Sometimes it’s good to go unconventional. Step outside of the box that we so often find ourselves stuck in. How about using cartoons to target communication skills? Gasp. But seriously – problem solving, making inferences, and wh- questions galore! It can be so tricky to target a lot of these skills so adding a little motivation (tv) and visuals (tv) can do just the trick.

How to Use Cartoons to Target Communication Skills:

• Watch a few minutes of a cartoon:

• Press pause. Wh- Question Time. Start with concrete questions such as who, what, where, and when. Start with easy ones and build to more challenging questions.
• Identify the problem in the cartoon. There is usually a problem in ever cartoon. Have your kids find the problem. Write it out if you need to.

• Talk about what the characters ‘should’ do.  ‘Should’ is SUCH a hard question! It looks at problem solving, making inferences, and all those fun abstract skills. Again – writing it out can be helpful.
• Make Predictions. Throw around some different scenarios. How would Charlie’s friends would feel if they go to his house and he wasn’t there? Would they be disappointed? Why? Talk about different ways to fix the problem and what they would do if they were the character.
• Write about it. Write about what you talked about. This gives an added reflection piece and can also be used as an assessment/permanent product. 

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Sasha Long, M.A., BCBA

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