Advanced CEU Course · 4.5 Hours · .45 ASHA CEUs

A Strengths-Based Approach for Autistic Toddlers & Preschoolers

Q: Who is the Strengths-Based Autism course for?

This course is for SLPs, parents and other Early Intervention professionals including EI specialists, developmental therapists, occupational therapists, and other professionals who work with autistic toddlers and preschoolers.

Q: How much does this course cost?

The cost for this advanced course is regularly $175 with an introductory price of $150. Email subscribers will also be offered an additional coupon code. Subscribe on teachmetotalk.com's home page.

Q: How long will I have access to the online course materials?

You'll be able to access the course for 1 year after your purchase.

Q: Can I get ASHA CEUs for this course?

YES! This course is registered for .45 ASHA CEUs or 4.5 hours PMH. You must complete and submit the online Assessment Forms to be eligible for ASHA credit. Generally, courses are reported to ASHA the month following when we receive your forms, but the official reporting deadline is 45 days following the last day of the month when your course was submitted to us.

Q: Do you accept purchase orders?

Yes! Email your purchase order to Laura@teachmetotalk.com.

Q: Is this course appropriate for parents and grandparents?

Yes! If you know your child, you may be able to do this even better than your therapists!However, we have a parents version of the Strengths-Based Autism Course here.

Q: Do you offer a group rate?

No. Because this course is designed for self-study, there's no group discount.

Q: Will this information help language delayed kids who have not been diagnosed with anything beyond language delay?

YES! This is my VERY BEST METHOD for building language for toddlers and preschoolers no matter what their diagnosis turns out to be.

Stop planning therapy around what a child can’t do yet. Learn a step-by-step framework for identifying strengths, celebrating neurodiversity, and building treatment plans that actually work — taught by Laura Mize & Macy Mize Usher.

$99 $175

You save $76

Enroll Now - $99 ~~$175~~

🎓45 ASHA CEUs (4.5 hrs) 📹 Self-paced video course 🗂️Tools & handouts included

Are you a parent? We have a course for parents here >>

4.5 hours,
watch anytime

.45 ASHA CEUs
Advanced level

Printable tools
& handouts

1 year
of course access

Home » Strengths-Based Autism Course for Toddlers

Who this course is for

SLPs, early interventionists, and professionals who work with autistic children

This advanced course is designed for anyone who supports autistic toddlers and preschoolers — whether in a clinic, school, early intervention setting, or at home.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)

Early Intervention Specialists

Occupational Therapists (OTs)

Developmental Therapists

Educators in infant/toddler programs

Parents & caregivers of autistic toddlers

The problem — and the solution

Most of us were trained to focus on what a child can’t do yet

The old approach

Deficit-based planning feels frustrating for everyone

✗ Sessions feel like a battle to keep the child engaged

✗ Goals focus on what’s missing — not what’s possible

✗ Children become prompt-dependent and don’t generalize

✗ Progress feels slow and disconnected from the child’s world

The strengths-based approach

Start with what the child can already do

✓ Build therapy around a child’s real interests and strengths

✓ Honor neurodiversity and align with current best practices

✓ Encourage genuine connection and spontaneous communication

✓ Create treatment plans that get real buy-in from families

What you’ll learn

Five sections. One complete framework.

This course gives you everything you need to shift from deficits-focused to strengths-based — with tools and handouts you can use in your very next session.

Why traditional approaches often miss the mark for autistic toddlers — and what to do instead

The 7 C’s of Communication framework and how these skills unfold differently in autistic children

How to use the new Autistic Strengths Survey to identify and celebrate each child’s best skills

Step-by-step instructions for building a cohesive, strengths-based treatment plan

How to support co-regulation, sensory needs, and connection — not just compliance

Practical strategies for parent training using the new handouts and tools

How to implement this approach in child-led sessions — while still having a plan

Valuable insights from Macy’s 3 years at UK’s Autism Assessment Clinic

Course curriculum

5 sections · 4.5 hours

1 Introduction & The Case for a Strengths-Based Approach ~45 Minutes

2 The 7'C's of Communication in Autistic Children ~75 Minutes

3 Identifying & Celebrating Strengths with the New Survey Tool ~90 Minutes

4 Implementing Strengths-Based Plans & Parent Training ~60 Minutes

5 Tools & Handouts

Enroll Now - $99 ~~$175~~

What’s included

Tools & handouts you’ll use immediately

Autistic Strengths Survey

A new research-based printable checklist to identify and celebrate each child’s strongest skills — for use in therapy and parent training

Treatment Planning Forms

Step-by-step forms to build cohesive, strengths-based treatment plans from assessment through goal selection.

Parent Training Handouts

Ready-to-use handouts for educating families about the strengths-based approach — designed to get buy-in from caregivers.

"I loved this course! I've been needing more practical strategies and updated info for my Autistic caseload for EI! Thank you!!"

LAUREN, SLP

What participants say

From SLPs across the country

"The course puts together a very practical and effective framework for working with autistic children. It joins ideas from different areas of child development science into a comprehensive tool, I am very grateful for your loving and scientific approach. It will make me a better teacher and it will help me to reach children that are harder to reach. Thank you."

Elizabeth, SLP

I've always tried to look at a child's strengths, but I never had a systematic way of assessing the child's behaviors. I never categorized strengths like you do in the course. Thank you for providing a clear framework.

Linda, SLP

I really appreciated the specific activity ideas and the repeated reminder to return to a child's strengths if things don't seem to be moving forward.

Stephen, SLP

The course was very helpful and practical. I will certainly apply this approach to children on my caseload. I kept thinking about children that already "graduated" from EI and wish I had this knowledge when I still had them on my caseload. (Although I did put a lot of other Teach Me to Talk information into practice!)

Heidi, SLP

I am one of those therapists who you pointed out works on the wrong things. ARH!! What a slap in the face, but in a good way, because it was a much needed wake up call. I've hated my job lately and now I know why. Thank you for the clarity.

Susan, SLP

I LOVED the energy of this course! I also appreciated the research facts I learned I can spit out to other professionals and parents. The best part was how characteristics of ASD were divided into strengths and therapy activities... so if I have a visually inspecting kid, I know I can go into my pdf and find out what activities I should target based on that characteristic... this really did improve how I think about therapy.

Kelsey, SLP

Wow, this course was by far my favorite course I have taken in a long time! I have been lately feeling "stuck" with a few of my autistic toddler clients, and this course provided clear and helpful tools and strategies to best support our clients while also being affirming. I loved all of the ideas that were provided as well as the Strengths Survey – I can't wait to implement all of these wonderful things!

Isabel, SLP

Dear Ms. Laura and sweet Macy, I just purchased the new course and wanted to say THANK YOU! I would have definitely expected such cutting-edge information to come from you! I am part of several message boards for parents of autistic children, and we parents are just so tired of being told by professionals what our children can't or will never do. And really, what is the point of doing that? How does that help at all? Except to make the parent miserable and feel like there is no point in trying to help their child?...The tone of the course is great (such positivity), and Macy is such a delight! She is such a wonderful addition to Teach me to Talk.

Ann, SLP

This was a fresh new philosophy and a comprehensive approach with a new concept for successfully working with children with Autism. Before this ,the very structured, compliance teaching model which has been utilized by many therapists using comply-reward, noncompliance -punish or a with-hold philosophy. Children with Autism became prompt-.dependent with this method. These Children couldn't initiate language or make a plan to move on their own. They had to wait to be prompted to act or to respond and never spoke spontaneously on their own. I and many of my SLP colleagues have always believed in play therapy and giving the child choices to play works best. It is very important that Parents should hear about this strategy! Thank you Laura and Macy for doing the evidence-based research and putting this new concept into words!!

Teresa, SLP

I feel so much more at ease now having a huuuuuge packet of therapy ideas and a framework for organizing my therapy and having an actual PLAN instead of just "following the child's lead" while trying to figure out how to work in the goals. The way the content was explained was easy to follow and the handouts are excellent.

A, SLP

I loved the handouts to share with parents to help them understand how utilizing their child's strengths and interests is the best way to facilitate their child's communication abilities.

Colleen, SLP

This was a wonderful, easy to understand course with lots of great materials. Exactly what the fabulous Laura Mize is known for!

F, SLP

A, SLP

About your Instuctors

Meet Laura & Macy

Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP

Founder · ASHA CE Provider since 2012

30+ years specializing in late talkers, autism, and neurodivergent toddlers. Author of 9 therapy manuals used in professional development settings nationwide. Known for her clear, structured, immediately practical clinical approach.

About Laura & speaking engagements →

Macy Mize Usher, M.S., CCC-SLP

Co-Instructor · 5+ Years Clinical Experience

3 years at UK’s Multidisciplinary Autism Assessment Clinic. Co-teaches the Strengths-Based Autism Course and monthly coaching calls. Runs Hey Macy! with 11M+ YouTube views.

Follow Macy on YouTube →

Every child has strengths worth building on