Responsiveness

RoutinesModeling & Expansions

Complexity

Education

Income

Crowding

Adult-Child Ratio

Depression

Stress

Social Support

Learning MaterialsInnate Child

Abilities

ADULT CHARACTERISTICS

CHILD EXPERIENCE

ENVIRONMENT

Shared GeneticTraits

ADULT BEHAVIOR

Adult-Child Interaction & DevelopmentDelaney & Kaiser, 1999

Joint Attention

Instructions

Adults As Role Models?

Adults directly and indirectly model how to communicate.

Children learn how to interpret and respond to others by watching adults.

Components of Responsive Interaction

Joint Attention: Sharing the child’s focus on an object, person, event, or topic.

Contingent Responsiveness: Assigning meaning to child language or communicative attempts by following child communication with related adult response

Expansions. Repeating and adding to what the child says.

Following Child’s Lead. Matching one’s verbal and nonverbal behavior to the child’s topic, agenda, or behavior.

Matching Communicative Intent. Matching adult language to child’s nonverbal behavior and/or verbal behavior.

Components, Continued...

Match linguistic complexity: talk in phrases or sentences that the child can understand but that are slightly above his/her current level of productive language.

Modeling language: provide an exact example of the language wanted from the child.

Nonverbal engagement: communicate without using words.

Pause: allow at least 3 seconds to elapse between adult utterances.

Real questions: seek information or opinions that the adult does not already know.

Turn –taking: match the frequency of adult and child verbal and/or nonverbal interaction.

What Does A Conversation Need?

• at least 2 people• a shared interest• talking• listening• turn-taking

Responsive Communication Style

Ascertain the speaker’s meaning.

Respond to the child in a supportive, communicative manner.

Offer language that could be used to represent or expand the child’s meaning.

Following Child’s Lead:Letting child be “the boss” while playing.

Rules:

1. Watch child.

2. Listen to child.

3. Imitate child with words and actions.

4. No unimportant directions.

5. No “test” questions.

How to Get Into the Interaction Sit next to the child -- face to face is best. Touch the child when it is appropriate. Exchange materials within the interaction. Relate your materials to the child materials. Draw on the same paper, read the same book. Place your objects next to the child's (build together, have animals play together, race cars). Make the same thing the child is making, mimic the child's movements. Give the child things to add to his play (more clay, another crayon, ruler, another block). Follow the child's agenda -- don't let your own play with materials occupy you - get the child

occupy you. Watch what the child is doing and talk about it. Describe the child's scheme and elaborate on it (you made a snake and a turtle, we could

have a zoo!). Get down on the child's level. Make eye contact -- but don't force it. Talk to the child--really talk TO him, not around him or to your self. Smile. Exude positive affect and global approval of the child ~ let him know you like him and you like

being with him in this activity. Take your cues from child -- if he wants you to back off, leave his materials alone, etc. --Do so! Set up turn taking (filling a bucket with sand, feeding the baby, racing cars. Talk softly but make sure he hears and understands you. Be playful even when you are working hard at doing the intervention.--.when you are playful

the child feels you are available.

Conversation Definitions

• Pausing: wait 5 seconds after you say something before you say something else. This will give child a chance to think about what you said and answer it.

• Turn-Taking: child talks, then you talk.

• Listening: show child that you are listening by looking at him when he talks and by responding to what he says.

Adult Pause Errorsbaseline intervention

.018

1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 290

20

40

60

80

100

Session

Fre

qu

ency

Spontaneous Utterances

.018

1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0

20

40

60

80

100

Session

Fre

qu

enc

y

Per

cen

t

Frequency Percent

baseline intervention

Turn-Taking

baselineintervention

1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

0

50

100

150

200

Session

Fre

qu

enc

y

Adult Child

Words that Answer, But Don’t Teach When Used Alone

OK Yup No, Here you go

Let’s see. There we go. Whoa See

Uhhuh Yea Yes Right

Hmm Nope Uhuh Hmm

Descriptive Talk: Words that Tell Something New

They’re doing some work

There’s water in the bucket

That’s a handsome man

We are going to a magic farm

Ok, I won’t take your sand anymore

I wanted to play with the car.

That’s a pig They’re building a parking lot

Do you need help?

I’ve been coloring my flower black

Thank you. I found a horse

What are you drawing now?

That is a bear I’m looking at.

That is a beautiful drawing

That’s what Daddy’s hair looks like

That’s the McDonald’s sign

Put your coat on the hook.

I wanted to eat my cookie

The letter M for McDonalds

That game was fun.

You are using blue

What are you gong to make?

Let’s put the trucks away.

You are a little boy.

I am big That’s you in that picture

I’ve got a little animal.

We’re going to play with the blocks now.

I’ll watch.

I turned it around.

You finished the puzzle all by yourself.

Thank you for helping me build the tower.

Beautiful, you make an i

So you don’t want my help.

I’m going to cry.

Expansio

ns

Word Expansions: “fixing” what the child says by adding a beginning, ending, or middle:

c: I runned fast! c: That’s the condition.A: You ran fast! c: The air conditioner.

C: I get. c: It breakA: You get car! c: The tower broke.

Meaning Expansions: adding new information to what the child said: C: I runned fast! C: Oops!A: You ran faster than I did. C: Oops you dropped the block

C: It dropped. C: No!A: The car fell on the floor. A: No don’t touch the game.

Colors…

C: That’s my car....

C: I want to paint...

C: I drew a flower...

Prepositions…

C: My car fell...

C: I want juice....

C: He hit me...

Using Expansions to Teach...

Reflective StatementsReflective StatementsReflective StatementsReflective StatementsGiving words to a child’s emotionGiving words to a child’s emotion

Sometimes young children hit, kick, scream, yell, or cry because they don’t know how to explain what they are feeling. Reflective Statements are

good ways to replace actions with words

Crying: You must be sad that it is time to go homeHitting: I know you are mad that he took your toy.Screaming: You must be very mad at me for touching your toy!Yelling “No!”: No, I won’t touch your doll.Pushing: You want your brother to move out of your way

It works for happy feelings too:Laughing: That baby is funny!Smiling: You’re must be proud of your beautiful picture!

?????? Questions ??????

Good Questions Questions to which

you don’t know the answer.

Questions that require more than a one word answer.

Questions that help you to follow-the-lead.

Not So Good Questions

Questions to which you know the answer.

TEST QUESTIONS Questions that can

be answered in one word.

YES/NO Questions.