Planning for generalization- an introduction

Are you a clinician working with students with autism and/or other complex communication disorders? If so, planning for the generalization of skills is an essential part of the intervention process. Generalization can be defined as

the occurrence of a target behavior in a non-training situation after training. So if we are working with a student on labeling pizza in the therapy room and they label it in the cafeteria during lunch- this is an example of generalization. There are so many skills in which we need to plan for generalization. Today in this post, we will focus on the generalization of labeling skills.

When we discuss this topic, we should plan for the generalization of skills among people, materials and environments. With the point being, if the student can only label their favorite book with the SLP in the therapy room and not with mom when they are at the local library- generalization of skills has not been addressed.

To provide students with autism and other complex communication needs with systematic language instruction, we need to make sure that we are exposing our students to multiple examples of language targets that we are teaching. We want to make sure that we aren’t just showing students one static picture each time we work on a labeling task. If we only present this one picture, chances are the student will not generalize this skill to other pictured examples or to seeing the item or action in a less structured setting.

Let’s say that your child is working on expressively labeling the action of washing. Instead of showing him/her one picture of washing, to teach language more systematically you should present the child with many examples of the word washing. This may include washing hands, washing hair and washing dishes. It is important to point out when we are completing these tasks in the home environment as well.

We also should strive to make our services as collaborative as possible. Every situation has potential barriers to this happening, but I always try my best to make sure that all team members are aware of and working on the same communication skills that I am addressing within therapy sessions. When I set up this system, I know that my student will have more opportunities to practice their skills.

When language instruction is embedded within a learner’s day, it is easier to plan for the generalization of language skills. If the learner works with the SLP on labeling Pete the Cat (when shown 3 different pictures of the book or the book itself) in the therapy room and also works with his teacher and paraprofessional on this skill within the classroom environment- we have planned for generalization among materials, environment and people!

We want our students to be able to generalize the language targets they are working on at school or in therapy into more natural speaking situations. Following this simple tip will be a great first step to helping your student expand their overall language skills.

Have a question or comment about generalization? Send me a message at www.abaspeech.org.