Today I want to share an idea that I think is very exciting and may be helpful at some point in the future with my son (although I think he’s a bit young for it right now!)
During the autism conference I recently attended, one of the lectures was on the topic of Applied Research. Dr. Peter Gerhardt from the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) talked about how they are working on taking research and translating it into practice, especially with adolescents and adults on the spectrum.
One of the creative techniques he shared was the use of Bluetooth technology to reduce the stigma of verbal prompting. By using this device, the person doing the prompting was able to move farther and farther away from the student and develop more independence while still having access to the prompts.
In the video he showed of a practice situation, the prompter was actually able to wait outside a drugstore while the student went in and made his purchases. A secondary benefit they discovered was that people largely ignored any random vocalizations the student made, assuming he was just “on the phone.”
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Photo by William Hook
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