WHO eLearning Caregiver Skills Training for Families of Children with

Developmental Delays or Disabilities

Module 2: Continuing to
Get Children Engaged
Welcome to the second module of this course!
This module will guide you through simple strategies to support your child’s
engagement in activities with you. When your child is focused on the shared
activity and on you, this is best for learning.

In this module you will learn how to:

• Set up the environment to support engagement with your child.
• Move in front of your child and offer your child choices to promote engagement.
Lesson 1: Engaging in everyday activities

There are good ways to set up a safe space

Better
in your home to help your child focus on Fewer
focus and
the shared activity and on you. distractions
connection

Here are the three main tips for helping your child learn during activities with you:
*You will be guided through each tip in this module!

1. Set up the space: Remove distractions and make a safe place to interact.

2. Start with 2 or 3 motivating choices and follow your child’s choice.

3. Move in front of your child, get down to your child’s level, and have the activity
between you and the child.
Set up the space
Tip 1: Set up the space: remove distractions and make a safe place to
interact.
Help your child to focus on the shared activity and on you by clearing a space
on the table or floor right in front of your child and around your child.
 Help your child pay attention to the activity by moving away distractions.

Move away or cover extra furniture, Remove distractions by turning off

household objects, and other telephones, television or radio. Ask other
favourite objects. adults and children to move away or watch
from behind the child.
 Please pause the course here
to write in your journal
Writing Practice: Setting up the space before continuing.

Creating a good space for your next activity

In your journal, create a plan for setting up a space in your home. Choose an activity your
child likes to guide you.

If you need ideas for an activity to choose, think about the questions below:

• What activity does your child like and participate in most often?
• Does the child feel comfortable doing this activity?
• Does the child prefer to be engaged with you during this activity or alone? See if you can
choose an activity your child doesn’t prefer to do alone.

You can use your journal to document how you set up spaces for activities with your child,
especially if you need to change, avoid something in the future, or note progress.
Giving choices in everyday activities

Tip 2: Start with 2 or 3 motivating choices and follow your child’s choice.

• We can give choices between items (e.g. 2 shirts, 2 books, 2 snacks) or a choice of which
activity to do first.
• You can give your child a choice of which task to do first if you have two tasks and you
need to do both. Good choices are tasks that can be done in any order (e.g. wash face or
brush teeth first).
• Choices give children some control over the activity.
• Choices help you understand which activity will be motivating for your child.
• Choices make the activity more interesting and motivating for the child.
• If your child does not make a choice, you can make a choice for your child.
 How to give choices in everyday activities

She gives him a choice: She sees him look at She washes his face first. She helps him put on
wash his face or put on the washcloth and his shirt.
his shirt first. reach out his hand.
Other examples of giving choices and following the child’s choice:
You can give your child a
choice between play
activities, such as a book or
blocks. Place the items
between you and your child
and look and listen to see
which activity the child is
interested in.

You can also give your child a

choice of which activity to do
first by placing items on a
table, such as a comb,
toothbrush and socks. Watch
what the child is interested
in and do that activity first.
Why give choices?

Giving choices between items such as two shirts, two books, or two snacks
will show you what your child likes. When you give 2 or 3 options of
activities, do the activity that your child chooses first, and praise the child for
making a choice. Your child may need extra time to make a choice or may not
always have a preference; it’s OK to make a choice for them if they don’t
choose!

It is important to offer choices to your child when you start an activity

together. It’s a great way to help your child communicate their needs and
preferences.
Before offering choices, remember that:

• Your child needs to be able to see and reach the items.

• You can show your child the items by pointing to them and naming them or
holding them up so your child can see them.
• Wait for your child to show you what they want (by looking or leaning
towards an item, reaching, pointing, asking with words, etc.).
 Please pause the course here
to write in your journal
Writing Practice: Giving choices before continuing.

Start with 2 or 3 motivating choices

In your journal, write a list of items you could pair together to offer as
choices to your child. Consider some of the things your child is already
motivated by, such as books or snacks. The goal is to share attention,
engagement and communication with your child.

You are a step closer to implementing these choices as part of your

child’s next activity. Feel free to write this list on a sheet of paper and
hang it up on the wall as a daily reminder.
Engaging on your child’s level

Tip 3: Move in front of your child, get down to your child’s level, and have
the activity between you and the child.
Follow these steps when offering choices and engaging in activities with your child:
• Move in front of your child.
• Sit directly in front of your child with the activity in between you and the child.
• If your child sits on your lap, try to turn the child around to face you, and bring the
activity materials between you and the child.
It is easier for your child to share an activity with you when both you and the objects
are in front of the child.

Think about how to apply these steps to all the activities you do with your child.
In the next modules, we will learn how to apply them to home and play routines.
Paying attention to your child during activities
In your journal, write down the questions below to
think about after the activities with your child.
We will also provide an example to help guide you. In the example,
the caregiver has chosen to read a book with their child.

• Which choice did you notice your child liked more? Why might that be?
For example: My child preferred reading a book on arts and crafts. He tends to get
overstimulated creating art, but usually enjoys story time.
• How was your child responding?
He got frustrated when I started reading the book out loud, so we flipped through
the pages together instead.
• What was it like for you?
It was nice to connect over illustrations together.
 Please pause the course here
to write in your journal
before continuing.

• What praise or rewards did you incorporate into the activity?

I praised him after he made a choice by saying: “Great choice! What a
lovely book.”
• What seemed to work well with this activity?
Focusing on illustrations instead of continuing to read out loud, praising
him, and doing the activity in his room.
• What could be changed so your child might like the activity more?
(reduce noise, spend only 5 minutes on the activity, etc.)
I believe he didn’t like me reading the book out loud because my husband
was watching television in the other room, and it was too noisy. Next
time, I will turn off the television.
Lesson 3: Helpful Tips to Engage Children
with Other Health Conditions
When children have other health conditions, it can make it more difficult to engage
in activities or with their caregiver. Below are additional tips to help you plan
activities with your child. However, these tips do not apply to everyone.

• If your child has difficulty paying attention, it is especially important to remove

distractions when setting up a space for an activity.
• If your child is overactive, restless, impulsive and has difficulty paying attention when you
try to engage her/him in a shared activity, it may be best to sit them down in a place
where there is not much room to move around. For example, sit the child on a mat facing
the corner of a room, or on a chair at a table.
• Some children with overactivity will only be able to engage in an activity for a few
short minutes. If your child is overactive, practise short positive interactions.
Shared activities should be fun for the child. Keep trying gently with your child.
• If your child has additional health conditions, it’s especially important to move in
front of the child and at her/his level, so you are able to connect and
communicate better.
• For children who have difficulty with vision, when offering a choice of activity,
hold the items up so the child can see them more easily or gently use the child’s
hand to touch the items.
Home Practice
Preparing for your Home Practice
In the previous lessons, you thought of activities your child likes, and learned the three tips
of getting engaged: setting up the space, offering 2 or 3 motivating choices, and getting
down to your child’s level. Now it’s time to put them into practice!

When starting your first home practice, you will:

• Choose two everyday activities to practise with your child. Start with activities that are
motivating for your child and occur most days (for example, reading books, dressing,
having a snack, etc).
• Give your child a choice between activities and follow your child’s choice.
• Plan to spend a minimum of 5 minutes with your child with each practice activity.
Remember, even 5 minutes can make a difference!
• Look through your journal for notes and helpful tips you may have written down.
 Please pause the course here
to write in your journal
Home Practice Plan before continuing.

In your journal, write a plan for your home practice by completing these
sentences:
• Two activities I will select for home practice are…
• The materials I will use for these activities are...(e.g. crayons, books, clothes)
• The space I will choose for the activity is...
• The clutter or distractions I will remove are...
• 2 or 3 items I will give as choices to my child are...
• I will remind myself that it’s OK if it doesn’t go well at first by…(e.g. taking a few
deep breaths, asking for support, or changing my goals).
For Your Home Practice

It’s OK to change activities! The best activity is the one that is motivating
for the child and that you do daily. Our interests can change. It’s OK to
follow your child and change to a different activity. We will review the
home practice and keeping your child engaged in Module 3.

Remember to write your plan in your journal to use during your

home practice!
 Module 2 Summary: What you learned

• Creating a safe and positive space, offering choices, and removing

distractions makes activities easier.
• Everyday activities that your child already likes are the best activities to
start engaging your child with!
• Paying attention to and journaling your child’s behaviour are great ways to
track activities and progress.
• Some additional strategies can help children with other health conditions
engage in activities.

Remember that everyone who takes this course has a child they are trying to help.
Please give yourself credit for doing your part in helping your child.
 Thank you for completing this module!

Please answer the

module quiz and complete the feedback survey.

After 4 or 5 days of practice with your child, you will be ready to go

onto the next module.

Remember to practise self-care as well. You can continue with the self-
care activities you are already doing or try something new before you
start the next module.

See you then!