Integrating Conversation Skills into Natural Environments Using Games & Activities

Course Description

This course equips instructors, therapists, and caregivers with the knowledge and tools to integrate conversation skills into natural environments for children and clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Through engaging games and activities, you'll learn effective strategies to incorporate these vital skills into everyday settings. By the end of this course, you'll have the tools and strategies to create opportunities for meaningful learning that can blend into your clients' daily lives, aiming to enhance their social communication abilities in real-world contexts.

Course Content

This course will teach you how to facilitate meaningful conversation in natural environments through various techniques. The course covers:

• The importance of integrating conversation skills into natural environments:
  Understand why it's crucial for social and academic development.
• Specific conversational deficits in individuals with ASD:
  Learn about the unique challenges faced by individuals with ASD.
• Prerequisite skills (Verbal Operants) for meaningful conversation:
  Explore essential skills such as labeling, requesting, and answering questions.
• Non-verbal aspects of conversation in natural settings:
  Gain insights into gestures, tone of voice, volume, distance, and eye contact.

Key Focus Areas

• Verbal Operants:

  Teaching labeling, requesting, and answering questions in natural environments

• Non-verbal characteristics:

  Instructing on gestures, tone of voice, volume, distance, eye contact in real-world scenarios

• Customizing strategies:

  Integrating conversation skills into each individual's natural environment

Practical Learning

The course provides tools to help you integrate conversation skills into natural environments:

• Real-life video examples of games and activities in natural settings
• Worksheets and role-play videos for implementation
• Activities to teach specific prerequisite skills for conversation in everyday contexts

Course Objectives

Participants will:

• Understand the importance of conversation for children
• Receive an overview of specific conversational deficits in ASD
• Gain a general understanding of Verbal Operants as prerequisites to meaningful conversation
• Participate in activities that teach specific prerequisite skills for conversation
• View videos and receive handouts related to discussed games and activities
• Review non-verbal characteristics of conversation
• Receive examples of natural environment games and activities that facilitate natural conversation among peers

Why Choose This Course?

• Learn to integrate conversation skills into natural environments
• Engage in practical activities with worksheets and role-play videos
• Understand both verbal and non-verbal aspects of conversation
• Gain insights from real-life video examples
• Earn 1 Learning CEU
• Enhance social and academic development for children with ASD

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is ideal for:

• Parents of children with ASD
• ABA therapists and clinicians
• Special education teachers
• Anyone interested in improving conversational skills for individuals with ASD

1 Learning CEU Available

This content is intended for those who: have or are pursuing RBT/BCaBA/BCBA designations; teacher; therapists; and others whose role uses Applied Behaviour Analysis to design and implement programming to decrease interfering behaviours and increase skills. This is also intended for anyone whose role is to support individuals with developmental disabilities in any capacity.