Profile Tool + Course for Speech-Language Pathologists
The Profile Tool That Finally Describes the Whole Child
Most social communication assessments tell you what a child can't do and compare them to neurotypical norms. The result is a profile that tells a family — and a team — everything their child struggles with, and almost nothing about who they actually are.
​
That's not because clinicians don't care. It's because the tools weren't designed for neurodivergent kids. They were designed to identify deficits and measure distance from a neurotypical benchmark. And when the only tool you have is a deficit lens, every child looks like a list of problems to fix.
​
Susan Golubock, Occupational Therapist (Ret.) & Autistic Self-Advocate · Staci Neustadt, Speech-Language Pathologist
The 5-Pillar Framework
Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile
STR
Strengths
What they already do consistently well
EMG
Emerging Strengths
Skills developing - needs support, not correction
BAR
Barriers
Environmental & systemic factors in the way
TRG
Triggers
Conditions that activate dysregulation
UNR
Unready Areas
What they're not yet developmentally ready for
$97
or 3 payments of $35 · Instant access · Lifetime use
Social Communication & Soft Skills Profile
+ Full Course + All Materials
Built by an Autistic Occupational Therapist & Speech-Language Pathologist
Grounded in Lived Experience
School & Clinical Settings
Immediate, Practical Application
Lifetime Access
What traditional assessments miss –
and why it matters
Traditional Speech Report
Self-awareness & self-acceptance
Rarely considered at all
Body awareness & sensory
Assumed to be OT's job
Emotional regulation
Dysregulation as "behavior"
Cognitive learning skills
Processing, comprehension
Social awareness
Pragmatics, turn-taking
Functional communication
Articulation, language, AAC
Self-determination
Knowing what I want, advocating for myself
Executive functioning
Planning, task initiation, problem-solving
Neuro-Affirming Profile
Self-awareness & self-acceptance
Knowing who I am and feeling okay being me
Body awareness & sensory processing
What sensations feel good or overwhelming
Emotional recognition & regulation
Noticing feelings, coping strategies
Cognitive learning skills
Thinking, remembering, understanding
Social awareness & connection
Connecting in their own way
Functional communication
Spoken, AAC, gesture, behavior
Self-determination
Knowing what I want, advocating for myself
Executive functioning
Planning, task initiation, problem-solving
If a child doesn't feel safe in their body or accepted as themselves, communication goals won't stick.
The neuro-affirming profile sees the whole pyramid — not just the top three layers a speech report covers.
The Problem With Current Tools
Every assessment tool you've used was built around what's missing.
The standard social communication assessments in our field have one thing in common: they tell you what a child can't do and compare them to neurotypical norms. The result is a profile that tells a family — and a team — everything their child struggles with, and almost nothing about who they actually are.
​
That's not because clinicians don't care. It's because the tools weren't designed for neurodivergent kids. They were designed to identify deficits and measure distance from a neurotypical benchmark. And when the only tool you have is a deficit lens, every child looks like a list of problems to fix.
The Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile was built to replace that lens with something more accurate — and more useful.
Traditional Assessment
Deficit-based, neurotypical benchmark
Measures how far the child falls from a standard that was never designed with them in mind. Results in reports families dread and goals that don't fit.
Neuro-Affirming Profile
Strength-forward, individual-centered
Profiles the child as they actually are — their strengths, what's emerging, what's in the way, and what they're not yet ready for. Reports families want to read.
Traditional Assessment
Built by researchers, tested on neurotypical norms
No autistic voice in the design process. No lived experience shaping what matters or what gets measured.
Neuro-Affirming Profile
Co-created with autistic lived experience
Susan Golubock was the child on the other side of these assessments. Her perspective is embedded in every pillar of this framework.
Who This Is For
This tool was built for clinicians who know something is missing.
Whether you're new to neuro-affirming practice or you've been doing this work for years and need a structured, shareable framework — this is what you've been looking for.
New to Neuro-Affirming Practice
You know the deficit model doesn't tell the whole story.
You sense that something about how you've been trained to assess is working against your clients. You want to shift — but you need a clear, structured tool to do it with confidence.
Start from a complete framework, not a blank page
Get language for reports that families actually want to read
Understand the 5 pillars and why each one matters
Write goals that fit the individual, not the rubric
Already Neuro-Affirming
You have the mindset. Now you need the structure.
You're already approaching your clients differently. What's missing is a concrete model you can point to, explain to families and teams, and use consistently across every assessment.
A visual framework to anchor your practice
Shared language for your whole team
Case studies to make the framework concrete
A goal bank grounded in what the individual actually needs
Why Trust This Framework
Built from the inside — and the outside.
Susan Golubock
Occupational Therapist (Retired) · Autistic Self-Advocate
Susan developed this framework because she was the child on the other side of these assessments — and she knows exactly what it felt like to be reduced to a list of deficits rather than seen for who she actually was. She built it because she wants autistic children to feel seen and heard for who they are, and supported for what they want to learn.
Her lived experience isn't background context — it is the foundation. Every pillar of this profile exists because Susan named what the field was missing from the inside.
· Framework Developer · Autistic Self-Advocate
· Occupational Therapist
Staci Neustadt
Speech-Language Pathologist
Staci brings the clinical structure and assessment methodology to Susan's framework — translating lived insight into a tool Speech-Language Pathologists can apply immediately across school-based and clinical settings.
She also brings something rarer: years of watching standard assessment tools misrepresent the children she was trying to serve, and the willingness to do something different about it.
· Speech-Language Pathology · Assessment Design
· Social Communication
Why the combination matters
Susan developed this framework from the inside — from her own experience of being assessed through a deficit lens as an autistic child. Staci brings the clinical methodology to make it a tool the field can use. Together they've built something that isn't just well-meaning. It's actually accurate — because the person it was built to serve helped build it.
The Profile Framework
Five pillars. One complete picture.
The Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile is built around five pillars — each one capturing a different dimension of how a child communicates, what supports them, and what gets in their way.
​
Unlike a deficit checklist, the five pillars create a complete, individualized picture. They tell you what to build on, what to support, what to remove, and what to hold off on.
Together, they become the foundation for every goal you set and every report you write.
​
Once you understand the framework, you'll use it in every assessment — not because you have to, but because it's simply the most accurate way to describe a child.
​
And because it was shaped by someone who was described through the old lens — and knows exactly what that missed — this framework doesn't just feel better. It is better.
Strengths
What the child does consistently and well. The foundation to build from — not overlook in the search for deficits.
Emerging Strengths
Skills developing but not yet consistent. What needs patient support — not correction or pushing.
Barriers
Environmental, sensory, relational, or systemic factors making participation harder. The problem isn't always the child.
Triggers
Specific conditions that activate dysregulation. Naming them precisely changes how the whole team responds.
Unready Areas
Skills the child isn't developmentally ready for yet. So we stop pushing for the foundation before it's there.
What's Inside
The profile tool + a complete course to use it.
The profile doesn't arrive without context. Every module gives you the understanding, language, and practical tools to apply it immediately.
1
Why the Deficit Model Fails — and What to Unlearn
The specific beliefs and practices the traditional model embedded in our training — and why letting them go is the first step to using this framework well. Includes the Unlearning Guide: designed for clinicians, and formatted to share with parents and teachers.
~15 min
Handout
2
The Soft Skills Pyramid: Foundation Before Function
~15 min
Visual Model
A visual walkthrough of the developmental pyramid underlying the profile — what it contains, why the order matters, and how it shifts the clinical picture you bring to every session.
3
The 5-Pillar Profile: A Complete Framework
Walkthrough Strengths, Emerging, Barriers, Triggers, Unready — each pillar explained, with clinical examples and the reasoning behind why all five are necessary for an accurate picture.
~20 min
Core Tool
4
Listening to What the Individual Is Telling You They Need
~20 min
Assessment Tool
The questionnaire approach that centers the child's own communication about what they want to learn — and how this reorients your entire goal-setting process.
5
Goals That Fit — A Neuro-Affirming Goal Bank
Example goals grounded in the 5-pillar framework, across settings, ages, and needs — with guidance on adapting them for individual clients.
~20 min
Goal Bank
6
Case Studies & Neuro-Affirming Language in Action
Full client walkthroughs using the profile — with before/after language examples showing exactly what it looks like to describe a child through a neuro-affirming lens.
~30 min
Case Studies
Everything You Get
One purchase. Everything you need to transform your practice.
01
The Assessment Profile Tool
The complete Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile — the core framework for every assessment you run from here forward.
02
6 Video Modules (~2 hrs)
The full course to understand, apply, and get the most from the framework — at your own pace, with lifetime access.
03
Unlearning Guide
For Speech-Language Pathologists — and formatted to share with teachers, parents, and school teams who need to understand why the approach has changed.
04
Soft Skills Pyramid Visual Model
The developmental framework underlying the profile — a visual you can use in team meetings, parent conversations, and IEP discussions.
05
Neuro-Affirming Goal Bank
Example goals across settings, ages, and needs — grounded in the 5-pillar framework and ready to adapt for individual clients.
06
Language Examples Library
Before/after language to replace deficit-based descriptions in notes, reports, and conversations with families and educators.
Enroll
The assessment tool that was missing from your practice.
Everything you need to use the Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile with confidence — in one purchase, with lifetime access.
Assessment Tool + Full Course
$97
One-time payment · Instant access · Lifetime use
The Neuro-Affirming Social Communication Profile (assessment tool)
6 video modules (~2 hours of instruction)
Unlearning Guide — for clinicians, parents & teachers
Soft Skills Pyramid visual model & reference guide
Client questionnaire tool
Neuro-affirming goal bank across ages and settings
Before/after language examples library
Case study walkthroughs with clinical notes
Lifetime access including all future updates
-OR-
Questions? Contact us at info@makingsenseofautism.com
Before you go
Questions
Who is this for?
Speech-Language Pathologist but cal also be used by Occupational Therapists, special educators, and school-based clinicians who assess or support neurodivergent children — at any stage of their neuro-affirming journey.
Do I need prior experience with neuro-affirming practice?
No. The course starts from the beginning, including a full module on what to unlearn from traditional training. You don't need any prior framework knowledge before you start.
What makes this different from other neuro-affirming resources?
Most neuro-affirming frameworks are built by clinicians. This one was built by a clinician and a retired autistic Occupational Therapist who was assessed through the deficit model herself. That lived perspective shapes every pillar — making this framework more accurate, not just more compassionate.
Can I use this in a school setting?
Yes. The framework and language examples are designed for both school-based and clinical settings. The Unlearning Guide is specifically formatted to share with teachers, administrators, and IEP teams.
How long do I have access?
Lifetime access — including any future updates to the course or materials. Once you enroll, everything is yours.
Can I share this with my team?
Individual licenses cover one clinician. If you'd like to bring the profile to your whole team, school, or district, reach out to discuss group pricing.
© 2026 MAKING SENSE OF AUTISM®. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PRIVACY POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS EARNINGS DISCLAIMER REFUND POLICY