Episode #185: Replay: The Power of Joint Attention

Enjoy this replay from episode 62.

Joint attention is closely linked to receptive and expressive language skills, highlighting the power of communication. To build connection before communication, use shared activities like playing with toys, singing songs, and reading books. Even if students aren’t fully engaged initially, tracking their baseline data and progressing with goals can lead to impressive transformations and excitement.

Toys: Playing with toys in therapy is all about creating interaction in a semi-structured environment. Remember to use simple language, allow for natural curiosity and play, and not bombard with questions. Toys I personally love to use include: cars and car tracks, mini objects, and farm sets.

Literacy: Build excitement around the book, use books with repetition, and if your kids like it try an animated voice, which can be really fun. A few books I love to keep in my therapy bag that are a great success for joint attention are: Pete the Cat and his White Shoes, Brown Bear, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Music: Students love songs because they are familiar and create engagement. I also love to use visuals, which can be just laminated pictures or little toys that match the activity of the song. It can also be engaging to sing songs that have motions for the words. My favorite songs to use are Old Macdonald, Wheels on the Bus, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.

It can be difficult to keep data and set goals around these abstract ideas, be sure to check out my goal bank on ABA speech. I hope you love these ideas, and I can’t wait for you to try them out in your next therapy session!

#autism #speechtherapy

What’s Inside:

• How to increase learner engagement?
• What is joint attention?
• How to embed joint attention across a student’s day.
• Where to start with joint attention.
• Integrating shared activities into therapy.
• Why should you focus on the connection before communication?

Mentioned In This Episode

• IEP Goals for Students with Autism – ABA Speech 
• Get our Ethics Course about SLP/BCBA Collaboration in the ABA SPEECH Connection
• Rose Griffin (@abaspeechbyrose) on Instagram

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