Short transcript excerpt from a YouTube video (Ming @ Agents of Speech) describing how to use contrastive commands to improve a child’s ability to guess or identify objects. The speaker recommends providing at least two contrasting options for each target word, using decontextualized commands and rehearsals where the child must respond without touching items until instructed.
It means that when the child has to listen to two keywords, there must be a contrast for each element. So if you say orange, there must be orange and an apple and a banana or whatever. At least there must be two, right? If you talk about a plate, there must be a place, more than one place. So you have a plate, a basket, a box, or whatever. It's going to be like 25% that your child can guess it correct. And therefore that's something you can check immediately with a decontextualized command, which is you can do your daily commands and change the words there. And also you can do these like, contrastive commands. And if we're doing contrastive commands, right, the best thing to do is to do a rehearsal. Don't allow the child to touch the things on the table or on the floor or wherever yet. And tell them to say it once, have to say it once. Let go and let them do it. Put the apple on the whatever. That's right. Now go do it.
