225. Under the Autism Iceberg: Why Isn't Speech Developing & What to Do? with Dr. Karen Chenausky

An estimated 30% of autistic children never develop functional, fluent speech. Why? How can we DSD (do something different) to improve outcomes? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Karen Chenausky, a leading expert and researcher in speech development in autism, to find out why and what we can do about it, starting Monday morning. Dr. Chenausky directs the SPAN (Speech in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Lab at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. She is both a speech scientist and a speech-language pathologist specializing in autistic speech development, with support from numerous NIH grants and publications. In this episode, you will learn: The five areas of challenge that can limit spoken language development in autistic children How to identify suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech in minimally speaking children How the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales can help preschool SLPs see the whole child What Auditory Motor Mapping Training (AMMT) is and why melodic speech may work for some autistic children How to run dynamic sessions using easy, on-the-cusp, and challenge-level tasks How JASPER can help build the prerequisite skills for spoken language and AAC success Research referenced in this episode Chenausky, K., Norton, A., Tager-Flusberg, H., & Schlaug, G. (2018). Behavioral predictors of improved speech output in minimally verbal children with autism. Autism Research, 11(10), 1356-1365. Free link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30230... Chenausky, K., Brignell, A., Morgan, A., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2019). Motor speech impairment predicts expressive language in minimally verbal, but not low verbal, individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4. Free link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35155... *To connect with Dr. Chenausky, Google search "Karen Chenausky SPAN Lab" This conversation will change how you evaluate and treat your minimally speaking preschoolers. When we know better, we do better. 00:00 Meet Dr Karen Chenausky 01:04 Why Speech Doesn’t Develop 04:54 Motor Speech and CAS 07:20 AAC and Communication Choices 10:00 Evaluating Minimally Speaking Kids 13:28 AMMT Melodic Speech Therapy 23:40 Dynamic Therapy and Goal Setting 37:52 Better Assessments and Wrap Up SIS Membership To receive evidence-based, ready-to-use, evidence-based therapy materials in your inbox weekly,, join the SIS membership: https://www.kellyvess.com Looking forward to having you at the intervention drawing board.💚KellyVessSLP