The basic steps to teaching sign language

Establishing Operations, Inc. has a series of videos titled Teaching Verbal Behavior in the Natural Environment that lay out the basic concepts in order to teach your child how to communicate. I will be focusing on the video that explains how to use sign language with your child. Using sign language does not mean that they cannot or will never be able to communicate vocally, but rather that they have weak echoic skills and need another way to communicate with those who may not be able to understand them.

Here are some of the first steps in teaching sign language:

How to teach sign:

If the child has poor motor imitation, start off with modified signs that are as close to original signs as possible. If your child does not like to be touched, begin doing exercises where you pair touching their hands with reinforcement and once touching their hands is no longer aversive, you can begin physically prompting signs.

A) Model

B) Prompt

C) Give

Say the name of the item with each step. Model the sign, prompt the child to imitate the sign, and then give the reinforcement. Be quick with steps to avoid a battle over the reinforcement; you can cut out the model step if they are grabbing at reinforcement. Make sure to give reinforcement within seconds of the sign. Prompt what the child is focused on rather than what you are trying to teach; be sure to follow child’s motivation.

Manding Guidelines:

• Teach mands in the natural environment: use child’s motivation for objects in situation to teach manding
• Motivation must be present before prompting the mand, make sure motivation is present and high for the object you are manding for
• Practice teaching mands before you work with child, mistakes with the child makes it more likely that they will get upset
• Teach mands in a variety of locations; they should be able to generalize to outside situations
• Capture and contrive many opportunities each day to teach mands, you have to actively set up situations in which they will be motivated to ask for something
• Track the number of mands each day; use tally counters to keep track of how many mands child makes per day
• Be a giver, not a taker: give a little bit at a time so that the child has to keep coming back to you for more, rather than taking back items to get more mands, do not kill value of the items by taking them away and making them ask for them
• Sanitize the environment so that you can control the reinforcers: set up environment strategically, know how to make each activity better before the child comes over
• Avoid killing the motivation: don’t make them ask for every little piece, keep number of demands fair, give them a few pieces for free
• Be sure to fade prompts: try to get the best quality of prompts with the least amount of prompting
• Avoid placing unnecessary demands on your child when teaching mands: do not ask for names of items or ask them to play with objects a certain way
• When teaching the first mands avoid teaching: yes, no, more, help, please, give me, and eat or anything that can turn into a generalized mand for many things, teach individual item names rather than a general name
• Avoid teaching mands for the removal of something aversive: leave, bye bye, move, go, break
• Want children to learn that when they talk good things happen rather than bad things go away

Teaching sign language should be fun and easy! As the teacher, you just have to stay one sign ahead of the learner and watch their motivation level to keep the child engaged in the activity. Learning signs can take many trials, so be patient and consistent. Never be afraid to reinforce!

Happy signing!