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Encouraging eye gaze communication (no tech)

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Early years skill:	Any
Early years typical range:	Any
P-scales/Curriculum skill:	English Speaking
P-scales/Curriculum level:	P4-P8
TAP skill:	Any
TAP level:	Any
Pre/Nat. Curriculum Area:	not specified
Pre/Nat. Curiculum Standard:	not specified
Phonology/Articulation:	Any

Section: Early Years (0-5yrs) info; Primary (5-11yrs) info; Secondary (11-16yrs) info

Additional information (Click to show) (Click to hide)

Communication area:	Language Expression; Language Understanding
Context:	School; Home and activities for living
Helpful for:	AAC; Physical Disabilities; Strategies
Blank's Level of Discourse:	Level 1
Suitable for:	Individual
Additional/alternative communication method:	Symbols
Accompanying disability:	Physical Disability
Contributors:	Neil Thompson; anonymous contributors
Date last changed:	November 16, 2016

Helping a child to use/begin to use an eye gazing to communicate choices or an action they would like you to do - with pictures and (optionally) a perspex eye gaze frame (i.e. sheet of clear plastic you hold up between you and the child to fix communication pictures on).

Encouraging looking at an appropriate picture

In this situation you know what the child wants - e.g. they want the mirror chimes, or they want you to spin them, but they are not looking at the appropriate picture or picture symbol. This can happen if the child is new to this communication method, or you've put pictures in a different position on the frame in front of the child, or you are presenting new picture symbols.

Try

hold up the frame to the child. Wait. (Do not say anything). They may look at the picture - may be fleetingly. Immediately reinforce that looking by giving them the item, doing the action;
cueing them in - for example they've looked at the mirror chimes picture, but now they you want to spin it - they aren't looking at the spin picture:
- if they look at the mirror chimes picture again, just reinforce that, for example "mirror chimes" - and indicate the mirror chimes;
- follow this up - or if they don't look - with a cue e.g "and....?"
- if they still don't look, tap the picture gently;
- if the still don't look, take the picture off, and show it to them, and then bring it back the frame;
- once you have their attention, or if they look - even fleetingly - reinforce immediately by spinning the chimes (or whatever action is appropriate in your activity).

In all cases, it's really important to keep your talking to a minimum and only relevant to what is being communication (e.g. spin, mirror chimes, stop in the above activity). Do not give instructions as to what they need to do (avoid saying "look at....").