『The Autism Little Learners Podcast』のカバーアート

The Autism Little Learners Podcast

The Autism Little Learners Podcast

著者： Tara Phillips
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You want to help your autistic students or child thrive — but it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out where to start. Whether you're wondering how to build connection, teach communication, navigate sensory needs, or support your paras… you're in the right place. Welcome to The Autism Little Learners Podcast, where compassion meets practical strategy. Host Tara Phillips, a speech-language pathologist with over two decades of experience, brings you neurodiversity-affirming insights, step-by-step tips, and real-world examples that help you feel confident, prepared, and inspired to support young autistic children. This show is relaxed, upbeat, and packed with actionable ideas you can use right away — whether you're a special educator, SLP, general education teacher, paraprofessional, parent, grandparent, or anyone who loves a young autistic child. Each episode explores topics like: Teaching communication and AAC in natural, joyful ways Using visual supports and routines to create predictability Fostering co-regulation and independence Understanding sensory needs and reducing stress Supporting paraprofessionals with clarity and compassion Building strong, trusting relationships with autistic kids Tara's approach is rooted in connection over compliance — helping you see each child's strengths, honor their communication style, and create an inclusive environment where everyone can succeed. Subscribe to The Autism Little Learners Podcast and join the movement toward more compassionate, affirming early childhood education. Connect with Tara: 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/autismlittlelearners 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/autismlittlelearners 🌐 Website: autismlittlelearners.com2025 人間関係 子育て
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  • #187: Autism Is Not A Tragedy with Cari Ebert (Keynote from 2026 Preschool Autism Summit)

    #187: Autism Is Not A Tragedy with Cari Ebert (Keynote from 2026 Preschool Autism Summit)
    2026/08/11
    "Don't buy him letters." That's what a professional told Cari Ebert when her son Aaron was two. He was "obsessed," they said, and needed to be moved toward more appropriate play. Cari ignored them. Those letters were how Aaron showed joy, and how she connected with him. Nearly two decades later, that same deep interest in letters, numbers, and dates is what landed him a job he loves. That moment is the heart of today's episode, because it's exactly what happens when we treat autism as a journey instead of a tragedy. This is Cari's keynote from this year's Preschool Autism Summit. She brings two lenses to it: 30+ years as a pediatric SLP, and 21 years as mom to her autistic son. Together they make a case that so much of what we were taught to fear, grieve, and "fix" was never the problem. The problem was the language, the linear milestones, and the compliance-first thinking we inherited. Cari walks us through Aaron's whole story, from spelling words before he could speak, to teaching himself to tie his shoes at 20, to reading bedtime stories to his baby nephew. Along the way she gives us a clearer, kinder way to talk to families and a real shift in how we show up for autistic children. We'll talk about: why the child is exactly the same the day after a diagnosis, and it's the adults who need to shiftthe power of first messages, and how "red flags" teach families to fear a diagnosis deficit-based language versus affirming, neutral, strengths-based languagewhat autism is not, and what it actually isthe spiky, non-linear developmental profile reframing the spectrum into a support-needs profile honoring autistic joy as the doorway to connection and learning Because we don't get to decide where an autistic child's journey ends. Our job is to keep believing there's more ahead. In This Episode, You'll Learn Why autism is a journey, not a tragedy, and what changes when we lead with curiosity instead of fearHow deficit-driven language sends the message that something is "wrong" with the child, and how to choose affirming or neutral language insteadWhy autism is not a delay, a disease, or something a child outgrowsWhat a spiky developmental profile is, and why milestone charts don't fit autistic developmentHow to give families space to grieve their expectations, not the child in front of themWhat presuming potential looks like in real life, including how video modeling helped Aaron learn a skill on his own timelineWhy deep interests, from Metallica to NASCAR, are the way in, not something to redirect Key Takeaways The diagnosis doesn't change the child; it changes how the adults see and support them Regulation creates the conditions for learning, and connection comes before communicationAll behavior has meaning; it's a clue, not a problem to extinguish Progress isn't linear, and growth continues across the whole lifespan Communication is a right, not something a child has to earn Autistic children are different, not lessWe stretch strengths instead of fixing deficits Families are the experts on their child, and the most important members of the team Try This Take one traditional IEP goal and ask AI to rewrite it in neurodiversity-affirming language, without percentage-of-accuracy measuresSwap deficit words for neutral ones this week: "deep interests" instead of "obsessions," "prefers consistency" instead of "rigid" Learn one child's deep interest, and use it as your starting point instead of redirecting it Reframe a behavior you'd usually try to stop, and ask what it's communicating about the nervous system Notice a child's glimmers, the small things that bring them micro-moments of joy, and make room for them Start with connection before you ask for a single communication skill Related Resources & Links Cari Ebert's website - The Learning to Learn program, the Silly Sounds cards, and The SLP Talk Show podcast Preschool Autism Summit 2026 - Grab the summit replay bundle, a free guide, and get on the waitlist for 2027 Autism Little Learners Membership When we treat autism as a journey instead of a tragedy, we stop asking a child to prove they're worthy of our belief and start offering it from the very beginning. Cari's son didn't become worthy the day he got a job or gave a keynote. He was always worthy. Once you see every autistic child that way, it changes everything about how you teach.
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    1 時間 15 分
  • #186: It's Not Defiance, It's PDA (with Casey Ehrlich) Encore

    #186: It's Not Defiance, It's PDA (with Casey Ehrlich) Encore
    2026/08/04
    The one who melts down at the smallest request, who seems to dig in the moment you say "do this."...you know this child. In this episode I sit down with Casey Ehrlich, PhD — social scientist, founder of At Peace Parents, and a leader in the first peer-reviewed PDA research in the United States — to talk about PDA: what it is, why it's a nervous system response rather than defiance, and what actually helps. PDA isn't defiance. It's a survival-level drive for autonomy — and once you see that, you respond to the child in front of you completely differently. PDA most often stands for pathological demand avoidance, but many autistic people prefer pervasive (or persistent) drive for autonomy — because autonomy is right at the root of what activates the nervous system. Casey defines it as a survival drive for autonomy and equality that can override other survival instincts like eating, sleeping, toileting, and even safety. We talk through what PDA actually looks like in young children, why behavior that reads as oppositional or manipulative is so often a nervous-system response, and the practical, compassionate shifts that help a dysregulated child feel safe again — in the classroom and at home. We'll talk about: ● what PDA stands for — and why many autistic people prefer "pervasive drive for autonomy" ● why demand avoidance is a nervous system response, not manipulation or defiance ● the five characteristics Casey looks for, including equalizing behavior ● why we flip the order for PDA kids: nervous system and autonomy first ● the difference between independence and autonomy ● real strategies: signals of safety, declarative language, and rhythms over routines In This Episode, You'll Learn • What PDA is, and why "pervasive or persistent drive for autonomy" may describe it better • How a survival drive for autonomy can override eating, sleeping, toileting, and safety • Why "equalizing behavior" can look oppositional but is actually a nervous-system response • How to read the early signals that a child is moving toward fight-or-flight • Why reducing spoken language and using declarative language lowers perceived demands • How to send signals of safety with your face, tone, and body — and why getting low matters • What the "four S's" — safe nervous system, screens, sensory/novelty, special interest — reveal about regulation • Why repair and felt safety, not teaching, are the moves in the hard moment Key Takeaways • PDA is a nervous system response, not defiance or manipulation • Autonomy is at the root — a perceived loss of autonomy activates the survival brain • For PDA kids, think nervous system and autonomy first, then sensory, executive function, and communication • Independence is doing a task alone; autonomy is having a genuine say in what happens • Signals of safety often matter more than words • Declarative language lowers the demand a child perceives • Think rhythms, not rigid routines — even a chosen routine can start to feel like lost autonomy • Compassion over compliance — always Try This • Pause and ask whether a behavior might be a nervous-system response to a perceived demand • Lower the demand: swap questions and directions for declarative, observational statements • Get low to the child's level and soften your face, tone, and pace • Offer real autonomy — a genuine say, not just a choice between two adult-chosen options • Reduce spoken language during escalation and wait for the child to re-engage • Build in rhythms instead of rigid routines • In the hard moment, focus on repair and felt safety, not on teaching the lesson Related Resources & Links 💚 Casey Ehrlich — At Peace Parents (free PDA masterclass) 💚 At Peace Parents Podcast 💚 The Declarative Language Handbook by Linda K. Murphy 💚 Free Visual Support Starter Set 💚 Autism Little Learners Membership When we stop asking "How do I get this child to comply?" and start asking "What is this child's nervous system telling me?" everything changes. PDA kids aren't giving us a hard time — they're having a hard time. And when we lead with autonomy, safety, and compassion, we give them what they actually need to come back to calm and connection.
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    48 分
  • #185: Why Prompting Backfires: Gestalt Language Processing with Alexandria Zachos - Encore

    #185: Why Prompting Backfires: Gestalt Language Processing with Alexandria Zachos - Encore
    2026/07/28
    That child who waits for you to start every sentence? In this replay I sit down with SLP Alexandria Zachos — founder of Meaningful Speech — to talk about how years of prompting quietly create prompt dependence, and how silence, connection, and a child-led approach help gestalt language processors find their own spontaneous voice. Prompting doesn't lead to spontaneous language. Connection, silence, and meeting a child where they are do. Gestalt language processing (GLP) is a normal, natural way of developing language — just a different path than the analytic, word-by-word route most of us were taught. Alex walks us through what it actually is, how the stages unfold from delayed echolalia to flexible, novel grammar, and why so many kids we've labeled "echolalic" or "scripting" are simply gestalt language processors who need a different kind of support. We also dig into the hard truth about prompting — why fill-in-the-blank, cloze phrases, and always initiating for a child can lead to prompt dependence — and what to do instead: natural language modeling, honoring all communication, and trusting silence to make room for language to emerge. We'll talk about: ● what gestalt language processing is — and why it isn't a disorder ● the six stages of gestalt language development, from delayed echolalia to complex grammar ● how prompting and compliance-based strategies create prompt dependence over time ● why our ultimate goal is spontaneous, flexible, multimodal communication ● how silence, connection, and being a trusted communication partner change everything ● why it's never too late for an older child who has become prompt dependent In This Episode, You'll Learn • What gestalt language processing is, and how it differs from analytic language development • How the stages unfold — delayed echolalia, mitigated echolalia, the "magic" word-freeing stage, and grammar • Why delayed echolalia is always communicating something, even when it isn't literal • How to do "detective work" to figure out what a child's gestalt actually means • Why years of prompting and cloze phrases lead to prompt dependence, not spontaneous language • What targeted natural language modeling looks like across communicative functions • Why "the change starts with us," not with fixing the child • How silence and the OWL approach (Observe, Wait, Listen) create space for language to emerge • Why acknowledging all communication — a smile, a nod, a repeat — builds the trust language grows from Key Takeaways • Gestalt language processing is a natural way of developing language, not a disorder • Delayed echolalia is meaningful — it's communicating something worth investigating • Prompting does not build spontaneous communicators; child-led support does • Our goal is spontaneous, flexible, novel communication — including through AAC • Change starts with what we model and how we respond, not with the child • Silence is a strategy: spontaneous language emerges when the pressure is off • Acknowledge all communication to build the relationship and trust • Use a child's own gestalts — and put them into AAC — for instant buy-in • It's never too late for an older, prompt-dependent child Try This • Notice how often you prompt, question, or fill in the blank — then try saying less • Use the OWL approach: observe, wait, and listen before you speak • Let silence sit; follow the child's lead and join what they love • Acknowledge every attempt to communicate with a repeat, a smile, or a nod • Model language naturally instead of asking the child to perform it • When you hear a gestalt, do some detective work to learn what it means • Add a child's gestalts into their AAC device for automatic buy-in • With an older prompt-dependent child, plan low-pressure sessions to rebuild trust first Related Resources & Links 💚 Alexandria Zachos — Meaningful Speech (free masterclass on echolalia & child-led therapy) 💚 Meaningful Speech — Beginner's Guide to AAC (free masterclass) 💚 Natural Language Acquisition by Marge Blanc 💚 Free Visual Support Starter Set 💚 Autism Little Learners Membership When we stop trying to pull language out of a child and start building a relationship they feel safe in, something shifts. Gestalt language processors don't need more prompting — they need us to slow down, model naturally, honor every way they communicate, and trust that the silence is doing work too. That's where spontaneous, joyful communication has room to grow.
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    51 分
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