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Dan is a twelve-year-old boy with Global Developmental Delay and autistic traits. He uses ‘Proloquo2Go’ (an iPad Communication App) downloaded on his iPad to communicate. Facilitating effective communication as well as use of his communication system is frequently a challenge.
Recently, we made his signature concoction, “Dan’s Virgin Mojito”. The following chart/script is an example of how you can use a cooking activity to generate initiation, participation and use of core vocabulary.
We had great fun and the activity generated lots of opportunity for communication and interaction. In this blog post we provide a script of what we did.
Here’s the recipe –
Dan’s Virgin Mojito
1. Pour 1 cup of lime juice into the jug
2. Pour 1 cup of Sprite
3. Pour 1 cup of Ginger Ale
4. Cut 7 mint leaves
5. Add to mixture
6. Enjoy!
| Person Talking | What was said | Vocabulary/Communication functions targeted |
| Sarah | Hi Dan, how are you feeling about making drinks? | Describing |
| Dan | Excited | |
| Sarah | Great, so what are we making? | (Spelling) |
| Dan | Dan’s Virgin Mojito | |
| Sarah | Oh, what do we need to make it. | |
| Dan | Lime juice, Mint, Sprite | |
| Sarah | Ok, Let me write down the recipe. Ok, What do we need to do. | |
| Dan | Pour one cup of lime juice | Action, quantities, categories ‘food’ |
| Sarah | Ok, Here’s the lime juice. Hands Dan the packet of lime juice. | |
| Dan | Dan fumbles with the packet | |
| Sarah | Do you need some help | |
| Dan | I want help | Requesting, Action words |
| Sarah | Okay, who is going to pour? | |
| Dan | I want to pour | Pronouns, Requesting, Action words |
| Sarah | Okay | |
| Nate measures lime juice | ||
| Sarah | What do we do next? | Sequencing |
| Dan | Pour one cup ginger ale | Action words, Requesting |
| Sarah | Great, what do we need next? | |
| Dan | Sprite | Requesting, Labelling |
| Sarah | Waits, expectantly | |
| Dan | I need Sprite | Requesting |
| Sarah | Okay, how much ? | |
| Dan | One cup | Quantities |
| Sarah | Really so little? Ok you taste it and let me know if you need more.Pours the Sprite and then pours mixture into a cup | |
| Dan | More Sprite | Core word ‘more’, requesting |
| Sarah | Okay, A lot or a little | |
| Dan | A lot | Quantity |
| Sarah | Tell me when to stop | |
| Dan | Stop | Requesting, action words |
| Sarah | Ok. What now? | |
| Dan | Mint. | |
| Sarah | Yes. What do I need to do with the mint | |
| Dan | Cut mint | Expansion |
| Sarah | So, I cut the mint leaves. How many? | |
| Dan | Seven | Quantity |
| Sarah | Okay, I’m going to pour. You taste it and tell me what you think. | |
| Dan | Good | Describing |
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