Where is the student now? Where do you want him to be? Given the sub-skill you selected within your task analysis (your starting point for instruction), how can you shape this behavior into a practical skill for the future?
What visual supports will you use to help the student rehearse this skill?
Script and scenario cards, video scenarios, graphic organizers, social narratives, video models, and visual reminder cues might be systematically introduced to promote social understanding and to assist in rehearsal sessions. (see Visual Supports sections for examples)
In addition, consider engaging the students in fun, friendly games to contrive situations that would warrant compliment or praise (e.g. “nice move,” “good try,” “good game”).
What type of prompting might you need to provide in the initial learning phase? What is your plan for systematically and quickly fading out your prompting? How do you time and fade the prompt to support the student in giving compliments or praise?
Consider how invasive (and potentially stigmatizing) it is to directly or indirectly verbally prompt the student to compliment someone (“What do you think of that Antonio?”) or to express gratitude (e.g. “What do you say Jessica?”). To prevent your prompts from becoming part of rehearsal sessions, start with scripts that allow students to practice delivering compliments at the precise point within an interaction. In initial role-play sessions, it is likely that you would need to model what to say, how to say it, and the precise time to deliver the compliment. Over time, fade any modeling prompt to a non-verbal prompt (e.g. a well-timed point to the intended recipient of a compliment) during role-play sessions. Certainly, that non-verbal prompt should ultimately shift the student’s attention to any existing visual support. Repeated role-play sessions that target a wide array of scenarios will be necessary to build the student’s confidence and proficiency.
Can the student discriminate between the more versus less appropriate response in a given role-play scenario? Are you arranging opportunities for the student to make such discriminations and to label when the instructor or someone else compliments or praises inappropriately?
In addition to live role-play opportunities with scripts and scenarios cards where you (and other peers) demonstrate more versus less appropriate responses, consider using commercial or home-made video scenarios to help the student accurately discriminate. These particular discriminations that you target should address the needs of the student(s).
Here are just a few discriminations to consider:
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities to build fluency through repetition (while helping the student to understand how compliments should not be issued excessively)?
What steps do you need to take to ensure that everyone targeting that skill applies the same level of prompting and fades it out at the same rate to support initiation by the student?