Episode Details

David welcomes Dr. Barry Prizant—speech-language pathologist, researcher, consultant, and author of "Uniquely Human"—to discuss how autism conversations can shift from deficits and pathology to dignity, emotional safety, and relationship-based support. Prizant recounts entering the field through a summer camp job, early experiences with bullying and “othering,” and a career blending academic work with “in the trenches” consulting. He describes research that depathologized echolalia by documenting its communicative functions and critiques traditional applied behavior analysis for compliance training, extinguishing behaviors without understanding “why,” and dismissing internal experience. David and Prizant share “parent/professional confessions” about misreading autistic attention and forcing participation, emphasize listening to autistic people and families, and address trauma, selective mutism, non-speaking communication, and coordinated misinformation. They close on the importance of supportive communities for parents and autistic people.

Email David at david.kaufer@hey.com

More on Barry at https://barryprizant.com/

Topics

00:39 Meet Barry Prizant

02:41 Early Career Origins

04:31 Empathy and Othering

06:41 Academic and Clinical Path

08:40 Challenging Old Autism Models

14:51 Listening and Parent Retreats

16:12 Why Uniquely Human

18:24 Nonspeaking and Presuming Competence

20:26 Parent Confessions Segment

25:09 Unlearning and ABA Debate

27:08 What ABA Is

27:47 Chomsky vs Skinner

28:59 Ask Why First

30:07 ABA Compliance Risks

32:53 Unlearning and Propaganda

34:52 Attacks and Misinformation

39:37 Neurodiversity and Competence

40:49 Autism Fact or Fiction

44:10 Trauma and Speech

50:03 Finding Your Community

52:42 Closing Thanks