Step 1.1 Identify a Target Behavior
First, it is important to identify specific, measurable skills for the target behaviors of a naturalistic intervention. These skills need to be more specific than a general goal or outcome and include behaviors that can be observed.
a) Select a specific target behavior to be the focus of the intervention in these areas:
- pre-linguistic or linguistic communication and/or
- social skills
The target behavior should represent team consensus and come from outcomes on the toddler’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or other individualized plan.
General Outcome or Goal |
Target Behavior |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Home-based Example: Tony will play with his parents. |
Tony will share attention around a preferred toy with his parents for 3 minutes during five routines within his day, five days a week. |
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Center-based Example: Kate will initiate communicaiton with peers. |
Katie will ask one question of a peer during a 15 minute play period, six times throughout her day. | ||
b) Confirm that target behaviors are derived from outcomes in the toddler’s IFSP or other individualized plan
The target behaviors identified for naturalistic intervention are generated from the IFSP developed by the toddler’s IFSP team. The IFSP team, which includes early interventionists and parents, meets to determine appropriate outcomes and target behaviors for the toddler.
Early interventionists (EI) may include the following:
- service coordinators
- special education teachers
- general education teachers
- speech-language pathologists
- occupational therapists
- physical therapists
- psychologists
- child care providers
When focusing on toddlers with ASD, it is important to recognize and understand the value of prelinguistic communication in setting target behaviors. For example, a target behavior may be pointing to an object to establish shared attention, engaging in shared attention, or vocal turn-taking. Although none of these target behaviors demonstrates actual language use, these skills provide the foundation for language development.
For video clips demonstrating shared attention and other pre-linguistic behaviors, see the ASD Video Glossary found on the Autism Speaks website.