PRESENTED BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA
KATIE FENSKE, MA, CCC-SLP
BRIANNA MORALES, MA, CCC-SLP

This session was presented at the Autism Alliance of Michigan's "Navigating Autism Today" virtual conference in March, 2021. Whether the manner of communication is speech, picture selection, or the use of an AAC (augmentative communication) device, the choice of “first words” is an important thing to consider for parents, speech pathologists, behavior analysts and teachers. What we know about which words are learned first and under what conditions in typical development should be considered when selecting “first words” to teach a child with autism.