Teaching colors (when the colors do not learn easily) (177.48 kB)

Jennifer LaMarca Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

"This is the strategy of the craziest I've ever tried," said Sarah's mother. "But hey, it worked!" Sarah is a girl of 5 years with autism. He made ​​rapid progress in learning to identify concrete objects, actions and images of the names of the rooms, but had difficulty learning the names of different colors. His mother and the rest of the team were puzzled because Sarah loved to draw and paint using the appropriate colors - the sun was always yellow, the grass is always green - but to name the colors not found it easy. Jennifer La Marca, the consultant

Lovaas Institute's behavior at the end of Sarah turned to his colleagues to get some idea when the normal strategies were not working properly. What worked in the end for Sarah? The answer is surprising as the number of other ideas that Jennifer received the email discussion group of the Lovaas Institute's behavior consultant.

It was produced the following list of ideas:

In terms of materials

• Try using colored squares
• Try to use neutral objects that do not have a name (plastic red, blue sticks)
• Try to use objects of interest for the same child (eg. Trains of different colors)
• Try using containers of M & M colors. A correct answer will result in opening the container, and an M & M in that color
• Try using favorite objects. Conduct the program as a first application program (eg., Give her a coloring, ask the color "yellow" before giving it the pencil to color the sun).

In terms of teaching progression

• Try to teach a variety of objects in different colors, then generalize to new objects
• Try to generalize a color different objects, then teach a second color
• Try to include the name of an object in SD (red fish, blue fish, etc..)

In terms of aid strategies (prompting)

• Write the name of the color in a colored slip of paper, same color, as an aid. Decreased as the color of the writing (writing lighter)
• Use both the pairing (matching) that imitation as an aid. Say, "red" and let them watch the instructor that combines two red things.
• Rearrange things on the table and then the same thing because porgetele mate. Eliminated gradually extend an object and then modeled the response
• While she sorts objects by color, the instructor shall appoint the colors aloud. After the objects were divided, ask them to indicate the different colors
• Teach colors on a colored paper so that the colors are always in the same order. Let them then place some objects on the corresponding colored paper color and the color identified. Then, let them say the name of the color of some objects that are out of paper
• Associate words with colors ("The banana is ... (yellow)" "... the grass (green)"). Once the pairs have been stored, show them an 'image or object and ask, "What color?" instead of "What is it?" Favorite generalization to new images or objects.

And the strategy that finally worked for Sarah?
Combine the colors, the general knowledge of data and identification of expressive color.

Question 1: "What color is the sun?" (While the image of the sun shown in black and white)
Answer 1: "Yellow"

Question 2: "Color" (giving it a number of pencils to choose from growing).
Answer 2: Sarah colors.

Question 3: "What color?" (After cutting away a portion of the image).
Answer 3: "Yellow"

Over time, more parts of the image were cut off before the instructor did the third question. Initially, the image looked like a big yellow sun. Then it became half a yellow sun. Then left a yellow square (all parts of the sun had been cut). Sarah continued to attribute to this picture the exact color and was able to identify the other color from the color images. Sarah was on her way to name the colors in any situation.

Taken from website: www.lovaas.com Translation by: www.emergenzautismo.org