THEORY OF MIND (TOM)/ SYNTAX
Began:
Ended:
Pre-requisites: TOM through “how do we know what we know” must be
Mastered, Syntax program must be mastered, and the “go tell” program must be mastered
 
It helps that the child knows how to read but you could substitute pictures instead for small sentences.
 
This program was created by me. 
 
My consultants had suggested a “syntax” program for our child when his word order was still garbled (see Syntax program).
We were already working on TOM in another program.
What I noticed in language sampling and observing Lukas’ speech with other children and adults was that, while he was speaking correctly, and speaking about totally appropriate things, people often did not understand what he was talking about.
 
To a certain degree ALL children do this whether they are Typical or not. Imagine the number of times a small child of four has come up to an strange adult at a preschool function and said “Timmy said no.”
 
The adult is often perplexed. Who is timmy? Why did he say no?
The mom of this child might jump in and say “her big brother just told her to quite standing in the doorway”. The strange adult (perhaps a parent of another child in another class) nods and says “ah. Yes.”
 
Lukas lacked informational phrases. He knew them but didn’t apply them in a correct manner. You can’t teach just a rote informational phrase because it changes from listener to listener. Your Sunday school teacher might know your brother and sisters name but your art camp teacher might not. Your friend at school might know what bionicles are but your grandma may not. Theory of mind (the ability to perspective take) are all issues in learning when and how to give out informational phrases.
 
So, as Lukas mastered the Syntax program and had a handle on why we know the things we know from the TOM program, we combined the two programs.
 
Here is the post I gave to my tutors as I introduced this program:
 
To all tutors:
Lets start the TOM/Syntax program this week. Since we have a hyperlexic like child on our hands, this was an easy drill in terms of the syntax-
you can just have a child "go tell" someone as opposed to doing the syntax part- our child had syntax issues and we felt this good practice)
 
This is where you write out a simple sentence:
I went to the park with John. 
 
Cut each word out and mix up the order (or use index cards and write a single word on each card)
 
Have him put in order. Have him read the sentence. Take cards away and have him tell you the sentence again. Then have him "go tell" someone else or tell him that you are going to pretend to be someone else and have him repeat the sentence to you but adding what informational phrases are appropriate:
 
example: tell the child to pretend that you are his sunday
school teacher. Ask him to retell you the sentence. He
should then say "I went to the park with MY FRIEND
john". Why? Because the Sunday school teacher doesn't
know who John is. 
 
It took a few prompts but after a while,Lukas generalized it well. We started out by writing down “my friend” and having him insert it. This went to things like "lets pretend to be larry boy LIKE IN VEGGIE TALES" “at this fun park” for kids who might not watch the same shows, etc....
 
Teaching phrases like
“my sister”, ‘my brother’, “my teacher’, “like in Scooby-doo”
“like on that computer game” all made his social attempts easier because people knew what he was talking about. Children in intensive programs run the risk of being too well understood by those around him. The tutors and Lukas’ parents all spent so much time around him, they knew what time he was referring to or what person or what event. A stranger or a person who spends less time around him don’t. He didn’t have good practice giving concise information because he didn’t need to!
 
We then went for quick fluency. He would put the sentence in order, then I would take it away. I would then play “the fast game” with him.
 
I would spin around and shout a name and pretend to be that person (ofting trying to act like that person as well) and he would have to say the sentence to that person and then I would instantly spin around and shout a new name:
 
Example: I went to the castle with Marios.
1. Lukas puts the cards in order.
2. I take the cards away
3. He tells me the sentence like he would for mom (since Marios is a little brother, I know who he is! Since I know that the botanical gardens has a castle and we call it “the castle”, I don’t need clarification) Lukas says “I went to the castle with Marios.”
4. I spin around and shout “SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER!!!”
5. Lukas says “I went to the castle at the gardens with Marios” (the teacher knows marios but isn’t from the same city as Lukas and most probably has never been to the castle)
6. I spin around and shout “a new kid in your class!”
7. Lukas shouts “I went to the castle at the botanical gardens with my brother Marios!”
8. I spin around and shout “daddy!!”
9. He shouts “I went to the castle with Daddy”
 
It was amazing how quickly Lukas generalized this program into spontaneous conversations with people. Sometimes, he was too precise with giving detail, but overall, he does a nice job. J
 
This does take TOM and it did help with Syntax.