Echolia/Scripting Question

hopecounts

How do you handle functional scripting?

DD doesn't script too badly and when she does it is typically functional.

for example, her current one is 'lets go potty' when she needs us to take her to the bathroom when we are out and about, I'm 99% sure she picked it up from her ABA 1-1 at her all day program, I recognize the ABA's voice. It's a little funny because DD's voice is fairly accent neutral and her ABA has a pretty strong southern accent so the phrase definitely jumps out as different. 

At home she doesn't use that script, she just goes to the bathroom. She will occasionally script 'potty please' from the ava kids app. 

mommy0411

My DS1 does a lot of functional echolalia. His ABA therapists have told us to say it a different way when he scripts it but not to make a big deal out of it because it is functional. He has very gradually been switching from functional echolalia to more spontaneous speech. He uses the scripts to learn new language! Have you asked her BCBA what s/he thinks about it? Hope that helps!

Micelle78

mommy0411 said:

My DS1 does a lot of functional echolalia. His ABA therapists have told us to say it a different way when he scripts it but not to make a big deal out of it because it is functional. He has very gradually been switching from functional echolalia to more spontaneous speech. He uses the scripts to learn new language! Have you asked her BCBA what s/he thinks about it? Hope that helps!


I was just going to agree with the above part.  I usually say it different.  The point is, they are using it correctly and that is what you want them to do.  They need encouragement to use the phrase and then get ideas of how to use it differently.  Every child is different I guess.  DS will not imitate how the person said it, so I am not sure what to tell you about that part.  We also are working with an SLP, VT, and OT--- and not in ABA.

hopecounts

Thanks @micelle78 and @mommy0411 I'll do that, when she uses original language it's completely in her own voice so I'm not too worried about her sounding like the ABA therapist as a few other phrases have started out as scripts that were echos including voice but that faded out as she made it her own. 

We have our every other month meeting with the BCBA on the 18th and I'll definitely discuss it with her then. 

typeset

We modeled first person language for a year, giving him the scripts he needed to sound authentic. The "fake it until you make it" approach, if you will. If he said "let's go potty," we'd say "I need to go potty!" and have him echo that instead. It took some getting used to. 

The ABA team was under orders to limit their intraverbals and vary his verbal reinforcement. Even so, I have great footage of him singing with his primary teacher and telling her, "Nice job singing with me."