Invited Speakers: Empowering Voices: Shaping Speech through Successive Approximations and Multimodal Communication for Autistic Learners belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter clinic sessions and day-to-day service delivery. In Empowering Voices: Shaping Speech through Successive Approximations, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer case conceptualization, better instructional targets, and stronger generalization, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via The Speech Pathology Applied Behavior Analysis (SPABA)
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Join Free →This dynamic one-hour presentation highlights an integrated clinical approach for supporting verbal communication in autistic individuals and others with complex communication needs. Drawing on principles from the Kaufman K-SLP method and multimodal communication strategies, participants will gain insight into the use of successive approximations alongside indicating responses and ACC instruction to shape intelligible speech and foster expressive language growth. Nancy R. Kaufman, MA, CCC-SLP, will present the foundational elements and support research behind successive word approximations for speech clarity. Tamara S. Kasper, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA, LBA, will demonstrate how to apply these principles within therapy sessions to promote improved functional vocal communication, enhance AAC plus vocalization as a response form and elevate consistency of speech shaping via an implementation checklist. The K&K Sign/Select to Talk resource will be introduced as a practical support for clinicians and educators—featuring motivating vocabulary, visual prompts, and structured tools to accelerate requesting and speech development. Please note that BACB CEs are available for synchronous AND asynchronous viewing, while ASHA CEs are available for synchronous viewing only.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| ASHA | 0.1 | — |
| COA | 1 | — |
| PDH | 1 | — |
Nancy is the owner and director of the Kaufman Children's Center and a renowned expert on the topic of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). In addition to working with local children, she offers intensive speech and language programs that bring families from other states and around the world to work with her at the KCC.Since 1979, Nancy has dedicated herself to developing Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) methods and materials to help kids become effective vocal communicators. She lectures internationally and over 20,000 speech-language pathologists have learned the K-SLP directly from the creator.Nancy earned her bachelor's degree at Michigan State University and her master's at Wayne State University, having been awarded a graduate assistantship. She and her husband reside in West Bloomfield, Michigan and have three grown children, a son-in-law, and two granddaughters.Honors & awards:Outstanding Alumni Award from Michigan State University (2010)Distinguished Alumni Award from Wayne State University (2015)Distinguished Service Award from Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2011)Community Excellence Business Person of the Year Award from the West Bloomfield Township Chamber of Commerce (2015)Leader & Innovator by Lawrence Technological UniversityAdditional career highlights:Speech-language consultant for the Parish School and Carruth Center in Houston, TexasSpeech-language consultant for Suburban Speech Center in Short Hills, New JerseyFormer professional advisory board member of Apraxia KidsFormer advisory board member of Wayne State University’s Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
256 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.