Speech & Language: The Great 8 for SLPs and ASD

For SLPs connecting assessment findings with everyday communication support, Lynn Dudek's recorded session examines eight linked areas of autism practice. She works through visual schedules, AAC choices, social communication, and team planning, including generalization across settings and the demands that goals place on families.

Presenter biographies: Lynn M. Dudek.

Certificate of Completion. This session does not offer BACB continuing education (CE) credit.

MANDATORY DISCLAIMER: The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (“BACB”) does not sponsor, approve, or endorse Special Learning, the materials, information, or sessions identified herein.

Lynn organizes the session around assessment, reinforcement, visual supports, sensory needs, social skills, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), teamwork, and comprehensive planning. Her assessment discussion compares standardized measures with observation of language use in everyday situations.

Worked examples include teaching a child to check a visual schedule, separating speech from thoughts in comic strip conversations, and using a preferred stuffed monkey in a Power Card story. The AAC discussion examines motivating content, communication effort, and the timing and value of reinforcement.

The closing sections examine family routines, team disagreements, and the Ziggurat Model's layers of planning. Lynn also distinguishes knowledge about a skill, performance in a one-to-one setting, and use across settings.

What does this recording cover?

• Lynn's assessment overview distinguishes screening, clinical diagnosis, and school identification.
• The visual-support examples examine schedule use, comic strip conversations, and Power Cards.
• The AAC section compares aided and unaided systems and examines motivating content and communication effort.
• The generalization discussion separates knowing a skill, demonstrating it one-to-one, and using it across settings.
• The teamwork and planning sections connect family routines, assessment data, and the Ziggurat Model.

Recording context: This historical recording discusses DSM-5 as forthcoming and uses older diagnostic language and test editions; its exact recording date is unavailable.

Three selected learner comments

The six-item evaluation mean was 4.67/5 across 2 complete responses, from 19 recorded rating responses. This mean includes only complete six-score responses. Source: Special Learning's course evaluation records, snapshot October 11, 2026.

Three selected anonymous responses appear below, with the wording and spelling retained. They describe learners' experiences and requests; they are not a guarantee of results or a claim that these comments represent every learner.

More updated and recent workshops would be good. Many of them seem very old.

Course evaluation response, 2023

No specific concerns. The content was clear and well-organized.

Course evaluation response, 2025

Including more real-life case examples and practical application strategies would be helpful.

Course evaluation response, 2025

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