Why Do Some Students Struggle with Conversation Skills?
Communication is essential for learning, socializing, and daily interactions. However, many special education teachers, BCBAs, and speech therapists struggle with teaching conversation skills for autism in natural settings. Learners may answer questions briefly but find it difficult to expand on ideas or keep a conversation going.
For special educators, speech therapists, and BCBAs, helping students learn how to make related comments is a crucial step in developing functional social communication. Two foundational skills that support conversation development are:
- Observation statements – Describing what is happening around them.
- Contingent comments – Expanding on what someone else says with a related thought.
By explicitly teaching conversation skills for autism, we help learners engage in social exchanges, build friendships, and participate in classroom discussions with more confidence.
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“English Language Development for Students with Autism“ – This article discusses effective strategies and tools to support language development in children with autism.
“Accommodations and Modifications“ – This post explains the differences between accommodations and modifications, providing insights into how to adjust learning approaches for students with special needs.
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- “Sticky Notes and Silly Bumps: The Fun Way to Learn Pronouns” – In this podcast episode, we (The Misfit Behaviorists) share a simple activity that makes pronouns click, plus you’ll get a free resource to try it yourself.
Understanding Observation and Contingent Statements
1. What Are Observation Statements?
Observation statements involve noticing and describing something in the environment. This helps students recognize what is happening around them and describe it using simple language.
📌 Examples of Observation Statements:
- “The dog is running.”
- “The girl is eating ice cream.”
- “The boy is playing soccer.”
Why Are Observation Statements Important?
- They help students develop joint attention, a key early social skill.
- They support language development by encouraging students to put their thoughts into words.
They provide a foundation for conversation—before students can comment on what others say, they need to recognize and describe what they see.
2. What Are Contingent Comments?
Once students can make simple observation statements, they need to learn how to expand on what’s being said to keep a conversation going. This is where contingent comments come in.
📌 Examples of Contingent Comments:
- Person 1: “They’re having a picnic.”
- Person 2: “She is eating a sandwich.”
- Person 1: “The dog is running.”
- Person 2: “He is chasing the ball!”
Contingent comments allow a conversation to flow naturally by adding more information. Instead of stopping after one response, students begin to relate their ideas to others, creating back-and-forth exchanges.
For many students with autism, teaching conversation skills for autism requires breaking this skill into structured, teachable steps to help them feel confident engaging in discussions.
How to Teach Conversation Skills for Autism?
Many students with autism need explicit instruction and structured practice to learn how to observe, comment, and extend conversations. Here are five key strategies for special educators, BCBAs, and speech therapists.
1. Model and Expand
One of the best ways to teach conversation skills is to model them in everyday interactions.
📌 Example:
Student: “I see a dog.”
Teacher: “Yes! The dog is running.”
Student: “He is running fast!”
By modeling how to add information naturally, we encourage students to keep the conversation going instead of stopping after one statement.
2. Use Visual Supports and Sentence Stems
Many students benefit from structured prompts to guide their responses. Boardmaker icons, sentence starters, and visual supports help students understand how to form related comments.
📌 Examples of Sentence Stems for Observations:
- “I see…”
- “They are…”
- “He is…”
📌 Examples of Sentence Stems for Contingent Comments:
- “Yes, and…”
- “I also see…”
- “She is also…”
Using visual supports helps students structure their comments, making it easier to develop conversation skills in autism classrooms.
3. Play Conversation Games
Turning conversation practice into a game encourages students to engage naturally and makes the skill more meaningful.
📌 Ideas for Conversation Games:
🎲 Board Games – Use a structured gameboard with picture prompts to encourage students to make related comments.
📸 Picture Scene Cards – Show students a real-life scenario (e.g., a birthday party, a playground). Have them take turns making related comments about the scene.
🤝 “Add a Thought” Activity – One person makes a statement, and the next person must add a related thought. Keep going to see how many turns the group can take!
These social emotional learning activities for autism create a safe, engaging environment for students to practice conversation skills.
4. Scaffold With Differentiated Levels
Not all students will be ready to generate comments independently. Start with highly structured responses and gradually fade prompts as students gain confidence. For example,
📌 3 Levels:
- Level 1: Provide a sentence stem (“I see…”) and let the student complete it with one word.
- Level 2: Give a statement and ask the student to add a detail.
- Level 3: Present a picture and have the student make two related comments independently.
Using this scaffolded approach, we can build conversation skills in autism classrooms step by step.
5. Reinforce and Generalize
Encouraging students to practice conversation skills in different settings helps them transfer what they’ve learned to real-world situations.
📌 Ideas for Generalization:
✔️ Use commenting skills during storytime – Ask students to describe what they see in a book.
✔️ Encourage comments during daily routines – Prompt students to comment on what they see at lunch, recess, or in the classroom.
✔️ Practice in social settings – Encourage students to talk to peers using observation and contingent comments.
The more opportunities students have to use these skills in everyday life, the more natural and automatic their responses will become.
A Ready-to-Use Resource for Teaching Conversation Skills for Autism
If you’re looking for structured materials to teach observation and contingent commenting, this autism classroom resource is designed for speech therapists, BCBAs, and special educators.
📌 This resource includes:
✔️ Interactive Boom Cards, Google Slides, & Easel activities
✔️ Boardmaker-supported sentence stems for structured support
✔️ Printable worksheets and flashcards for hands-on learning
✔️ A social story about making related comments
✔️ A fun board game to keep students engaged
This ABLLS-aligned resource helps students practice conversation skills for autism in a structured yet engaging way.
By explicitly teaching conversation skills for autism, we give students the tools to connect, interact, and grow in their communication abilities!
By implementing these strategies, we can help students develop strong conversation skills that will support them in social, academic, and real-world settings. 👇😊
