Pragmatic Language Carryover
As SLPs we all have strengths and weaknesses within our profession. I will not begin to list all of my weaknesses but I will highlight one, that being PRAGMATICS. Over the years, I have run across numerous ideas, books, and handouts that get me excited about working on social skills with some of my students. The lessons I plan and implement in therapy appear to go over well; however, I continued to face problems with carryover in the classroom or at home. As I was looking around for some ideas for one particular student who often times understands appropriate social behaviors (given a stated scenario) but fails to carry it over for consistent behavioral use, I came across materials that were created by Therasimplicity.com. This site offers an abundance of therapy materials that cover the span of speech-language pathology. They have a specific collection of materials for pragmatic language which is where I found the initial materials needed for the extension activity I created later.
The theme for some of the handouts provided by Therasimplicity is the concept of On Target behavior and Off Target behavior. I thought this was the perfect idea for using with some of my students who have trouble with carryover. On the site, there is a handout that lists numerous behaviors that are typically target behaviors for students working on social skills. Each behavior is defined; however, for younger students I would suggest simplifying some of the definitions for better understanding. There is also a handout that provides a type of social story for On Target Behavior and Off Target Behavior. Scenarios are provided at the bottom of the page that state situations for students to determine if the individual in the story demonstrated On Target Behavior or Off Target Behavior. From these handouts, I created an extension activity that cannot only be used as data collection but also as a way to carry over specific social behaviors. After a target behavior is introduced, it can be written in the space below the target board. When the student demonstrates the target behavior, he/she can then draw an arrow facing upward, toward the target board on the On Target side of the table. If the student demonstrates a behavior opposite of the target behavior then an arrow pointing downward is drawn on the Off Target Behavior side. This chart can be used during speech therapy sessions or in the student's classroom to document their progress, provide reinforcement, and provide visual feedback for behavior implementation. When I used this activity during a session, I covered it with a sheet protector and had the student use a dry erase marker so the template could be used multiple times. The template I created is provided below:
Download this target behavior chart here!
Disclaimer: Therasimplicity.com did not provide compensation for this post and the site was mentioned as a recommendation only. Please do not feel obligated to subscribe or purchase content from the site. The information and document provided within this post can be modified for your own personal use.
The theme for some of the handouts provided by Therasimplicity is the concept of On Target behavior and Off Target behavior. I thought this was the perfect idea for using with some of my students who have trouble with carryover. On the site, there is a handout that lists numerous behaviors that are typically target behaviors for students working on social skills. Each behavior is defined; however, for younger students I would suggest simplifying some of the definitions for better understanding. There is also a handout that provides a type of social story for On Target Behavior and Off Target Behavior. Scenarios are provided at the bottom of the page that state situations for students to determine if the individual in the story demonstrated On Target Behavior or Off Target Behavior. From these handouts, I created an extension activity that cannot only be used as data collection but also as a way to carry over specific social behaviors. After a target behavior is introduced, it can be written in the space below the target board. When the student demonstrates the target behavior, he/she can then draw an arrow facing upward, toward the target board on the On Target side of the table. If the student demonstrates a behavior opposite of the target behavior then an arrow pointing downward is drawn on the Off Target Behavior side. This chart can be used during speech therapy sessions or in the student's classroom to document their progress, provide reinforcement, and provide visual feedback for behavior implementation. When I used this activity during a session, I covered it with a sheet protector and had the student use a dry erase marker so the template could be used multiple times. The template I created is provided below:
Disclaimer: Therasimplicity.com did not provide compensation for this post and the site was mentioned as a recommendation only. Please do not feel obligated to subscribe or purchase content from the site. The information and document provided within this post can be modified for your own personal use.
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