Page 135 - Routines-Based Early Intervention Guidebook

Routines-Based Early Intervention Guidebook

Teaching Imitation Skills 10.4

Imita on is the basis for all learning. From the meless advice that “prac ce makes

perfect” to the updated version that “perfect prac ce makes perfect,” we are encouraged to

imitate in order to learn. Think back to any event in your life. Whether it was speaking,
reading, or wri ng, mul ple sessions had to occur before you internalized the ability or

knowledge and began using it effortlessly. Now, truly try to remember one of those learning

events. Did you hate it? Chances are you were engrossed in every second of it which added to

the triumph of the accomplishment. The ability to reproduce the mo ons or words of another

person is mandatory for learning. For the person learning, it is an enjoyable process.
This is a very important point because for children with language delays, research tells

us that they need to hear words many, many more mes than children with typical

development. While we as adults might get bored when the child requests to reread a book
for the tenth me or play a game infinitely, children love repe on and crave the success they

experience from recogni on and understanding. If you as a parent or teacher are guilty of

hiding one of these games or books, you are not alone! With children who have difficulty

imita ng words or simple ac ons, we can lean on this innate love to teach a child how to

successfully repeat.
As with any new skills, different children require different levels of support and

repe on to learn them. It is our job to iden fy the level at which a child is successfully able

to repeat an ac on and then slowly increase the level of difficulty over me.

Ac vi es to Improve Imita on Skills

1. Teachable Moments – It should first be noted that we are not adding anything new

to our daily schedule to improve imita on skills. Whether you are cooking, making
the bed, wri ng, or walking in the hall, have your child imitate your ac ons. Use

these daily ac vi es that already occur as opportuni es to have a child repeat your

ac ons, movements, or words.

2. Singing and Dancing – The kinesthe c movements and sensory involvement of
singing and dancing enables learning to involve the en re brain. The music and

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