Using Implied Directions in Therapy

These activities facilitate language and cognitive skills and are a practical means for developing abstract language. The client is working to understand and use the following language and higher-order thinking skills: inferencing, persuasion, understanding suggestive statements, clarification, translating implicit statements to explicit actions, revising, and attention to details. Additionally, the client can be working on handwriting, keyboarding or “writing” with their speech-generating device. You can make the tasks interesting and fun by using flip notecards (they can be decorated), slideshows from presentation software or apps, apps and program that allow you to create short quizzes, graphic story apps or activities, and sentence starters. Examples of implied directions with clarified statements:

1. The floor needs to be clear before bed–>I should start putting away my toys and books. My Dad might get mad.
2. Anyone who arrives after 8:00 am may not have a seat–>I should try to arrive by 8:00 am.
3. The bus for the field trip will be leaving the south parking lot at 7:30 am on Saturday–>I need to be in the south parking lot by 7:30 am, Saturday.

Hope this helps. PMD