Are you looking for strategies to help students who talk incoherently? If so, keep reading.
1. Let the student speak without being interrupted or hurried.
2. Embody speaking in finish statements or thoughts (e.g., speak clearly, slowly, concisely, and in finished sentences, statements, and thoughts) for the student.
3. Get the student to find who they think is an excellent speaker and why.
4. Separate the attributes an excellent speaker possesses (e.g., rate, diction, volume, vocabulary, etc.) and have the student assess themselves on each quality. Establish a goal for improvement in only one or two areas at a time.
5. Show acceptable and unacceptable speech. Utilize complete unfinished statements and thoughts and have the student critique each example.
6. Get the student to practice descriptive statements or thoughts they can use when speaking.
7. Do not require the student to speak in front of other students if they are awkward doing so. Get the student to speak to the teacher or another student privately if they would be more comfortable.
8. Select a peer to model speaking in finished statements or thoughts. Have the students work together, perform tasks together, etc.
9. On occasions where the student has difficulty during a conversation, remind the student that this occasionally happens to everyone and they should not become upset.
10. Orally correct the student when they do not use finished sentences or thoughts when speaking so they can hear the correct version of what is being said.
11. Do not force the student to interact with others.
12. Get the student to practice techniques for relaxing (e.g., deep breathing, tensing and relaxing muscles, etc.) that the student can use when they start to become dysfluent.
13. Praise those students in the classroom who use finished statements or thoughts when speaking.
14. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
15. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
16. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
17. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
