If you work with children who have autism, minimal joint attention, and limited expressive language, this episode challenges what you’ve been taught and replaces it with something far more useful.

This is not a “wait and see” conversation. This is a rethink-everything conversation.

Drawing from a powerful systematic review and the lens of dynamic systems theory, this episode breaks down why language development in autism does not follow a predictable path and why that actually changes how we should intervene starting today.

You will walk away with a clearer understanding of how language can emerge in unexpected ways, why inconsistency is often a sign of growth, and how to respond in the moment so you do not accidentally shut down emerging communication.

This is about seeing the child differently and adjusting your intervention accordingly.

What You’ll Learn...

Why joint attention is not a prerequisite for language
The reality that some children develop language without following typical developmental sequences?

How children may learn language visually, through patterns, reading, or AAC rather than through listening?

Why “inconsistency” in communication is often a sign that a new skill is emerging
How dynamic systems theory explains variability in language development?

Because the child in front of you is not broken. They are showing you their pathway. You just have to be willing to take it?

3 Clinical Takeaways You Can Use Immediately

1. There is no single pathway to language
   Children may not follow a linear progression from babbling to words to sentences. Some may start with scripts, reading, or full phrases. Your job is to identify the pathway and build from it.
2. Variability is not a problem
   When a child says a word once and then “loses it,” that is not regression. That is emergence. Do not punish inconsistency. Support it.
3. Be dynamic in your response
   You cannot use a fixed script with a variable system. Adjust moment by moment. Increase support, then fade it. Follow attention, motivation, and engagement in real time.

Referenced in This Episode

Kissine, M., Saint-Denis, A., & Mottron, L. (2023).
Language acquisition can be truly atypical in autism: Beyond joint attention. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 153, 105384.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105384

Spencer, J. P., Perone, S., & Buss, A. T. (2011).
Twenty years and going strong: A dynamic systems revolution in motor and cognitive development. Child Development Perspectives, 5(4), 260–266.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00194.x

Your Next Step

If this episode is hitting something for you, if you’re realizing that your therapy needs to shift from linear to dynamic, then you need tools that actually match that approach.

Because insight without application does not change outcomes.

Inside the SIS Membership, you get weekly, ready-to-use, literacy-based movement activities that are built for exactly this kind of work.

You are not guessing what to do next
You are not piecing together random strategies
You are walking into your sessions with a clear, research-informed plan that supports real language growth

This is where theory meets practice in a way that actually works.

👉 Join today: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

Roll up your sleeves and meet me at the intervention drawing board.

If you work with four, five, or six-year-olds with speech sound disorders, this episode was made for you — and this research will change how you document, advocate, and make eligibility decisions for your students.

In this episode, we break down a brand-new 2026 open-access study that every school-based SLP, early childhood SLP, and preschool speech-language pathologist needs to save, cite, and have ready to go. Whether you're navigating a negative 2.0 standard deviation eligibility criteria, writing IEP goals for preschoolers with speech sound disorders, or advocating for a child who doesn't yet "qualify" on paper, this research is your clinical ammunition.

This landmark study examined peer perceptions of children with speech sound disorders across ages four, five, and six:

• At age 4: Neurotypical peers already rate children with severe speech sound disorders lower across domains of intelligence, friendliness, and likability compared to typically developing talkers.
• At age 5: Children with moderate-to-severe speech sound disorders are rated lower across all social domains by their neurotypical peers.
• At age 6: Even children with mild speech sound disorders are rated lower and are seen as less desirable friendship candidates compared to neurotypical peers.

The bottom line? Severity matters. Age matters. And the social stakes get higher every single year.

• Use this research to support eligibility decisions when standardized scores alone don't tell the full story
• Cite it alongside teacher observations, parent input, direct observation of socialization, and connected speech samples
• Document the educational and social impact of the speech sound disorder, not just the score
• Know your state's eligibility criteria: some states require -2.0 SD, others -1.0 SD, and others rely on professional judgment of adverse educational impact
• Advocate proactively: a wait-and-see approach has real social consequences for your students

Henry, M., & Bent, T. (2026). Let's be friends: Peer perceptions of disordered speech in preschool and early school-aged children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 35(1).

🔓 FREE Open Access Article: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2025_AJSLP-25-00093

Download it. Save it. Cite it. Your students are counting on you.

📖 RECOMMENDED RESOURCE:

Speech Sound Disorders: A Comprehensive Evaluation and Treatment Guide by Kelly Vess. This is written to support SLPs at every level, from graduate students to seasoned clinicians.

👉 Grab your copy on Amazon

🚀 MAXIMIZE NEUROPLASTICITY — JOIN THE SIS MEMBERSHIP TODAY

Here's what we know: earlier is better. Neuroplasticity is at its highest level in the preschool years. Are you using the most effective treatment targets to capitalize on that window?

The SIS Membership gives you access to complex treatment targets — the evidence-based approach that leverages the power of neuroplasticity to drive maximum speech sound gains in minimal time. If you are working with preschoolers and early elementary students, complex targets are the clinical game-changer you need in your toolkit right now.

This episode just showed you the social urgency. The SIS Membership gives you the clinical tools to act on it.

👉 Join the SIS Membership today and start using complex treatment targets with your students. Because we're not treating a mouth. We're treating a child — and every session counts.

If you work with children with autism, developmental delays, or complex communication needs, this episode is a must-listen.

Today, we’re talking about cerebral visual impairment, or CVI, and why it may be one of the most overlooked reasons children struggle with communication, attention, social interaction, AAC use, and motor-based learning.

This episode is not about whether a child can see an item on an eye chart. It is about how the brain processes visual information and how that affects language, participation, and learning.

In this episode, I share 10 practical strategies from the literature that speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants can use right now to better support children with visual processing challenges. We discuss why reducing clutter matters, how to make materials more visually accessible, why movement activates learning, and how active task-based therapy can improve visual-motor integration.

You’ll learn:

• Why is cortical visual impairment increasingly referred to as cerebral visual impairment
• How CVI affects communication and social development
• What visual complexity does to learning
• Why movement is critical for visual engagement
• How to adjust therapy and AAC supports for better outcomes

Join the SIS Membership for ready-to-use literacy-based, movement-based activities that help you put these ideas into practice right away:
https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

Featured article:
Wilkinson, K. M., Elko, L. R., Elko, E., McCarty, T. V., Sowers, D. J., Blackstone, S., & Roman-Lantzy, C. (2023). An evidence-based approach to augmentative and alternative communication design for individuals with cortical visual impairment. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 32, 1939–1960. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-22-00397

Thank you for being with me at today’s intervention drawing board for a better tomorrow,💚Kelly