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The Autism Little Learners Podcast

The Autism Little Learners Podcast

Di: 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 Genitorialità e famiglie Relazioni
Episodi
  • #197: Beyond "I Want": Helping AAC Users Say What Matters

    #197: Beyond "I Want": Helping AAC Users Say What Matters
    Oct 20 2026
    Understanding the different communicative functions of AAC means looking beyond "I want" and helping autistic preschoolers communicate what really matters to them. Their family celebrates when Lily says NO. That's what Stefanie, Lily's mom, told me, and this week you'll hear her tell it herself. Including the morning Lily looked at her mom and said, "Words inside." This is week four of our AAC Awareness Month series, and it picks up right where last week's episode on modeling without expectation left off. Once we're modeling AAC, the next question is: modeling what? So much AAC still centers on requesting. I want bubbles. I want cracker. Requesting matters. But it's just one of many communicative functions, and in AAC it often gets most of our attention. In this episode, I'm asking a bigger question. Not "Can this child give me the response I'm looking for?" but "Does this child have a way to express their own thoughts?" You'll hear autistic AAC user Jordyn Zimmerman describe what robust communication lets her do, and we'll talk about choice versus agency, what it really means to honor NO, and why protest is communication too. Because communication isn't really communication if the only messages we're willing to accept are the ones we want the child to say. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why requesting is just one tiny part of communication The words to check for on a child's device, including STOP, I DON'T WANT, DON'T HELP ME, NOT THAT ONE, and THAT'S FUNNY What Jordyn Zimmerman says robust AAC lets her do The difference between choice and agency What honoring NO looks like when something still has to happen How protest shows up beyond a neatly produced "no" A simple one-day AAC modeling audit you can do without changing anything yet Why some vocabulary makes life easier for adults, while other vocabulary makes life richer for the child Key Takeaways Requesting is one small part of communication. Think about your own day. "That's funny." "I'm tired." "Wait." "I changed my mind." Very little of our everyday communication is about asking for something. What's on the device influences what a child can say. If a child can say MORE but not STOP, or I WANT but not I DON'T WANT, we've given them a way to get things, but not the same opportunities to express their agency. Choice isn't the same as agency. Picking the red cup or the blue cup is choice. Agency means you can say "neither," "the green one," or "stop asking me about cups," and the people around you respond. Honoring NO doesn't mean the child always gets what they want. It means we acknowledge their communication. We can say, "I hear you," and then negotiate, offer another option, change the timing, or figure out why something isn't working. Protest is communication. Pushing away, turning away, crying, moving away, or tapping ALL DONE are all ways a child might communicate. Before labeling something as noncompliance, ask yourself what the child might be telling you. Our AAC modeling sends a message. The words we model help show children what they can talk about. Let's make that world big! Robust vocabulary is personal. Dinosaurs, elevators, burping, AGAIN, and maybe even NOT THAT SONG AGAIN. Children deserve access to vocabulary that reflects their interests, personalities, preferences, and experiences. Try This in Your Classroom or at Home You don't need to change everything about how you're modeling AAC. Start with a few small steps. Check the device. Can the child refuse, comment, change their mind, and say how they feel? Honor protests. The next time a child protests, start with "I hear you. You don't want to do this." Notice your modeling. For one day, pay attention to which words you're modeling without trying to change anything yet. Make vocabulary personal. Add words for one thing the child loves and one thing they really don't like. Try this week's challenge. Pick one child and write down five messages they might want to communicate that aren't requests. Then model those messages during one familiar routine. No copying required. We're inviting, not quizzing. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Continue the AAC Awareness Month Series Episodes 194, 195, and 196: Previous episodes in our AAC Awareness Month series, including modeling AAC without expectation Related Podcast Episodes Episode 78: Lilly's Voice: AAC For Everyone! — Hear more from Stefanie and Lily about their AAC journey. Episode 181: What Autistic AAC User Jordyn Zimmerman Wants Every Educator to Know — Learn from Jordyn's experiences and perspective on communication. Free Resource 8 Ways to Honor Protests — A practical guide to recognizing and responding to children's communication with compassion and respect. Coming Up Next Week Next week, we're wrapping up our AAC Awareness Month series by talking about how to fit AAC into the day you already have, and why trying to do everything perfectly might actually be getting in the way.
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    15 min
  • #196: Stop Quizzing, Start Modeling: AAC Without the Pressure

    #196: Stop Quizzing, Start Modeling: AAC Without the Pressure
    Oct 13 2026
    What color is it? Where's the dog? Show me red. Tell me with your talker. If you support AAC users, you might be really good at quiz mode. I know I was. As an SLP, I was trained to elicit responses. I wanted repetitions. I wanted data. I wanted to know: can they do it? And here's the tricky part: quiz mode feels like teaching. We're trying to help. But communication isn't supposed to feel like a test all day. This is part 3 of our AAC Month series. Last week, in Episode 195 [CONFIRM URL], we talked about why children don't need to prove they're "ready" for AAC. When I asked where you get stuck, more than one in four of you said the same thing: what do I do when I model and the child does absolutely nothing? That's what this episode is about. I'm sharing what modeling without expectation really looks like, why silence doesn't necessarily mean nothing is happening, and what to do in that quiet moment instead of asking again. You'll also hear two clips from my friend Rachel Madel, SLP, whose phrase "inspire, don't require" sums up this whole conversation. Because we're teaching language. We're not administering a test. In This Episode, You'll Learn What modeling without expectation looks like in everyday play, like a car going down a ramp Why "quiz mode" feels like teaching but can make communication harder What it's like to learn a new language while someone keeps asking, "What's this?" Why silence doesn't necessarily mean nothing is happening How heavy prompting can teach children to wait to be asked instead of starting communication themselves Why prompting isn't "bad," and the question to ask about what yours is teaching How to turn questions into comments What to do when you model and the child still doesn't respond Key Takeaways Quiz mode feels like teaching, but it adds pressure. Questions and directives like "Show me red" and "Tell me with your talker" can turn communication into a test. Modeling without expectation means modeling and moving on. The car goes down the ramp, you say and touch GO, and you keep playing. No "Your turn" or "Show me go." Silence doesn't mean nothing is happening. A child may be processing what you said, managing sensory input, or finding a word on their device. Model, then pause, without filling the wait with more questions. Heavy prompting can teach children to wait. Rachel Madel explains how a compliance-driven approach can teach kids to be responders instead of initiators. Prompting isn't bad. It can be a helpful scaffold. The question is what it's teaching: dependence on the adult, or growing independence. Questions can become comments. "Whoa... RED!" instead of "What color is it?" "Mmm... MORE" instead of "Do you want more?" Follow what matters to the child. Rachel shares how she noticed her student had turned to his lunchbox and modeled OPEN instead of sticking to her plan. Every model has value. If the child doesn't respond, that's okay. They still saw and heard language used by an adult who wasn't demanding anything back. Try This For ten minutes, listen to yourself and notice how many questions and directives you give. Pick one and turn it into a comment, modeling the word as you say it. After you model, pause. Give space, not a stare. If the child is focused on something else, model a word for what they care about. Choose one routine this week (play, snack, getting dressed, or circle time). Every time you're about to ask a child to show you something, ask yourself, "Could I model this instead?" Resources & Links AAC Month Series: This is part 3. Start with Episode 195: Stop Making Kids Prove They're "Ready" for AAC [CONFIRM URL]. More from Rachel Madel: Listen to Episode 91: AAC & Modeling Without Expectation With Rachel Madel. Find Rachel at [LINK: Rachel's website]. Too many questions? Episode 178: What If Too Many Questions Are Quieting Your AAC Learners? goes deeper. Keep Learning: Read the companion blog post, Modeling AAC Without Expectation in the Classroom. Free Guide: Get the 3 Simple AAC Shifts for three easy changes you can try in tomorrow's routines. Next Week: We'll go beyond "I want": why AAC isn't a success just because a child can request Goldfish, and a family who celebrates when their daughter says NO.
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    19 min
  • #195 Stop Making Kids Prove They're "Ready" For AAC

    #195 Stop Making Kids Prove They're "Ready" For AAC
    Oct 6 2026

    As we continue AAC Awareness Month, I want to talk about an idea that kept far too many children from getting access to robust communication for far too long:

    The idea that a child has to be "ready" for AAC.

    Maybe they need to point first. Match pictures. Understand cause and effect. Show intentional communication. Sit and attend. Or start with something "simpler" before they can have access to a robust AAC system.

    Many of us were actually trained to think this way. I was too.

    But today we know something really important: there are no prerequisites for robust AAC. Access is the first step — not the reward.

    In this episode, we'll talk about what it really means to give children access to AAC before expecting them to perform with it. We'll also look at some of the things that can make adults wonder whether AAC is "working" — like repeatedly pushing the same button, not responding after we model, or even pushing the device away — and what might happen when we replace judgment with curiosity.

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • Why children do not have to prove they're "ready" for AAC

    • How outdated ideas about AAC readiness have influenced the way we support children

    • Why access needs to come before performance

    • What research tells us about using AAC as an early communication intervention

    • Why AAC does not prevent spoken language development

    • Why children who use some spoken words may still benefit from AAC

    • Why communication should be multimodal — including speech, gestures, signs, pictures, core boards, devices, typing, and more

    • What it might mean when a child repeatedly pushes buttons or explores their AAC device

    • Why AAC "babbling" can be an important part of learning

    • What we can consider when a child pushes their AAC away

    • Why honoring "no" and "not right now" is part of supporting autonomy and communication

    • How presuming competence changes the way we respond to unexpected communication

    • One simple way to remove a barrier to communication access this week

    I also share a story about a three-year-old AAC user I worked with who surprised me one day by telling me, "This is boring." 😂

    It was a powerful reminder that when a child communicates something we aren't expecting, our job isn't to immediately dismiss it as accidental. Sometimes we need to stop, stay curious, and believe them.

    Because a child not knowing how to use something they haven't had meaningful opportunities to learn is not evidence that they're incapable of learning it.

    Our kids shouldn't have to prove they're ready for communication.

    Access is where learning begins.

    Related Resources & Links

    3 Ways To Make AAC Work In Busy Classrooms (free guide)

    Autism Little Learners AAC Resources

    Donaldson, A. L., corbin, e., Zisk, A. H., & Eddy, B. (2023). Promotion of Communication Access, Choice, and Agency for Autistic Students. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 54(1), 140–155.
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    14 min
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