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AFFIRMING Communication for Autistic Children

Online Course For Speech Therapists who Support Autistic Children

Navigating the pathway towards being a confidently Neurodiversity Affirming Speech Therapist… It’s not easy and it’s not straightforward.

 

I’m here to help you along this journey!

 

You want to understand what goals, strategies and activities are aligned with a Neurodiversity Affirming approach and why.

You want to become confident in supporting your autistic clients / students using affirming approaches.

You are seeking clear guidance for how you can advocate for your autistic client / students with their families and others in their support teams.

Enrollments are currently closed for the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course, but leave your info below to be first to hear about the next round, and get special bonus offers!

Mum and toddler playing peeka boo

Here’s where you may be getting stuck…

I’ve heard these questions and hold-ups from many speechies like you: 

“What do I say to parents who don’t understand the neurodiversity affirming approach?”

“How do I know I’m helping autistic kids reach their goals if we just use a play-based approach? 

“How can I write a report that describes a child’s difficulties and their support needs, but it’s still affirming?”

 

“I don’t have a lot of time for professional development, I need to make sure I can put it into action quickly”

… Do you relate?

 

“What do I say to parents who don’t understand the neurodiversity affirming approach?”

“How do I know I’m helping autistic kids reach their goals if we just use a play-based approach? 

“How can I write a report that describes a child’s difficulties and their support needs, but it’s still affirming?”

 

“I don’t have a lot of time for professional development, I need to make sure I can put it into action quickly”

… Do you relate?

 

INTRODUCING THE

Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Online Course

LEARN MORE

What’s involved & What I teach in the course – Watch this 5.5 minute video!

WANT A PEEK AT YOUR PATH TO PROVIDING AFFIRMING THERAPY AND ASSESSMENT FOR AUTISTIC KIDS?

Here’s what’s waiting for you inside the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children course…

What you get when you register

✔️  Access to the 4 recorded Core modules + bonus Welcome module. Core modules are between 1-1.5 hours long – a total of 6 hours of Professional Development

✔️  Modules drop weekly, so you can pace yourself as they come out, or catch up over the coming months

✔️  Access to the modules & downloads for 12 months – re-watch as needed, when it suits you!

✔️ Tools to support your learning & implementation: Practical activities, handouts, cheatsheets, checklists, quizzes

✔️ Facebook group support to help you on your journey, keep accountable, and check in with Adina and others in the course around your progress and questions

✔️  Certificate of participation when you’ve completed the course, for 6 PD hours

 

Welcome Module

Available as soon as you register! Watch any time before you kick off the main modules.

Short video setting the scene for our course and the Neurodiversity Affirming approach to speech therapy and assessment.

Module 1

Affirming Assessment

  • Learn my framework for holistic, child-centered approaches to communication assessment for autistic children
  • Learn about the research, impact and reasons for using standardised assessments when necessary
  • Tools, skills and ideas for other assessment approaches
  • Decision-making process for choosing your assessment pathway
  • Template for affirming communication assessment reports that you can use, change, or refer to
  • Note: this module touches briefly on assessment for autism diagnosis purposes, however this is not a main focus of this module

 

Module 2

Therapy: Communication, Interaction & Play

  • Evidence-based approaches that support child-led, sensory-based, play-based approaches aligned with Neurodiversity Affirming support for autistic children
  • Learn which strategies are helpful and affirming to support your interactions with children, and to guide the strategies you teach to others
  • How to support all communication preferences, including discussion about AAC, Gestalt Language Processors, and children who are non-intentional communicators 
  • Examples for how speech therapy sessions can flow, in different settings and for different goals
  • Activity ideas aligned with different sensory preferences

Module 3

Therapy: Social & Other Communication Areas

  • Practical ideas for supporting social interactions, that fits with the Neurodiversity Affirming approach (note – this is mostly different-but-aligned content to what I teach in my On-Demand Webinar ‘Affirming Ways to Support Social & Peer Interactions
  • Guidance for how you can support autistic children to build their understanding of themself, their strengths and needs
  • Considerations for supporting autistic children in other areas of communication including: speech, fluency, voice, literacy

Module 4

Therapy: Change the World Around the Child

  • Zooming out to consider how you can be part of changing the world around the child – helping you level-up your advocacy!
  • Ideas for supporting parents, teachers and other adults to get aligned, to understand and to support autistic children in Neurodiversity Affirming ways
  • Ideas for what you could say in response to various ‘tricky FAQs’ that others in a child’s world may ask us
  • Service delivery model considerations – big ideas to consider maximising your impact

The world of support for autistic children is shifting. It’s your job as a speech therapist to continually update your learning and practices.

Ethically, you need to keep up to date with the Neurodiversity Affirming approach. It’s a human rights approach.

We see autistic children as whole, valid, awesome humans who deserve to be seen, respected, understood and supported.

NOW, LET’S IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT…

Imagine what it would be like to finally feel clear, confident and supported in your Neurodiversity Affirming Practice journey.

Here’s how the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course can help you!

Clear, practical information about what Neurodiversity Affirming approaches to speech therapy and assessment look like, in practice

Useful resources like templates, checklists, and flowcharts to support you in putting your learning into action

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Ongoing support and accountability as you move through the modules and take action, make changes, and move into a more affirming therapy mode

But wait, have we officially met?

About Me

Hi! I’m Adina Levy.

I’m an Autistic ADHDer with over a decade’s experience working professionally as a speech therapist, with autistic & neurodivergent children, their families, and their support networks. I’ve been an educator in various settings for almost 20 years, and I’m absolutely dedicated to helping others learn, reflect and take action on big concepts and ideas.

I make learning fun, engaging, relevant, and practical. I blend lived experience, personal reflection, clinical experience and evidence-based practice (with a critical lens!).

More than 550 professionals have taken my Neurodiversity Affirming Practice workshops and webinars to date! I hope you’ll join us!

We’re in the midst of a huge shift in how we ‘do’ support, the Neurodiversity movement is a rising tide. I’m delighted to see SO many speech therapists and other professionals join in, be brave to unlearn some ‘old’ ways, and take action to learn and practice affirming approaches.

Through the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course, my goal is to guide you to reflect on your knowledge, confidence and practice, learn new ideas, and make plans to shift the way you work with autistic children. I share tools, strategies, ideas, and provide guidance to help you clarify what the Neurodiversity Affirming Approach looks like, in your everyday clinical practice.

Here’s what others have said about my Neurodiversity Affirming Practice training:

“I enjoyed it all. I love that you are encouraging us all to see things from a different and much more inclusive perspective. I particularly enjoyed the case studies and thinking about what neuroaffirming responses might be in these given situations”

“Thank you so much Adina, I always have so many ah huh moments and feel like my own thoughts and challenges are validated!

“Adina was so positive with everyone and supportive of where they are at on their neuro-affirming journey.

“I appreciate your approach – important to be critical of all approaches, but not every approach is bad (some parts may be, but some parts can be useful). Also appreciate that you recognise that this is a massive cultural shift for society – some of us will move quickly and others of us will need time.”

Who is the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course for?

You’re a speech Therapist, anywhere in the world 🌎

a.k.a Speech Language Therapist, Speech Langauge Pathologist, Speech Pathologist!

You support autistic children (up to around age 12 is who we talk about in the course)

You’re seeking practical guidance, resources and ideas for putting Neurodiversity Affirming approaches into practice

SO, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Here’s how the course works:

The course doors are currently closed, but if you’re on my Waitlist you’ll be first to hear when it opens next! When that time comes…

As soon as you enrol, you’ll be sent a welcome email with your login details & an invitation to join our exclusive closed Facebook group.

In the Facebook group, you’ll meet me, and get to hang out with all of your fellow Affirming Communication for Autistic Children course participants. 

From there, you’ll get started with the Welcome Module, and when the first Module Drop date comes around, you’ll get to sink your teeth or eyes or whatever into 1 module a week, over the next 4 weeks. Each module is between 1 hour and 1.5 hours long. You’ll find video, plus documents and templates that will help you along your journey towards being a more Neurodiversity Affirming therapist!

When the weekly modules drop, I’ll spark up conversation within the Facebook group and I really encourage you to join in! Getting active with sharing your ideas, questions and suggestions will help you make the most of the program!

And if life is mega busy for you, and you can’t play along as the weekly modules pop up, that is TOTALLY fine! You have 12 months’ access, so you can join in any time, including in the Facebook group conversations!

Enrollments are currently closed for the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course, but leave your info below to be first to hear about the next round, and get special bonus offers!

Frequently Asked Questions

WHEN IS THE COURSE AVAILABLE?

Enrollments are currently closed for the Affirming Communication for Autistic Children Course, but leave your info in the Waitlist form below to be first to hear about the next round, and get special bonus offers!

WHAT TIMEZONE IS THIS COURSE IN?

Whatever timezone you want! Modules are pre-recorded and support/discussion is in our Private Facebook Group, so you can watch, participate and join in the discussion at whatever time suits you!

DO YOU OFFER CEUs / ACCREDITATION FOR THIS COURSE?

I am not able to offer formal accreditation for my course, however when you complete all modules you’ll receive a certificate outlining the title of the course, date of completion, your name, my name, and hours of professional development completed (6!). Most associations accept this as evidence of your course participation.

CAN MY team JOIN in too?

Absolutely! Access for this course is strictly per person.

I offer a discount for 3 or more registrations from 1 team. Email me hi@playlearnchat.com if you’d like to access the team discount.

I'm not a speech therapist but I'm really interested in this course - can I join?

This course is very specifically designed for Speech Therapists (or whatever terminology you use, we have various versions of our title!).

Please only sign up if you’re a speechie.

If you’re not a Speechie, you are SO welcome to register for my other training e.g. Neurodiversity Affirming Practice 2-hour Introductory Workshop for Allied Health Professionals

I tried to use an offer code and it's not working

Discount codes are valid for certain time-periods and for certain payment types (but not for others).

I am not able to extend discount code validity.

You’re welcome to explore other payment options that appear on the course checkout page.

💬 Get in touch

If you are enquiring about a workshop, webinar, training or a speaking opportunity, I will respond soon. Please note that it can take me a few days to get back to you as I juggle many roles!

If you've registered for a webinar or workshop and can't find confirmation or access information, please check your junk/spam email and add hi@playlearnchat.com to your safe senders/contacts list.

I am not able to provide personalised advice, resource or service requests/recommendations. You can view my resources & links page here, and view therapy services that I've worked with here. Please note that I no longer take on new speech therapy clients.

I am not able to reply to all feedback comments, but I do read them and appreciate you taking the time to share!

Thank you for your understanding!

 

For anything else - please feel free to contact me using the form below