What communication scripts might you use to support practice of this skill? Are these complete scripts or just key words to support initiation?
A script including a full dialogue may be helpful for someone who needs more support in generating comments and questions. Start by presenting the student with a full script and then role-playing the script together. The next step could be having the student ad lib portions of the role-play script (with your assistance if necessary).
The script examples below are fully-developed dialogues, with color cues to indicate each “actor’s” lines:
Script cards like those below might be used within role-plays to signal to the student what he might say in order to sustain that conversation. In this case, as he interacts with the role-play partner, he could refer to the script to help him generate a comment or question. Attention to context and to what the person just said is key – not all comments “fit” a given exchange. Some of these scripts might later serve as visual reminder cues to which the student can refer prior to real interactions in the natural environment.
Consider how you could also create script cards in a game, where students take turns pulling cards that tell them what to do– ask a question related to what the person said; make a comment that means ‘keep talking’; connect what they said to something that happened to you, etc.:
On the script card, does the student need additional picture or word cues to define his body position, facial expression, gestures, etc. during the use of the script?
To cue the unspoken steps of commenting and adjusting the conversation, you may add images, icons, or text to remind the student to listen, identify the topic of the statement, read the person’s body language to determine interest, show signs of interest, or to ask for clarification if unsure of the person’s meaning. Select only those cues that are most relevant, rather than bombarding a visual support with too many embedded cues.
What additional visual clarity cues (e.g. color-coding, highlighting) might you add to the visual script to promote attention and comprehension for the student?
If you are using a conversation scenario card, you could add a comment, in a noticeable font, about what the student should focus on. For example, the topic on the conversation card could be “upcoming holiday” and then a visual reminder “remember to ask 1 question and make 1 comment” might be written at the bottom of the card in red ink.
What scenarios might you present (using scenario Act it Out cards) to help students produce their own dialogue and interactions to practice or role-play in a scene?
Conversation scenario cards are great tools for someone who already has shown proficiency with basic conversation skills (including scripted role-plays). Conversation scenario cards provide an appropriate topic of conversation. Start with just 2 people and then perhaps move up to 3 people eventually. Each person takes a turn selecting a card. Whoever picks the card shows it to the other person and then initiates the conversation based on that topic. After a set minimum number of interchanges, a new card can be selected. The purpose of conversation cards is to practice the back and forth nature of a conversation. The task of selecting an appropriate conversation topic is eliminated so that the focus is on reciprocity via commenting and questioning. Other skills can be worked on at this time too, including using non-verbal cues to signal interest, eye contact approximations, physical proximity/personal space, etc.
Once the person is able to generate a conversation using the conversation scenario cards, a more generalized role-play can take place. Try to vary the conversation partner so the person gets used to different styles. At some point, the role-play should not involve only sitting at a table, as with the conversation cards, but instead simulate generalized conditions (i.e., talk in the hall, kitchen or break room).
For students with general skills in dialoguing, an alternate option is to set up scenarios that facilitate shifting between set topics. The following examples indicate how role-play partners might transition between related topics within a conversation. Some students may find such cues to be helpful during role-play; when they struggle to generate further comments or questions about one topic, they are guided to the next related topic. As the instructor monitors and supports students in these practice scenarios, the instructor might signal that a topic change is necessary (e.g., when one person is monopolizing a topic; when the conversation is dwindling because the topic has been exhausted). Blank sets are available for the instructor (or in some cases the student) to identify related topics that might be targeted within an exchange:
What video scenarios might you present to help students make accurate discriminations between appropriate and less appropriate responses?
When role-playing dialogues (with or without scripts), try videotaping the scenario. Then watch the video scenario together and provide feedback to the student. This is a great exercise for more outgoing individuals; however, the video component could add additional stress for individuals who are not outgoing. Note that a video clearly depicting an appropriate version of an exchange might become a video model.
Here are examples of video scenarios to help the student distinguish between monologues versus dialogues:
In this video, one person is doing most of the talking. The other person is not saying anything. She is looking away and has a bored expression on her face. Instead, Jerry should watch her facial expressions and body language to know if she is interested in the conversation.
|
This is an example of a "one-sided conversation." He starts the conversation by saying that he went to the park. Although his co-worker shows interest in what he is saying by trying to ask him a question, he does not let her finish before he begins to speak again. The way he is talking sounds more like a speech than a conversation. This will make her feel annoyed and she might not want to talk with him as much in the future.
|
This is an example of a one-sided conversation – he is doing all of the talking and she does not say anything. Watch her facial expressions. Her expressions show that she is bored.
|
This is an example of a two–sided conversation. Jerry is still talking about his choice of conversation topics, but he is including his co-worker in the conversation by asking her questions. Notice how Jerry takes a turn talking, then his co–worker, then Jerry, then his co–worker. They are each going back and forth doing the talking. The other person is looking at Jerry, responding in a pleasant tone of voice, and asking questions. These are all signs that she is interested in what Jerry is saying.
|
Question: Is this a one-sided conversation or a back and forth conversation? |
Question: Is this is a one-sided conversation or a back and forth conversation? |
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities with visual scripts and scenarios to build independence and fluency through repetition?
In order to align this intervention topic area with the unique needs of the student, do you need to create scripts or scenarios in the View2do program?
