"Wh" Questions... Auntie and anyone else

JenGK

I recall Auntie saying that ASD kiddos often have troubel with "wh" questions -- Zach is actually able to answer some of them, but I don't know if they actually "qualify" as "wh" questions.  For example, if I show him a block and ask him "What color is this?" he will respond with a correct sign and spoken approximation.  If I ask him "What does the cow say?" or any other animal, he'll make the appropriate noise.  And if I show him something and ask him "What is this" -- say his socks for instance or pointing to a cat in the yard, he'll respond with an appropriate sign and word approxinmation.  Are those really "wh" questions?  Or are they typically something more difficult?

lite-bright

Factual observations aren't what my DD1 has trouble with. She could tell you colors, shapes, animal sounds, names of objects, what they are used for if she knows -- no problem.

It's "where" (unless the person or object is in sight) that is hit or miss, but especially "why" and "how". She can answer some "who" questions, but doesn't have much concept of time beyond day and night, so "when" Q's usually just get me a blank stare. 

One of the things the Floortime book encourages is asking questions that you DON'T know the answer to -- their opinions, feelings, their take on cause-and-effect, how things work, etc. Some of those are "what" questions, like "what's wrong" or "what happens next?" -- but they're different what-questions than the type you're asking about. It helps me to think about it in those terms, because it's really easy for DH and me to fall into asking her questions that we know she'll respond to -- facts & observations. 

But that doesn't stretch her, it just exercises knowledge that we already know she has. When I ask her questions that I don't know the answer to, things get way trickier. When DD1 actually gives me answer to one of those that's not formulaic, then I feel like we're making a bit of progress. 

I think the "what" questions are the simplest, actually, when you're talking about factual observations. 

JenGK

You've honed in on exactly what I am looking for -- how to challenge him to move further.  What Floortime book do you use?  Our big issue is that he is dyspraxic and has very little speech (though he is very motivated to communicate) so it is hard to get a response to any conceptual questions.

lite-bright

Engaging Autism is the one I use. 

It's funny, though -- I'm using the concepts, but damn, it's hard to get through this book because it's just ... thick. It's this weird blend of insanely simple, but with tons of good points that I want to remember.

I normally blaze through a book in a matter of days. This one, I'm 2/3 through and struggling and I've had it for a few months. I keep coming back to it and feeling like I need to start reading from the beginning again (which I've done twice now!).  

The other thing I do is try to offer "choices". So if she doesn't answer the first time I ask an open-ended conceptual question, then I offer options based on what I'm getting from her. Do you feel frustrated or sad? Do you think X will happen, or Y will happen? Both might be reasonable, or one might be really silly. 

That seems to help in that she'll often remember the emotional choices and use them in a different context to describe her emotions. But sometimes I feel like I'm misreading her and offering the wrong words, or she doesn't quite "get" them. Like right now, she often saying she's "scared" of things when actually, she wants them, or misses them ("I am scared of Elsa's seat" when she wants to sit in DD2's car seat, for instance.) But other times she uses "scared" and actually means frightened. 

I don't know if that helps in terms of dyspraxia, though! 

W&J'sMommy

PP gave some great advice.

DS's SLP likes the "No David" books for working on "wh" questions.  What is David doing?  Why did he do that?  What is Mom going to say?  etc.

mrse1107

"wh" questions are exactly that - the questions we ask beginning with "WH"

who, what, when, where and why

They can be difficult because they are not always concrete.

who has the marker???  what do you have in your hand? where are your shoes?

A good way to help learn this as kids get older (I do this with my students who are ASD) is using pictures to help support your question...

For example:: Where is the dog? (if the dog is under the table....) show a picture of a dog under the table and a picture of a dog on the couch... and often the picture will help the beginning steps before they can find the right words