Upcoming Events

Neurodiversity-Affirming Speech Therapy in ABA Centers: Strategies for Meaningful Collaboration

Participants will learn how to initiate collaboration, navigate differences in therapeutic models, and build positive interdisciplinary relationships—without compromising clinical integrity or affirming values. This course equips SLPs with the tools, frameworks, and language needed to collaborate effectively, advocate for child-led approaches, and deliver speech therapy that honors autonomy, communication preference, and language development styles.

● Participants will Identify 2 common points of alignment and tension between SLP and ABA models and practice standards.
● Participants will state 2 professional communication strategies to initiate and maintain collaboration with ABA providers.
● Participants will be able to define 2 ways to Advocate for child-led, autonomy-supportive approaches within multidisciplinary teams.

ASHA Only Event

Beyond Trial Counts: Measuring Play and Engagement During Naturalistic Interventions

Play-based learning is essential for young children receiving behavior-analytic services. Behavior analysts and technicians frequently embed instruction and learning opportunities within play routines. Traditional data collection methods, such as restricted event recording using pre-selected instructional targets, however, may hinder the creativity and child-led nature of play-based routines. This presentation examines key differences between Natural Environment Teaching (NET) and Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), with particular attention to how each approach guides instructional decision-making and measurement in early intervention. Participants will be introduced to practical strategies for identifying and monitoring meaningful social and play behaviors using flexible methods such as simple frequency counts and rating scales. These approaches are designed to better capture change within dynamic, child-led play routines while maintaining analytic rigor. By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with concrete tools to align data collection practices with developmentally appropriate, play-based intervention, ultimately supporting more socially meaningful outcomes for young children.  

Learning objectives: 

• Participants will describe 2 differences between natural environment teaching (NET) and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs)
• Participants will describe the difference between restricted and free operant teaching arrangements
• Participants will list 2 possible data collection methods for play-based learning routines

ACE Only Event

Why Play Matters: Embodied Experiences That Build Thinking, Language, Literacy, and Relationships in Early Childhood

• Explain the role of play in embodied cognition
• Describe play development in the presymbolic period
• Describe the role of symbolic play dimensions in thinking, language, literacy, and social relationships

Autism and Apraxia: Why Motor Speech Therapy Matters

This one-hour webinar explores the co-occurrence of autism and childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Participants will learn how apraxia therapy differs from a language-based approach, why language therapy alone may not lead to speech progress, and how to identify when a motor speech approach is necessary to support accurate and functional speech development.

● Participants will be able to list at least three discriminative characteristics of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
● Participants will be able to list at least four differences between a motor speech–based treatment approach from a language-based therapy approach.
● Participants will be able to identify and outline the core components of an apraxia therapy session for an autistic child, including at least three specific adaptations or considerations to support effective motor learning and engagement.

ASHA and ACE Event