How We Foster Giulietta’s Communication During Mealtimes

Mealtime is more than just eating, it’s an opportunity for Giulietta to practice meaningful communication and express herself. Giulietta is encouraged to share details about her day, request additional food items, and form full sentences on her iPad. This approach helps Giulietta expand her communication skills, express her needs more clearly, and build independence in real-world interactions.

Encouraging Mealtime Conversations

Giulietta will be asked to use her iPad to share details about her day during mealtime. She will be encouraged to form full sentences rather than single words. For example, if asked how her day was, she might respond with, “I go grocery store find spinach,” or “I drive go library.” Sentences don’t always have to be perfect. What matters most is that Giulietta is communicating her thoughts and ideas. After she shares her message, we model the appropriate sentence. This allows her to hear correct sentence structure without interrupting her communication or placing pressure on her to repeat it.

Requesting More Food Independently

At mealtime, Giulietta will be encouraged to use her iPad to ask for "more" food independently. While she may initially use simple words like “more” or “wrap,” she will be prompted to say full sentences such as, “I want more sautéed wrap” or “I need help cut wrap." This helps her understand the importance of using complete sentences for clearer communication. When Giulietta uses fuller sentences, her message is easier for others to understand, reducing frustration and misunderstandings.

Modelling and Prompting Complex Sentences

Given that Giulietta is now more advanced in using her iPad to communicate, she will be provided with examples of more complex sentences and encouraged to observe how you form sentences. If she says, “More sauté wrap,” we will model a complete sentence, saying, “I need help to cut more sauté wrap."

Positive Reinforcement

When Giulietta successfully uses full sentences to express herself, positive reinforcement will be given to encourage her continued efforts. We will also respond on the iPad saying phrases like, “Yes, I can help you cut wrap.”

Expanding Sentence Complexity

As Giulietta becomes more comfortable with full sentences, she will be gradually encouraged to expand her communication even further. For example, after asking for more food, we will ask her questions to encourage yes/no response like, “Do you like pickles on your wrap?”