"It was helpful to discuss the importance of slowing down to build social focus/ social curiosity rather than rushing to teach skills. Clearly laid out and presented." L.C. (Dec. 2024)

"Seeing myself as a mentor rather than a teacher. The course was clear, concise, and practical." L.R. (Dec. 2024)

"All of the information was beneficial." M.P. (Dec. 2024)

"The topic around adults providing the toys rather than children choosing was beneficial. I liked the goal ideas for joint attention." K.B. (Aug. 2024)

"Energy is energy and whether it is talking, anxiousness, or big movements all of this can cause dysregulation! I enjoyed the presentation and pace of the material given, the examples provided and the value of the information about joint attention routine (JAR)." A.B. (Jun. 2024)

"The goals section was helpful. I enjoyed the overall discussion on au treatment." C.M. (Jun. 2024)

"All the information was beneficial. The course was practical and well presented." D.D. (Jun. 2024)

"Two of the most beneficial strategies for me were that "the adult sets the stage" and "model and demonstrate." I teach students with moderate to severe autism, and they indeed are so focused on how they want to play with specific toys. These strategies are going to be very helpful in guiding my students to be more people-oriented than object-oriented. I like how the instructor breaks down each strategy to make it easier to understand and implement within my classroom." M.L. (Jun. 2024)

"People orientation vs object orientation was beneficial to discuss. I enjoyed the suggestions." S.S. (May. 2024)

"Good reminder to always 'read the room' when entering, look up and around to gather social cues and information. The course was brief and well organized." S.D. (May. 2024)

"The need to take things slowly and not focus on a correct response is something that I sometimes struggle with. I liked the methodical way he explained the steps and what was expected as an outcome." C.S. (Feb. 2024)

"I appreciated the reminder to help the child focus on us / people, not on toys, their clothing... I liked this focus on us as mentors and guides and the source of new learning and interaction." N.L. (Dec. 2023)

"The clearly stated 10 steps were beneficial. Clear and concise information overall." S.M. (Dec. 2023)

"I liked the step-by-step goals and strategies. Talking slow and slow like molasses not to elevate the situation and dysregulate the child was helpful." J.D. (Nov. 2023)

"All topics were beneficial. I enjoyed the entire course." R.S. (Nov. 2023)

"Well organized and clearly presented course. The importance of helping to provide effective support for a child to view others as social partners." J.H. (Nov. 2023)

"Information was relevant. I liked the specific goals and areas to focus on." A.O. (Sep. 2023)

"Specific, actionable suggestions." A.P. (Aug. 2023)

"Teaching parents to stay focused on what to do with their child was beneficial." S.A. (May 2023)

"I liked the suggested goals for starting with children at this level. Great suggestions and ideas on how to engage children in reciprocal engagement. Liked the practicality and honesty, and the validation in a lot of what I've felt was appropriate and more beneficial for children with ASD." C.I. (May 2023)

"The steps for focusing more on people were beneficial. And I liked the toy demonstrations." K.W. (Apr. 2023)

"I liked the goals for object-oriented learners." L.R. (Mar. 2023)

"The suggested goals and strategies for moving from object to people-oriented goals were/are the most beneficial for daily practice. The strategies that were provided, such as clearing the room, presenting one toy at a time, etc., were what I liked best about this course." L.A. (Feb. 2023)

"The presenter provided strategies that I can implement tomorrow in my practice. He was very knowledgeable about the topic discussed." M.H. (Jan. 2023)

"I liked the quote "this toy comes with me" and teaching the social priority. All of the examples for getting children to engage with people over toys were beneficial and I liked the idea of being a mentor vs. teacher." L.H. (Dec. 2022)

"Reminder to slow down and use a soft, low tone voice and to not feel the need to "entertain" the child. I liked the repetition of ideas and that the presenter offered ideas for goals regarding this stage of social communication." C.G. (Dec. 2022)

"I liked the step-by-step format." M.H. (Dec. 2022)

"I liked clearing the room of toys and distracting items. And less talk to gain attention of autistic students." L.W. (Dec. 2022)

"Dr. Rydell is so easy to follow. He presents his information in such an organized fashion." L.K. (Dec. 2022)

"Quick, specific ideas to share with families and caregivers. Examples and explanations were great." K.F. (Dec. 2022)

"Being a source of information to the child - this changed my thinking about my approach and set-up to therapy sessions." M.E. (Nov. 2022)

"The slides were excellent and I appreciated the presentation with the speaker in the corner of the screen." M.S. (Oct. 2022)

"Setting goals to achieve precisely what needs to be achieved, and reviewing techniques in therapy i.e. setting, materials, etc was helpful." M.S. (Oct. 2022)

"The information on how too much talking and the tone of our voice can make the autistic person withdraw or become anxious was interesting. I liked how we should not give up but continue to Reset and Repeat our activity until we notice a change in the individual. I also liked the handout." R.F. (Oct. 2022)

"Practical suggestions. I liked everything - especially the emphasis on basic things like tone of voice and physical proximity of therapist and child." A.S. (Oct. 2022)

"I LOVE this! This is such a great way to build trust and rapport and COMMUNICATION." D.J. (Sept. 2022)

"I liked the concept of clearing the room, and that I was able to see and hear the presenter." E.J. (Sept. 2022)

"The information was presented in a simple, easy format to follow." E.J. (Sept. 2022)

"Clear and specific strategies to help kids become more people oriented." A.G. (Aug. 2022)

"Course was easy to process and follow along with. I liked the basic principals of attention and methods to aid in increased directed and focused attention." A.R. (July 2022)

"I appreciated learning about the differentiation between the vital role of mentoring verses teaching skills especially during the early stages of intervention." A.M. (June 2022)

"I felt the biggest takeaway was that our models do not need to have a verbal component." R.H. (June 2022)

"Strategies are easy to use. I liked the use of slow and deliberate actions and speech." E.R. (June 2022)

"I liked the practical steps for the environment and manner to approach the student. I enjoyed the content and how the presenter paced the course as well as brought in real life examples." D.A. (May 2022)

"I liked the idea of not chasing, enticing children to come to you and view you as a source of information. Handouts will be great reminders of key points, especially when teaching assistants and parents." A.R. (Apr. 2022)

"I liked the breakdown of object vs people oriented with examples – great explanations." D.P. (Apr. 2022)

"Valuable information specifically on helping children become more people-oriented." V.A. (Mar. 2022)

"I appreciated the clear strategies for implementing this approach. To have a concrete guide for how to go about this was helpful. And the emphasis on the importance of establishing joint attention, which is so critical for working with this population. I also appreciated that the presenter provided some ideas of goals that could be relevant to this process." M.H. (Mar. 2022)

"I was interested in hearing about the importance of low energy levels.  The slides were helpful in following along."  J.R. (Mar. 2022)

"I loved the step-by-step hierarchy of achieving this, most vital, goal for children with ASD."  M.F. (Feb. 2022)

"I appreciated the simple break downs presented. Great slide information to support speaker's focus." A.K. (Feb. 2022)

"Clearing the room, simplifying and not talking. As an SLP, I've been preaching 'not talking' to colleagues for many years - it's nice to have back-up!" E.M. (Jan. 2022)

"I will be more conscious of clearing the space of additional toys and stimuli and prompting less. The instructor was pleasant to listen to and covered the points in the outlines and goals presented in the beginning of the session." K.M. (Jan. 2022)

"All of the topics presented in the course were beneficial for my daily practice." A.M. (Jan. 2022)

This program is offered for 0.1 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level; Professional Area).

ASHA CEUs: NSS online courses are registered with ASHA and are offered for ASHA CEUs. The number of ASHA CEUs is noted above. Note that 0.1 ASHA CEU = 1 contact hour = equals 1 CEE.

ASHA CEUs: Attendees must meet at least one of the following conditions in order to be eligible to earn ASHA CEUs:

• Current ASHA Member.
• ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) Holder.
• Licensed by a state or provincial regulatory agency to practice speech-language pathology (SLP) or audiology.
• Credentialed by a state regulatory agency to practice SLP or audiology.
• Credentialed by a national regulatory agency to practice SLP or audiology.
• Engaged in a Clinical Fellowship under the supervision of an individual with their ASHA CCC.
• Currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral program in SLP or audiology.

If an attendee is not an ASHA member or CCC holder but meets any of the above criteria, they may inform the ASHA CE Registry of their eligibility by visiting this site.