases how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) can align their approaches to maximize positive outcomes.

For professionals looking to collaborate, the key lies in ...

Dr. Givona Sandiford is a friend, colleague, and speech-language pathologist with nearly 20 years of experience and a passion for innovation. As the founder of Melospeech, Dr. Givona is transforming the field by introducing technology-driven tools that help SLPs streamline their workflows, increase efficiency, and even boost their income. Her forward-thinking approach has made her a trailblazer, inspiring professionals to embrace n...

DeTerrence Allen, a dedicated behavior scientist, comes from a family of Board-Certified Behavior Analysts, including his wife. His passion for ABA is rooted in a heartwarming “love story” for the field. A dynamic speaker, DeTerrence recently delivered an inspiring talk on soft skills at the Black Men of Behavior Analysis Conference.

So, what are soft skills? DeTerrence highlights critical communication skills rooted in kindness and...

Welcome to the ABA Speech Podcast. We will continue discussing autism and broadening our scope with important topics in the field. I’m joined by Dr. Matthew Brodhead, whose career has been shaped by a passion for understanding human behavior and how we can influence it. His article, Maintaining Professional Relationships in an Interdisciplinary Setting: Strategies for Navigating Nonbehavioral Treatment Recommendations for Individua...

Functional Communication Training (FCT) is a proven strategy to replace problem behaviors with effective communication skills. In her article, Practitioners Guide for Selecting Functional Communication Responses, published in Behavior Analysis in Practice, Dr. Bethjoy Houck offers practical advice to help clinicians implement FCT successfully.

FCT focuses on giving learners a way to express their needs that works for them, whether t...

Getting an autism evaluation for a child can be a daunting process, fraught with long waitlists, high out-of-pocket costs, and navigating complicated systems. Every moment matters when it comes to early intervention, and Dr. Michael Perisa of Zest Pediatrics is working to simplify the journey for families.

Zest Pediatrics, the first pediatric direct primary care network in the country, offers a membership-based model that removes ma...

Enjoy this replay of this favorite two-part episode!

In part one of my interview with Dr. Edythe Strand. A renowned speech pathologist and former professor at Mayo College, Dr. Strand has led groundbreaking research on developmental, acquired, and progressive apraxia of speech.

Dr. Strand explains that apraxia is not a medical diagnosis but a label for a speech-sound disorder impacting the movements required to produce speech. Unlike...

Enjoy this replay of one of my favorite episodes! Executive functioning skills are essential for all ages, and in this episode, we dive into this critical topic with Sara Ward, an SLP specializing in executive functioning. Sara brings a unique perspective, sharing practical strategies for assessment and intervention that can transform how we support students.

Sara simplifies executive functioning for young children as “sequencing” a...