If you work with children with autism who are minimally speaking, this episode is a must-listen. We’re breaking down why the “Look at” sentence strip has been a total game-changer in my therapy room—and why it consistently helps children begin to speak, connect, and comment on the world around them.

After 25 years of practice, I can tell you this tool does more than encourage speech—it builds neurological pathways for speech to flow. You’ll learn:
✅ The neuroscience behind why repetition and motor consistency matter
✅ How DTTC and “look at” work hand-in-hand to build automaticity
✅ Why “look at” is far more powerful than “I want” for developing joint attention
✅ How to pair high-tech AAC with low-tech sentence strips for best outcomes
✅ The 10 reasons this strip transforms therapy for children with autism

This episode is full of practical insight, real-world examples from my SIS members’ “back porches,” and evidence-based strategies that rewire how we think about early speech intervention.

🎧 Tune in, and then grab your own Look at sentence strip and watch your minimally speaking students light up the room.

💫 Join the SIS Membership today for access to the weekly movement- and literacy-based therapy materials that pair perfectly with this episode—complete with parent emails and ready-to-go Google Slides for your whole group sessions.
👉 https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

Thanks for joining me at today’s drawing board for a better tomorrow, 💚Kelly

Discover how a 2025 Nature autism study transforms early intervention in speech language pathology. Learn how family history, genetics, and executive function shape assessment, therapy planning, and lifelong communication outcomes.

If you work with children with autism, this episode will change how you think about early intervention forever. A major 2025 study published in Nature titled Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age of diagnosis has revealed that early onset autism and later developing autism are not the same.

This is one of the largest autism studies ever conducted, examining more than 47,000 individuals around the world. The results reshape how we understand autism heritability, family psychiatric history, and executive function development.

In this episode, you will learn:
✅ Why early autism diagnosed before age three is genetically distinct from later developing autism that emerges in middle childhood or adolescence
✅ How family psychiatric history including ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use predicts later developing autism
✅ Why the DSM 5 removal of the age three cutoff was not only progressive but empirically supported
✅ How this research should change your parent input forms and follow up recommendations
✅ Why executive function including attention, cognitive flexibility, and self regulation is the bridge between prevention and intervention

This study confirms that autism can emerge at any point in development when social and academic demands exceed a child’s executive function capacity. That finding changes everything about how we evaluate, how we plan early intervention, and how we empower families.

If you are ready to move beyond reactive labels toward proactive, capacity building intervention, this episode will show you how to do exactly that.

💡 Join the SIS Membership at https://www.kellyvess.com/sis
to access weekly movement based literacy and language activities that build executive function, the foundation for lifelong communication, learning, and independence.

If you work with minimally speaking children or children with autism, this episode is a must-listen. Speech-language pathologist Kelly Vess takes on the five biggest myths about high-tech AAC (augmentative and alternative communication)—and backs every point with current peer-reviewed research.

Learn why high-tech AAC devices:
✅ Do not require self-regulation or joint attention first
✅ Are not too complex for preschoolers
✅ Increase social interaction rather than limit it
✅ Should not be constantly customized
✅ Must be provided—and supported—by public schools under IDEA and ADA

Kelly breaks down each misconception, explains how to blend high-tech and low-tech AAC for multimodal communication, and challenges you to D.S.D.—Do Something Different—instead of waiting 17 years for “research-to-practice.”

It’s time to empower our minimally speaking students with robust, research-driven voices. Whether you’re an SLP, special educator, or early-childhood professional, you’ll walk away ready to advocate for access, staff training, and parent coaching in AAC implementation.

👉 Join today at www.kellyvess.com/sis