Strategies to Build Successful Vocal Communication for Children with ASD

PRESENTED BY NANCY R. KAUFMAN, MA, CCC-SLP
KCC OWNER & DIRECTOR

Nancy is a speech-language pathologist and renowned expert in childhood apraxia of speech and other speech disorders. This one-hour seminar covers:

  • Initial skills children need for success
  • Characteristics of childhood apraxia of speech
  • Overview of the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP)
  • How word approximations can help children develop functional, expressive, and social language

Nancy’s content is enhanced by video examples of children in therapy sessions.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Toilet Training for Children with Autism

CREATED BY LINDSAY MUNCEY, MA, BCBA &
AMANDA PRATER, MA, BCBA

*Updated with captions

This session was originally presented virtually by Lindsay and Amanda for Metro Parent's Living with Autism workshop in November of 2021 was re-recorded by Amanda in February 2022. It includes guidance for parents regarding prerequisite skills, techniques, handling frustrations and much more.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Understanding & Resolving Sleep
Challenges in ASD

PRESENTED BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA

* Updated with captions

This session is a MUST if you have a child who struggles to fall asleep, wakes up in the night, and/or needs others to be present when he/she falls asleep. We look at what research shows about how to most effectively treat sleep issues commonly associated with autism. Information from the most credible sources is reviewed and shared. Parents can complete a sleep worksheet to help identify their child’s unique challenges about sleep and leave with specific tools and strategies to implement immediately.

 

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Nancy Speaks with Kate & Amy on SLP Nerdcast

Don't miss Nancy Kaufman on the most-recent episode of SLP Nerdcast! She has a wonderful conversation with Kate Grandbois and Amy Wonkka about treating speech motor disorders, the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol, and her outlook on evidence-based practice. The podcast even offers ASHA CEUs for the episode!

About SLP Nerdcast

SLP Nerdcast offers ASHA CEUs through podcast learning. They discuss clinical issues and best practices relevant to speech-language pathologists and review resources and literature while trying to not bore you to tears.

Strategies to Reduce and Manage Challenging Behavior

PRESENTED BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA

* Updated with captions

This session provides parents with the skills to evaluate challenging behaviors in the moment and feel confident they are responding correctly. Responding correctly is absolutely critical if behaviors are going to decrease over time. Often, adults respond in a way to stop the behavior in the moment but doing so may inadvertently be contributing to the problem behavior.

Parents will be able to:

  • Identify and explain the functions/reasons challenging behaviors occur
  • Practice responding accordingly to challenging behaviors based on function/reason
  • Help coach others to also respond correctly

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Play With a Purpose:
How to Be Successful in Play With Your Child

PRESENTED BY LINDSAY MUNCEY, MA, BCBA
& AMANDA PRATER, MA, BCBA
ABA Program Directors

We all know “play is the work of the child” but some parents feel like playing with their child is work. This may be because it is difficult to know how to play with a child who plays differently. This session will provide some guidance on how to approach play as a play partner. We will provide strategies to reduce demands and insure a balance in play which may keep your child playing with you longer and enjoying it more.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Understanding the IEP Process &
Special Education Services

PRESENTED BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA

This session focuses on bridging the clinical ABA experience to the public school setting and includes planning and advocating tips for parents.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Selecting First Words to Teach Children with Autism

PRESENTED BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA
KATIE FENSKE, MA, CCC-SLP
BRIANNA MORALES, MA, CCC-SLP

This session was presented at the Autism Alliance of Michigan's "Navigating Autism Today" virtual conference in March, 2021. Whether the manner of communication is speech, picture selection, or the use of an AAC (augmentative communication) device, the choice of “first words” is an important thing to consider for parents, speech pathologists, behavior analysts and teachers. What we know about which words are learned first and under what conditions in typical development should be considered when selecting “first words” to teach a child with autism.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Overview of Applied Behavior Analysis

What to Expect in ABA at the KCC

PRESENTED BY AMANDA PRATER, MA, BCBA (K1)
& LINDSAY MUNCEY, MA, BCBA (K2)
ABA BUILDING DIRECTORS 

This session provides an overview of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and its basic principles. Parents will learn what to expect from an early intervention ABA program and how teaching goals are selected. They will also learn to read weekly data sheets to review progress each week and work to carry over skills at home.

Questions?

Contact our ABA department at 248-737-3430 or email below.

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Summer Sensory Ideas to Retain School Skills

BY CHRIS PURGATORI, MOT, OTRL
Occupational Therapist

Summer is here! While many kids thrive on relaxed days and fun activities, others struggle without the structure and routine they’re used to during the school year. Meanwhile, parents worry that time off from school will cause their children to fall behind. Summer sensory activities can help! Kids of all abilities benefit from sensory play, which increases brain functioning, improves emotional regulation, and supports their ability to process new information.

Start your adventures by sharing the “plan for the day” with your kids using a picture, verbal or written schedule. This gives them the routine they crave and assists with easier transitions, including going back to school in the fall.

  • Beach trip. Walking or playing in the sand provides great tactile input that can be used for calming and organizing a child’s body. Forming letters in the sand also adds tactile input to handwriting practice.
  • Outdoor scavenger hunt. The outdoors is filled with unique, tangible objects to aid in the learning process. Challenge your children with multistep directions (find something that is crunchy and something that is green). Teach same versus different skills and solve math problems (two sticks plus three worms equals five total items).
  • Outdoor obstacle courses. Sequences provide movement and heavy work that calm and organize while improving body and spatial awareness. An example: roll down a hill, go down a slide, complete a hopscotch grid then bike ride for a certain distance.
  • Swimming. Swimming provides movement and heavy work which aids in regulation, engagement and body awareness. It can also improve bilateral coordination that aids handwriting, cutting and coloring skills.
  • Play at the park. Climbing, swinging and balancing required by many playground activities improve fine motor control and increased body awareness.
  • Nature hunt. Create cards with pictures of 10-15 items such as trees, flowers, bees, clouds and bikes. When a child finds an item while out and about, ask them to write the word before marking it off on their board. This helps with handwriting and the visual scanning needed for reading.
  • Chalk or sidewalk paint. Use these media to work on writing shapes and letters or to solve math problems. Chalk adds an additional tactile input to improve overall memory; using a squirt bottle filled with water to erase the chalk improves hand strengthening.
  • Sports. Activities that address hand-foot-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and crossing the body’s midline help with reading, writing and body awareness.

Summer provides endless opportunities to continue the learning process right in your own backyard! We hope you have a great time together.