Two Choices Are Better Than None

We make many little choices every day. Do I have time to stop for coffee on the way to work? Should I wash my hair today or tomorrow? Heels or flats? Ranch or vinaigrette? Imagine if someone else made all of these little choices for you. Would you be happy with their selections? Despite these being relatively small, insignificant choices, limiting them would be demoralizing and confining. It’s important to recognize how having a choice affects our clients with communication disorders. Offering a choice between two options provides a valuable communication-partner strategy with our clients of all ages and abilities. Giving our students two choices, for example, encourages them to produce a specific response while providing a direct-language model at the same time. Kids love the feeling of independence generated by making choices that influence their environment! Presenting them with a simple choice demonstrates the role communication plays in making requests in a concrete, immediate way: “Do you want the bear or the duck? Should we play a game or read a book?” Giving clients choices creates opportunities to model and expand language. If a child communicates that they want to play with cars, use the opportunity to expand their concept knowledge and expressive vocabulary: “Do you want the big car or the little car? Do you want the red one or the blue one?” Offering choices can also help set clear expectations when giving instruction. Rather than telling a child to get ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Augmentative Alternative Communication Autism Spectrum Disorder Cognitive Rehabilitation dementia Language Disorders Schools Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs