Some children on the autism spectrum have difficulties with communication, and the long-term goal of intraverbal conversation can be challenging. Verbally, we often communicate through conversation, which can be echoic or non-echoic (i.e., intraverbal). 

“Echoic conversation” is a type of conversation in which something is said or asked, and the statement or question is restated in response. For example, the question, “How is the weather near you?” might be answered with a response that partially restates the question: “The weather here is beautiful!” 

“Non-echoic conversation” (i.e., intraverbal conversation) encompasses a “call” and a “response,” where something is said or asked and the response does not restate the initial statement or question asked. For example, the question “How are you?” might be answered with a response that does not restate the initial question, such as “I’m doing well!” 

Children on the autism spectrum can find non-echoic conversation challenging due to difficulty in recalling necessary information, or difficulty with necessary vocabulary. A large part of non-echoic conversation comprises the use of “intraverbal” responses, or “intraverbals.” Helping  your child master the long-term goal of intraverbal conversation will help them respond to a speaker without copying (or echoing) what the speaker said. 

You can help your child master the short-term goals of different types of intraverbals, including mastering “question-response intraverbals” and “fill-in-the-blank intraverbals.” An example of a question-response intraverbal is if someone asks you, “What are you eating for lunch today?” and you reply, “A salad.” You responded with your answer of “a salad” instead of echoing what the person asked you (“I am eating a salad for lunch today.”) Fill-in-the-blank intraverbals can be a useful tool for teaching non-echoic conversation. An example of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal is if you were to sing, “Baa baa black sheep have you any…,” and someone finished with, “wool.” The other person finished your song without repeating anything back to you. 

Working towards mastering the long-term goal of intraverbal communication is important for day-to-day conversations with others as well as in academic and professional settings. Helping your child practice intraverbals can prepare them for independence as well as greater success in social situations. 

The following strategies may help your child make progress toward mastering the long-term goal of intraverbal conversation:

• Start with fill-in-the-blanks. For example, say, “Your age is _______,” and have your child finish the sentence. Or, say, “Your name is _______.” These are some of the simplest forms of intraverbal conversation and a good place to start facilitating intraverbal communication. Make sure to be explicit in that you are asking for their age and not yours, or their name and not yours. Assure that your child knows their own age or name. You can create your own fill-in-the-blanks, or use one of the free resources below:

• Resources for Parents

ABA Intraverbals for Beginners (Fill-Ins) by Homeschooliscool | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)

Intraverbal Worksheet by ModelMeAutism | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)

Teaching Intraverbals: How & When? - I Love ABA!

ABLLS INTRAVERBALS ablls h.pdf (trackingsheets.net)

• Written prompts. This activity should be done according to your child’s comfort level with reading and writing. Write out prompts that your child will know the answer to. For example, you can use the prompt, “My name is _____,” and have your child write down their name. You can go through the prompts one-by-one and reward them for each correct answer, or have them fill out several at a time and reward them for multiple correct answers. As your child learns new things, you can create new written prompts out of the new information.
• Verbal prompts. Try to focus on using prompts that your child knows the answer to. An example of a verbal prompt is you saying, “Dad’s name is ____,” and having your child finish the sentence. Reward your child for correct answers. As your child becomes more comfortable with certain verbal prompts, you can change the wording of the prompt. For example, instead of saying, “Dad’s name is,” you can say, “Dad is named ____,” and have your child finish the sentence. Be sure to reward your child for finishing your sentence correctly. Any correction given to your child should be done gently with the intent to teach your child the correct answer.
• Ask questions with answers that are in front of your child. Ask questions which have an answer that is within your child’s line of sight, allowing the child to visualize the correct response. You can pose the question, “What is your age?” when there is something pertaining to their age nearby, whether it be the number (allowing for visualization of the value), or something that your child uses to remember their age, such as a toy they know they received on their most recent birthday. Formulate these questions per the ability of the child to recall the information, given the available visual representation, and their comfort level with their vocabulary. When your child responds correctly, use positive reinforcement; offer an age and effort appropriate reward: a cool sticker, a piece of candy, a small toy, an extra bedtime story, extra videogame time, etc. Phase out the positive reinforcement when the skill has been sufficiently acquired. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behaviors to be supported solely by social reinforcement.

Question-Response Intraverbals

For the short-term goal of “question-response intraverbals,” you can choose the targets of intraverbal color, intraverbal animal, intraverbal food, etc. Assure that your child knows the answers to the question you may be asking them. For example, if you choose to work on the target of intraverbal color, assure that your child knows a variety of colors and can identify and label them. You can work on the target of intraverbal color with various items, such as a shirt, a block, a stuffed animal, a blanket, etc.

• Step 1: Decide what question-response intraverbal you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of intraverbal color while working on the short-term goal of question-response intraverbal. Select at least the item you would like your child to use for practicing intraverbal color. For example, their shirt.
• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as the image of a single color (blue, for example) or an image of a rainbow that you point to, after which you point to the corresponding color(s) on your child’s shirt, or a verbal SD (“Time to name what color your shirt is!” or “What color is your shirt?”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt independently to respond to the question-response intraverbal for which you prompted. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. As an example, you can count how many times in a row your child is able to independently respond to the question-response intraverbal you prompted for. Alternatively, you can count how many times within a given time interval (e.g., 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, etc.) your child was able to independently respond to the question-response intraverbal you prompted for. 
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of intraverbal color), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, you can show your child the image of the color blue and ask them, “What color is this? Is your shirt the same?.”
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many times in a row your child can meet the target of intraverbal color independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to meet the target of intraverbal color independently. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at intraverbal color during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of intraverbal color by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at intraverbally stating the color over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can intraverbally state the color, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

Fill-In-The-Blank Intraverbals

For the short-term goal of “fill-in-the-blank intraverbals,” you can choose the targets of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal age, fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name of self, fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name of parent or caregiver, etc. Assure that your child knows the answers to the question you may be asking them. For example, if you choose to work on the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name, assure that your child knows their own name. You can work on the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name with various names, such as first name, last name, full name, nickname, etc.

• Step 1: Decide what fill-in-the-blank intraverbal you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of fill-in-the-blank  intraverbal name while working on the short-term goal of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal. Select the name you would like your child to practice, such as their first name. 
• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as an image of your child, or a verbal SD (“Time to say your first name!” or “Your first name is ______”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt independently to respond to the fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name for which you prompted. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. As an example, you can count how many times in a row your child is able to independently respond to the fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name you prompted for. Alternatively, you can count how many times within a given time interval (e.g., 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, etc.) your child was able to independently respond to the fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name you prompted for. 
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, you can show your child the image that is a picture of your child and say “who is this? Is this [insert your child’s first name here]?”
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many times in a row your child can meet the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to meet the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name independently. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can fill-in-the-blank intraverbal name, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.