Autism Strategies and Neurodiversity Affirming Practices 

3-Hour Self-Study Video Course

This course has been registered for ASHA CEUs under the DEI subject code and will be reported for CE Registry members under that content area.  

Course Summary

This 3-hour course outlines how to provide strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming services to autistic children. The strategies and goals addressed in this course are not focused on establishing compliance or fixing deficits identified on standardized tests, but rather on supporting regulation, connection, and communication to help Autistic children learn, grow, and thrive as their authentic selves. 




Learning Outcomes:  

As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to: 

1.     Describe the differences in how autistic children develop and learn using neurodiversity-affirming language.

2.     Summarize the racial and gender disparities in diagnosing autism.

3.     Explain how the medical model of disability promotes ableism.

4.     Formulate neurodiversity-affirming therapy/IEP goals.


Timed Agenda

15 minutes: Autism diagnostic criteria

90 minutes: Reframing autism through a neurodiversity-affirming lens

75 minutes: Neurodiversity-affirming goals, therapy, and educational services



Meet the Speaker


Cari Ebert, MS, CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist in private practice in the Kansas City, Missouri area. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1993 and her master’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1995. Cari is a neurodiversity-affirming therapist, consultant, author, product developer, and nationally recognized speaker who gets paid to do what she loves most—TALK! She has an energetic personality, and this translates to a high-energy speaking style. Most importantly, Cari has an autistic son, allowing her to engage audiences both as a professional and as a parent of a neurodivergent child. 


Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Cari is author of the Understanding Autism handouts and The Learning to Learn Program, which she will briefly reference in this training. Cari receives royalties from all book and product sales on her website. She also benefits financially from presenting this course.

Non-financial: Cari has an Autistic son and shares personal experiences in her courses.

This course is approved for Individual use only. For groups
interested in purchasing this course please contact [email protected]

Refund Policy

  • If a student orders and completes at least 15%, but no more than 30%, of the course and is dissatisfied with the material, then a refund will be considered on a case by case basis. The student will be required to state their specific issues with the course as it relates to their profession for a refund to be considered.
  • If a student completes more than 30% of a course, there will be no refund.
  • If a student fails to complete the course within the 120 day time period, there will be no refund.
  • If a student purchases a course but never starts it within the 120 day time period for any reason, there will be no refund.
  • If a student completes a course but fails to print their certificate of completion, there will be no refund. A certificate of completion will be issued to the student after verifying that the course was completed.