Three F’s: False Assertions, Following the Child’s Lead, & Focused Stimulation

False Assertions – These may be considered a type of communication temptation.  False assertions are (often) obviously incorrect statements made with the intent to encourage the child to correct.  They’re great for negation, and also underutilized for expanded negation.

example: “Look at the elephant!” when joint attention is on a cow, encouraging child to say “That’s a cow!,” and/or “That’s not an elephant!”

example of expanded negation: “I could have lifted that truck.” encouraging something like, “You couldn’t have lifted that truck.”

 

Following the Child’s Lead – This occurs when the teacher comments on things a child is looking at, and/or imitates play behaviors.  Following the child’s lead involves observing and listening to the child, and waiting for the child to talk – great for working on initiation.

examples: an autistic child looks at his hands, so you make comments about his hands – a child makes a play noise (such as a car zooming) and you imitate.

 

Focused Stimulation -The teacher picks a target and attempts to use it over and over again.  In focused stimulation you can use children’s books, songs, blocks, pretend play.  It encourages, but does not necessarily expect child’s production.  Several target words may be combined in a single activity.

example:  the target structures, “off” and “on” may be repeated by the clinician fifty times in a Mr. Potato Head activity in an attempt to elicit the words from the child, such as… “The eye goes on his face.  The hat goes on his head.  I’ll put a different hat on his head.  I’ll take this off his head.”

Expansion and Extension

Expansion and extension are two of the main types of conversational recasting.  Recasting, which is sometimes called, “responsive modeling,” is used to describe a larger category of techniques used to add or correct a child’s utterance without interrupting the flow of conversation.  Imitation and targeted questions are other types of recasting.

Expansion – Expansion takes what the child says, and adds grammar and semantics to turn into a comparable adult utterance.  The point is to keep the communication flow going smoothly, while not making the child realize that he is being corrected.

example: The child’s “doggy house” may be repeated as,”That is the dog’s house.”

Extension – Extension takes what the child says and adds information.  Extension is typically used in conjunction with expansions.

example: The child’s “doggy house,” may be repeated by caregiver as, “That is the dog’s house. He is a large dog.”  

Expansion and extension are extensively confused.  It helps for me to think of when a balloon expands, it stays the same.  It does not add information or substance as would, say, an extension on a deadline.