ABA Mini-Manual: Level Two: Beyond the basics

Book excerpt: Beyond the basics covered in Level One (matching, imitation, requesting early expressive and receptive language, joint attention), the concepts and linguistic abilities addressed in Level Two are decidedly more challenging for many autistic children. Concepts under consideration in Level Two include, ‘same and different’, ‘parts and whole’, ‘prepositions’, ‘pronouns’, ‘negation’, ‘who, what, where distinctions', 'singular-plural', 'actions and tenses' as well as others. Early acquisition of these concepts requires highly specific teaching arrangements. This manual lays out, in meticulous detail, ways we have found helpful for children to acquire these concepts and begin to generalize them. These exercises establish the foundations necessary for eventual integration of these concepts and abilities into everyday linguistic practice. These exercises illuminate, as in in Level One, the interdependence of abilities and the inherent complexity of teaching language and the considerations for what it takes to acquire these concepts at rudimentary levels.