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?
Imagine that a conversation is represented by a stack of blocks. Each partner adds a block (i.e., a comment and/or question) to that stack, building and sustaining that conversation. Partners take turns adding “blocks.” For some students, your initial goal might be to build a tower that only contains three blocks – I say something, you make a comment or ask a question, then I respond. Then, a fourth and fifth block is added. You are shaping the student’s conversational skills, one “block” at a time.
Over time, the goal might be for that “tower” to grow very tall; the conversation extends in duration and expands naturally into different topic areas.
What visual supports will you use to help the student rehearse the expected behavior or skill?
During modeling and practice sessions, use a physical prop, such as a baton, wand, ball, etc., to exemplify whose turn it is to talk. This is a great way to visually and concretely teach turn-taking in a conversation. The person who is speaking holds the baton. During that time, no one else is allowed to speak. Then, the baton is passed to their conversation partner for their turn to speak. The baton is passed back and forth to show the back and forth nature of conversation.
Blocks might also serve to represent the reciprocal exchange within a conversation. One person begins the conversation and places a block on the table. The other person makes a related comment or asks a related question and adds their block on top of the first. As each partner generates a related comment or question, the tower grows. This growth represents how the conversation was sustained via related comments and questions.
Such visual supports as communication scripts and scenarios would be crucial in many practice sessions. Video models depicting a precise sub-skill (e.g., generating a comment in response to what was just said) can also support practice. Once the concept is targeted in actual rehearsal sessions, you can also use a visual cue that depicts a game of catch to represent an analogy for a back-and-forth conversation (see Visual Cues for an example). A visual cue (reminder card) might support a particular student in refraining from interrupting his conversational partner.
For individuals who may tend to monologue about a single choice topic, a visual cue card may be necessary to support self-regulation by indicating appropriate times to discuss the topic. For example, one side of the card may have the words “World War Era Aircraft” or a picture of an airplane. The other side of the card has the written text or picture with a “no” symbol. Place the card on the student’s desk after teaching him that it is appropriate to discuss World War era aircraft only when the card is face-up. When the “no” side of the card is showing, this signals to the student that he should avoid that topic, or shift topics if he is starting to monologue. For some who are overly focused on a specific topic, it is often helpful to designate a specific time of day and person with whom the individual can discuss his ‘preferred topic.’ Knowing that the topic has a time and a place can help build self-restraint.
Some students may feel tremendous pressure to generate original responses during role-plays. If this is the case, one way you might adjust the activity is by engaging students in a game called “Blah Blah.” This complex game may be appropriate for some, but certainly not all individuals with social and communication differences. “Blah Blah” is a dialogue-based activity in which the characters interact with no set script or expectation to say anything other than “Blah blah.” For example, a role-play could be set up with two actors given the scenario: “You are talking about an awesome new movie.” The two actors engage, each limited to only using the phrase “Blah blah” to verbally interact. This activity may support practice of the back and forth (versus the monologuing/monopolizing by one partner). In more advanced simulations, it may also support focus on the tone of voice that would accompany a comment or question, appropriate interjection of that comment or question, body language, and facial expressions. This activity should not wholly replace role-plays where actual comments and questions are generated, but it can intermittently serve as a creative alternative to those activities.
What type of prompting might you need to provide in the initial learning phase?
Modeling and verbal prompts may be necessary in the initial stage to support the student in successfully performing each of these steps:
Practice with graduated guidance needs to occur in a “safe” setting initially. This will allow the instructor (and perhaps other peers) to provide necessary prompts to build understanding and performance. When targeting the first step, “recognizing the concept,” the instructor might need to press “pause” on the interaction, and allow the student time to process what was said so that he can identify the topic (out loud or in his head – in his head is certainly the end goal). He cannot generate an appropriate response unless he has had time to process and identify the topic. Over time, that “pause” period would be reduced.
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 initiating the target behavior?
It is important to note that you cannot effectively fade prompts unless you arrange multiple practice opportunities across which these prompts can be faded. Fading happens gradually and systematically. Fully prompting the student through the only practice opportunity on day 1, and then expecting him to perform with minimal or no prompting on day 2 is not realistic. As you issue verbal and modeling prompts to support the student in generating related comments or questions, in using verbal conventions to make appropriate topic shifts, or in repairing conversations, direct the student’s attention to the visual supports that illustrate what you are modeling. As the student attends to these supports (e.g., the scripts, the reminder cues), use less intrusive prompts (gestures to the visual supports and partial verbal prompts – one word or phrase instead of the whole sentence), until you are able to fade those prompts out completely.
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 performs the behavior incorrectly?
Below are some of the discriminations you could target in live action role-plays and video scenarios. Movies and television clips might also be used to support the student in identifying appropriate responses, or inappropriate responses. Use concrete descriptors that will make sense to the student; the descriptors below may be appropriate for some, but not all students:
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities to build fluency through repetition?
Again, prompts are only faded out effectively when the skill is targeted across multiple practice opportunities.
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?