Let’s Talk About Super Special Kids & Cake

Welcome to Let’s Talk About Super Special Kids and Cake the podcast for parents of children with special needs. During each Podcast Professor Rhea Paul Paul and Dr. Donia Fahim cover a topic of interest to parents and families of children with Special needs. They also answer questions sent to them by one of their listeners and they share their thoughts on some common misconceptions about interventions for children with special developmental delays and neurodevelopmental difficulties. Both Granny Rhea and Auntie Donia love cake! The eating cake for breakfast segment is all about the fun activities you can do at home with your super special kids. So make yourself a cup of tea, grab yourself a piece of cake, relax and enjoy the theme music composed by the New York Musician Marty Isenberg. This podcast was recorded live from the studios of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield Connecticut and is brought to you by our book Let’s Talk: Navigating Communication Services and Supports for Your Young Child with ASD published by Paul H Brooks and available from Amazon. Dr. Donia Fahim, Ph.D., Cert. MRCSLT (U.K.), A.K.A Auntie Donia, is a speech and language pathologist, an international educational consultant, and specializes in the treatment of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and in development of curriculum and interventions for young children with special needs in countries with limited services. She is now based in London, and is the founder and director of Education and Therapeutic Spaces, Ltd. She lived in NYC for ten years (2008-2018) where she was a Consultant for the ASD Nest Project at New York University, and a Professor at Hunter College, where she was also Program Coordinator for the Early Childhood Special Education Program from 2008 to 2013. She was also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Autism Friendly Spaces, Inc. (2010-2018) and developer of the first dual language ASD public school program in New York City. She is the co-author the books Let’s Talk with Professor Rhea Paul and she has authored several peer reviewed journals and chapters. She obtained her B.Sc., M.A and Ph.D. from the University of London. She is a certified member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Professor Rhea Paul, PhD., CCC-SLP: Rhea Paul, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, (AKA Granny Rhea) is Professor and Founding Chair of the Speech-Language Pathology Department at Sacred Heart University, author of over 100 refereed articles, 50 book chapters and 9 books. She serves as Editor for Language at the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. She received the Editor's Award from the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in 1996, and the Ritvo/Slifka Award for Innovative Clinical Research from the International Society for Autism Research. She has been a Fellow of ASHA since 1991, and received Honors of the Association in 2014.

Late Talkers and Autistic Toddlers 02/15/2025

Gestalt language processing (GLP) with guest Dr. Tiffany Hutchins. 02/14/2025

Gestalt language processing (GLP) with guest Dr. Tiffany Hutchins. Gestalt language processing (GLP) with guest Dr. Tiffany Hutchins. Episode One: with Dr Donia Fahim, Professor Rhea Paul and Professor Tiffany Hutchins Rhea Paul introduces Dr. Tiffany Hutchins, an expert in cognitive science and social cognition, who has published an article examining the pros, cons, and implications of Gestalt-based therapies and natural language acquisition-based therapies for children with autism. The group is eager to hear Dr. Hutchins' perspectives on these theories and therapies. Dr. Hutchins explains that as a speech-language therapist and researcher, she became interested in examining Gestalt language processing (GLP) and natural language acquisition (NLA) theories when they gained popularity a few years ago, as her students and colleagues had many questions about the claims and evidence surrounding these approaches. Dr. Hutchins discusses how delayed echolalia can predict language growth in young autistic children, but argues that echolalia is not the direct cause of language gains. Rather, echolalia can be a useful communicative strategy that supports language development, but is not necessary for advancing language skills. Dr. Hutchins outlines several challenges to the GLP and NLA theories, including the circular logic in defining GLP, the lack of evidence supporting the claim that autistic individuals are "Gestalt language processors", and the stage-based model of language development proposed by NLA, which is not supported by research on gradual language growth. Dr. Hutchins reviews the specific therapy recommendations that flow from the NLA stage model, such as using long, unanalyzed utterances and avoiding single words and verbs. She argues that these recommendations are not supported by evidence and are unlikely to effectively support language development in autistic children. Dr. Hutchins concludes by acknowledging some positive aspects of NLA, such as increased awareness of the communicative value of echolalia. However, she emphasizes the need to move beyond the flawed GLP and NLA theories and explore other evidence-based approaches, such as conversation analysis, to better support language development in autistic /episode/index/show/letstalkaboutsuperspecialkids/id/35292420