The Yes/No Series Links
- One - Ways to Indicate Yes and No
- Two - Teaching Yes and No
- Three - Sing It! Yes and No
- Four - Games to Teach Yes and No
- Five - Books to Teach Yes and No
- Six - Best Yes and Rewarding Successive Approximations
And below you can find the text of a hand out designed to help schools and day habiliations facilities teach a head nod and shake as a yes/no response for individuals with complex communication needs.
Teaching Method for Yes and No with a Head Nod and Shake
This method of teaching
the universal head gestures in English speaking country is commonly taught by
Linda Burkhart and Gayle Porter in PODD training courses (http://www.lburkhart.com/podd.htm)
Candidates for learning to
indicate yes and no with a head nod and shake are all learners, young and older, who are
developing a yes/no response including children with cerebral palsy, Rett
Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome and other genetic disabilities affecting
communication.
Steps
1) Model an enthusiastic head
nod and shake for yes and no frequently and consistently throughout the day. Have others model it as well. Peers and siblings make great models!
2) Directly teach the child
what the head nod and shake mean using multi-sensory teaching methods and
motivating interactions.
3) Remember that there are different
levels of yes and no responses beginning with yes and no to accept and reject. Start with accept and reject before moving on
to more complex yes and no questions.
4) Provide a target for the child
to aim their head movement towards by placing your fingers at his or her cheek
and chin about a ¾ of an inch to 1 inch away.
The child touching your fingers with his or her chin and cheek should be
accepted and rewarded as a yes or no response.
5) Some child may need more
feedback when they touch the target. For
those children you can use a voice output communication aid such as a talking
switch. You can add picture symbols to
the switch if this will help increase understanding for the child. Again, hold the switch ¾ of an inch to 1 inch
from the child’s chin and cheek as a target.
6) In general you should not
be touching the child’s face except a gentle and brief tap as a touch cue if the
child is NOT tactile defensive and the child needs such a cue to
increase understanding or motor planning.
Your fingers or the switches are a target and can’t function as such if
you are touching the face. (Note picture shows switches during the tap - they were then moved away to be targets.)
7) Continue with enthusiastic
modeling of yes and no throughout this process
8) Fade out the targets,
whether using your fingers or a switch, as soon as the child has demonstrated
some understanding of what is expected in terms of a head nod and shake
9) Continue to provide
informative feedback (I see you dropped your head for yes. Nice job!) as you shape the yes and no
response.
10) Once using yes and no to
accept and reject is consistent you can add more complex forms of yes and no
Switch Options for Targets for This Method:
Thanks to Linda Burkhart for chatting with me and guiding me as I developed the hand out I posted as a blog entry!
Switch Options for Targets for This Method:
- A red and green Talking Point switch
- Attainment Personal Talker
Thanks to Linda Burkhart for chatting with me and guiding me as I developed the hand out I posted as a blog entry!
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