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0.1  ASHA CEUs

How Can Children With Autism Learn Communication Skills From Their Peers? Overcoming Mechanical And Inflexible Language – LSP Part III Instructional Series #e254


Presenter: Patrick Rydell, Ed.D., CCC-SLP

Help move children with autism from mechanical and inflexible verbal exchanges to conventional uses of language.


This course is part of the Learning Style Profile© Training Series. The below 2 courses are suggested prerequisites prior to taking this course.



"Very clear guidelines! Fantastic material. Loved the pieces about systematically changing JARS; using peers to support social interaction; and sharing the role of the coach."

– H.W., prior course participant

Read more comments about this course!

For many children with an autism spectrum disorder, social and communication interaction styles can be characterized as appearing mechanical, scripted, robotic and routinized. Early verbal exchanges and later developing conversations with others often seem limited in scope, controlled and filled with data-based monologues. Instead, we would prefer children to be able to initiate topics of mutual interest, maintain and shift topics, as well as engage in topics initiated by others. We would like these topical and social exchanges to be flexible, reciprocal and contingent on the partner(s) previous utterances and shared topical interests.

This course provides SLPs with practical steps and strategies to move children with autism from unconventional, mechanical and inflexible verbal exchanges to conventional uses of language that is typical of friends, peers and classmates. Dr. Rydell will describe how children’s language output represents and reflects how they think – how cognitive, social and communication abilities are interrelated. Additionally, a step-by-step process will provide SLPs with strategies for a) including peers as mentors, b) developing joint action routines, and c) embedding strategies that include a) learning from multiple partners, b) controlled variation, c) shared control, d) organizational systems, e) visual structure and f) social use of language to make and keep friends through the use of more conventional forms of verbal exchanges and conversation.

Offered for 0.1 ASHA CEUs – 1 Contact Hour.

Course Overview & Run Time

Course Overview – Run Time: 1:24:38

  1. Description of unconventional, mechanical-inflexible forms of communication often used by children with an ASD.
  2. Description of more conventional forms of communication that should be prioritized for children with an ASD.
  3. The role of peers in the development of conventional forms of communication in children with an ASD.
  4. Step-by-step process and strategies to move children from unconventional to conventional social use of language.
  5. Implications for intervention set-up and implementation.
"I liked all of the helpful tips for running a group session and which strategies we should no longer use when working with students with autism."

– L.K., prior course participant

Read more comments about this course!

Content Disclosures

This presentation will focus exclusively on the Learning Style Profile© (LSP). Other treatment approaches will receive limited or no coverage as part of this training. Presenter financial and non-financial disclosures may be found in the Presenter & Disclosures area.

Course Format

Video PowerPoint presentation with author narration & downloadable handout. Stop and re-start the course at any point. Learners retain access to course content after completion for ongoing reference and review.

Reviews

Comments From Prior Course Participants

"The ways to promote cognitive flexibility from the get-go, so that verbal and social flexibility are possible, and the importance of peer-based learning were beneficial discussions. Clear explanations." L.C. (Dec. 2024)

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

"Defining and understanding how autistic kids learn as a learning style. I liked the practicality of incorporating this type of intervention into daily communication." R.Z. (Nov. 2024)

"I enjoyed the JARS information. It's very practical info. Course was clear and descriptive with good examples." C.P. (Nov. 2024)

"Joint action routine was beneficial. Course is very relevant to my caseload this year." D.G. (Nov. 2024)

"The discussion of setting up joint action routines with good visual support to show everyone what is expected was beneficial. This course was well-organized." L.R. (Sep. 2024)

"Not using the same activity in the same way more than two times in a row was a beneficial topic. I liked that the format allowed me to take the test at my own pace." C.O. (Aug. 2024)

"Prompting levels were helpful to discuss. I liked the course organization." K.H. (May 2024)

"Learning how to build in systematic flexibility about one variable at a time as to prevent a child with autism from becoming routinized and scripted. I do appreciate the explanation of how this format of JAR is presented." S.B. (May 2024)

"Verbal mapping, JARS, and visual organization were all beneficial. The course was short and organized." S.D. (May 2024)

"The most beneficial for my daily practice was controlled variation, best practice for JARs, and the importance of visual organization. What I liked best about this course was the overall organization and comprehensive material." L.A. (Feb. 2024)

"The entire course was helpful. I enjoyed the presentation." R.S. (Feb. 2024)

"Beneficial use of visual guidelines. I liked discussing the goals." S.A. (Jan. 2024)

"Relevant information and strategies presented in an easy-to-learn and follow format." E.N. (Dec. 2023)

"I liked the sequential discussion of the therapy process. The use of peers, rotating who is the lead person and varying the activities, one component at a time, was helpful." D.R. (Oct. 2023)

"Learning how to implement JARs was beneficial. I liked the detailed slides." L.G. (Oct. 2023)

"Great course all around. Very well shared and makes sense." R.R. (Oct. 2023)

"I enjoyed learning about how useful peers can be using the JARs strategy. I will use the concept of structured flexibility during conversation practice." K.O. (Sep. 2023)

"I liked the ideas imparted which enable a student to organize their thoughts, and lead to the same organization in speech, through peer participation. The suggestions to impart each step were beneficial." T.D. (Jun. 2023)

"I liked the speaker, and learning how to best teach communication skills with peers for my students with Autism." A.E. (May 2023)

"The hard and controlled variables were beneficial. I liked the specific examples and goals." K.W. (Apr. 2023)

"The information was clear, well organized, and usable. Learning differences between prompting, modeling, and verbal mapping and how verbal mapping is the best way to support true language." E.R. (Apr. 2023)

"The ease of info presented was good. Varying activities to prevent rigidity." P.F. (Mar. 2023)

"The entire topic will be beneficial for my daily practice. The presenter was very knowledgeable about incorporating joint action routines in order to assist children with autism in overcoming communication challenges." M.H. (Feb. 2023)

"Very clear guidelines! Fantastic material. Loved the pieces about systematically changing JARS; using peers to support social interaction; and sharing the role of the coach." H.W. (Feb. 2023)

"The idea of shared control and allowing for controlled variation in the session. I liked the simplicity of course format." M.R. (Jan. 2023)

"Helping autistic children communicate in a group was beneficial. I liked the detailed information to facilitate communication." S.E. (Jan. 2023)

"I liked the visual organization topic." R.R. (Dec. 2022)

"Presenter was very easy to follow and slides were well organized. The information about verbal mapping was very helpful." A.Y. (Dec. 2022)

"I have been trying to learn ways to benefit my ASD students in their communication. This course was well presented, organized." A.W. (Nov. 2022)

"The visual organizer to reduce confusion and anxiety, and the varying of JAR to prompt a tolerance for flexibility is beneficial. Course was clear cut and well presented." L.N. (July 2022)

"This course has provided me with a new perspective on running small groups with individuals with ASD."  M.H. (July 2022)

"The course was clearly presented. I liked the concept of what we say is what and how we think." B.S. (June 2022)

"Unique perspective. Controlled variation was an interesting concept as was directing children with ASD to look to their peers for clues." H.S. (June 2022)

"I appreciated his breakdown of how we would move from start to finish with a student beginning with adult coaching to guiding peer mentors to conversational skills with our students diagnosed with ASD." K.S. (June 2022)

"The course was very clearly laid out. The speaker used a comfortable pace and made good use of visuals in his Powerpoint presentation to support what he spoke about." K.S. (June 2022)

"Learning the importance of peers. I liked the examples that were provided." F.R. (May 2022)

"I liked the way to vary a JAR to encourage flexibility, and the emphasis on using peers to teach these skills." A.R. (May 2022)

"I liked the goals included at the end – the emphasis on peers." K.S. (Apr. 2022)

"All of the helpful tips for running a group session and which strategies we should no longer use when working with students who have Autism. The thoroughness of the topic discussed." L.K. (Mar. 2022)

"I enjoyed learning about the 10 ASD learning style components that focus on moving children with ASD with learning style strengths in order to build independent capacities in social development. I liked the handout in order to review it later on in the year." C.B. (Mar. 2022)

"Using variation to increase flexibility and several ideas on how to do group sessions." J.C. (Feb. 2022)

"I liked all of it - the flow and inter-relatedness of the information." J.R. (Jan. 2022)

"It is something I can use right away." J.W. (Jan. 2022)

Course Objectives

At course conclusion, participants will be able to:
  1. Describe the characteristics of unconventional, mechanical-inflexible utterances often associated with children with an ASD.
  2. Describe the role of peers in the development of more conventional verbal exchanges and conversations.
  3. Describe the intervention strategies used to move children with an ASD from unconventional to convention social uses of language with partners.

Presenter & Disclosures

Patrick J. Rydell, Ed.D., CCC-SLP

Patrick J. Rydell, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is the Founder and Director of the Rocky Mountain Autism Center, Inc. and Autism On Call, LLC, in Lone Tree, Colorado. With more than 38 years of practice (“on the floor”) in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), he has provided international and national trainings, workshops, consultations and program development to governmental agencies, medical facilities, universities, school districts, professionals and families. His doctorate was earned through a National Institute of Health Leadership in Autism grant (1989) and he has a double master’s degree in speech pathology and special education with a program emphasis in early childhood and autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Rydell is a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant recipient (2005). Dr. Rydell is the co-author of the SCERTS Model (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2006) and author of the Learning Style Profile for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Rydell, 2012) and Autism On Call Educational Series (Vimeo, 2017). Dr. Rydell has also co-authored 5 book chapters and numerous peer-reviewed research articles on topics related to autism spectrum disorders. He is currently developing ASD programs across Asia, Central Asia, and South America based on the LSP approach.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial — Patrick Rydell is a presenter of online CE courses sponsored by Northern Speech Services; receives royalty payments.

Financial — Patrick Rydell is the author of Learning Style Profile Autism Activity Book; receives royalty payments.

Financial — Patrick Rydell is the author of Learning Style Profile for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, published by Rocky Mountain Autism Center (January 21, 2013); receives royalty payments.

Nonfinancial — Patrick Rydell has no relevant nonfinancial relationships to disclosure.

Intended Audience / Accreditation

Intended Audience/Accreditation
asha ce approved provider

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

Intended Audience

  • Speech-Language Pathologists

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 CE Registry: During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.

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.

Licensing Boards: Most state licensing boards DO accept CEUs earned online (usually classified as home-study credits). Some state boards do, however, place a limit to the number of credits that can be earned via home study/online courses. For the most current information, we suggest that you contact your licensing board or agency to verify acceptance policies and/or any credit limits related to home-study courses prior to registering for this course.

Additional accrediting agencies by which Northern Speech is an approved CE provider:

  • California: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the California Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology Board. Provider #PDP4. Online CEU limits may apply; please contact SLPAHADB for current online CEU acceptance policies.
  • Iowa: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Iowa Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology Examiners. Provider #169.
  • Kansas: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Provider #LTS-S0005.
  • Florida: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Florida Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board. Provider #SPA-026.
  • New Jersey: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the New Jersey Department of Education. Provider #1654.

Frequently Asked Questions

Online Course FAQ — Click Here

Customer Support: Please phone 888.337.3866 or email info@northernspeech.com.

Course Completion Timeframe:

You have unlimited time to complete our online courses. You may log off and log on as often as you’d like to in order to complete all sections of a course.

However, completion dates are based on Eastern Standard Time. Therefore, if you need your CEUs by a certain date, be sure to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on that date. For example, if you need CEUs before January 1st, you will need to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on December 31st.

Content Access:

Access to course materials and content does not expire, even after completing the post test. You may continue to review course material by logging into your NSS account, clicking the My Online Courses tab, and then viewing your desired course.

Certificate of Completion:

On successful completion of the post test (80%), a certificate will be immediately available for download and/or printing. This certificate will include your name, date of completion (based on Eastern Time Zone, USA/Canada), and number of contact hours (CEUs / CEEs). Please note that CEUs are awarded on the date of successful test completion, not the date of course enrollment. Please ensure that you successfully complete the post test prior to any licensure renewal dates.

ASHA CE Registry Submission:

During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.

Purchase Orders:

Purchase orders are currently not accepted for online orders, if you wish to submit a purchase order please do so at info@northernspeech.com or fax to 888-696-9655.

What is an Online Course?

Our Online Courses consist of video, audio, and/or text content and are offered for ASHA CEUs. Unlike a webinar, which requires participants to be logged on and at a computer at specific times, our Online Courses are available to you at any time, from any device, via your NorthernSpeech.com online account. You may work at your own pace and start and stop your course as you wish. Your course will conclude with a short post test. On successful completion of the post test (>80%), a printable certificate of completion is presented to you.

Receiving CEUs:

Northern Speech is an ASHA CE Provider and our online courses are registered with ASHA and offered for ASHA CEUs. Please note that successful completion of the online post test is required prior to the awarding of CEUs. Please contact your state licensing board for acceptance policies related to CEUs earned online. Please note that courses offered for university students are not applicable for CEUs.

Registering for an online course:

You may browse all online courses by clicking the Continuing Education tab above, then Online Courses. Once you find a course, click Enroll Now, and you will be asked to either log into your existing Northern Speech account or create a new online account. Once you’ve entered your account information and provided your credit card payment, your course will be immediately available to you.

Accessing your purchased course or returning to a purchased course:

You will be able to access your online course by logging into your Northern Speech account and then clicking the My Online Courses tab on your profile screen. Click the course you would like to start or to resume. From there, proceed through the course sections until you are ready to complete the post test. You do not have to complete your course all at once. You may log on and off as you wish.

Testing requirements:

Each online course concludes with a post test consisting of multiple choice or true & false questions. Scores of 80% or greater are required for successful course completion and awarding of CEUs. You may revisit course materials and retest as needed to achieve a passing score.

Number of CEUs offered:

We offer courses from 1 to 21 contact hours. Each course will note the number of CEUs offered. Please note that 0.1 CEU = 1 contact hour = 1 CEE.

State licensing boards and online CEUs:

NSS is an ASHA CE Provider and most state licensing boards DO accept ASHA CEUs earned online (usually classified as home-study credits). Some boards do, however, place a limit to the number of CEUs that can be earned via home study/online courses. For the most current information, we suggest that you contact your licensing board or agency to verify acceptance policies and/or any CEU limits related to home-study courses prior to enrolling in an online course.

Course formats:

Our course formats include: text, audio, video, and PowerPoint with author narration. Each course will note the format on the course description page. Most courses include closed captioning.

Course handouts:

Most of our online courses provide a link to download the accompanying handout as a PDF file. 

Group discounts:

Groups of 3 or more are eligible for a 20% discount on each registration on most of our online courses. To receive this discount, registrations need to be processed together via the "Group Rates" tab on the Online Course of your choice.

Computer requirements:

For our online courses to function best, we recommend that you update your computer to include the newest version of your Internet browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, etc.) and newest version of your computer's operating system. Also a high-speed Internet connection is recommended (cable or DSL). Speakers or headphones will be required for many of our courses as many contain audio components.

Course Cancellation Policy:

A purchased online course can be exchanged, refunded, or transferred to another individual if contact is made with NSS (via phone or email) within 30 days of purchase and the course materials have not been viewed or downloaded. 

Special Needs:

Please click here for any special needs requests, and we will do our best to accommodate them. 

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