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A lot of our
children have difficulty starting a conversation and holding
a conversation that someone else started. Also, making eye
contact is extremely difficult.
The
following exercise is to enhance their conversation
abilities. Don't expect your child to master all four parts
at once; they may become overwhelmed. Try working on one section
at a time, you should help them along for the remaining
sections.
Another
tip: Try to talk to your child about their favorite thing
(their "intense focus").
Don't
be surprised if you child masters eye contact first. Having
a conversation is really difficult for them...especially ending
one.
Try
different ways to practice this exercise:
Face-to-face:
with you is a great way to start. They'll be comfortable with a
close relative.
Phone
conversation; They'll like this..no eye contact. A
good exercise is calling someone close to them such as
grandparent. Calling a friend for a playdate is
another. (It took my son almost a year to be able to do this
on his own...but can do it!)
At
a restaurant : When the waitress asks "what would
you like to drink?" try to have your child look at
her/him & give a simply reply.. "milk"
Having
Conversations
I.
Make eye contact for 5 seconds.
II.
Beginning a conversation:
SayHello, Hi, Hi name, Excuse me
a.
Hello, how are you?
b.
Do you want to talk a little bit about anything?
c.
How was your day?
d.
What’s the matter?
e.
Can I help you?
f.
How are you feeling?
g.
Why are you so sad?
h.
What are you thinking about?
i.
What are you doing?
j.
What are you playing (with)?
k.
Do you like___?
l.
What do you think about ____?
m.
Hi, that ___ looks neat; can you tell me about it?
n.
Give them a
compliment
III.
Middle
Listen to what the person is saying, ask questions, make
statements
a.
Questions?
-- What did you do?
b.
Reflect on their feelings
c.
Talk about what they said
d.
Give them a compliment
e.
Encouragement – I think you’ll do a great job.
f.
Oh, I think _____
IV.
End
a.
Thanks for talking…
b.
End the conversation in an appropriate way like “I’ve
got to go now but it was nice talking to you.”…
c.
See you next week (or at lunch, or at recess, or later)…
d.
I have to go now….
e.
I hope you are feeling better…
f.
Good Luck with …
g.
Have a nice day/ night…
h.
That was really cool, thanks for showing it to me….
i.
…Bye!
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