Amanda Goodison, Speech-Language Pathologist

07/10/2025

https://www.meaningfulspeech.com/blog/boundaries-child-led-therapy

As child-led therapists, our approach is centered on honoring a child’s interests, autonomy, and supporting who they are without trying to change them. We follow their lead, yes. But being child-led doesn’t mean there are no boundaries. In fact, boundaries are essential. They protect a child’....

07/09/2025

What does coregulation vs. self-regulation mean for babies and toddlers? Get insight and ideas for emotional regulation activities for kids.

06/17/2025

SLPs and Concussion Recovery

06/17/2025

06/09/2025

This diagram of the Sensory Self-Advocacy Ladder is a visual representation of how kids can self-advocate for their sensory needs across different stages of development or regulation.

It begins at the bottom of the ladder -- not because the bottom is "bad", but because it's the *earliest* that human beings typically can access -- with instinctive, sensory-driven reactions. Things that often get labeled as “behavior” (which is itself a euphemism for “misbehavior”). These responses, like crying, fleeing, or covering ears, are not the child making a decision, but rather acting to intuitively defend themselves. We can interpret the actions as communication telling us that something in the setting is intolerable from a sensory perspective, which helps us shift our focus from controlling their behavior to understanding what it is they need.

The ladder then moves through gestures, simple words, and expressive language. Along the way, kids may use language that sounds disrespectful or abrupt—like “shut up!” or “I hate that!”—especially when they’re overwhelmed and the logic and language centers in the brain have begun shutting down.

These moments are still self-advocacy!

They represent the child reaching for words, even when reaching for words is incredibly difficult, and accessing the best words they have available at the moment. When they’re not in a moment of such distress, they’ll have access to better, more polished words.

It’s important to remember that words don’t have to be spoken by mouth. Sign language, spelling to communicate, pushing buttons on a device, and other forms of AAC use are other ways that children may express their needs. These have a similar growing process, too. Kids might use a simple “help!” sign or repeatedly push a button for “loud loud loud loud” before they get to a stage where they can interpret their body’s signals and communicate self-advocacy in a more mature way.

This ladder visual was created alongside the latest in-depth article I wrote for ClimbRx about Teaching Kids to Advocate for their Sensory Needs, to help caregivers recognize the different stages and styles of self-advocacy and see how all ways of communicating and self-advocating are meaningful.

More in the comments if you want to read through the whole thing! 😊

[ID: An image of the Sensory Self-Advocacy "Ladder", using a ladder metaphor/visual to represent climbing up the rungs developing first from instinct, to gestures, to simple words, to expressive language as people emerge in their ability to self advocate. It is illustrated with simple pictures of the axolotl character Sora from ClimbRx's different character mascots who all have different sensory processing styles. End description.]

06/09/2025

The main shift moves away from focusing on simple compliance to understanding behaviors, have important meanings about children's bodies and minds.

05/29/2025

This cuts deep. I have seen things like this in my career, too. Thankfully, it is getting less common. When we know better, we can do better.

It's time to "do the weather", like it or not.

Better ways than ABA

I was working in a pre-school autism class: an ABA classroom. It was a new school day early in the year, and it was time for "morning meeting". However, one little girl (non-speaking) wasn't feeling it that day. She was having a tough morning.

That didn't appear to matter to the adults in the room. According to their schedule, it was time for morning meeting, period. The little girl was led to her plastic cube chair by her paraprofessional who sat behind her, coaching her and containing her.

As morning meeting continued with the attendance, the days of the week, months of the year, letter of the week, the almanac, the horoscopes and everything else they cover in these way-too-long meetings, it was time to "do the weather". That was this little girl's task. The parapofessional tried to lift her up out of her cube chair, but she resisted, dropping to the ground. As the para tried to pick her up, she resisted further. This little girl's difficult morning just got worse.

The resistance (or self-advocacy) was unacceptable to the teacher, who instructed the para to keep placing the demand on her and don't let her be "comfortable" on the floor. The para did what she was told. She stood over the little girl and rapidly repeated "do the weather" at nauseam.

Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather.

The little girl would not comply, so a large blue bin of Legos was dumped on the floor, by the adults. Now crying, the little girl was instructed to pick the Legos up, all while the para continued: Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather. Do the weather.

They were not going to "let her win". That's what they said. They were going to get her to comply.

Eventually, they broke her.

She did the weather.

Her face was red, tears running down her cheeks, but she put the sunshine cutout where it was supposed to go.

They praised her for doing the weather. "Good job!" She didn't care. She was done. It was before 10 am and this little girl was exhausted, demoralized and just done.

Years later, I can still hear that para saying "do the weather, do the weather, do the weather, do the weather". It haunts me. It traumatized that little girl who was just having a bad day. Even though we ALL have bad days, apparently you weren't allowed to have a bad day if you're a student in this classroom.

Alternative ending: Rewind to the beginning of the day. Upon seeing the child was not herself, the para could have taken her for a walk outside. You know what's outside? THE FREAKIN' WEATHER!

She could have taken some time to help the child get regulated and actually "notice" the weather while outside. The para could have calmly asked if the now regulated little girl would like to share her news about the weather with her class. I'm positive she would've participated.

I was a newer OT at the time. The shock of the inhumane treatment, coupled with the fear of speaking up, made me a spectator instead of an advocate.

We can no longer be spectators. We MUST be a voice for children.

We can do better. We need to bring the humanity back into our classrooms and re-think our behavior "management" strategies.

05/29/2025

Masking hides real needs in exchange for social “acceptability". The effort to blend in, feel safe and avoid being judged can be exhausting and come at huge personal cost.

We believe that no one should feel that they have to hide who they are to be accepted.

05/13/2025

I wish everyone knew and understood this!

A lot of people don’t fully understand what accommodations are and why they’re put in place. They may not realize what types of accommodations are available to them or their kids.

That’s where we come in.

Visit the link to learn about accommodations that give everyone a fair chance at learning: https://u.org/452xQfM

05/13/2025

05/13/2025

❤️

05/12/2025

Very cool!

I got a functional tattoo today.

My daughter Ru uses AAC. Her ability to communicate depends on her access to an AAC device. She uses an iPad with a pictoral app, she uses a letterboard stencil, and she uses the keyboard on her iPad.

Letterboard tattoos are not my idea, but they’re a wonderful idea in my opinion.

Now as long as Ru has me around, she has access to AAC. With the amount of time we spend running, climbing, swimming and scooting, having hands-free AAC is a game changer.

Thank you to my tattoo artist and friend Swaraj for making it beautiful. I’ll share more pics when it’s healed.