079: Supporting Children with Nonverbal Autism

Guest: Samantha Russell, OTR/L, Pediatric Occupational Therapist

Autism affects 1 in 36 children, and about 25-30% of those children are nonspeaking. In this episode of Helping Kids Thrive, host and speech language pathologist, Nicole Pounds, M.S. CCC-SLP, is joined by pediatric occupational therapist, Samantha Russell, OTR/L, to discuss ways that parents and schools can support children who have nonverbal autism. Together they share insights from their professional therapy work with children who have nonverbal autism on various considerations with sensory processing, language development, social interaction, stimming, and overall support and inclusion in the classroom and home settings.

Episode Highlights:

Discussion around the nuance associated with how we talk about Autism Overview of Autism diagnosis as outlined in the DSM-5 Insight into social interactions for a child who is nonverbal Gestalt Language Processing and echolalia Need for holistic care Support for nonverbal autistic children at home Services and therapies available Support for nonverbal autistic children at school Ways parents can advocate for their children in the school setting

DotCom Therapy partners with school districts and employers to provide holistic care for children through direct therapy services and asynchronous learning activities accessible via their online learning platform. Click here to learn more about DotCom Therapy.