The Preschool SLP

Do you know a child with Autism who talks yet is never heard? This episode shares ten simple speaking rules that children with Autism often follow that can make their speech difficult or nearly impossible to hear or interpret. If you know or work with children with Autism, this is a 'must-see' episode. For more on Autism intervention, check out my new book " 32 Lessons That Create L...

Is developmentally "appropriate" a euphemism for "ableism"? This episode dives into four reasons why the words "developmentally appropriate" stifle instead of innovate  practice in early childhood education. Can we do better? A change of terminology is proposed. Ready for 160 game-changing tips to put research into practice right now? Check out my new book, " 32...

It's the end of the year progress report time. When was the last time you evaluated yourself, and how you're doing? This episode is about you having balance across domains of your life so you can be your best you. Ready to put research into practice? Check out my brand new book, " 32 Lessons That Create Life-long Change In Autism Intervention " on Amazon today!💚KellyVessSLP

Big announcement — my new book 32 Lessons That Create Lifelong Change in Autism Intervention is now available! Under 100 pages. 32 lessons. 160+ actionable strategies. All evidence-based and field-tested. Order today and leave a review — your support means the world! Today’s episode tackles a critical topic: cognitive diversity in autism intervention. Autism is not one-size-fits-all, and neither i...

Is autism always a lifelong condition? The research says: not necessarily. Between 9–20% of children diagnosed before age 5 eventually leave the spectrum, no longer meeting criteria for autism. Yet too often, professionals tell parents the opposite—closing a gate that isn’t theirs to close. In this episode, I break down five evidence-based lessons from my upcoming book that can transform the way S...

Reality TV might seem like fluff—but it actually holds four powerful lessons that can transform your speech and language intervention. In today’s episode, I connect shows like The Biggest Loser, Made, Project Runway, and Top Chef to the daily work of SLPs and educators. You’ll leave with four evidence-based principles that will make your sessions more effective and your outcomes more impactful: 1️...

The single most important skill to target in autism intervention is often overlooked: attention. Without it, therapy stalls. With it, children unlock language, play, literacy, and social engagement. In this episode, you’ll learn: ✅ Why attention is the true foundation of speech and language progress ✅ The 4 types of attention impacted in autism ✅ 6 therapy tips you can use right away to improve...

Feeling overwhelmed by back-to-back therapy sessions and endless IEP meetings? You’re not alone. In this episode, I’m sharing my top 5 sensory therapy hacks to make speech sessions easier, more engaging, and less draining for you. You’ll learn: How to use sensory bins to boost attention and motivation Simple tricks like bubble storms and sandwich squishes to keep kids engaged Ways to build in move...

Gestalt Language Development isn’t just a buzzword. You can use it as a powerful strategy to support autistic speech development.  In this episode, I explain:   -Why Gestalt language should never be cut into shorter “caveman” phrases   -How to capitalize on songs, catchy phrases, and routines to build expressive language   Why commenting matters more than requesting   -The Vanderbilt research on j...

If you know someone with autism, this is an episode you can’t miss. AAC isn’t just about communication—it can actually improve speech outcomes . In this episode, we dig into the latest meta-analytic research on AAC and autism, covering: Low-tech vs. high-tech AAC: which one truly impacts speech outcomes Why sentence strips and voice output devices are game-changers The power of pointing, commentin...

If you work with children with autism, this is an episode you can’t afford to miss. How we respond to a child’s very first words can either encourage more speech—or unintentionally shut it down. In this episode, I share a personal story of how my overly excited reaction backfired and stopped a child from wanting to speak again. We’ll explore three big reasons why excited responses don’t work: They...

Not all movement activities are created equal—and the difference can change a child’s life. In this episode, I share a powerful lesson from my upcoming book 32 Lessons That Create Lifelong Change for Children with Autism . For the first decade of my career, I leaned heavily on sensory activities. Then I realized the children who weren’t developing speech also struggled with motor coordination and...

If you work with children with autism, this episode is a must-listen. For decades, the field has treated speech delays in autism as if they were simply “late talking.” But the reality? These children present with clear speech motor disorders that demand a neurodivergent approach. In this episode, you’ll learn the five neurological and physiological reasons why speech in autism is not a typical del...

If you work with children with autism, this episode is essential. We dive into how to cut through sensory overload to grab and hold attention—a foundational skill that drives improvements in joint attention, socialization, play, motor skills, language, and speech. In this episode, I share five actionable strategies from Lesson 15 of my upcoming book 32 Lessons That Create Lifelong Change for Child...

If you work with children with autism, this is an episode you cannot miss. Attention is the foundation of every skill we target—without it, there’s no progress in socialization, play, language, or speech. In this episode, adapted from Lesson 15 of my upcoming book 32 Lessons That Create Lifelong Change for Children With Autism , you’ll learn: ✅ Why children with autism often get lost in a “sea of...

If you treat children with speech sound disorders, this is a can’t-miss episode. Multimodal cueing isn’t just about using a variety of supports—it’s about knowing the right order to fade them so children build independence, executive function, and mastery. In this episode, I share:  ✅ The five key types of cues (verbal, tactile, temporal, visual, imagery) ✅ Why fading verbal cues first is the mo...

In speech therapy, we often focus on quantity —how many times a child should produce a treatment target correctly in a session. But research (and lived practice) shows that quality and complexity of the treatment target matter even more. In this episode, I share:  ✅ Why complex treatment targets (like paragraphs) accelerate change faster than simple word reps  ✅ Two studies I conducted with grad...

Should speech-language pathologists care about teaching letters at the preschool level? Some professionals argue no, prioritizing play, pragmatics, or comprehension instead. But research shows this doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. In this episode, I dive into:  ✅ Why letter knowledge and sound-symbol correspondence matter for long-term reading comprehension  ✅ How Scarborough’s Reading...

Think you need to start with single sounds before clusters? Or that only kids with phonological processes benefit from complex targets? Think again. In this episode, I call BS on three of the most common speech sound disorder “rules” and show you what the research actually says about effective intervention. You’ll learn: 📈Why novel words beat familiar words in treatment  📈How starting with 3-ele...

As SLPs, we know communication impairments often go hand-in-hand with executive function difficulties — impacting social, academic, and even vocational outcomes. In this episode, I’ll share four key components of executive function that belong in every therapy session. These are the strategies that transform therapy from changing sounds and morphemes to changing lives . Inside, you’ll hear how to...

Working with preschool or school-age children with autism? This jam-packed episode breaks down 20 evidence-based practices —the Alphabet Soup Approach —so you can treat autism from every angle: motor, sensory, EF, attention, social, language, visual, and auditory processing. Based on a 2021 meta-analysis and real-world therapy, you’ll learn how to combine strategies like AAC (high & low tech),...

Feeling overwhelmed as a speech-language pathologist? Between endless caseloads, behavior challenges, and high expectations, it’s easy to get stuck in stress and self-doubt. In today’s episode, I share three powerful visualization strategies inspired by Dr. Phil Stutz (featured in Jonah Hill’s Netflix documentary Stutz ) that will help you cut through overwhelm, set boundaries, and release negativ...

Print is becoming a bigger part of how we communicate—and as SLPs, we must be ready to support children’s literacy skills effectively. In this episode, I break down Dialogic Reading and the CROWD prompts (Completion, Recall, Open-Ended, WH-Questions, Distancing). You’ll learn how to move beyond constant questioning, embed prompts naturally, and use multimodal supports to keep every child engaged—e...

If you work with children with language impairment, this will be a game-changer . Treatment goals are the food that drives 80% of your therapy outcomes—so why are we still writing goals like it’s 2004? In this episode, Kelly Vess (SLP, author, researcher) shows you how to choose game-changing, life-changing goals that improve 10+ domains at once —instead of sweating the small stuff with decontextu...

This marks the end of the very first year of The Preschool SLP Podcast — thank you for joining me on this journey! Together we’ve grown, questioned, and reimagined how to make therapy more impactful. Today’s episode looks forward: how do we uplevel intervention next year? We dive into the latest research across speech, language, and literacy to show why treatment targets matter more than anything...