Mums and Tutors - I need your teaching ideas !!

This week I want ideas. Lots of them - big, small, whatever, please get your typing fingers ready!

Who has or is working with a child with asd, and, although they have a repertoire of more than 300 words spanning labelling and functional language, they show little interest in 'talking'??

Taking the step from labelling pictures at the classroom table, to talking about things can seem miles apart.

We can start with teaching a strong labelling repertiore - which builds language, confidence, accuracy and communication. O.k. Then we go onto teaching the function of items and objects (you write with a ..........pencil) - which is also helpful and builds on language.

Now - to the next part. Answering a variety questions. 'Wh' questions - What, Who, Where, When, Why, and How ? are our textbook selection. And we use pictures and verbal prompts for teaching these - such as pictures of people, places, storyboards etc.

So far so good, and the student can answer some questions - and fluently when practised. Where do you go from here? My stategy at this stage is to have a stack of random questions (influenced by the intraverbal questions in ABLL's appendix) - practise them with and without visual prompts, and build from there. Using reinforcers to keep their interest at the table during the questions (I'm asking about 8 at a time inbetween other activities) and giving the list to mum to practise randomly at home. Repetition of varied questions will hopefully lead to the student answering basic questions without a prompt, and so on.

My question is this:

Is this the best way to teach answering questions? I know every child is different etc, but if you have an idea or activity that worked, I'd love to hear it! Any of your teaching ideas for practical social/classroom skills will be great for all to see and use.

Thanks, in anticipation for ideas,

Claire x