Speech that is unnatural is very common in kids with autism.
For example, if you teach a child with limited speech open door, they might over-generalize
it and say open door even if I'm trying to get them to say open bottle.
Hi, I'm Dr. Mary Barbera, autism mom, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, online course
creator, and bestselling author of The Verbal Behavior Approach.
Each week I provide you with some of my ideas about turning autism around, so if you haven't
subscribed to my YouTube channel you can do that now.
Today I'm sharing a small excerpt from a recent live Q and A session where I give you tips
about what you can do to help a child with unnatural speech.
Jerry said, I have a two two year old.
No one said his functioning level.
I've completed all the units and homework.
Excellent.
Congratulations.
He's working well with an electronic and food and drink but not as well without them just
doing the shoe box toys and puzzles.
We should have a BCBA working with us soon.
Excellent.
He's doing some unnatural speech things like says open door, even if it isn't a door says
up and then da and then add down calls all the shows he likes Pepin, Peppa the pig.
Any suggestions on how to address these?
I also watched the pointing video and he's improving with the skill and will point at
things, but he doesn't look back at me, joint attention.
Is this something you can teach to look at someone after he's pointed?
He also gives me things, but it's almost like I'm done with this.
You can have it as opposed to, Hey, look at this.
Is this something that can be taught to give and share or is this a higher skill?
All excellent questions.
Congratulations for finishing the course and doing all the homework.
Congratulations for moving forward and trying to get a BCBA.
That's a big feat.
Um, and then the unnatural speech, uh, open door even.
I remember with my son, we taught him open.
Well, we, we taught him open cabinet, um, to get the pretzels, but we did like so many
trials of open cabinet without me knowing that you can't just target open cabinet because
then when we were trying to teach him to open a bottle or to say open, open bottle, he would
say open cabinet.
So he was overgeneralizing and having conditional discrimination errors.
That's why it's super important to stick with one word responses, um, and build skills as
naturally as possible.
So I believe somewhere in this course is two word, pivotal phrase sheet.
If it's not, um, I can post it in the vials, uh section of this.
But this is why I don't teach carrier phrases ever.
Uh, this is why I'm very careful about teaching.
Um, even two word, uh, you know, even the two word pivotal phrases because you really
have to be careful, have good programming.
I like to let language develop as naturally as possible.
So, um, I would caution you about, you know, so, so say your uh, say your by not the door.
Say your, you have something and you want him to say open or open bottle.
Now he's saying open door.
So I would just drop it back.
So he says open, open door and I would be like shh, open and I wouldn't string it together
with any other word, open.
So even for doors, um, I might scale it back and, and if I would pause and before he says
open, open door, I would even go open, open.
And then I would generalize it with a box.
Um, but don't generalize and teach open box because what he's showing you is he, he needs
to just go with one word.
So here I would be like, put something fun in the box and I would prompt open and he
says open.
Now if I say open and he says, open door, no, no.
Listen, listen, open, open, good.
Open.
What should I do?
Open.
And then he gets a reinforcement.
Um, and then, you know, uh, a favorite drink, open, open, and then the door.
So scale it back.
I know it feels like you're going backwards instead of forwards.
Um, also Google Mary Barbera carrier phrases.
I'm a big proponent on letting, letting language develop, especially for a two year old.
Wherever you're watching this, I'd love it if you would leave me a comment, give me a
thumbs up, share this video with others who may benefit, and for more information, you
can attend a free online workshop at marybarbera.com/workshop and I'll see you right here next week.