Celebrating Child-Led Communication:
Nicole Casey’s Commitment to AAC and GLPs
This October, in honor of AAC Awareness Month, we are thrilled to celebrate Nicole Casey, M.S., CCC-SLP—founder of The Child-Led SLP, host of the Let Them Lead podcast, and creator of The Child-Led Autism Summit. For more than 11 years, Nicole has brought passion, purpose, and innovation to her work as a speech-language pathologist and clinic owner. She’s leading a powerful movement to shift the field beyond compliance-based therapy and toward child-led, neuroaffirming practices that honor the whole child—communication, sensory needs, autonomy, and all. Through her therapy center, podcast, and programs like The Great Language Partner Program, Nicole inspires parents, empowers professionals, and uplifts autistic children—especially gestalt language processors and AAC users—by centering connection over compliance, trust over performance, and curiosity over correction.
What does a neuroaffirming approach look like in daily practice with autistic children and AAC users?
For me, being neuroaffirming means showing up as a partner on a child’s communication journey—not as someone who’s there to “fix” them. My role isn’t to change who a child is, but to create space for them to live a meaningful life and communicate in a way that feels natural and good to them.
That means letting go of the old model of squeezing neurodivergent kids into a neurotypical box. Instead, I lean fully into connection over compliance. I follow the child’s lead, notice and respond to their sensory needs, and honor every single way they communicate—scripts, sounds, gestures, AAC, body language, silence. I offer co-regulation before all else. I adjust the environment to make communication accessible to the child.
In practice, this looks like modeling language in the context of what matters to them, giving them autonomy in the process, and celebrating communication in all modalities. Progress isn’t about 80% accuracy. Progress is autonomy. Self-advocacy. Shared joy. Connection.
What’s the most important first step when introducing AAC to a new student or client?
The most important step is simple: start.
I know AAC can feel intimidating if you don’t feel like an expert. But the truth is that our hesitation delays access, and every day we wait is another day a child doesn’t have a reliable way to share their voice. My biggest suggestion is this: Don’t wait for the perfect app, the perfect setup, or the perfect activity. There is no perfect. Just begin.
Presume competence. Provide robust access on day one—with core, fringe, and consistent motor plans. Model without pressure. Tie your models to the things that the child already loves. Consistency will always beat perfection. Starting is everything!
What do I wish more professionals understood about supporting GLPs, especially those using AAC?
The biggest thing I wish more professionals knew is this: gestalts are communication. Stage 1 echolalia is meaningful. We don’t need to stop or redirect our kids from using scripts or gestalts. Our role is to honor them, understand their meaning, and create opportunities for kids to build from them over time.
GLPs need their gestalts represented on their AAC devices, too. That might mean programming favorite lines, songs, or contexts into a folder—or embedding them in relevant pages like toys, routines, or people. I keep the home page as consistent as possible, because motor planning is everything. Then, I model natural language that fits the moment.
And don’t forget: GLPs are drawn to intonation. Adding things like vocal smileys, song clips, or recorded phrases can make AAC feel more natural, more personal, and more meaningful. At the end of the day, it’s about respecting their natural way of acquiring language as gestalt language processors without forgetting or foregoing what we know about best practice in AAC.
One small, practical step to move toward a child-led, neuroaffirming approach this month
If you’re not sure where to begin, start with the 3 Freedoms: the freedom to choose, the freedom to change, and the freedom to end.
Give children the freedom to choose what feels right in a session. Give them the freedom to change their minds if something no longer serves them. And honor their freedom to end an activity when they’ve had enough. These freedoms are the foundation of trust.
When kids know they are safe, respected, and in control, they show us who they are and what matters to them. That’s where authentic communication begins.
What is your AAC Awareness Month message of hope and celebration?
There is no “right” way to communicate. Your child is already communicating, and AAC is simply a tool that makes their voice more accessible, reliable, and powerful.
AAC doesn’t prevent speech, it expands opportunities. It opens doors to autonomy, advocacy, and connection. So celebrate every glance, every time the child touches their device, every script, every gesture. Celebrate the messy middle. Celebrate progress in all its forms. Because communication grows when kids feel safe, seen, and heard. And every child deserves that!
If you’re looking for more support with gestalt language processing—especially practical strategies for both spoken and AAC users—I created The Great Language Partner Workbook. It’s a comprehensive, parent- and professional-friendly guide packed with checklists, handouts, and real-life strategies to help you honor and expand your child’s communication. You can grab your copy anytime here!
