A new week in my sensory classrooms means a new core word for my learners.

If you're new to my Core Word Programme, it was designed (by me!) to teach speech and language in a way that suits how Gestalt Language Processors and neurodiverse children learn. Through 36 sessions, it covers the first 40 core words that a neurotypical child would learn.

The sessions are delivered in 9 fun, interactive sections, which can be covered all at once or separately, whatever works for your schedule and your learners. Each weekly session includes Attention Autism planning, sensory story suggestions, phrase examples, interactive games and more.

The sessions are completely flexible and adaptable to any communication method or classroom needs so that your learners can get the most from the content. The programme includes three different symbol languages, so whether you use Boardmaker, Symbolstix or Widgit, it is suitable for all.

In my sensory classrooms this week, we will be learning an important core word, 'Stop'. Small but mighty, 'stop' is useful in multiple scenarios, whether helping to express preferences, set boundaries or pause an activity. When a child can say “stop,” they’re not just communicating—they’re advocating.

When starting on a new core word, the activities are split into saying, finding, hearing, watching, playing, reading, learning, practising and writing that word.

My learners start by saying it. Depending on their preferred methods of communication, this could be finding it on an AAC device (high-tech or low-tech), learning Makaton, using sound buttons or any other method of communication.

After saying it, we move on to a favourite activity in my classrooms - hearing and watching the core word through links to film, TV and music clips.

These clips can be played on iPads or interactive whiteboards, and they provide a great opportunity for a movement break. My learners will take turns to pick one to watch or listen to, and as it plays, the adults in the room model the word by saying, signing, showing the symbol or finding it on an AAC device. This is a fab way of embedding the core word whilst the children are doing an activity that they enjoy. This, alongside the other pre-planned tasks in the Core Word programme, suits how a Gestalt Language Processor learns literacy through whole sentences.

The sensory story I'll be reading with my learners this week is 'Just Let Me Finish!' by Minh Lê.  Charming, fun and beautifully illustrated, it's a perfect example that demonstrates what 'finished' means. 

Each weekly core word session includes sensory story suggestions. These stories tend to be better for autistic and Gestalt Language Processor learners as they can hold onto the meaning of the whole phrases and use them in other contexts. Compared to traditional stories, which focus on abstract language and can be overwhelming, sensory stories provide concrete sensory experiences which may be better suited to our sensory-lead children. Through stories, we can support learners to build understanding and context to put with the language they are hearing.

Next, I've got some play activities, including Attention Autism planning, and teaching table tasks.  There are differentiated tasks in the programme, so that wherever your learners are working at from 0- 4 years cognitively, there will be something for them. For example, in the earliest stage, there is an activity where we have a plate of plastic food and a puppet that eats all the food. When the food has all gone, we model "Finished! The food has finished". My learners find the puppet very motivating, and they have so much fun that they don't even realise that they are learning!

Lastly there are writing tasks included, which can be completed on ipads, on whiteboards, or printed out for mark making. 

If you think your learners would benefit from learning language this way, we would love to have you join! You can start at any time and work through the sessions at your own pace, and there is a thriving private Facebook group where you can find support, tips, ideas, and community.

Check out my blog posts here to see what I've done during previous weeks of the programme, or my TikTok, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram for lots more Core Word content. You can buy the full programme here or access a free demo here.

Attention Autism for Core Word Week 29 - "finished"

The core word programme includes weekly Attention Autism ideas for stages 1 - 4 that reinforce our core word. This week, I'll be using the activities Bucket Time, Splash, Popping Popcorn and Teaching Table in my classrooms. These allow me to model our core word, "finished," in a fun and interactive way. 

Stage 1 - Bucket Time 

I will start with the always-popular bucket time song, which encourages attention and provides familiarity and routine for my learners. The items that will be included in bucket time this week are an animal popper, a spinning wand and some bubbles. 

With each item, I will be demonstrating 'finished!' once I stop.

Stage 2 - Splash

Here, I will show my learners a tray and some water, and pour the water over the tray! Once I've finished splashing, I will confirm to the class that we are 'finished'. 

Stage 3 - Popping Popcorn 

In stage 3, I will be using a popcorn machine with a switch interface that turns the machine on and off. This is another incredibly motivating activity. The children get to take turns turning the machine on and off, and we watch the popcorn begin to jump and pop, and then we all get a snack at the end of it. If you don't have a popcorn maker, you could use a parachute or a piece of fabric, and take turns putting soft balls onto it, waving it around and making the balls 'pop'. We also listen and sing along to the catchy Popping Popcorn song whilst we do! 

Stage 4 - Teaching Table 

Our stage 4 activities need to have a clear completion, whether that's a puzzle that you can finish, a threading activity or a laminating task. I plan to use small Lego tasks.

Once my learners have completed the task, they will bring it back to show me in the group area, and we will have 'finished' stage 4!

In each stage of my Attention Autism sessions, there are multiple opportunities for modelling the core word. As we go through the activities, the other adults in the room and I will be signing, finding the word on AAC devices, pointing to symbols and saying the word. This provides a great opportunity for the children to learn whilst playing and also gives concrete, practical examples of the word in context. 

To see this week's session and previous Attention Autism sessions, head to my Instagram, Youtube, Facebook or TikTok. 

There is a year's worth of core word based Attention Autism ideas included in my Core Word Programme here. Separate from the core words, you can also get four years' worth of fun Attention Autism ideas for Stages 1-4 here.  

Check out Attention Autism here.