SAGE Learning Lab

Have you ever encountered any of these issues during your client sessions? The child wanders aimlessly around the room and can’t “land on” an item or engage in an activity…The child leaves the activity when you approach or try to join in…The child moves quickly between activities in an effort to avoid instructions…If so, this course is for you. Research on early language learning tells us that young children learn more readily if adults and others join in on what the child is attending to rather than trying to redirect them to new activities. You can do this by watching and listening to the child’s activity, narrating what the child is doing, offering assistance, and imitating what they are doing. This course is designed to teach you strategies to follow the child’s lead (aka motivation) and to promote social engagement and communication skills during your teaching interactions by using child-selected and highly-preferred activities. Following a child’s lead involves promoting the child’s participation in activities based on his or her interests, supporting the child’s actions and interactions with materials and people during the activities, and supporting the child’s choices when he or she wants to change the focus of interest.