My child was diagnosed of speech delay and autism spectrum disorder. Speech therapist Emily Edwards was the first person able to engage my daughter with a blend of ABA inspired techniques, including use of picture exchange system. She has a gift for getting through to any child, including the most challenging cases of autism spectrum disorder. Soon my daughter phased out the picture exchange system and started verbalizing and adding words to her vocabulary. Emily Edwards accurately noticed that my child was echoing (parroting) words a lot, and instead of discouraging practice as is usually done through ABA therapy, she suggested using it to her advantage by modeling appropriate chunks for her to add to her repertoire. You can learn a lot by observing sessions, so your child continues to receive intervention throughout the day. Furthermore, Emily has encouraged ABA therapists to witness sessions as well to help generalize information outside of therapy room. I believe she can offer tremendous insight, personal time and advice to families that include completely nonverbal children no matter how severe the case.
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