Mad Libs

One of the basic teaching approaches with children with special needs is the prompt.  The prompt can be verbal or physical, whichever is needed to help get the child to do the requested task.  So for example, if you are trying to teach a child to brush his teeth, you might place the toothbrush in his hand, and hold your hand over his hand as you help him to brush.  As he starts to get the hang of it, you gradually fade the prompt, maybe only helping him to get the right grip on the toothbrush and then eventually not helping at all.  The same holds true with verbal prompts.  For example, after a story about a game of catch, you might ask:  What were the kids doing?  And to help with the answer, you would start with “They were playing ____” and then let the child complete the sentence.  You can fade it to “They were____” and then eventually when you ask, he can just answer without any prompt “They were playing catch.”  Simplistic examples but you get the point. 

Coleman apparently has learned in this way for so long that has become, for him, a way of communicating.  So that’s a problem that we are going to have to address.  Because my life has become an actual game of MadLibs. 

You remember that game that was so fun when you were like 10?  Hilarious, right?  Not so much at 50.

 

Coleman walks around asking me things and gives me partial prompts.  Today, driving to a birthday party, he states from the back seat “We’re finally going to the ___” and waits.  This is an easy one so I quickly respond “The birthday party!”  “Ohhhhh” he says in a tone that tells me I have answered incorrectly and to please try again.  “We’re finally going to the ___” he repeats and I pause for a second and then say “The trampolines!” because this is a trampoline birthday party.  “Ohhhh” he says again, more irritated.  Now I’m just flat out guessing.  “Store?”  <no response>  “Mall?” <no respons> until I finally have to just say “Coleman I have no idea what the answer is.”  “Hotel” he responds.  What the actual hell?  I was never going to get that.  We are not on our way to a hotel but I just say “Oh right! We’re finally going to the hotel!” and this makes him smile wide with satisfaction.  A short time later he says “I’m so excited for the ___” and totally forgetting the conversation we had five short minutes ago, I answer “The Birthday party!”  He nearly scoffs at me.  “Ohhhh” he says again and I realize my mistake.   “I mean hotel!  I am so excited for the hotel!”  He smiles again and repeats in a voice that I hope is not what I actually sound like   “I mean hotel! I am so excited for the hotel!” 

We arrive at the party and everyone is having fun jumping.  I jump with Coleman, trying to be sneaky bouncing and then stopping so the 17 year old kid watching doesn’t point to the sign on the wall that clearly states “ONE PERSON PER TRAMPOLINE”.  As we jump Coleman says “This hotel is ___” and waits.  “This hotel is so beautiful!” I say and he smiles and jumps some more.  “This hotel is so beautiful” he repeats.  Welcome to Crazy Town. 

The Mad Lib game is played all the time.  At the supermarket, in the car, at the house.  It’s the same game with entirely different answers every time.  Some days it’s a script from a show so I might know the answer, or at least be able to figure it out.  (I’m both proud and embarrassed at the extent of dialogue I know from some of his shows.)  Other days it’s completely random and not related to shows at all.   He starts a sentence and waits for me to finish it.  “The superheroes are____.”   “The superheroes are really tall!”  I’ve literally said that. Not really strong, but really tall.  Why? I have no idea but when you are playing Mad Libs all day you just shoot from the hip.   The game gets old and my imagination fails me and I can’t come up with decent endings to his sentences.  There are many occasions that smartass comments quickly come to mind that would make for absolutely hilarious but highly inappropriate sentences.  So I’ll consider it a win that I have not yet stooped that low. 

For now, we are going to have to figure out a way to fade the prompting that he is doing.  Not sure at all how we can do that.  But I have the help of some amazing BCBAs to figure it out.  Until, then, I’ll just try my best to be the most imaginative story teller on the South Shore.  Thank you for reading again.  I hope you ____ and we’ll see _____.  J