Autism & Echolalia: Developing Functional Communication

Elizabeth is the author of Building Communication and Independence for Children Across the Autism Spectrum: Strategies to Address Minimal Language, Echolalia and Behavior (2021) London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers In 2021, she presented a virtual poster session on echolalia at the ASHA Convention (audio recording and live Q and A), a 90 minute live virtual presentation for NE/AER (US/Canada regional conference for education and rehabilitation professionals for the blind) and a book talk for an autism agency in Massachusetts. She will be doing a one-hour virtual presentation for the Milestones National Autism Conference in June 2022. In the past, she has done full-day conference presentations, a nine-hour short course for special educators, a few graduate and undergraduate speech/language pathology university courses, some other short presentations at ASHA and a foursession course at a psychiatric hospital. She has also given many public school in-service talks and spoken about autism to elementary through high school students, fire, police, medical, and dental organizations, retirees, and autism agency groups. Her philosophy is that the autism spectrum is complex and challenging, but it is nobody’s fault. When schools and families work together, addressing problems with positive supports, individualized instruction, and expectations appropriate to the child’s developmental abilities, needs, and desires, there will be progress.