SLP Talk Show
Episodes
Episode 87: When Autism and Apraxia Co-Occur
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for an in-depth discussion about affirming speech therapy strategies to support children when autism and apraxia co-occur.Â
Episode 86: How Models of Disability Shape Our Practice
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How we understand disability influences every decision we make as providers. In this episode, Cari and Jim unpack four models of disability and discus...
Episode 85: Autism and Thanksgiving: A Survival Guide
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For many Autistic children, big family gatherings can be overwhelming, unpredictable, and absolutely exhausting. But with the right supports, these ga...
Episode 84: AAC in Action—Building a Communication Team Around Every Child
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 84, Cari and Jim unpack how to support AAC in daily routines, how to build a strong team around the communicator, and why communication is ...
Episode 83: Beyond Requesting—The Power of Robust AAC
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim explore what makes an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) system robust. They discuss how robust AAC goes f...
Episode 82: AAC 101—Understanding the Basics
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim break down the basics of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)—what it is, who uses it, and why early acces...
Episode 81: AAC—Building a Culture of Communication
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim explore what it means to build a true culture of communication—one that values connection over compliance.  Show Not...
Episode 80: Life is Not a Quiz
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for a lively discussion on the difference between declarative and imperative language in supporting children's communication. They s...
Episode 79: Understanding Play Schemas
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim explore the concept of play schemas...repeated patterns of behavior that reveal how young children learn and make sense ...
Episode 78: Myths About Learning and Play
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim bust nine common myths about learning and play. Together, they reframe play as the foundation for growth, creativity, an...
Episode 77: Rethinking School Readiness
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the decline in play, the cognitive hypothesis, and the true building blocks of school readiness for young children. Hint: It's no...
Episode 76: From IEP to Employment
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for a lively discussion about the school-to-work transition. Because Autistic kids become Autistic adults.Â
Episode 75: Back-to-School Stress
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore why the back-to-school season is one of the most overwhelming transitions for neurodivergent students. From decoding stres...
Episode 74: Affirming Food Strategies for Autistic Kids
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for a follow-up to episode 73 as they continue the discussion on supporting Autistic children at mealtime. In this episode, Cari out...
Episode 73: It's Not Just Picky Eating
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the complex relationship that Autistic children often have with food. One liner for this episode: For Autistic kids, mealtime i...
Episode 72: Creating Mindful Screen Time Habits at Home
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody likes to talk about screen time. But we live in the Digital Age, and it's time to start supporting families of young children in creating mindf...
Episode 71: Girls Can Be Autistic Too
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the bias in autism research and how this affects girls getting an autism diagnosis.Â
Episode 70: Autism Prevalence
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The CDC released the most recent autism prevalence numbers which showed an increase from 1 in 36 kids to 1 in 31 kids. In this episode, Cari and Jim d...
Episode 69: Heavy Work for the Win!
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for an informative discussion about the power of heavy work for young children with developing brains and bodies! Â The Anxious Gen...
Episode 68: Supporting Oral Sensory Seekers
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss strategies for supporting older kids who are constantly putting their hands, toys, and other objects in their mouth or chewing on...
Episode 67: Board Games and Executive Function Skills
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of 2025 Cari and Jim discuss the benefits of playing board and card games with kids of all ages. The primary emphasis of this con...
Episode 66: Takeaways from ASHA 2024
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is episode 66 (Cari incorrectly refers to it as episode 65...please forgive her error!). In this episode Cari discusses key takeaways from the Am...
Episode 65: Being an Ally to the Autistic Community
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss what it means to be an ally to the Autistic community and how trauma informed services fit into neurodiversity-affir...
Episode 64: Autism and Authentic Connections
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss how to build authentic connections with Autistic children. This is a short but powerful episode that will give you a lot to think...
Episode 63: The Roller Coaster Ride of Parenting an Autistic Child
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about the emotional roller coaster ride of parenting an Autistic child.  In the introduction, Cari misspeaks and calls this epis...
Episode 62: Strategies for Supporting Autistic Toddlers Part 5
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss Chapter 5 of Cari's book, "The Learning to Learn Program." This episode is all about supporting early language devel...
Episode 61: Strategies for Supporting Autistic Toddlers Part 4
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for a lively discussion about supporting Autistic children through play. Cari provides specific strategies from Chapter 5 of her boo...
Episode 60: Strategies for Supporting Autistic Toddlers Part 3
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari and Jim discuss Chapter 3 of The Learning to Learn Program. After reminiscing about their son's sensory differences, Cari provid...
Episode 59: Strategies for Supporting Autistic Toddlers Part 2
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari discusses Chapter two of her book The Learning to Learn Program. Cari and Jim outline specific strategies for supporting joint a...
Episode 58: Strategies for Supporting Autistic Toddlers Part 1
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Cari discusses Chapter one of her book The Learning to Learn Program. Jim provides sports-related analogies while Cari outlines speci...
Episode 57: Talking to Caregivers About Autism
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim have an important discussion about how to bring up autism to parents and caregivers without creating a sense of panic and fear.
Episode 56: Autism: A Different Developmental Path
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the different path that Autistic children take in their development. They share reflections of their Autistic son's developmental...
Episode 55: Honoring All Emotions
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim for a discussion of the "Inside Out 2" movie.
Episode 54: Have adults forgotten how to play?
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim chat in front of a live audience at the Michigan Division of Early Childhood Conference in Mount Pleasant, Michigan! In this episode we t...
Episode 53: Autism Awareness vs. Autism Acceptance
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim have a passionate discussion about the difference between autism awareness and autism acceptance. Because our words matter!
Episode 52: Let's Talk About PECS and AAC
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the reasons why Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an outdated AAC option.Â
Episode 51: Autism and Homeschooling
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about their journey homeschooling their Autistic child. They discuss the benefits and potential barriers of homeschooling a child wi...
Episode 50: Let's Talk About Play-Based Therapy
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim have an animated discussion about the history of play-based therapy, the importance of play-based therapy, and how child-led play differs...
Episode 49: We’ve Come So Far
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Final episode of 2023!
Episode 48: Making the Holidays Merry
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss strategies for making the holidays merry for children who struggle with changes in routines.Â
Episode 47: Transition Strategies
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss why transitions can be so tough and provide 13 strategies for making transitions easier. Â Link to visual timer discussed in thi...
Episode 46: Neurodiversity Affirming Birthday Parties
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss thoughtful strategies for throwing a neuro-affirming birthday party for your autistic child.Â
Episode 45: Parent Coaching in the Clinic Setting
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While parent coaching is an integral part of early intervention home visits, it's not typically a big part of therapy visits that are done in the clin...
Episode 44: Neurodiversity Affirming Halloween Tips
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss how to create a neurodiversity-affirming Halloween experience for ALL kids. Free Halloween AAC
Episode 43: What Does ’Neurodiversity-Affirming’ Mean?
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the term neurodiversity affirming. Neurodiversity affirming services. Neurodiversity affirming therapy. Neurodiversity affirming ...
Episode 42: What’s wrong with using food reinforcers?
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about the issues with using food (and other) reinforcers when supporting autistic children.
Episode 41: Speech Therapy Tips for Toddlers
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss 8 speech therapy tips for use with minimally verbal toddlers.
Episode 40: Apraxia: An explanation for parents and caregivers
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim outline what parents and caregivers need to know about childhood apraxia of speech.
Episode 39: Executive Function Skills (Part 2)
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim continue the conversation about building executive function skills through play-based learning. Please be sure to listen to episode 38 be...
Episode 38: Executive Function Skills
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about school readiness and the importance of building executive function skills in early childhood.
Episode 37: I just found out my child is autistic...now what?
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss what parents go through immediately following an autism diagnosis for their child. Choosing the best therapy journey for their ch...
Episode 36: Bagless Visits in Early Intervention
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What Part C of IDEA says about the natural environment and how this applies to the "magic toy bag" so often used in early intervention visits. Â
Episode 35: Ethnographic Interviewing
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Learn 10 tips for asking the right questions in the right way when doing an initial evaluation.  Reference articles: 2003 article on ethnographic ...
Episode 34: Help! The toybox is full and the holidays are coming!
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss tips for buying high-quality toys. They also dive into how to manage the toy clutter that happens after the holidays...
Episode 33:Gestalt Language Processors
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss analytic vs. gestalt language processors. Â Be sure to follow @meaningfulspeech and @bohospeechie on Instagram for ...
Episode 32: The Goal is Communication
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss all things AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). Â AAC Book
Episode 31: PLAY is Not the Enemy
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a spicy episode about the power of play-based learning. Cari and Jim discuss how the cognitive hypothesis has changed society's views on play ...
Episode 30: Halloween Costume Tips
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's October and that means Halloween is right around the corner. Wearing a costume can be a stressful experience for some children. In this episode, ...
Episode 29: Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy Goals
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim provide some insight into writing neurodiversity affirming therapy goals for autistic children.
Episode 28: Learning to Wait
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about one of the most important school readiness skills...learning to wait!
Episode 27: After School Emotional Buildup
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With school starting up again, this is a topic that will hit home for many families.
Episode 26: Letters and Numbers and Shapes, Oh My
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim talk about supporting autistic children who have a deep interest in letters and numbers.
Episode 25: Sensory Differences and Mealtime Stress
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss how sensory differences can affect mealtime experiences. Picky eater, resistant eater, food jags...these are some of the topics t...
Episode 24: Off Topic
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim take a temporary break from talking about speech therapy and child development to discuss fantasy football.
Episode 23: Routines Based Intervention
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you work in early intervention or are a parent who is receiving early intervention services for your toddler, you won't want to miss this episode! ...
Episode 22: Autism Strategies
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari discusses her autism program and outlines the 5 foundation skills to focus on when supporting autistic toddlers and preschoolers. Cari's Autism P...
Episode 21: Partnering with Parents
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim role play through some scenarios about early intervention providers and parents partnering together.
Episode 20: Parent Coaching vs. Parent Education
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hey early intervention providers...this episode is for you! Cari makes the important distinction between parent coaching and parent education.
Episode 19: Approaches in Early Intervention
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari explains the differences between a child-focused approach, a parent-focused approach, and an interaction-focused approach in the world of EARLY I...
Episode 18: Working 9 to 5
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the pros and cons of owning their own business.
Episode 17: Books Books Books
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari provides tips for reading to young children who don't like to be read to. Â Â
Episode 16: Sensory Part 2
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode continues the discussion about sensory differences. Cari talks about self-regulation, co-regulation, and dysregulation.
Episode 15: Sensory Trumps Everything
21 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari discusses what parents and providers from all disciplines need to understand about sensory processing for young children with developing brains a...
Episode 14: Dwinkie Poo
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Baby talk or speech simplification...what's the difference?
Episode 13: Whole or Hole?
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apraxia talk continues. Did you know that motor planning difficulties can occur throughout the whole body? Cari discusses the importance of treating...
Episode 12: It’s all Greek to Me
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim have a lively discussion about the root word of "apraxia" (hint...it's Greek!).
Episode 11: Fire F_ck
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim debate how to say "green beans" (is it GREEN beans or green BEANS?) and then Cari shares some info about simplification patterns that you...
Episode 10: Love Letters
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari shares her theory on why her autistic son is so passionate about letters and numbers.
Episode 9: Forward is Forward
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss the developmental trajectory of their autistic son and how much therapy he has actually received over the years.
Episode 8: Chewbacca Chardonnay
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari's Apraxia Book Cari tries to stump Jim with a little movie trivia and then shares 7 strategies for helping children with apraxia of speech becom...
Episode 7: Elephants and Apraxia
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari and Jim discuss how animal sounds and apraxia go together like bacon and eggs...like macaroni and cheese...like tacos and margaritas! Speech ther...
Episode 6: Share the Love
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari shares and discusses some favorite quotes that she's come across on Instagram and gives a shout-out to these 5 inspiring accounts: @autiestories_...
Episode 5: Autism Acceptance
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Cari and Jim as they discuss how autism acceptance is society's response to autism awareness. Be sure to listen to Episode 4 first, as this is a ...
Episode 4: Autism Awareness
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Understanding Autism Handout This episode is a spur of the moment topic change in response to a message Cari received requesting more information abou...
Episode 3: Tantrum or Meltdown?
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari chats about the differences between a temper tantrum, a physical meltdown, and a sensory meltdown. This episode packs a punch and delivers a powe...
Episode 2: Potatoes are Good
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari talks about how the four parenting styles can be used to determine one's teaching/therapy style as well. Relationship-based learning stems from t...
Maiden Voyage Episode
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cari introduces the format of her new podcast and shares why April 2nd is such an important date in her life each year. You won't want to miss this in...