Parents and caregivers can work directly with party planners to customize their child’s party to the unique needs of the child and their guests. One of the elements of Grins ‘n’ Giggles that sets it apart from most party venues is that the parties are hosted by early childhood educators who will help parents have a fun-filled day of activities, which could include face painting, art projects, bounce house jumping, parachute games, and guided play." (taken from website below)

By [date], during a shared family routine, [student] will independently initiate at least one interaction with a parent(s) by making comments or requests using any modality, with minimal to no supports as measured by family or SLP observation.

GOAL 2

By [date],  [student] will incorporate at least 1 communication repair strategy with his/her peers during a classroom activity, with minimal supports and using any modality, measured by teacher observation. 

GOAL 3
By [date], [student] will independently ask his/her peers a minimum of 3 different questions with minimal to no supports, across 4 consecutive group speech therapy sessions, as measured by SLP observation.

Activity 1: Shared Book Reading for Group Therapy with AAC Students

Intervention will take place in small group therapy sessions, with the speech-language pathologist (SLP) and roughly 2-3 children. These children participating in therapy will also be AAC users, whom communicate using aided and or unaided methods of communication. 

During this intervention, the theme will be “Fruit,” and the SLP will target this goal through the use of shared book reading. The “Fruit” theme was selected to provide [student] and peers a common topic to discuss. With the theme, [student] will have opportunities to come up with specific contributions related to the theme. The SLP will  engage [student] and the other children in conversations about the book, relate topics in the book to their own life experiences, and model appropriate language. 

The SLP will read The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. Throughout, [student] will be provided with opportunities to communicate with other children in group session by making on-topic contributions related to the book and/or theme, through aided or unaided means. SLP will guide the children throughout shared book reading by incorporating models, scaffolding techniques, and response choices on the AAC. 

Activity 2: Practicing Greetings with an AAC Student

Intervention will take place in a small group therapy session, with the speech-language pathologist (SLP) and roughly 2-3 other children present. Session will begin with 5-10 minutes of greeting one another using AAC devices. Having regular times in each session to greet others at the start of therapy will give [students] consistent practice, which may increase his/her comfort and knowledge of the controls available in the AAC device. The clinician will also participate in this activity using a personal AAC to interact with and provide a helpful model to [students].

Greet [student] first and then encourage him/her to greet you back. When [student] makes the greeting, make sure that s/he has peer’s attention. Show [student] how to get peer’s attention by either tapping them, saying his/her name, and looking at them. Also, remind [student] that s/he should look directly at friend’s face before and after talking to them with AAC, explaining that “it is important our friends know we are talking to them.” After [student] properly grabs your attention, prompt [student] to greet you back using his/her AAC, where s/he must say, “Good morning, Teacher!” 

Encourage [student] to do the same with peers by telling him/her to greet at least one other peer in therapy. Tell [student] to use AAC and say, “good morning _________” (fill in the blank with the name of his peer). 

"ADDM reports have consistently noted that more white children are identified with ASD than black or Hispanic children. Previous studies have shown that stigma, lack of access to healthcare services due to non-citizenship or low-income, and non-English primary language are potential barriers to identification of children with ASD especially among Hispanic children. A difference in identifying black and Hispanic children with ASD relative to white children means these children may not be getting the services they need to reach their full potential."