Teaching Sign Language

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Teaching Sign Language

• Amy McGinnis
• POAC of PA
• November 10, 2005

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After this workshop, you should be able to.

• Identify the verbal operants according to
  Skinners analysis
• Evaluate the need for augmentative communication
• Select a form of augmentative communication,
  based on the pros/cons
• Develop a childs mand repetoire through sign
  language

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Verbal Behavior Terminology

• Skinner analyzed language according to function
  rather than meaning
• Learning and using this terminology will improve
  your ability to teach verbal behavior to
  individuals with autism
• 4 primary operants
• Mand
• Tact
• Intraverbal
• Duplic (echoic / mimetic)

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Mand

• The verbal response of requesting (i.e. I want
  juice.)
• Mands are reinforcer specific (reinforced by
  getting what you asked for)
• Teaching someone to mand items, activities, or
  objects will lead to a higher rate of talking and
  will support the development of the other classes
  of verbal responses (i.e. tacts, intraverbals,
  etc.)

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Tact

• The verbal response that is closest to labeling
  (i.e. Thats a red ball.)
• Involves labeling items that are present in the
  environment
• When a learner says or signs what he sees, hears,
  touches, tastes, smells, etc., he is tacting.
• The reinforcement for this response is not
  specific to what is said and is usually social
  reinforcement of some type such as
  acknowledgement of what is said or praise

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Intraverbal

• The verbal response to someone elses verbal
  response (i.e. When someone asks what you had for
  breakfast, I had juice is an intraverbal)
• Involves discussing items that are not present in
  the environment (i.e. past events)
• This class includes answering wh questions and
  filling in the blanks (i.e. Twinkle, twinkle
  little __)
• Intraverbal skills are essential to carrying on a
  conversation

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Duplic

• Involves imitation
• Mimetic motor imitation
• Copying someone elses movements
• Echoic vocal imitation
• Repeating what someone else says

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Receptive

• The receptive response class refers to
  understanding what someone else says
• During NET this might include delivering requests
  to
• Perform actions Stand up (receptive commands)
• Identify an object by touching it or giving it to
  the teacher Touch Elmo (receptive ID)

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Modes of Communication

• Topography Based
• Involves producing a unique response form for
  each word
• Examples
• Vocalizations
• Sign language

• Selection Based
• Involves scanning an array of pictures, words or
  symbols and selecting one via point/touch
• Examples
• PECS
• Dynavox
• Go Talker
• Intellikeys

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Candidates for Augmentative Communication

• Limited ability to accurately echo sounds and
  words
• Most attempts to talk are unintelligible to an
  unfamiliar listener
• Most words are unintelligible without contextual
  cues

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Evaluation

• What if a child has some vocalizations?
• The Unfamiliar Listener Test
• Have an adult who is not familiar with the child
  sit with his/her back turned. Have the listener
  write down what he/she hears the child say.
• If most words are not understood, pursue
  augmentative communication

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Choosing an Augmentative Communication System

• Ease of Acquisition for the Learner
• Easiest fastest to learn
• Development of Vocalizations
• Choose the system that is most likely to
  facilitate the development of vocal behavior
  (talking).
• Full Linguistic System
• Choose the system that allows for verbal behavior
  across all the meanings (operants) of words just
  in case the child does not develop vocal behavior
  as his/her sole form of communication.

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Advantages of Picture Systems

• Listener does not need special training
• Simple matching-to-sample may make initial
  acquisition easier
• No special shaping required for individual
  responses
• Pointing/touching is often already learned or is
  easily learned

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Disadvantages of Picture Systems

• Rely on environmental support to communicate
• No picture system community exists
• Pointer needs audience close by
• Symbols/icons become increasingly abstract as
  word complexity increases
• Selection based, often does not improve speech
• Slow, not conducive to conversation
• Cannot be used to teach many operants

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What can we teach with picture systems?

• Mands can teach, but cannot fade to MO level
• Tacts - often cannot teach true tacts
  Intraverbals often cannot teach true
  intraverbals
• Receptive ID can teach independent of system
• Motor imitation can teach independent of
  picture system

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Picture Systems
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Advantages of Sign Language

• May help to develop motor imitation
• Stimulus response often resemble each other,
  providing a built in prompt (iconic relation)
• Topography based, like speech
• Single stimulus and single response relation,
  like speech
• Community of signers already exists
• Can be used to teach all operants

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Disadvantages of Sign Language

• Parents teachers must learn the childs signs
• Parents teachers need to use sign language when
  interacting with the child
• Parents teachers must teach/shape each
  individual sign

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Sign Language
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Sign Language for Learners with Autism

• Sign language teaching may lead to improved vocal
  verbal behavior in children who are vocal but
  engage in frequent delayed echolalia or
  video-type or for whom the development of more
  abstract verbal behavior (adjectives,
  prepositions, etc.) are difficult to acquire.
• Sign may be acquired more easily (faster and
  accurately) than picture symbol systems and with
  greater facilitation of mand stimulus selection
  (receptive language)

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Sign Language for Learners with Autism

• There is convincing evidence that sign language
  acquisition with spoken words accompanying sign
  (total communication) may lead to vocalizations
  with some children.
• Children who already possess some vocal imitation
  skill are more likely to develop vocal verbal
  behavior as a result of sign language
  acquisition.
• Almost all children with autism can learn to sign
  despite motor imitation difficulties

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Begin Sign Training by Teaching Mands

• Identify items and activities that are
  reinforcing for the learner
• Select reinforcers that instructors can easily
  control and that provide many opportunities to
  mand (request)
• Determine the manual sign for each of the
  reinforcers the child will learn to mand for

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Steps to Choosing Target Mands

• Decide how many mands to target at a time.
  Always teach more than 1 at a time.
• Choose mands from a variety of motivational
  categories. Do not teach items from only one
  category at a time (ie all foods)
• Look up the sign for each item
• Avoid teaching signs that look similar (signs
  that rhyme)

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Choosing Target Mands

• Do NOT teach the following until the learner can
  mand for many items
• Yes/no
• More
• Finished
• Please
• Potty
• Help
• Eat
• Drink
• Help
• Carrier phrases (I want__. Give me__.)

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Sources for Signs

• www.verbalbehaviornetwork.com
• www.Commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/index.html
  
• Garlic Press Flash Cards
• Sign language books

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Organization

• It is important that everyone who spends time
  with the learner knows his/her signs
• Find a way to keep everyone updated on the
  learners signs
• Photo album
• Video
• Flash cards on a metal ring

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Modifying Signs

• Analyze which movements will be easiest for child
• Try to keep the modified version of the sign as
  close to the true ASL sign as possible
• When you model the sign, be sure to model the
  sign in its modified form

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What about children with poor fine motor skills?

• Children with poor fine motor skills can still
  learn to sign
• Sign language may actually help the child to
  improve his/her fine motor skills
• Initially, it may be necessary to modify signs

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MAND
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Teaching MandsMODEL PROMPT GIVE

• Establish MO (learner WANTS reinforcer)
• Model the sign
• Physically prompt sign (if necessary)
• Give the reinforcer
• Be sure to say the word at least 3x
• Gradually fade prompts with reinforcer present
• Eventually fade the reinforcer from sight (cover
  mand)

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Rules for Teaching Sign

• Contrive MOs by delivering some reinforcement
  for free
• Hold up choices to establish MO
• Prompt mands only for items learner wants
• Avoid speaking first before learners mand
• Allow learner to enjoy reinforcer
• Use appropriate pace to keep learner engaged

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Rules for Teaching Sign

• Fade prompts gradually
• Give differential reinforcement for more
  independent signs
• Initially, reinforce independence over accuracy
• Fade only strong mands from item to MO level
  (item not present)

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Scrolling

• Scrolling occurs when a child signs the incorrect
  sign or a series of incorrect signs when trying
  to request something
• Never reinforce a child for scrolling
• Prompt their hands down to a neutral position for
  2-3 seconds
• Model and physically prompt the correct sign
• Reinforce

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Common Mistakes When Teaching Sign

• Not enough training trials are provided
• Failure to fade prompts
• Individual operants are never established and
  responses remain multiply controlled
• Lack of a progressive, systematic curriculum
• Failure to require signs outside of therapy
  sessions
• Failure to sign to the child
• Failure to build a community of signers

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Common Mistakes When Teaching Sign

• First signs taught are not mands
• First signs taught are too complex or overly
  generalistic (mega-mands!)
• First signs may resemble each other too closely
• First signs may involve complex motor movements

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Transitioning from Sign to Vocal Mands

• When the learner can independently sign for a
  highly motivating item when the item is present,
  it is possible to shape a vocal mand for this
  item using target approximations.
• Pick a target approximation (TA) for that word.
• The target approximation should be the childs
  best vocal approximation for that word.

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Shaping Vocal Mands

• Present the item establish that the learner
  wants it
• When the learner signs, do not give the item
  right away
• Instead, model the vocal word three times with
  one-second intervals between each presentation of
  the word.
• Do not give the item to the learner until s/he
  makes at least the sound that you set as the TA,
  or immediately following the third presentation
  of the word.

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Shaping Vocal Mands

• ALWAYS give the item by the 3rd presentation of
  the word
• Once the child is consistently making a better
  vocal approximation, change the TA to that better
  approximation. It is very important for everyone
  involved to be very consistent in his or her
  reinforcement on the TAs.
• Do not allow the child to stop signing until the
  vocal mand is clear, strong, and consistent

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For More Information

• For more information regarding how to teach
  verbal behavior skills across the operants,
  please visit www.poacofpa.net to obtain the
  schedule for the remaining free workshops