Step 1: CHECK HEARING!
Basic approaches:
Still Nothing?
Skip it!
Maybe the child doesn’t understand the purpose of responding. Try doing some more functional communication tasks to try to bring the child into your world and come back to responding to his name later.
- Follow the child’s interest and help him use a form of AAC (hand-over-hand assistance) to request what he wants (make sure what he wants is not accessible)
- Ask the child to follow directions that will allow him to participate in his favorite activities (pushing a button to activate music, holding out a hand to initiate tickling, pointing to a swing to get to swing, etc.). If he is following these directions, then he’s responding to your voice.
- Get down and play with the child in the way that he wants to play and start imitating him. If he notices you imitating him and looks at you, respond to him with praise and reinforcement so he knows that responding is a desired thing!
