One of the hallmark signs of autism is failure to respond to your name.
So I know when Lucas was a young child, he would not respond to his name and that was
a warning sign of autism.
So I know now as a behavior analyst, how to teach response to your name.
So today it's all about that skill.
Hi, I'm Dr. Mary Barbera, autism mom, Board Certified Behavior Analyst and bestselling
So one of the biggest things about teaching response to your name for a young child, who's,
who's showing that that sign is to stop using a child's name so much.
So I remember when Lucas's first therapist came to our home, or she was our first consultant,
and, uh, we were, you know, we had Lucas in the room and we're like, Lucas, my parents
were there, the three therapists that were going to work with him were there, I was there.
We're all like, Lucas, come here, Lucas, touch your nose, Lucas in.
And she said, okay, stop, stop.
Everybody stop saying Lucas.
He's the only child here.
It's not helping the situation.
He, we don't have any ability to make him do anything at this point.
So, number one, stop using a child's name so much.
So if you're a teacher or professional working with kids, I see this all the time is, is
Johnny touch your nose, Johnny, come here, Johnny.
And at home, I see a lot of, whether it's a typically developing kid or a child with
autism or showing signs of autism, I hear a lot of names paired with negative
responses.
Johnny, no stop Johnny, I said no.
And those sorts of things.
So we are actually pairing a child's name in either condition, whether we're yelling
at the child or reprimanding the child, we're pairing it with a negative or when, whether
you're a teacher, pairing it with a demand, Johnny, touch your nose is pairing a name
with aversive.
uh, aversive control.
You know, it's not positive, so we want to stop using a child's name and we want to then
pair it up to be a positive response.
So on page 106, I talk about, um, how to do that.
So we want to have the child, uh, be playing and, or stimming or whatever the child's doing
alone, and we want to come up with, um, a gentle tap and we want to, uh, say the child's
name.
So we, we come up from behind, we, we pat them on the shoulder or whatever, right, and
we say, Johnny, and then we present a reinforcer, whether that's an edible reinforcer, whether
that's bubbles, whether that's an exaggerated phase, whether that's like a peekaboo kind
of thing, if that's reinforcing for the child.
So we're going to come up, we're going to touch and we're going to say the name and
then present the reinforcement.
We can also do this throughout the day when we are delivering reinforcement.
So say the child, you know, says “water” or says “push” on the swing or, or just
as smiling and, you know, they like it, then we can say, oh, Johnny push, push Johnny likes
the push Johnny, you know, and make little songs up.
I know for Lucas, you know, I had made songs up like la la Lucas, la you know, just be
silly.
Pair names with good things, not with aversive, not with no.
Um, start pairing the name when the child's already happy, engaged, like I said, with
pushing on a swing, use the consumables, the, the edibles or the bubbles.
Um, and then tap, say the name and reinforce.
You're going to want to do several trials of this, not just once a day kind of thing.
You might want to even do several trials in a row.
So it's, you know, Johnny, you know, and then deliver.
And then Johnny, and now this time you're a little bit farther behind.
Um, you are a little bit, um, over to the side.
You are not as exaggerated and, but they know, you just said the name and you just delivered.
Now you said the name and they might start turning around.
We want the child to look up.
They don't, we don't want to have them have to, you know, turn their whole body.
But, um, the more we compare the name with positive reinforcement the more the child
will attend to their name and for professionals out there, you know, come up with a data sheet,
do 10 trials of name calling, uh, a day.
And with reinforcement slowly, gradually fade out the distance that you're calling, the
volume that you're calling and then start intermittently reinforcing the name call.
So you only then would maybe get an edible every three times, uh, the name is called
or every two times.
So we want to eventually, uh, start spacing that out, but the two keys are basically stop
overusing the child's name, especially when placing a demand or saying no.
And the second point is gradually shape it up to, uh, say the name, deliver reinforcement,
and then gradually space that out to be less.
Hopefully you like this, these little tips for increasing the response to name, and if
you would like more information about, uh, these steps, you can, if you have the book,
look at page 106, but if not, you can get a free cheat sheet at marybarbera.com/name.
I hope to see you right here next week.