Summary of Intervention

Intervention Steps

This page provides a brief summary of the intervention steps to enhance the language and communication skills of young children with special needs.  For a downloadable PDF of this summary, click here.

The intervention involves 5 steps:

   1.  Identify meaningful contexts for communication.

   2.  Provide effective means to communicate.

   3.  Select appropriate vocabulary.

   4.  Set up the environment to support communication.

   5.  Use appropriate interaction strategies to support communication.

Click on the links above to visit web pages for further information on each of these steps, including:

• The procedures for each step
• Photograph and video examples illustrating:
  • Young children with complex communication needs
  • Actively involved families incorporating the intervention into familiar activities
  • Intervention occurring in the children's homes

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Intervention Step 1

Identify meaningful contexts for communication.

Choose contexts or situations that:

• Are motivating for your child
• Provide lots of opportunities for social interaction
• Are appropriate to your child’s development:
  • Infants benefit most from social contexts that involve only the child and a partner (for example:  peek-a-boo games, tickling games, “raspberries”, smiling games, bye-bye games).
  • Toddlers benefit from social contexts that involve simple shared activities (for example:  reading books or singing songs, especially action songs). 
  • Preschoolers benefit from social contexts that involve imaginative play with a partner (such as building blocks, playing cars or trucks, playing with dolls, stuffed animals or action figures) and also other activities (for example:  reading story books, singing songs, playing simple games like "Go Fish" and "Candy Land").
     

Kara loves to play peek-a-boo games with her mom and Janice.

^{Copy or use of this photo outside of this website is prohibited.} 

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Intervention Step 2

Provide effective means to communicate.

Some children with special needs have difficulty learning to talk.  These children may benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). 

AAC involves the use of many different means to communicate, including:

• Vocalizations, word approximations, and spoken words
• Signs and gestures
• Pointing to pictures on communication boards or in books
• Computers or speech generating devices (SGDs)

Design appropriate assistive technologies for your child. 

• Assistive technologies should be fun!
• Assistive technologies should be easy for your child to use.

 Gabe is pointing at pictures to communicate with his mom and sister.

^{Copy or use of this photo outside of this website is prohibited}. 

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Intervention Step 3

Select appropriate vocabulary.

• Select vocabulary that is:
  • Motivating and fun from your child's point of view
  • Functional
  • Appropriate to your child’s development, culture, and personality

• Introduce new vocabulary to your child regularly.
  • Learn new signs and incorporate them into your interactions.
  • Add new words to communication boards, books or assistive technologies.
  • Model the use of the new vocabulary frequently in meaningful situations as you interact and play with your child each day.
    • Say and sign the words at the same time.
    • Say the words and select them on your child’s communication book or computer.

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Intervention Step 4

Set up the environment to support communication.

• Position your child to maximize vision, hearing, and motor skills.
  • Seek practical recommendations from knowledgeable professionals.
• Position yourself to maximize interaction:
  • Sit directly in front of your child and position yourself at his or her eye level.
  • Hold activities and materials in front of you and in your child’s line of sight.
  • Use lots of expression and intonation in your voice.
• Incorporate AAC into all of your interactions.
  • Model the use of AAC every time you play, read books, sing songs, talk to your child or engage in other daily activities such as mealtime or dressing.
    • Use signs and make sure that your child has his or her hands free to sign as well.
    • Have your child’s communication board, book, or speech generating device (SGD) available when you play and make sure your child can reach it.
       

Krista's SGD is positioned so that she can reach it easily. 

^{Copy or use of this photo outside of this website is prohibited.} 

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Intervention Step 5

Use appropriate interaction strategies to support communication.

• As you play, read books, sing songs, and complete daily activities with your child, provide meaningful opportunities for your child to communicate.
• Model the use of AAC as you talk with your child:
  • Sign everything that you say or
  • Point to the appropriate symbols on your child’s communication board, book or SGD
• Wait and allow your child the opportunity to communicate:
  • Look at your child expectantly
  • Pause and give your child the opportunity to communicate
  • Wait at least 10 seconds
• Respond to your child’s attempts to communicate:
  • If your child is trying to communicate, respond immediately in a positive way (fulfill your child’s intent, and then expand on your child’s message using AAC and speech).
  • If your child does not try to communicate even though you paused and waited, respond immediately and show your child how to communicate.
• Have fun!
  • Children are most likely to learn if they are interested in the interaction and if they are having fun.

Click here for a downloadable PDF of this intervention summary.
 

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