We’re giving you another sneak peek into our mentorship meetings where we share some questions from our members. One member is working on spontaneous manding with a three-year-old student. The student has an advanced verbal repertoire and is strong in several areas but doesn’t always verbally request items. The child also has trouble calming down in public settings and the member asked if ACT or AIM would help. No child is ever too young for these strategies, however, it’s important to figure out what your primary goal is when applying them. We suggest introducing alternative replacement skills as well as role-playing and discussing how both would be beneficial.  

Another member asked a question around creating goals and balancing discrete trial teaching and natural environment teaching. The goal should be teaching without making the child feel like they’re working during play. Shayna’s currently working with a beginning learner who prefers structure, so she’s been using more discrete environmental teaching than NET. Natural environment teaching is great, but not every child is in a place where it’s the most effective method. Clinical judgment is so important, as we have to balance clinical assessment with our own observation. 

What’s Inside:

• How to use replacement skills and role-playing to assist with manding.
• Why it’s important to teach regulation when a child is calm.
• How to best use natural environment teaching.

Mentioned In This Episode:

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