In my continued effort to bridge the gap between research and therapy, I had a great discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Biggs, assistant professor of special education. We discuss the power of Literacy in human connection. Even for children with complex communication needs, the need for literacy starts at birth (cue the baby shower gifts of everyone's favorite books), and it never stops!

In a study tracking around 40 families through the pandemic school year (20-21), Dr. Biggs and other researchers checked in on their journey of supporting their children's literacy and language learning. While many families expressed aspirations for their child's communication progress, a significant portion didn't prioritize literacy, perceiving their children as not ready or simply not giving it much thought.

Their research found that confidence in literacy acquisition varied greatly, often depending on the support from providers and teachers. They also looked at concerns regarding literacy, especially concerning the acquisition and utilization of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, with only a single family reporting a positive experience.

Literacy is reading, writing, speaking, listening, and expressing—each learned in intertwined manner and contributing to meaningful human connections. Dr. Biggs encourages a family-centered approach in your therapy whenever you can, emphasizing the need to equip and support families in nurturing literacy skills in their children. Ultimately, as Dr. Biggs states in our conversation, “Literacy is for ALL kids, not just some kids”.

Do you like episodes like this? Do you want to hear more about recent research and how you can implement it in your therapy room? Leave a review and let me know!


#autism #speechtherapy

What’s Inside:

• When is literacy and when does it start?
• Understanding literacy in families, analyzing the research.
• Who can learn literacy and language skills?
• How can providers support learners and their families with literacy?

Mentioned In This Episode:
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As I continue to bridge the gap in research to the therapy room, I also see deficits in pre-service training that can make therapy a better experience for both providers and families.

Jessica Rohrer, BCBA-D, joins me to discuss her work with soft skills, using tools to measure and build compassion skills in the therapy room. Her research uses the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, a tool primarily used to check compassion in the medical field, as a pre and post measurement on the impact of compassionate skills training.

Dr. Rohrer developed the Compassionate Collaboration Tool as a checklist for provider self-reflection and a helpful next step to incorporating compassion skills in their therapy. The tool focuses on three skill sets in providers.

Basic interview skills: introductions, note taking, nodding, and back channeling.

Interest skills: asking and reflecting positivity on client interests and asking and reflecting caregiver priorities.

Joining with the family: empathy statements, normalizing skills, and partnering skills.

It can be easy to forget the emotional time our clients and their families may be experiencing when entering therapy, which is why it is crucial to focus on empathy and compassion in our basic skills for a positive experience. New clinicians may particularly experience more difficulty. If you’re looking for next steps to include compassion in your therapy, Dr. Rohrer reminds you to self-monitor and reflect, consider group behavior skills training, and remember that every client and every family will have varying needs for compassion.

#autism #speectherapy

What’s Inside:

• Bridging the gap in research in the therapy room.
• Why are compassion skills important in ABA?
• Tools for measuring and reflecting on soft skills.
• Next steps for incorporating compassion skills into your everyday therapy.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Soft Skills: The Case for Compassionate Approaches or How Behavior Analysis Keeps Finding Its Heart
(PDF) Teaching Compassion Skills to Students of Behavior Analysis: A Preliminary Investigation
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The title of Joe Veneziano and Dr. Shannon Shea’s research article, They Have a Voice, Are We Listening?, caught my eye and I had to read it. These two BCBAs met at a Journal Club and connected over the need to shed light on the history and nuance of ABA and Behavior Analysis.

With the field growing and opinions of professionals being so diverse, educating incoming BCBAs on the history of behavior analysis is crucial. Their paper examines “indistinguishability” and its implications by defining “indistinguishable” in behavior analytic terms. They write about well known studies, such as the Lovaas seminal paper (1987). There are many critiques of ABA in the field and in the in the media today. Is it evil or bad? Is it perfect? Neither is true, but the field and practice of behavior analysis rely on the lens of the research you undertake.

Together, we discuss the importance of evaluating research critically and understanding the difference between pseudoscience and robust research. We also highlight the need for an emphasis on the underrepresented voices of autism, including queer individuals, POCs, and women.

Research and an open mind are crucial to the success of ABA and the impact it will have on individuals receiving it. As quoted in their article, “Go forward with empathy and cultural humility.”

#autism #speectherapy

What’s Inside:

• Understanding the history of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Evaluating research critically is necessary to get the best understanding.
• Pseudoscience vs. robust research.
• Emphasizing underrepresented autistic voices.

Mentioned In This Episode:
They have a Voice; are we Listening? - PMC
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