Holistic Speech Therapy: Why Prioritizing Regulation, Self-Advocacy, and Autonomy Leads to Better Communication Outcomes
At Resonate Music Therapy here in Colorado Springs, speech therapy is about far more than mastering sounds/words. Clients and their families are welcomed into a neuroaffirmative, strengths-based environment where connection, safety, and authentic self-expression come first. Each person’s unique communication style—whether it’s spoken language, AAC, echolalia, gestures, signing, typing, writing —is valued and supported as a valid way to connect and belong.
We also trust in decades of research and lived experience! Evidence-based practice is critical, and we understand that research+lived experience shows that effective communication can only happen consistently when someone feels aligned internally with themselves/their body, as well as their environment. In this post, we’ll outline why regulation (as well as self-advocacy and autonomy) are all critical to robust and effective communication- from the speech therapy room to well beyond! The goal is always to strive towards communication that’s meaningful to that person, connects them to their environment and loved ones, and allows them to share their internal world!
How does fostering regulation, self-advocacy skills, and individual autonomy, all lead to better speech, language, and communication outcomes? We’ll first dive into regulation.
Regulation as the Foundation for Communication
Regulation—feeling safe, with internal body sensations recognized, aligned, and needs met—is an essential prerequisite for effective communication. For many we work with here at Resonate, the sense of bodily sensations or what they mean, also known as interoception, may be impaired.
Interoception is the brain–body process of noticing and making sense of internal signals like hunger, heart rate, temperature, pain, awareness of body in space (proprioception), and more. Neurodivergent people (such as autistic and ADHD individuals) often have different interoceptive wiring, leading to under-, over-, or mixed awareness of internal cues. These differences can be further impacted by chronic stress, trauma, or environments that repeatedly dismiss or override their needs, which can condition them to ignore or distrust their body signals and thus impair interoceptive awareness over time. A broken or impaired brain-body connection makes identifying needs and meeting them hard, but this is very much work worth doing. Autistic and neurodivergent people also may describe their bodily sensations differently than a neurotypical person would. The human experience is vast, and it’s important for therapists and loved ones not to pathologize someone’s own descriptions, or to force a narrative upon their experience that doesn’t fit. Remember that emotions, bodies, and sensory systems are all complex. What someone is communicating to you about what they need or what they’re feeling may not make sense to you (or even to them!), but coming with curiosity and an investigative mindset can help!
Practical Tools for Regulation:
Identify the sensory need! What kind of input is the individual seeking? Practical tools for regulation start with getting curious about what kind of sensory input the nervous system is asking for, not trying to shut the behavior down. From a neuroaffirmative stance, sensory seeking or avoidance s communication: rocking, pacing, chewing, humming, crashing, retreating to the dark, moving an object back and forth for visual input, or scrolling a phone are all attempts to get a specific kind of input (movement, deep pressure, oral, auditory, visual, etc.) that helps the person feel more organized. To identify the need, notice the pattern: What is the person doing with their body (moving fast/slow, pushing/pulling, covering ears, seeking tight spaces)? Stimming isn’t bad! If someone is stimming, it’s important to recognize if they’re happy stimming, effectively self-regulating, or if they are indeed in distress and needing help. If stimming is working, that’s great!
What tends to make them calmer or more activated (swinging, music, weight, quiet, warmth, cold, water, screens)? What environments trigger the behavior (noisy cafeteria, transitions, unstructured time) and what do they reach for first (headphones, gum, stim toys, blankets, jumping)? In practice, co-investigate by asking permission-based, nonjudgmental questions (“Does your body want more movement or more stillness right now?”, “Does that tight hoodie help your body feel safe?”), offering a small menu of different input types to experiment with (movement, pressure, temperature, sound, visual, oral), and reflecting back what works (“Your body seems really settled after jumping; it seems like you needed that big movement!”). Over time, map these observations into a simple, collaborative sensory profile that names preferred inputs (“heavy work when anxious,” “soft rhythmic music for focusing”) so the individual can anticipate needs, choose tools proactively, and self-advocate in their own language.
Provide sensory-friendly items (fidgets, noise-canceling headphones) for the individual to use whenever needed. These are not privileges to be earned, but needed supports. Skew these strategically so that the individual doesn’t even need to request an item, but can initiate usage when they need. Normalize usage of tools that help!
Use play, movement, music, or sensory items/sensory scenescapes to create safe routines that can bring predictability and comfort.
Consider whether the individual is cognitively understimulated. When we see someone overwhelmed, it’s often tempting to create calm by removing all challenge, when in fact cognitive engagement may actually help someone who’s physically overwhelmed. This could be as simple as “I wonder how many swings are on this playground? Let’s count them”, or having someone put together a puzzle as they lie over a balance ball for vestibular/proprioceptive input.
Model and practice calming strategies like deep breathing together, squeezing and releasing the hands, and moving in positive ways. If you’re activated, everyone in the space will struggle. Put on your own oxygen mask first and strive to bring yourself to a place of true physiologic calm before you attempt to co-regulate another person. This, of course, may not be possible when safety concerns are present, but outside of emergent safety needs, it’s very okay for you to take a break before attempting to co-regulate.
Research aligns with this approach: When emotional and sensory regulation is prioritized, communication skills are more readily accessible across everyday settings, not just in speech therapy, music therapy, or any other therapy!
Fostering self-advocacy: Empowering Every Voice
Advocacy in speech therapy means making sure that each client—no matter what—can ask for what they need, say “no,” and have their preferences and needs respected. At Resonate, this starts with active listening and collaborative goal setting, so clients know they are always partners in their own therapy journey. We’re not building rapport only to later abandon it in favor of skill building. Trust and rapport are a consistent and integral part of the entire therapy journey.
Practical Tools for Fostering Self-Advocacy:
Teach and model self-advocacy phrases (“I want a break,” “I like this!,” “I’m too tired to do this”), however that person can safely and best communicate that. You can accept communication while still modeling proactive, positive, and accessible ways to better communicate in the future. “I can tell you need a break- you’re really overwhelmed if you’re throwing things. You can always say ‘this is hard, I need a break!’. Let’s take a break together”.
Talk through real-world scenarios in therapy and at home—being able to give a firm ‘no, communicating wants, or requesting help. Have hard conversations! Talk about safety and what that feels like, how to recognize if someone is making you feel uncomfortable, and what to do if you have an ‘uh-oh’ feeling, no matter who is making you feel that way.
Equip loved ones with ways to encourage self-expression and to recognize subtle cues, especially for non-speaking clients (pointing, turning away, facial expressions, particular stims). Our loved ones are working very hard to ‘bridge’ into everyone else’s world, and it’s a good thing to help people they interact with to learn how to ‘bridge’ into their world!
Document and celebrate advocacy moments so everyone notices growth and can reinforce confidence in communicating needs. This doesn’t mean we erase the hard moments. We fully embrace and see growth areas, and live with the reality of what that individual may be facing.
Research shows self-advocacy and subsequent empowerment fuel better outcomes, greater independence, and stronger self-esteem for neurodivergent and disabled clients.
Autonomy and Client-Led Therapy
Autonomy is central to every therapy session, whether speech therapy, music therapy, or occupational therapy, here at Resonate. Clients are part of the process in determining what to work on and how we jointly journey towards the goal. Therapy is structured around choices—preferred activities, topics, and even the pace of sessions. The goal is not compliance or conformity, but joyful, self-driven participation and connection, which ultimately leads to better skill building, as motivation is intrinsic. There’s good evidence to support the fact that intrinsic motivation far outweighs extrinsic motivation!
Practical Tools for Nurturing Autonomy:
Offer choices in every activity and let clients guide session flow. Infuse choice into every session by inviting clients to pick between activities, topics, and the order of tasks, and honor “no,” “not yet,” and “I’m done” as valid responses, not communication to be avoided.
Use multiple communication modes—spoken language, AAC, gestures, typing, drawing, music, movement, gestures, ASL or signing—and follow the client’s lead on which communication option is most accessible, as you work towards supporting the individual in sharing more of their internal world.
Commit to ongoing, collaborative goal-setting and review therapy progress together, always ready to pivot based on the client’s evolving needs and interests.
Encourage genuine holistic communication, ensuring that communication tools are available and available without conditions so clients can reach for them whenever they choose, reinforcing that autonomy and access are everyday rights, not rewards.
Research into autonomy consistently affirms that client-led therapy supports better generalization to real life, fosters intrinsic motivation, and builds lifelong communication skills.
Communication Growth at Resonate in Colorado Springs
Holistic speech therapy at Resonate means every session is unique, responsive, and client-centered. Our speech, music, and occupational therapists partner with loved ones, offering tools and support that blend seamlessly into home, school, and community life.
Research-Backed, Neuroaffirmative Care
Decades of research and the lived experience of neurodivergent communities affirm that regulation, advocacy, and autonomy lead to better communication and quality of life—not just in sessions, but everywhere! Resonate is proud to champion a trauma-informed, neuroaffirming model in Colorado Springs, honoring every client’s right to communicate effectively in ways that work for them and their ecosystems.
If you or your loved one is seeking a compassionate, empowering speech therapy experience, we’d love to welcome you at our Colorado Springs clinic. Let’s build authentic connections, and foster self-advocacy as well as joyful, functional communication together.
