recorded, neurodiversity affirming, online parent course
connect & Grow
For curious parents of autistic children.
Helping you connect with your autistic child, or child who might be autistic.
• Join me, neurodivergent Speech Therapist Adina Levy for neurodiversity affirming parent education that will help you understand your autistic (or possibly autistic) child and make plans for how to support them to connect & grow!
• Gain confidence, knowledge and understanding about autism, how you can support your child’s
communication development, and advocate for them
• Go at your own pace – with 12 months access you can watch and re-watch when you’re ready. I recommend watching 1 module each week for 6 weeks, for maximum momentum!
Which of these sound familiar to you?
You've put your child's name down on loads of speech therapy waitlists... And when a spot comes up it might be hard to fit into your busy life!
Your autistic child is seeing a therapist and you want to know more, to understand autism and understand how to help your child
You are wondering if your child is autistic, perhaps you're in between appointments or waiting to find out
This recoded, on-demand online speech therapy course is for you if:
Your child is autistic
... or they might be autistic (you may be on a diagnosis journey)
Your child is aged around 1-5 years old
Your child is non-speaking, speaking a little bit, or starting to have some conversations (but perhaps with some difficulty)
You want to understand your child better. You want to understand autism and neurodiversity better
You want to learn how to help your child develop communication and interaction skills through connection & in everyday life
This online course is open to people living anywhere in the world!
In this series of 6 x 30-40 minute recorded webinars, you’ll learn about:
Autism, Neurodiversity & Identify Goals for your Child
🌈 What it means to be ‘neurodiversity affirming’ and why your autistic child needs you to understand this
🎯 Set goals that make sense for your child and family
Understand & Support Sensory Needs, 'Fussy Eating', and Let's get PLAYING!
🍿 ‘Fussy eating’ and how to support your child if they have a limited food range
🧸 Play! Understanding different types of play and supporting your child by playing their way to help them learn & connect with you
Help your Child Understand what you Communicate to Them
🙌 Non-speaking ways you can share messages with your child
🖼 Create individualised visuals for your home during the session, to help daily life go more smoothly for everyone!
Help your Child Communicate with You & Support their Behaviour
🤗 All communication is OK! We discuss actions, sounds, gestures, signing, Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC), speech and more!
😌 Understand and support your child’s behaviour in affirming, supportive ways by understanding the ‘deep why’ behind the behaviour
Emotions & Interacting with Others - in a Way that's Right for Your Child
🌬 Find individualised strategies that help your child regulate
🤗 Support your child to interact with other people in ways that are right for them – a neurodiversity affirming way of viewing socialising
Activity Ideas, Collaborate with Others & Plan for the Future!
👥 Connect with childcare, preschool and other therapists so you’re all on the same page in supporting your child
🗺 Navigate diagnosis & support pathways, navigate NDIS, and choose your child’s team
🎯 Plan for the next steps – goals and actions
Using NDIS Funding for this Course –
Self-Managed or Plan-Managed Funds
When can I claim the course fees back from NDIS? When you register and pay for the course, you’ll receive an invoice. In most cases, you can claim using your child’s NDIS funding if their goals align with this course and you have self- or plan-managed funds.
How can I claim this back from NDIS if I have plan-managed funds? Submit your invoice to your plan manager. They will help you get reimbursed and do that process directly with you.
Can I get an invoice from Play. Learn. Chat. and get my Plan-Manager to pay it directly? No, that is not an option for this course. Payment is by credit or debit card only, as this is a low-cost support.
Which part of the NDIS budget does this come from? You will be able to claim for this support under Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living (where you claim regular speech therapy support). In some cases you can use funding for Parent Training if your child’s plan has this.
The course is just $275 AUD for more than 3 hours of speech therapy support
This is less than the cost of 1.5 hours of individual speech therapy support. You can learn a LIFETIME’s worth of ideas from joining this program!
What you get when you register:
Access to 6 x ~30 minute recorded webinars for 12 months
Downloads to help you put your plans and knowledge into action!
Ongoing access to the Play. Learn. Chat. Community Facebook group
Why I created the Connect & Grow Online Speech Therapy Course
Across Australia, it can be hard to get speech therapy support at the time you need it, and with the right apporach that fits your family and child.
There are long waitlists in many places, and some therapists are not experienced in working with autistic children or children on a diagnosis pathway. I passionately believe in the power of coaching parents to understand how they can best support their children’s communication and interactions. There’s no need to ‘wait’ and do nothing! You can get started right now in helping your child!
As an experiened parent coach and neurodivergent person, I am passionate about helping families like yours to understand and honour your child’s individual strengths. I teach strategies that use your child’s interests and strengths to help them (and help your family) with the things that are hard.
When you register for my online recorded Connect & Grow parent course, you’ll get a wholistic, neurodiversity affirming understanding of who your child is. You’ll learn how you can support them to develop communication skills, understand their sensory needs, and how to work with other therapists and education settings to help them understand your child better.
Over 6 webinars, you’ll learn, make plans, and my hope is that you’ll come out of the program more confident and knowledgable about supporting your autistic (or possibly autistic) child!
Adina Levy
Neurodivergent Speech Therapist
I'm a neurodivergent speech therapist, working mainly with autistic children and kids with disabilities since 2012. I live in Sydney, Australia with my cheeky 3-year old and my husband.
I’m dedicated to helping families understand children better, and develop a deeper acceptance of your child’s interests, passions, and individual strengths.
I have a neurodiversity affirming approach to my work with children and families. I believe that all brains are wonderful, different and needed. All children’s and adults’ individual strengths and passions should be celebrated and honoured.
I’m always learning and adapting my practice - I love getting feedback and I’m always working to better support kids and families, and advocate for autistic and neurodivergent kids to have a valued place in their world.
I love making information clear and helpful for busy families – strategies and activities are built into your everyday life so that ‘speech therapy practice’ is something that happens within your daily life and play.
Everything is achievable and together we can help your child develop their best communication and interaction skills while building up your confidence to support your child on their journey!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do the course all in 1 sitting?
Nope! You can log in any time and watch as little or as much as you want. The 6 videos are each around 30 minutes long.
I strongly recommend watching 1 module a week over 6 weeks, so you have time to put into practice ideas you’ve learned in the course each week.
Do I have to watch all the videos in order?
You can navigate around the modules and videos in any order, but I suggest watching them in order.
You can go straight to the parts that are most interesting for you right now, and you can re-visit any sections you find helpful, in the future.
Where can I access the course from? Is there an app?
The Connect & Grow course is hosted on a wonderful online course network called Kajabi. You will have a personal login to the Play. Learn. Chat. ‘corner’ of Kajabi and you’ll be able to view the videos and course information from anywhere with internet access.
You can use any device, smart phone, tablet or computer.
There’s even a Kajabi App (iPhone and Android) and you can download this to access the course easily, on your phone!
Can I use NDIS Funding for the cost of this course?
Probably, yes!
If your child has Self-Managed or Plan-Managed NDIS funding, and you have goals in your child’s plan that align with the course content, you are likely to be able to claim the cost of the course on your child’s NDIS funds.
This will probably go under ‘Capacity Building’ where Speech Therapy funding normally comes from, however there are many different ways that plans look so if you’re not sure, speak to your Planner or LAC.
You will receive a ‘paid invoice’ after you pay, which you can use for your claims. If you’re plan-managed, you’ll pay and then submit a claim to your plan manager.
How do I know that the information in the course is reliable?
As a Speech Therapist with experience since 2012, I pride myself on keeping up to date with best practice, current research, and I’m deeply embedded in the neurodivergent community so I’m always learning and reflecting on my own lived experiences and the experiences of other autistic and neurodivergent people. It’s a passion of mine and I share strategies that are aligned with the most up to date information at the time of filming. I also regularly review and update course content in line with new information or ideas.
All of the info I share is triangulated with the ‘real world’ experiences of the children and families that I work with so that you know what I teach isn’t just ‘by the book’ but it also works in real life!
I’ll continue to update the course with further developments as research teaches us more about the most helpful strategies that support children to learn to talk, play and connect!
If I do this online course, does my child still need a speech therapist?
Maybe! I don’t know you personally and I am not able to give tailored, individual information.
If you are already seeing a speech therapist, let them know you’re doing this course and talk to them about what you’re learning!
If you are on waitlists and you’re doing Connect & Grow Course to help your child while you wait, FABULOUS! You’ll have a really solid start to helping your child by the time you get a spot with a speech therapist!
In some cases you might find that using the strategies in this online course are enough to help your child progress well in their interaction and communication skills. That’s great! You may not need direct speech therapy services and you’ve learned a whole heap of fabulous, supportive strategies!
My child is 6 and non-speaking. Are they too old for the course?
I think you’d probably get a lot out of this course. I share that this course is for parents of kids aged 1-5 as a rough guideline.