Phase IV Sentence Structure

Terminal Objective :
The students requests present and non-present items using a multi-word phrase by going to
the book, picking up a picture/symbol of i want, putting it on sentence strip, picking out
the picture of what is wanted, putting it on the sentence strip, removing the strip from
communication board, approaching the communicative partner, and giving the sentence strip
to him.by the end of this phase the student typically has twenty or more pictures on the
communication board and is communicating with a variety of partners.

Rationale : so far in PECS, students have learned to request a variety of desired items from a
variety of communicative partners across various settings. The communication skill still to be
addressed is commenting. As typically developing children learn language, they generally
acquire comments at the same time as requests. The two functions co-develop and are used
with roughly equal frequency. The typically developing speaking child who is using a single
words at a time (e.g. is not yer combining words into short phrases) lets the listener know
whether he is commenting versus requesting by combining the spoken word with intonation
and gestures. The requesting word is accompanied by a demanding tone of voice and
reaching toward or pointing to the desired object. The commenting word is accompanied by
an exclamatory tone of voice,pointing, and lookin back and forth between the listener and the
item of interest. Children using PECS, because they not speaking, are unable to provide the
listener with tone-of-voice cues. Also, these children,because of their social deficits,
ordinarily do not develop the common reaching and pointing gestures or eyes gaze.
Consequently, in planning to teach commenting, we must anticipate that our students need to
learn alternative methods of letting listeners know if the pictures being exchanged are to
request or to comment.
In short, our students need to learn two very importants skills: a new communicative
function and a way to mark this new function and the original function as either a comment
or a request. We will teach the students to use a simple phrase sentence-starter such as i
want, i see, or it is in order for their messages to be intrepreted correctly. Because we
teach one new skill at time, we will teach the student to use a Sentence-starter within the
already mastered communicative function; in Phase IV, we will teach the student to combine
pictures to form the phrase i want_____. We will use a single picture to represent i want.
Separating the I from the want at this point in time is not necessary because we are not
teaching the concept of I vs you, he, she, etc. To maintain the physical approach and
exchange, we will teach the student to build this phrase by putiing the two icons onto a
sentence strip and to exchange the entire strip.

Sequence to be learned
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Get book
Remove i want icon from book
Put i want icon on sentence strip
Remove reinforcer picture from book
Put reinforcer picture on sentence strip
Remove sentence strip
Give sentence strip to communicative partner
The Structured Training Environment
For structured training,have available the communication book, a sentence strip
that can be Velcroed to the communication board and to which pictures can be
attached,an i want picture, reinforcing objects/activities, and the corresponding
pictures. Because the students vocabulary is growing, the pictures on the
communication board can be arranged in board categories for easier retrieval.
Notes
1. No verbal prompts used during this Phase.
2. Use backward chaining to teach sentence strip construction.
3. In addition to structured training trials, create many opportunities
for
spontaneous requesting during functional activities each day.
4. Continue correspondence checks when adding vocabulary.
5. Simplify some aspects of the lesson while teaching the new behaviour, then reincorporate.

Teaching Strategy
Backward Chaining : when the last step in a sequence of steps is most strongly associated
with access to a reinforcer, that behaviour is most easily learned step. The Backward
Chaining strategy teaches a chain, or sequence, or behaviors by reinforcing the last step, then
the last two steps, then the last three steps, and so on. (see Sulzer-Azaroff and Mayer,1991.)
the trainer provides assistance to complete the sequence of steps and fades the assistance first
at the back end of the chain.
The sequence in Phase IV is: get book, remove i want picture from book, place on
sentence strip, remove reinforcer-picture from book, place on sentence strip, remove sentence
strip, and exchanged sentence strip. The step that we initially will target,therefore, is
exchanging the strip. We will provide the needed assistance at the beginning of the chain
through the end, and fade this assistance from the end of the chain.

Step 1: Adding reinforcer picture to sentence strip.

The I want picture is attached to the left side of the sentence strip before the lesson
begins. To simplify other aspects of the lesson, you might want to reduce the number of
pictures on the front of the book. So far, when the students wants something, he will let you
know by removing the corresponding picture from book and reaching toward you with it.
This is an initiation and we must continue to wait for this! Because the student has initiated,
it is okay for the communicative partner to prompt the student by physically guiding him to
put the pictures onto the sentence strip next to the i want picture. Then guide the student to
give you the sentence strip (now containing i want and a single picture). Respond by
reading the strip to the student while providing access to the item. Turn the strip around to
face the student, and point to each picture as you say its name. Do this quickly, however! By
the time the student reaches Phase IV, he is able to tolerate slighty longer delays in access to
the reinforcer,but dont draw out the read-back too long at this point in training. Over
several trials, fade your physical assitancethe goal is for the student to independently add
the reinforcer icon to the strip and to then exchange the strip.
The new skill is to put the reinforcer picture on the sentence strip. Therefore, reinforce
this behaviour the moment the student engages in it. As soon as the student independently
puts the picture on the strip, provide some social feedback (i.e., yes, uh-huh!). Then once
he exchanges the strip, provide further reinforcement by giving him the item he requested.
Mastery of this step is reached when student is able to attach the picture of the desired item to
the sentence strip (which already contains the I want picture), approach the
commnunicative partner, and give the entire sentence strip with no prompting.

Step 2: Manipulating the I want picture

Move the I want picture to the left side of the communication book. At this point,
the student will initiate by attempting to remove the reinforcer picture from the book.in order
to teach the student to construcr the sentence in the correct order, we want to encourage him
to put the I want picture on the strip first. Therefore, when the child reaches for the
reinforce-picture (this is the initiation!), block him from doing so, and physically prompt him
to remove the I want picture and put it on the strip. Once this has been completed, the
book and strip look like it did in Step 1, so the student should complete the construction and
exchange independently. Continue responding to the student by reading the sentence strip.
Fade all physical prompt over time so that the student learns to construct and exchange the
sentence strip independently.
The new skill now is independently picking up the I want icon first. The first time
is student reaches for the I want icon before the reinforcer icon, praise him. Then, after he
completes the sentence strip and the exchange, provide access to the requested item.

Step 3 : Reading the sentence strip

Sometimes, children develop a pattern whereby they construct the sentence strip,
bring it to you, put it into your hand and walk away. The interaction between the student and
the communicative partner becomes fleetingthe student rushes off as if waiting for room
service now to be delivered! We think it is important for a student to continue hearing the
words spoken, so teaching him to point to each picture while we read the strip is one way to
do this.
We find it helpful to maintain the students interaction if he points to the pictures on
the sentences strip as you read them to him. We teach reading the strip as you read
them to him. We teach reading the strip with physical prompting using a backward chaining
strategy. The communicative partner provides this assistance--- a physical prompter is not
necessary because the students initiation is intact (he constructs and brings you the strip).
When the student independently constructs and puts the sentence strip into the your hand,
turn the strip around to him and physically prompt him to point to each picture while you
read each picture. Over time, fade this assistance (from the end of sequence ) until the
student independently exchanges the strip, waits for communicative partner to turn it to him,
and then points to each picture while the communicative partner reads.
Once the student has mastered pointing while you read the strip,a further step we add
is providing the student with an opportunity to speak during the exchange. We teach this
using a Constant Time Delay Strategy.
Teaching Strategy
Delayed Prompting/Constant Time Delay
This strategy involves pairing a prompt with the natural cue you want to eventually
control the final behaviour. Present the natural cue and after a fixed, pre-determined length
of time, if the student has not exhibited the desired behavior, provide the additional helping
prompt. This helping prompt historically has been an effective prompt so the student is
likely to engage in the desired behavior. This strategy works when we differentially
reinforce the behavior if the student engages in it prior to the delivery of the helping prompt.