I’m Amanda Binns.
M.A. SLP-CCC, Reg. CASLPO
I’m a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in the Toronto area and PhD candidate with the University of Western Ontario. I began my career working in a private practice, seeing a wide range of clients in schools, hospitals, and in-home settings. Then I went on to work as part of a multidisciplinary team who collaborated on a parent coaching treatment efficacy study published in the international peer-reviewed journals Autism and JADD. I am a certified Expert DIR Speech Language Pathologist and have been a Training Leader in the DIR/Floortime certificate program since 2010. I supported the role out of the Canadian Self-Regulation Initiative and worked as a Self-Regulation Consultant under the direction of Dr. Stuart Shanker at TMC (The MEHRIT Centre).
My clinical practice involves working with children and families using a combination of trans-disciplinary parent coaching, reflective parent meetings, and direct therapy. I also provide ongoing professional support to teachers, designing classroom curriculum and individualizing programs for students.
I have developed training curriculum and presented to professionals locally, across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia on a variety of topics including: how play contexts impact children’s engagement and communication, DIR/Floortime principles and practice, supporting communication development, the importance of play and interaction for young children, self-regulation, and coaching/supporting parents to become part of the therapeutic process. Audiences have included parents, clinicians, teachers, early childhood educators, medical professionals, and government officials.
Research Interests
My experience working as a Speech-Language Pathologist, and clinician scientist provided me with numerous opportunities to raise questions of clinical relevance, and investigate these questions with a critical mind. My current research interests include 1) examining parent-implemented interventions for pre-school children with autism, with the aim of identifying underlying treatment mechanisms, 2) developing a framework for SLPs to use to guide clinical thinking about the reciprocal relationship between stress, self-regulation and communication development and, 3) collaborating with community partners (families, clinicians and policy makers) to generate research questions, interventions and treatment outcomes that are feasible within the service delivery models and family context, and meaningful to the participants, families and clinicians.
Funded By
Autism Scholars Award 2019/2020
ART (Autism Research Training) 3 year Studentship
OMHF (Ontario Mental Health Foundation) 3 year Studentship
My Publications
Binns, A. Applying a self-regulation and communication framework to autism intervention. Autism and Developmental Disorders Journal (Russia). 2019; 17(2): 34-45, Available from: doi: 10.17759/autdd.2019170203.
Binns, A. V., & Oram Cardy, J. Developmental social pragmatic interventions for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 2019 January 21; 4(1): 1-18. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941518824497.
Casenhiser, D., Binns, A., McGill, F., Morderer, O. M., Shanker, S. Measuring and supporting language function for children with autism: Evidence from a RCT of social-interaction-based therapy. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2015 March; 45(3): 846-857. Available from: doi: 10.1007/s10803-014-2242-3.
Binns, A. V., Hutchinson, L. R., & Oram Cardy, J. The speech language pathologist’s role in supporting the development of self-regulation: A review and tutorial. Journal of Communication Disorders. 2018 December 21; 78, 1-17. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2018.12.005.
Binns, A. Applying a self-regulation and communication framework to autism intervention. Autism and Developmental Disorders Journal (Russia). 2019; 17(2): 34-45, Available from: doi: 10.17759/autdd.2019170203.
Cunningham, B. J., Washington, K. N., Binns, A., Rolfe, K., Robertson, B. & Rosenbaum, P. Current methods of evaluating speech-language outcomes for preschoolers with communication disorders: A scoping review. Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing Research. 2017 February 2; 60(2): 447-464. Available from: https://doi.org/ 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-15-0329.
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We Offer
Contact us for more information and to discuss which services best fit your needs.
Our Approach
Working with parents and caregivers is an important part of our service delivery model. We offer and encourage parent/caregiver consultations and training sessions. Our focus is to empower parents and caregivers to be able to apply strategies learned in session throughout their daily interactions with their children.
Collaborating with other members of your child’s team is also a key component of a comprehensive program and we encourage team meetings and co-treatment consultations and/or therapy sessions.
We offer consultations in person and also consult via internet for those that are not able to physically attend sessions.
Amanda has presented at conferences and conducted workshops for professionals and parents across North America and internationally in South America, Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. She has a passion for connecting with clinicians and caregivers to share practical therapy tips and updates on what is new in the field of speech language pathology.
Previous Topics have included:
Upcoming Events
UGDSB: Closed event. Ontario, Canada. January, 2020
