Modelling without expectation

Also called Modelling, Modeling without expectation, No-demand modelling

Show the system, don't demand a reply. The moment modelling turns into a test, the person stops watching and starts bracing.

What it is

Modelling without expectation means using the person's communication system in front of them, as part of normal talk, with no requirement that they respond, copy, or do anything at all. You touch WANT on the board and say "I want a cup of tea", then go and make one. Nothing is asked of them.

It is the opposite of "Now you do it". The name exists because most adults, having modelled a word, immediately look expectantly at the person and wait for them to reproduce it. That look is a demand, and demands are what make a lot of people shut down.

Who it can help

Anyone who has learned that touching a symbol usually leads to being made to touch more of them. Autistic people who have been through a lot of drilling, people with a pathological demand avoidance profile, and anyone who has decided the device is a chore. It's also the right approach for a person who has just been given a system and doesn't yet know what it's for.

It isn't a reason to never invite a response. Once the person is reaching for the board on their own, real conversation involves back and forth, and that's fine. The expectation-free stage is about earning that.

How it works

The mechanism is the same as aided language stimulation: lots of exposure to the system in use. What changes is the partner's behaviour after the model. No pause-and-stare. No "Your turn". No hand guiding the person's finger to the symbol. You carry on with what you were doing.

Learning still happens because the person is watching, even when they look as if they aren't. Many families report the first spontaneous use of a symbol weeks after they'd stopped hoping for it, and it was a word they'd modelled repeatedly without ever asking for it back.

Contrast it with a prompting hierarchy like least-to-most prompting, which does invite a response, in a graded way. Both have their place. Modelling without expectation comes first.

Getting started

Model in the first person. "I'M tired." "I LIKE this one." Talk about yourself on the person's system, so the words can't be mistaken for a quiz about them.

Notice your own face after you touch a symbol. If you find yourself pausing expectantly, look away and carry on. It feels rude for about a day.

Use the Talk board for your own comments while you cook or watch television with the person. Pick a card, let it speak, say nothing more. Do that fifty times a day and see what happens in a month.

Where to get help

A speech and language therapist can help you plan which words to model and check that the vocabulary on the system is worth modelling. The ACE Centre and Communication Matters both publish modelling guidance written for families rather than clinicians. The National Autistic Society has plain advice on low-demand approaches more generally.