Language is fundamental to the human experience. Early language goals for children with language delays including
those with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities should include targeting vocabulary comprehension,
vocabulary production, and vocabulary use for communication. Following we describe how you can use three different
activities from Exploring Nouns to help your students learn words, say words, and use words in communication
contexts.
Train Vocabulary Comprehension with Optimized Intervention®
If you are working with a very young student or one who does not know many words, start with
the 5 Early scenes which train 30 of the earliest developing nouns. For students who have a larger vocabulary, you
can use all 10 scenes. Optimized Intervention automatically delivers the curriculum and collects response
data. Enriched reinforcements provide additional language input important for developing a core vocabulary. This
activity can be used independently or with assistance from a volunteer or para-professional. Once your student has
mastered some words in a scene, introduce the Exploration activity while continuing work in the Optimized Intervention activity
to learn more nouns.
Encourage Vocabulary Production with the Exploration Activity
This activity provides a convenient way to have a student practice expressive use of known nouns. To use the program
in this way, choose only those scenes and vocabulary items your student has mastered in Optimized Intervention.
Turn off the other scenes and any nouns in a scene that your student hasn’t receptively mastered. Also set
response time to infinite so you have plenty of time to ask questions and encourage naming. Begin by having the
student choose words using his or her preferred interface (e.g. touch screen, mouse, single switch). Once the computer
has named the noun, use <Shift & P> to pause the program and encourage the student to say the word. Don’t
insist on a repetition, you are trying to make expression of words an enjoyable activity. Once a student is reliably
producing the words s/he knows, introduce the Mixed Explore/Identify activity.
Promote Communication Exchanges with the Mixed Explore/Identify Activity
This activity provides a combination of instructional approaches. Students are asked to alternately
Explore and Identify words in the scene. The Identify trials can be delivered at three different levels of instructional
support (Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Training). This activity provides an excellent environment for peer
interaction. Pair your student with a more competent peer. Introduce the activity as a receptive game at first assigning
your student the Explore trials and the more competent peer the Identify trials. Once the students are reliably taking
turns, shut the reinforcement off and add to the “game” a naming component where the students have
to tell each other what they found. You can also do this with the Exploration activity but Mixed Explore/Identify
provides a natural turn taking environment that you don’t have to control.
By using these three activities your students will:
Know words
Say words
Use words
With these skills they will be prepared to spontaneously use words in social situations.