Kristin Foster

EDSE 443
Assignment E- Communication Matrix

Case Study
Is a nine-year-old boy. He has autism and he is on the lower end of the spectrum. He
lives with his mom and dad, his two older sisters and a dog. His oldest sister is very
good at working with him playing with him and helping him communicate. His mother
and father are very involved in his life. They work hard to make sure that he has a
choice and is treated like the rest of his siblings. His parents make sure he gets to
choose what he eats for breakfast when he wakes up. He is also prompted to
communicate to gain preferred activities. When working at school he does well when
the tasks are meaningful and highly engaging either sensory wise or socially wise. Riley
has a hard time transitioning away from preferred activities. Often he has a hard time
engaging and non preferred activities. When he becomes emotionally upset he also
becomes overwhelmed sensory wise.
He enjoys cartoons such as Arthur and The Magic School Bus. He also enjoys classical
music Taylor swift and any other kind of music you can sing-along to.
Cognitively he's very aware of what is going on. He has a wide receptive language
which includes sentences, signs and symbols. In terms of expressive language he uses
words and signs. Generally he expresses his wants and needs. For example he will tell
you that he is hungry, thirsty, wants a nap, a bath or to jump on the trampoline. He
greets others with a hello, or a tap on the shoulder. Reilly does do a good job making
eye contact. , He will tell you that he doesnt want or like something by saying no or
handing it back. Currently he has expressions to communicate his feelings such as sad,
happy, sick or mad. Currently he may sometimes go to the desired item instead of going
to another person to gain the desired item. However if the desired item is out of reach
he will grab the hand of another person for assistance and say help.

He is quick to mimic sounds or movements. If he wishes to communicate the

symbol after learning their meaning he is quick to use them independently if he wishes
to communicate. He will also request items even if they aren't in sight.
When using verbal communication he uses an approximation of the sounds. Therefore
one must know how he pronounces words to understand his communication. He will
answer question in terms of Do you want x or z? However he doesnt answer questions
like What is your name?
He has pretty much mastered pointing to gain items. And his is emerging with the
skill of looking between you and the preferred item. He will say approximations for the
words that he knows, and for the other words he will try approximations or make noises.
He will request items if they are in sight or not and if he just got finished with it or
even if he hasnt seen it all day.
Matrix

Student
action\Adult
prompt

Prompt #1

Prompt #2

Prompt #3

Prompt #4

Walks up, taps

on shoulder,
makes eye
contact, says
hello

Say hello back,

then proceed in
the
conversation.

Say hello back,

then proceed in
the
conversation.

Say hello back,

then proceed in
the
conversation.

Say hello back,

then proceed in
the
conversation.

Walks up, Taps

on shoulder,
makes eye
contact

gesture wave

make phoneme Model saying

of Hee
hello

Model saying
hello

Walks up, taps

on shoulder

Exaggerated
eye contact

Say eyes

Point to your
eyes

Point to his
eyes then your
eyes, use
tangible
motivator if
needed.

Walks up to
person

Tap shoulder

Say shoulder

model tapping
shoulder

hand over hand

tap on shoulder

When approaching an individual Riley will increase the amount of times he appropriately
gains attention from an individual from 3/10 times to 8/10 times.
When with another person Riley will increase the amount of times he gains eye contact,
taps their shoulder, looks them in the eye and says hello from 2/10 times to 8/10 times.
Reflection
Riley is successful at gaining what he needs and what he would like throughout daily
life. Currently his mother and teachers would like him to be able to interact appropriately
with others. He gains joy from others and we would like his life to be full of joy. We also
desire for him to make those he interacts with feel comfortable.
Riley loves other people. He desires so much to make connections with friends at
school or even people at the mall. The matrix really allows the adult supporting him to
help prompt him to have appropriate and meaningful communication. Riley can do each
of the steps in the matrix however he doesnt always do them in sequential order or all
in the same interaction. The matrix will come in handy when he to follow through and
allow those around him to feel comfortable. The idea of the matrix is also beneficial
when moving through social interaction. As he masters gaining attention appropriately
and saying hello. We can then go forward and create new prompts for new steps for
communicating.
References
Westling, D. L. & Fox, L. (2009). Teaching students with severe disabilities. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Publishing.