Co-Regulate to Communicate: Helping Autistic Toddlers & Preschoolers Get Ready to LearnWhat if the first question we asked when an autistic child is struggling during therapy wasn’t, “How do I stop this behavior?” but instead, “What is this child’s nervous system telling me?”In this 1.5-hour episode of The NEW Autism Podcast Series, pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP, takes a deep dive into Focus Area 1: Co-Regulate to Communicate from The NEW Autism Workbook. Before we can expect a young child to attend, interact, learn, or communicate, we have to help that child reach the “just right” state for learning—calm, alert, connected, and engaged. In this episode, Laura explains what regulation and co-regulation actually mean and how dysregulation can affect both receptive and expressive communication. You’ll also learn a different way to think about many of the responses we have traditionally called “behaviors.” Laura walks through the 7 F’s of stress responses—Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fatigue, Flood, Feed, and Flock—and explains how this framework can help us determine what a child may be communicating through his actions. Laura also shares practical treatment strategies for helping autistic toddlers and preschoolers become more regulated and available for interaction and communication, including the 5 Universal Regulators. You’ll learn why co-regulation begins with the adult, how to “share your peace and regulate the pace,” when to reduce demands and use less language, how to choose activities that fit the child rather than trying to fit the child into the activity, and why sometimes the best clinical decision is to focus on practice rather than learning something new. Most importantly, Laura explains why helping a child regulate IS therapy.Who This is For?This episode is designed for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, developmental therapists, early intervention professionals, educators, and parents who want practical, strengths-based ways to support autistic toddlers and preschoolers.CHART LINK: https://teachmetotalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-NEW-Autism-Workbook-Worksheet.pdf Handouts mentioned in this podcast are included with purchase of CE credit for therapists Therapists - Earn 1.5 ASHA CEU for $12Parents pdf - $5 includes the show notesCEU LINK HERE: Who This Is For:- Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) - Early intervention providers, developmental therapists, OTs - Parents of toddlers and preschoolers with speech delays - Parents of autistic children Ready to Go Deeper?If you want a step-by-step system to apply this framework in real life with autistic kids, check out:https://teachmetotalk.com/strengths-based-autism-course-toddlers/Here's my newly updated therapy manual I mentioned The NEW Autism Workbook. Get info here: https://teachmetotalk.com/new-autism-workbook/Have a question for Laura and Macy?Email laura@teachmetotalk.com or macy@teachmetotalk.com with the subject line PODCASTJoin Laura’s daily email for free therapy ideas: (near 50K subscribers!!)https://teachmetotalk.com/Therapy Manuals from teachmetotalk.comThe Late Talker Workbook https://teachmetotalk.com/the-late-ta...The NEW Autism Workbook https://teachmetotalk.com/new-autism-workbook/Let's Talk About Talking UPDATED https://teachmetotalk.com/product/let...Teach Me To Talk The Therapy Manual https://teachmetotalk.com/product/tea...Building Verbal Imitation Skills in Toddlers https://teachmetotalk.com/product/bui...Teach Me To Play WITH You https://teachmetotalk.com/product/tea...FUNctional Phonology https://teachmetotalk.com/product/fun...Apraxia Workbooks 1 & 2 https://teachmetotalk.com/product/the...Shop Our Favorite Speech Therapy Toys:https://www.amazon.com/shop/teachmetotalkAmazon affiliates earn *teeny tiny* commissions from purchases. It's still a great way to support our work!**
