Strategy 6: Teach name, name sign and/or personal identifier of child and those the child interacts with on a regular basis
What to do
- Identify the form of text that will work best for the child's name
- Use the child's name in naturally occurring times and situations at home, school and in the community
- Use the child's name any time a new person interacts with him or her
- Identify the people who are of interest to or interact regularly with the child and provide their name in a consistent way that makes sense to the child each time they interact
- Incorporate the child's name and other names in journals, stories, conversations and naturally occurring situations (e.g. attendance, lunch count)
- Teach child that every person has a name whether or not the person is an integral part of their life
Things to consider
- Are you expecting the child to learn the names of too many people at a time?
- Are you: 1) indicating the child's name on his body and 2) your name on your body?
- Are all individuals identifying themselves in a consistent manner?
- Are you allowing enough wait time to see if the child responds?
Always Ask Yourself
