If your child is an oral communicator, I will complete assessments and evaluate data in areas including speech articulation, speech motor planning, orofacial myology, phonology, voice, and/or fluency.

Language skills will be assessed though a lens that validates autistic communication differences and presumes competence. The areas of receptive and expressive language will be assessed.

Many autistic people benefit from having an alternative method of communicating besides speech, if only to use occasionally. Other autistics are full-time AAC users. Whatever is best for your child, AAC options will be explored.

Detailed information about your child up to this point will be gathered in the form of interviews and questionnaire. This will also include information about the child’s birth, family information, and child development.

You will be provided with several questionnaire to gain further information in several areas, to help confirm collected data, and to collect your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. If your child is willing and able, they will also be given questionnaires or asked questions in an interview style, to further learn about their preferences, and their own thoughts, feelings, and attitudes.

Observation is an essential part to my evaluations. Observing your child in natural environments, and also through a lens of autism, will provide data about the functionality of their communication skills in their everyday life, preferred communication methods, as well as give insight into barriers for their communication.

Each environment where your child spends their time will be evaluated to ascertain whether your child is able to funcationally communicate in that environment, what barriers to their communication exist there, and accommodations/modifications that can be made to that environment.

Neurodiversity-affirming therapy approaches often are based upon a child’s strengths. Through observation, questionnaires, and other assessment procedures, we will devise a list of your child’s strengths that can be further built upon in therapy.

Because of the monotropic thought pattern of many autistic children, incorporating their interests into their education (or speech/language therapy) is one of the best ways to teach. I will compile this information to be shared with educators or therapists, and provide recommendations on how to incorporate the child’s interests in various activities.

A map of how your child communicates in different environments will be generated. This will include what forms of communication they use, communication preferences, and their communication strengths.

After gathering information from all other assessment areas, a list of communication barriers your child is up against will be generated. This could involve skills, environment, or many other things.

After all other areas are assessed, a thorough list and explanation of recommendations will be written, including recommendations for therapy, further evaluations by individuals in other professions, accommodations and modifications that can be made in all environments, and other ways to help support and accept your child.