Latest / Motherhood Alliance Podcast / Autism & Special Needs: Communication Tips for Caregivers w/ Hannah Wesolowski
Transcript
- Britney Suttner: Hi, we are Britt Andrea from motherhoodalliance.com and we are excited to welcome you to a new four episode series with Hannah Weslowski, a certified speech language pathologist and the founder of Green Bay Pediatric Therapies. As a speech therapist, Hannah specializes in articulation and speech sound production, language development, autism support, and social skills, helping children build the communication tools they need to confidently navigate the world around Through her work in private practice, Hannah loves being able to work directly with both parents and their kiddos, often meeting families right in their homes where they feel the most comfortable. Outside of her work, Hannah is a full-time mom of two who enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family. We're excited to introduce you to her now. Let's get started with today's episode. Hello everyone, welcome back. We are in episode four with Hannah. Welcome back Hannah. Hannah Wesolowski: Thank you. Britney Suttner: We have learned so much from you. If you guys are just tuning in, I want to update you on things that we've already discussed in our prior three episodes. Our first episode was really about what is pediatric speech language pathology? What does a speech therapist do? Who do they work with? Hannah has a great plethora of arenas that she can help with when it comes to helping kiddos with their speech and their language and their social skills and all this other jazz. In our second episode, we actually dialed into the specific topic of IEPs and helping parents understand what the journey can look like if you're entertaining the idea of an IEP or even just advocating for your child. And then episode three, we talked about how to help your child become a strong communicator, starting from when they're real little, all the way up to becoming adults. We're going to dial back into a specific topic in this episode. And so we're going to be talking about autism. And Hannah, I know that you do specialize in working with kids with autism. So Why don't you tell us a little bit about how you became interested in helping in the autistic world in the first place. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so I think if you've met an autistic child, you've met one autistic child. And that's kind of like how I like to think about it because autism is... so different depending on who the child is. So one child could be very highly verbal, but they could struggle with social skills. And then the next child over who has the same autism diagnosis, they could be minimally speaking, but they could be extremely highly expressive and they could have a plethora of different ways to communicate. But every child is just so unique and different. And I love the strengths that children have in general. And I tend to find the most unique strengths in autistic children and they are one of my favorites to work with on my caseload because every session is new. They teach me a lot about the world and every day is just an opportunity to grow. I think like in the world of autism, there's a lot that we can learn and I think that the goal is to be learning new information and new things every day, every week and continuing to develop like what our view of autism is. Britney Suttner: Yeah. And I know that you do specialize in this population, which is why we wanted to have an episode on it. This episode, honestly, this episode can probably apply to any kids that are having different methods of communication. Right. but I also wanted to do this episode, not only for parents of a child with autism, but also for caregivers, because I Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: know like just For myself, for example, we go to a very large church and we have a great Hannah Wesolowski: for sharing. Britney Suttner: special needs ministry and they're always looking for volunteers to come in and help serve in that special needs ministry. And so that could just be partnering up. It's a one-on-one ministry. And so a caregiver comes in, it's a volunteer who is background checked and all this other jazz, of course, but then they're paired up with one child that has some sort of special needs and they are buddied up with them for the entire church service. And it's like, I want... all of us to feel more empowered in knowing what questions to ask and just feel more comfortable being around different populations that have different needs. So I guess if we're going to stick kind of more specifically on autism, since that's an area Hannah Wesolowski: Mm-hmm. Britney Suttner: that you do specialize in, what are some common things that you're seeing in kiddos with autism that that people can start asking questions about. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so I think with autism, right, like there are so many differences in language that we can see. So let's just, I guess, start with language, right? So if we're thinking about language, we can have autistic individuals who are verbal, so that means that they're talking in... full sentences. We can have nonverbal or limitedly verbal kiddos. So these are kids who speaking and like oral communication is really, really hard. There's this term out there called Gestalt language processing. So that is what we typically think of as like the scripting. So scripting is when we get information from outside sources and they're building their language on whole sentences. And oftentimes it's sentences that they've heard other people in their environments repeating or we see that autistic children really like videos and they express their language through videos. And so a lot of times, kiddos pull these phrases from television shows that they really like, and they use those to communicate. And those phrases, although in our everyday world and our everyday communication might not make sense to you and I, it's our job to kind of figure out like what is the meaning behind this phrase or this sentence that this child is using because a lot of times there's really good meaning behind what they're saying and they're using it in a way that's really meaningful but they're accessing language through these videos and through communication and so we can use those scripts or those phrases in order to kind of like break down and then like build back up their language when we're thinking about it in terms of like my speech therapy brain. But I think it's really important to emphasize that like all communication has value and all communication especially in the autistic world. there's meaning behind it. It's just sometimes our job for people who have neurotypical brains to kind of decipher what that language is. So. That's like language. And then there are social interactions. So there could be differences in social interactions. Depending on the kiddo, they could have limited social awareness. So that could look like going up to strangers and having conversations with random strangers and thinking everybody is your friend, right? Not understanding those social boundaries. Or it could look like not engaging in conversations at all, right? So it is a large range kind of like we we saw in language too, we could have our verbal communicators or we could have nonverbal. We could have our kiddos with social interactions who love interacting with people and don't understand the boundaries, or we could have individuals who don't engage with people outside of their comfortable people. And then kind of jumping into... a little bit outside of the world of speech and language, but every kid has their own sensory needs too. So this is just as humans, we have different sensory needs. If we think of like extroverted versus introverted people, some people really need to be with other people in order to fill their cup and other people need to be in their bed with a hot cup of tea and a book to fill their cup, right? So we all just have different ways that we thrive in this world. And it's the same with autism. It just looks a little bit different. Britney Suttner: Yeah, And I can see why you enjoy working with them so much just because like communication in the English language is going to be semi straightforward across the board. But for these individuals, you get to almost like learn a brand new way of communicating and what works for what works for them and then educate the people around them on the Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: way that they communicate. Right. And so I think Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Britney Suttner: that's, that's really beautiful. So from a speech therapist perspective, What is kind of like your primary goals when it comes to helping autistic individuals? And obviously again, everybody's on all different areas of the spectrum, but like I think about knowing and responding to their name and understanding safety things, like what the word stop means. that even may be complicated for some kiddos. So what are kind Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: of your like primary goals and then how do you work through the goals and When do they kind of graduate or is it a constant progression based on their age? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, again, I think it's very individualized depending on who the kiddo is. My main goal when I'm working with autistic children is how can I help them access the world? and how can I help them access the world through communication? And that looks different at every stage and every point of life, right? So when I am working with a kindergartener, right, we're looking at like how can we help them be successful in a classroom, How can we give them the skills that they need to one day have a job and work and be a part of this world, right? What are the skills that we need to build up in order for them to be successful individuals? And I think success looks very different for everybody, Whether you're neurotypical or neurodivergent, success in our world looks different. What is our goal? We're always working towards something and I think that's a collaborative discussion between parents, between caregivers, between schools, between private practice therapists. What is our long-term goal? And everybody's goals could look differently. Maybe it's the goal of like, my kid needs to be safe. Maybe that's the long-term life goal. My kid, I need them to be safe. I need them to understand safety. I need them to not run into the street and get hit by a car. That is the main goal. And there is so much that we can work on in that goal. Maybe the goal is that they can successfully have a job with limited support, or maybe with a lot of support. Who knows? Maybe the goal is that they go to college. It can be vastly different depending on the kid and the family and the situation. But it's how can they be an active participant in our world, right? That's everybody's goal. So what can I do to help that? And in terms of how long an individual is in speech and language therapy, again, it really depends, People can be in therapy until the end of their lives or. We can end it at the age of 18 and oftentimes in schools, kiddos receive speech therapy services until they're 18 or 21, depending on what age they stay in school. And then after that, all services are let go of because they're done with school. So what's next? We oftentimes see a large gap after school is done of who is there to provide these services, who can continue to help? And there are resources out there and I'm not sure of all of them, but therapy can go on forever if we are looking for that support. Britney Suttner: Yeah, I think that's that's really great. I'd love to spend a few minutes just talking about the caregiver side. So somebody who Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: maybe is not as close to the kiddo as a parent is. In the church example I gave at the beginning of this episode, what are some good questions that people who are going to be working closely with this child should be asking so that they can communicate well in the time that they spend with with them? Hannah Wesolowski: That's a good question. I think we have to remember that like a parents are their child's biggest advocate, right? Like as parents, we know our child more than anybody else. I think that when we think of autism, everybody has like a different level of support or needs. So there are different ways that we can communicate. Some kiddos communicate with through gestures, some it's verbal language, some it's through an AAC device, which is usually like an iPad. So this is just anything that augments communication or an alternative form of communication if they aren't verbal speakers. So just really like asking the question of like how does your kiddo communicate? it right and then like what are some of the ways that they feel most supported another thing that we can ask about is like sensory needs. So we can ask about what are some signs that your child is getting overstimulated? And then when we are starting to see some of those signs, what can I do as a caregiver to support? And that might look different for every individual because again, needs are so different depending on the kiddo and the environment that they're in. But what are some of those small steps that you can take? Maybe it's removing them from the room. Maybe it is giving a pair of headphones. What is in the parents toolbox that they know of that as caregivers we can use those tools in order to support their kiddo without having to call on them during this time when they are stepping away for a second. Britney Suttner: Yeah, no, those are great questions because I know people who are stepping into this caregiver role, especially if it's just short term, like the church example, it's like they want to, they want, they want this kiddo to feel loved and included and everything. But at the same Hannah Wesolowski: yeah. Britney Suttner: time, they may feel a little uncomfortable because they just don't know what to expect because every kid is different. So that Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: is really helpful. Heading back into the home environment though, I guess this is more of a question. for even if, if a kiddo is neuro-typical or neurodivergent, is there things that you would recommend for parents to do before either like you as a speech therapist would come and or if they're going to be doing something that's a little bit more like education-based or kind of like at home speech therapy that maybe you've taught them. things on what to Hannah Wesolowski: Yes. Britney Suttner: do. And kind of what I'm thinking of here is, is it good to have a kiddo do some physical exercise before you're going to be mentally stimulating them or trying to have some teachable moments? Or are you incorporating the speech into the physical exercise? Are there some almost like some session prep things that parents can do? Or how do you kind of approach this in your play-based method? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things that I love to use and utilize is social stories. So what a social story is, is it is a story that is developed, it has words and pictures, and sometimes it has icons depending on if a kiddo is verbal or not. And it walks through what a child can expect. it is in first person. So it is from the perspective of the child. And it just walks through what's gonna happen, who's coming, what they can expect. there could be like if there's a structure to therapy, some kiddos really thrive off of having like a ABCD therapy is done type system. But it's really just prepping the child of like this change is going to happen in your day. This is what we can expect and it can kind of front load some of those. just unanticipated changes that might happen in their day to help transition them easily into therapy. And then when we're talking about physical activity, some kiddos are very sensory seeking and they're really looking for that high sensory input. Of course we can incorporate that into our sessions. I am not a therapist who sits across the table from a kiddo. If a kiddo is up and running around, we are gonna figure out a way to incorporate the goals into us spinning in a circle. or if we are fixated on lining up cars, great, we are going to line up those cars and I'm going to input our goals the best that I can into what that child is doing. And I think that's the beauty of therapy is that it can just be something that a kiddo feels comfortable doing and how are we going to support that sensory need which they are getting that input from while also targeting our goals. Because we can do... We can do it all at the same time. But of course, if parents know of something that is going to help regulate their child before a session, of course do it. But as therapists who specialize in this autistic world and love working with autistic individuals, we incorporate what we're doing into what our kids love. Britney Suttner: Yeah, that's so fun. love, I love how you're just able to, and again, we talked about in our first episode of just, you have the flexibility of meeting them in their favorite places too, right? And like doing therapy Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: in their life and whether they need it structured or they want it more free play. So that's just really nice. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, yeah. And sometimes we might walk into a session and a kid might be on the floor and we'll work through it. It's an opportunity that we can step into your environment or you can... just have that support, right? Like we're not looking for a performance or perfection beforehand. Britney Suttner: Mm-hmm. Hannah Wesolowski: And my goal is to meet children where they're at. And so if that's where we're at during that day, we're gonna work on some sensory regulation. We are going to work on making sure that our body is regulated and we're not gonna force attention onto say a specific activity. And also like if I'm doing an activity and it is just not working, to abandon and we're going to maybe come back to it later, right? Like it's the same with our kids. Sometimes things just don't work out. And so having that flexibility in a session, it can be really beneficial. Britney Suttner: Sure. Awesome. Well, to finish off this episode, do you have any other communication tips for parents specifically that they can be doing at home to help a kiddo, any neurodivergent kiddo? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, I think sometimes like just follow your child's Like if they're doing something, just follow what they're doing. Modeling that language, I keep coming back to it. I think I've said it in all four episodes, but it is so important just to model without pressure to repeat. Just provide them with language, right? We can use the strategies of pausing and waiting. Sometimes, kids with autism or autistic children, they... take a little bit more time to process. So if we just pause and we stop and we wait for a response, a lot of times that's really beneficial. Giving choices. This can go one of two ways, but it reduces that cognitive load of trying to have to come up with an answer out of thin air. And that can be really difficult. Like what do you want for dinner? Now I'm overwhelmed and I can't answer the question because I'm thinking of 45 different things that I could have for dinner and it's causing me to shut down and it's increasing that sensory regulation, right? So if we just give two choices or three choices, if a kiddo can handle it, it's reducing that cognitive load so that they can make a choice with what's in front of them. autistic kids are kids. And at the end of the day, like, they are kids. Their brain might work a little bit differently. but they're just kids, And it might look a little different. I'm not discrediting that. And again, every child is different. I engage with my six-month-old different than I engage with my three-year-old different than I engage with my seven-year-old nephew. We all engage differently with children. And yeah, just like creating opportunities and engaging. with your child or with a child that you might be working with as a caregiver, they're kids, treat them like kids, communicate with them like they're kids, because that's all they are is kids. So I think that's really important. I think the word of autism can feel like you might not know what to do or it might feel like you're doing things wrong. But if we just remember that. They're just kids. Anybody can can play with the kids. So. Britney Suttner: Yeah, yeah, and just being open to how they react, right? And like changing Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Britney Suttner: your, changing your method. Like you said, abandon ship if something's not working and, but really that applies to any child. Yeah. Yeah. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, that's something new. Yes, yeah, and I don't have all the answers either. Like I am learning every day right alongside with parents and caregivers and professionals and we are all learning about what this world of autism looks like. And every day it's changing and growing and there's always things that we can be doing better and always ways that we can be supporting differently. And it's just, it's an area where we're all growing, right? So. Britney Suttner: Well, and I think it's an area where we all want to support each other. mean, I'll admit, like, Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Britney Suttner: if I'm phrasing things incorrectly in this episode, I will apologize to everyone listening. I don't live in the autism world, but I want to be able to enter it with confidence and I want to be able to support people that are supporting autistic people. And so it's like, thank you for welcoming me into this conversation. Thank you for serving this population. Thank you for everything that you're doing. And thank you for all four of these episodes, Hannah. Hannah Wesolowski: Of course, it's been a joy. And I don't have it all right either, right? Britney Suttner: do want to read it. Hannah Wesolowski: I think we can acknowledge that we're all human and we're all just trying to help people. Britney Suttner: Yeah. Hannah Wesolowski: And that is one of my main goals is like, I just wanna help. And I have knowledge on this area of speech and language, but I don't have all the answers. And every day, I am growing as a professional and as a mom and as a person. And I think if we can all just keep... Striving to be a better version of ourselves like that's all we can do as humans and so Yeah, I don't have all the answers and I might have gotten things wrong too, but that's that's part of being human so Britney Suttner: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, for our listeners, I do want to mention one more time that Hannah does offer a free consult. So if you want to connect with her, feel free to do that. Ask her any question you want to. She is also offering 10 % off in evaluation. So Hannah, if somebody wants to take advantage of either of those things, where would they contact you? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so I am on Facebook. My page is Green Bay Pediatric Therapy. I am not a social media person, I try my best, but it is not my strong suit. Otherwise, I have a website that's www.gbtherapies.com. My email is hannah at gbtherapies.com, and then my phone number is 920-241-6707. So those are my main ways, and you can text or call that phone number. So those are my main ways that I communicate with people or you can get a hold of me. Yeah! Britney Suttner: Great. Yeah. And I know you mentioned in our first episode, locally and in-person you service the Howard DePierre type areas, but then you also do offer Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: virtual as well. Hannah Wesolowski: Correct, yep. So right now at this very moment, I am going into people's houses and I serve as people in their home environments. And I also do virtual in the state of Wisconsin. And then in the very near future, we may have a location as well. So more on that in the near future. But. Britney Suttner: Yep, and by the time this episode comes out, it may already be in happening. Hannah Wesolowski: you're Riot! Britney Suttner: So you guys are just gonna have to go check her out and see if she has an actual brick and mortar address yet on her website. Or just give her a call, like we talked about. So, alright, well thank you so much, Hannah, for all four episodes. We've really enjoyed our time with you. Hannah Wesolowski: Thank you.