Transactional Supports

This part of the SCERTS® Model focuses on supporting the TEAM: the child, their family and all their therapists to maximize positive social experiences across a variety of settings.  Transactional Supports help our children remain emotionally regulated so that they may perform at their optimal level within all areas of understanding/receptive language, expressive language, social communication, play, social play, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and more. 

 

Transactional Supports are the supports that we their “communication partners” provide to help them succeed the best they can.  The first goal is to help all “communication partners” (i.e.: teachers, therapists, caregivers, babysitters/nannies, parents, and more) understand and utilize these supports naturally throughout the day.  The second goal is to help the individual understand what supports help them succeed and then to help them advocate for these supports. 

 

Below is a list of the Transactional Supports that we at KidSpeak, LLC have found to be the most effective:

  • Core Vocabulary Words & Phrases

    • Using a Core Set of Words and Phrases consistently through verbal language while being supported with visuals and routines is one of the best supports help all our kids/teens/adults.  The goal is to use the same Core Langauge throughout your entire day as much as possible in many different ways such as the word “more” can be used for several ways “more” of something or “more” of an activity while the word “again” can be used for “more” of an activity. Each families Core Language increases based on their family needs and the way their child processes and uses langauge.  A few of our favorite Core Words and Phrases are: time for, more, finished, help, no, wait, turn, emotion words, X more minutes, sometimes X and sometimes Y and that is okay, and more.

  • Social Learning Language Core Vocabulary Words & Phrases

    • We then expand our families Core Vocabulary as they grow in their skills to add in Social Learning Language such as language utilized in the Social Thinking© Program such as: smarts, body, brain, group plan, hidden rules, and more.

  • Creating and Utilizing Routines

    • Creating and consistently utilizing routines is one of the best ways we can support our kids/teens/adults/families.  Routines can literally be used for anything such as: during different parts of your day such as bath time, bed time, morning get ready time, and more; during activities of daily life such as brushing teeth, putting on clothes, and more; during play such as: painting, drawing, building with magna tiles and more; during transitions such as: using a visual schedule; during homework time; and so much more.  There are 3 keys to creating and using routines: being consistent each day and being consistent between environments and people; using both verbal and visual supports within the routine; and changing/adding to the routine when they are ready.

  • Visual Supports

    • Visuals are the supports are the supports that are the hardest for most people to use; however, they are one of the BEST supports we can provide.  Visuals are often viewed as a “crutch” when they are actually the exact opposite.  At our office we say “Visuals Rock”!   We can use visuals for just about anything: schedules, lists, core vocabulary, visuals, song boards, choice boards, book boards, emotion/feeling charts, social stories/social books, calendars, temporal supports, jokes, conversations and so much more!  Visual supports can also be timers, flashing the lights on/off, using photographs, using videos and more.

  • Visual Schedules

    • We just listed visual supports, but we have to list visual schedules again because it is so very important.  Just like people think that visuals are “crutch”, people think the same about schedules.  Most people often think that a visual schedule means that you have to do the exact same thing every day; which, this couldn’t be farthest from the truth.  When we consistently use a visual schedule in all environments this leads to increased understanding, increased executive functioning skills (i.e.: planning, organizing, and more), increased flexibility and our kids being more emotionally regulated.  In addition, consistently using a visual schedule lays out the foundation for them to transition to different types of visual schedules such as: written and picture schedules, written schedules, daily planners, to do lists, calendars and more.  Something so simple as visual schedule is a big foundation skill for so many different executive functioning skills as they grow.

  • Singing

    • Singing is another wonderful support that helps many of our kids.  Most children do great with songs allowing us to use them in a variety of ways to support them from transitioning, to attending, to classroom skills, to participating within groups, to playing, to increasing their receptive langauge, to making social comments, to completing activities of daily life and more.  We can use songs to help them transition from one activity to the next such as a “Clean Up Song”, “A Sit Down Song”, “A Line Up Song” and more.  We can use songs to help us learn about Pre-Literacy and Early Math Skills such as: “ABC Song”, “All The Letter’s Make a Sound Song”, “The Numbers Rumba”, “Five Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” and more. And so much more!  

  • Sensory Supports

    • We love a good sensory support.  At KidSpeak, LLC our goal is to help our kids understand that these supports are “tools” not “toys”; they some help us one day and not the next; that some help in one moment but that the next; that they can be fun and not help us; that they can be boring but help us; and more.  We want our kids/teens to learn how to use these tools in a way that helps them by having the self awareness of their own bodies and brains knowing what helps them, what doesn’t, how to change out their supports and more.  A few supports are: weighted items; seated items (bubble seats); fidget tools: fidget spinner, fidget slider, fidget cube, putty, fidget rings, fidget bracelets; breaks and more.

  • Breaks

    • Breaks are the BEST!  Breaks can be anything from listening to music, playing, reading books, drawing, taking a walk, to being quiet, to talking and much more.  We can also take breaks anywhere: at home, at school, in the car, at the park, in the grocery store and more.  Our goal is to have breaks throughout our day to help our brain and bodies stay regulated AND we take breaks when we are about to become dysregulated or when we are dysregulated.  These skills take a lot of time and practice. 

  • Environmental Supports

    • These supports are great but can take a lot of time to set up.  Changing the environment can be so helpful such as: decreasing what is on our walls, changing the layout of the therapy room/classroom/play room, changing the lighting, having a room to play vs a room for homework, being organized, having activities all set up and ready to go, sabotaging activities, creating environment routines, and more.

  • People

    • Certain people in general can be a transactional support for others.  The more our kids/teens have a positive and trusting relationship with you, the more your physical body becomes a transactional support.  In addition, another support the communication partner can provide is: talking in a calm volume and voice, talking slow, having slow actions, breathing slow, and more.  The more the communication partner is regulated the better (but this is not always easy).

  • Physical Space

    • Physical space may not seem like a support but it is.  Some people need more physical distance while others need physical closeness.  Some people need one type of space when they are regulated and a different type when they are not.  Along with physical space is also physical touch.  Some kids needs more physical space and do not want to be touch; while others may need physical closeness and more deep hugs. 

  • Verbal cues

    • Last on our list are verbal cues.  We love a verbal cue when it is building up langauge, breaking down language, used within choices, paired with routines, and paired with visual supports.  Verbal cues are the easiest to use; however, can do the opposite of what we want if we are not using other supports directly with it.

Transactional Supports are amazing but can be overwhelming.  When using these supports it is important to: start slow, pick a few supports that you feel you can be successful with and start there, slowly keep adding/changing these supports, ask your therapists/teachers for examples/copies/videos/pictures, and keep going – the more you use the supports the easier they are to use. 

 

If you would like to discuss Transactional Supports in more length, how it relates to your child and how we can as a team help your child with this process, please feel free to contact your KidSpeak, LLC therapist to set up a time to discuss this at an additional charge. 

If you would like to learn more about the SCERTS® Model and Social Communication please visit www.SCERTS.com, www.barryprizant.com, www.commxroads.com, or www.amy-laurent.com.