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Amyz.theslp Connected Page ADHD SLP teaching parents and SLPs about the connection between executive function, gestalt language processing, and AAC.

Creator of Foundational Skills First: the only course out there on executive function & gestalt language processing!

09/19/2026

One of the biggest mistakes I hear constantly is that child-led therapy is play based therapy or that we consistently follow a childā€™s lead.

šŸ‘‰ But what happens when we fail to teach kids in ways that are truly supportive for them?

šŸ‘‰ There are so many autistic clients who benefit from structure because maybe they struggle with coming up with a plan, task initiation, or feeling organized.

šŸ‘‰ And in this case, if an AAC user is not benefitting from just modeling naturally & having unlimited access to sensory supports, we need to think deeper.

šŸ‘‰ Do they need supportive, explicit support? Do they require self-reflection to increase metacognition (meaning that they need to think about their own thinking)? Do they need to think about how they access their AAC device

šŸ‘‰ Executive function gets stronger through the loop of noticing > focusing > reflecting on what we are focused on > taking action based on the information we have (Zelazo, 2020)

šŸ‘‰ share with someone who needs to hear this message

Zelazo, P. D. (2020). Executive function and psychopathology: A neurodevelopmental perspective. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 16, 431ā€“454.

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes. no guarantees are made

09/18/2026

Comment FALL down below if youā€™re ready to add these truly no-prep AAC speech therapy resources! ā¤µļø

šŸ‘‰ share this with an SLP who is looking to save time!

09/17/2026

I said what I said šŸ˜œ

But in all seriousness, executive function and regulation are so closely connected.

So many SLPs already do a great job in supporting regulation and itā€™s also helpful to understand why itā€™s important to also support executive function at the same time.

If a child is dysregulated then they canā€™t access higher level executive functioning skills needed to use their coping strategies.

If a child struggles to use their coping strategies, theyā€™re going to stay dysregulated until someone can help them (or until they just have to let that hard moment pass, which can be a long time).

Theres a big misconception that we canā€™t support executive function before a child is regulated. But hereā€™s what I encourage SLPs to think about: Itā€™s never ā€œwhich one do I support first?ā€ Itā€™s more about asking ā€œWhat does this child need from me right now to support both?ā€

Alsaedi, R. H. (2025). Relation between executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance in children with autism. BMC Pediatrics, 25, 457.

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes only. no guarantees are made

09/17/2026

This is truly one of the most mind boggling things ever when it comes to AAC support. I need to know, does anybody have an answer to this? šŸ¤Æ

AAC > PECS always

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes only. no guarantees are made.

09/16/2026

I continue to openly share about my own beliefs that I held so strongly when I first started learning about gestalt language processing.

And while I wish I could go back, I canā€™t.

So Iā€™m here now, openly sharing what I still believe in and what I continue to question.

I hope that this page continues to serve as your reminder that you are not a bad parent or clinician if you are looking outside of what is shared widely when it comes to gestalt language processing.

I hope that this page serves as a reminder that if we are truly valuing lived experiences from families, then families who have not found success in modeling naturally when given access to unlimited sensory reports, avoiding verbal prompts, etc. are also real lived experiences.

This page will continue to serve as a place for parents and SLPs who value nuance and everything I shared is rooted in evidence, my clinical experience, and lived experiences of the clients I serve.

This page exists for you to ultimately learn discernment. Because I canā€™t tell you whatā€™s best for your clients or children, but I sure will give you all the information for you to make an informed decision.

šŸ‘‰ share with someone who needs to see this!

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes only. no guarantees are made

09/16/2026

Executive function supports for autistic kids truly is a non-negotiable when you truly understand how it impacts everything that we do.

Working memory is split into two: verbal working memory and non-verbal working memory.

In this case, verbal working memory is what allows an autistic child hold language in their mind, organize it, and then speak it into existence!

If you want to learn more about executive function and its importance in overall development, comment PODCAST down below for a completely free learning opportunity! ā¤µļø

Barkley, R. (2012) Executive functions: What they are, how they work, and why they evolved. Guilford Press.

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes only. no guarantees are made.

09/15/2026

Executive function + regulation are two things that are so interconnected. I canā€™t NOT speak up when I see things like ā€œoh, but they are not regulated enough for executive function supports.ā€

Itā€™s never one or the other, itā€™s both.

Within this context, I encourage you to think about dysregulation impacts executive functioning. If a gestalt language processor is deregulated, how will they attend to the language models you are offering?

Just some food for thought. šŸ’­

Alsaedi, R. H. (2025). Relation between executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance in children with autism. BMC Pediatrics, 25, 457.

šŸ“Œ this content is for educational purposes only. no guarantees are made

09/14/2026

The Internet is a WILD place to be right now. Someone saw this video on another platform and shared that I am masking these supports as compliance-based and calling them executive functioning.

And although most of my posts I share are not *too* spicy, I just have to be really clear here: if you have no idea what executive functioning is, or you donā€™t understand the rationale/reasoning behind what I am sharing, then you donā€™t know executive functioning (and honestlyā€¦can I get that confidence to talk so openly about something I know nothing about? šŸ˜‚)

Our executive function system allows us to be able to look into the future, plan ahead/adapt to changes, and follow through with a directed goal.

The challenge this particular child has is the ability to transition / adapt to unexpected changes in their day to day life. They seek control in everything that they do and while I recognize children with a PDA profile are having a nervous system responseā€¦what happens when we repeatedly teach a nervous system that itā€™s only safe when they are in control?

We donā€™t help kids build capacity and guess what? Every time they are upset, their nervous system learns ā€œI canā€™t do this unless I am in control.ā€ And in life? Unfortunately, we donā€™t have control over many things.

Research shows us that autistic children have lower rates of distress tolerance, which can lead to anxiety or depression (Schwartzman et al. 2024).

Iā€™m not saying we force autistic kids to be uncomfortable or that we never give them autonomy. But I am saying we need to be cognizant of the fact that we may be doing more harm than good when we always try to fix things.

ā¤µļø Feel free to (respectfully) share your comments down below!

šŸ“Œ This content is for educational purposes only. No guarantees are made

09/13/2026

Comment GLINT for the 30 day free trial ā¤µļø

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Workload is just one factor of feeling burned out, but teachers, SLPs and so many educators deserve to go home and leave work at WORK.

Ner Chat has created something so helpful & what I love most is that they have families who also support complex communicators on their team.

So, if you are ready to stop spending your weekends putting together so many visual supports comment GLINT and Iā€™ll send you the link ā¤µļø

|Glint Partner|

09/12/2026

Itā€™s important to recognize that when a child is frequently being told what to do, we are serving as their external cueing system and they arenā€™t being given the opportunity to develop those metacognition skills that they need.

Metacognition is a fancy word that means being able to think about your own thinking.

Using more self-reflection statements rather than directive statements can potentially support a childā€™s ability to think about their own thought process and to help them start to develop that inner dialogue that they need to become more self-directed.

šŸ‘‰ save this for later when you need it

šŸ“Œ This content is for educational purposes. No guarantees are made.

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