Expand on Your Child’s Language at Home
This topic has the potential to be a six-hour workshop, but since I respect your time, here is one technique to implement today:
After your child requests an item, simply repeat it back to them with additional language. For example, if your child says, “juice” instead of teaching them, “I want…” to expand what they say, model the color or kind of the juice simultaneously while you give it to them (e.g., “red juice,” “orange juice,” “apple juice”). To create many opportunities to practice, do not give your child a large glass or entire box of juice. Instead, use a dixie cup and pour a small amount of the liquid into the cup and hand it to your child.
From your child’s perspective, what they receive is most likely unacceptable. Therefore, they may make another request for additional juice. Do not prompt your child to say “more”!. The word ‘more’ can inadvertently become the default for everything your child wants, and you run the risk of shaping up challenging behaviors if you don’t know what they want “more” of. Instead, after they make an additional request, again, expand on what they said with a word that corresponds to what you are giving them. Repeat one more time. Then, the next time your child requests, get the juice but hold it slightly out of their reach. Your child will most likely repeat their original request, “juice”…do nothing. They may repeat their request, the request may be louder this time, but do nothing. Then, say, “red juice” and see if your child attempts to imitate what you said. If your child imitates, give them the juice. If they do not, give your child two more opportunities to imitate the two-word request. If they do not say the two-word request, give them juice while simultaneously saying the two-word utterance. Then, try again next time they request (but not everytime!...keep it random!)
A couple of warning and prerequisite skills:
Your child should be able to imitate a two-word utterance.
Your child should have a history of requesting items using a single word utterance.
If your child has significant challenging behavior when presented with delayed access to a preferred item or activity, I strongly recommend that you check with your BCBA to determine if this kind of procedure is contraindicated.
Avoid the “I’ve heard her say it better” trap. Yes, you may have heard your child say what you want them to say, but that does not mean that they will say it with the same quality every time. It is more important to shape-up the behavior over time than to place repeated demands, kill the child’s motivation inadvertently evoke a tantrum.
The words that you use to expand what your child says should have been mastered in their ABA program. Therefore, if you implement this kind of procedure, you are not only expanding what your child says, but also facilitating generalization of a previously acquired response.
The same procedure can be implemented if your child uses an AAC device to communicate. The difference is that you will be modeling the response on the device after you say it, so your child can see how to navigate to the two different words.