1 Eliciting Language Samples for Analysis (ELSA) Administration

Eliciting Language Samples for Analysis (ELSA) Administration Manual

Introduction Eliciting Language Samples for Analysis (ELSA) is a protocol designed to collect natural language samples from children and adolescents with varying language profiles. The protocol is a 15-30 minute play based activity that focuses on expressive language elicitation. ELSA is intended for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) ages 5-20 and is appropriate for both minimally verbal and nonverbal children and adolescents. The protocol is intended to be administered in a naturalistic play setting and can be easily adapted based on the participant’s age and developmental level. ELSA can be administered by researchers, clinicians, parents, and teachers. ELSA consists of 9 activities that fall into 3 main sections. These 3 sections cover the most widely used language elicitation contexts: play, conversation, and narrative. The play context is divided into two sets of activities under the following themes Nature Adventure (5 activities) and Carnival and Crafts (2 activities). The conversation context should occur naturally during administration as administrators switch from one activity to the next. Administrators are encouraged to engage in conversations about the participants interests while cleaning up the toys from the previous activity. The narrative context occurs during the final activity when participants are asked to watch and then comment on/retell the plot of a short Pixar movie. Administers must complete all 9 activities for proper ELSA administration.

ELSA PLAY: CONVERSATION Nature ELSA PLAY: NARRATIVE Adventure Carnival and Crafts

Leaf Falling Clean Up and Chat Pixar Movie Crafts Shorts

Planting an Acorn Bean Bag Toss

Hide and Seek Animals Figure 1. Outline of ELSA consisting of three major Discovering/Helping the Animals sections, each containing one or more activity.

Making a S'more

1 Administration Time During ELSA administration only the administrator and the child should be present in the room. If necessary, the child may have one behavioral support can present. The behavioral support should not participate in any of the activities. Administration time is dependent on the age, developmental level, and language ability of the participant, but it should take approximately 20 minutes. The proper ELSA administration requires the completion of all 9 ELSA activities. Administrators should follow the recommended order for administering the ELSA activities, however the activity order can be tailored to meet participant’s needs if necessary. For more information on protocol administration fidelity, go to ELSA Administration Fidelity.

Materials The ELSA Materials kit includes the materials listed below. Note that these are recommended materials, so they can be substituted for similar ones depending on the needs of your project. The materials were chosen based on their ability to facilitate play, elicit verbal comments, and to engage both participants of a wide age range.  Tablet With Pixar short movies downloaded on it  Beanbag Toss Game  Choice Board for Short Movies  Coloring sheets/Construction paper  Crayons  Feathers  Glue  Markers  Paper Tree and Animal Set (Tree, Bird, Raccoon, Squirrel, Small Owls, Leaves, and Acorn)  Pretend & Play Camp Set (Lantern, Pan, Stove, Compass, Water Bottle, First-aid Kit, Shovel, Watch)  S’more Materials (Graham Cracker, Marshmallow, Chocolate, Napkin)*  Stickers  Googly Eyes *Make sure to check whether your participants have any dietary restrictions that might not allow them to eat a s’more. If that is the case, pick a different snack to use during ELSA.

Preparing for ELSA Please be sure to follow the preparation steps in advance. It will help you feel more confident and relaxed when you administer ELSA. 1. Watch the ELSA instructional video and finish reading the guide. 2. Set up the toys, tablet, and recording equipment in a small enclosed room while your child is distracted. [Tip: Only take out the toys you intend to use in the session]  For Walk in the Woods activity, remember to hide the animals ahead of time and take pictures of the location with the tablet. 3. During ELSA games, you should try your best to engage the child through encouragement and follow up comments/questions (shown in the examples). Please make sure that the ELSA session is at least 20 MINUTES.

2 4. Start video and/or audio recording before you begin the ELSA administration.

ELSA Play Time – Part 1 Nature Adventure Materials:  Paper Tree and Animal Set (Tree, Bird, Raccoon, Squirrel, Small Owls, Leaves, and Acorn)  Pretend & Play Camp Set (Lantern, Pan, Stove, Compass, Water Bottle, First-aid Kit, Shovel)  S’more Materials (Graham Cracker, Marshmallow, Chocolate) Instructions: I. Leaf falling Description: Leaf Falling is a joint gross motor activity that gives the participant an opportunity to interact with the examiner by labeling various parts of a tree. This is intended for a warm-up activity for the individual and examiner to play together with a commonly seen object. Additionally, it is meant to elicit turn-taking between the examiner and participant. Materials:  Paper tree  Paper leaves Set Up and Instructions: 1. Place the paper tree on the wall. 2. Hold the paper leaves outward and in front of you. 3. Let the leaves fall after counting down. a. Ask the participant to match the leaves to the tree. Suggested lines:  Look, this a (pause 3 seconds)...tree!  Look, these are (pause 3 seconds)… leaves!  What can we do with this/these?  What happens to the leaves in the fall?  Where would you put these leaves on this tree?

II. Planting an Acorn activity Description: Planting an Acorn is a fine motor pretend-play task in which the participant can easily narrate his/her actions without needing complex vocabulary, as well as work together with the examiner in a task. Materials:  Acorn from bulletin board set  Shovel from camping set Set Up and Instructions 1. The tree should already be on the wall from the previous activity. 2. You can hand the acorns to the participant or place them under the tree. a. The goal is to engage in an activity in which you plant the acorns.

3 Suggested lines:  What’s on the ground? What’d you find?  What else can we look for?  Look, this is an (pause 3 seconds)… acorn!  Look, this an a (pause 3 seconds)...tree!  What can we do with this/these?  What else can we do?

III. Hide and Seek Paper Animals Description: Hide and Seek Animals is a task intended to elicit descriptions of pictures of hidden paper animals on the tablet. This is done so the participant can both describe the animals as well as the environment around the animal. The paper animals, like a bird or squirrel, were chosen due to being commonly labeled and seen within media and outside in the environment. Children with ASD often enjoy interacting with animals may it be as toys, in videos, or in real life. Additionally, the tablet is used in this task because some individuals might need visual assistance in the task for those who might see it as too complex. Materials:  Paper Bird, Squirrel, and Raccoon  Tablet Set Up and Instructions: 1. Hide the paper animals around the room prior to administration. 2. Take pictures of the hidden animals with the tablet. 3. During the activity, show the participant the pictures one by one and have him/her look for the animals as if playing hide and seek. Suggested lines:  We have some friends hiding around the room. Can you help me find them?  Here is a photo –what do you see? What else do you see?  Where shall we look now?  What would you name the squirrel? The raccoon? The bird?  Where have you seen a bird before? Where have you seen a squirrel before?  Where would you hide the animals?

IV. Discovering/Helping the Animals Description: Discovering/Helping the Animals is a loosely-structured pretend play activity in which the participant and examiner can express their creativity through stimulating and engaging toys. Different materials were chosen compared to the previous animal activity, because some individuals with ASD prefer toys that are plastic like a lion or elephant rather than the paper animals. Some individuals prefer more tactile/sensory toys. Additionally, the animals chosen in this task were chosen for their commonality in zoos as well as other platforms such as media and literature. This allows for opportunity for greater language elicitation. Materials:  Compass  Lantern

4  Water Bottle  First Aid Kit  Toy Animals Set Up and Instructions: 1. Place the toy animals in front of the child. 2. Use the compass to find them. 3. Talk about what one can do to help the animals if they are thirsty and/or get hurt in order to encourage the participant to talk about and use the water bottle and first aid kit. Suggested lines:  Can you tell me what these are?  What else do we have?  Wow look! It is a (pause 3 seconds)….lion/tiger/gorilla/giraffe/elephant!  Which one is your favorite?  What should we do with them?  What is this? I think he’s hurt! What shall we do?  This is an animal/X. He seems thirsty. Can we help him?

V. Making a S’more Description: Making a S’more is intended to elicit requesting of highly reinforcing edibles as well as labeling of said edibles. Additionally, the activity is also a reward for going on a pretend nature adventure with the participant in the previous activities in which they participated. Materials:  Graham crackers  Chocolate  Marshmallow  Toy pan  Toy stove Set Up and Instructions: 1. Talk about food typically eaten while camping or around a campfire. 2. Present the edibles to the participant and ask them to label them and to guess what can be prepared with them. 3. Make a s’more with the participant and cook it using the toy stove and pan. Suggested lines:  What else do we need to make s’mores?  What is your favorite snack?  What is your favorite part of s’mores?  How do we make a s’more?  What are some other snacks you like to eat?  Let’s go camping! Have you ever been camping? What do we do now?  How does the s’more taste?

ELSA Conversation VI. Clean Up and Chat

5 Description: Clean Up and Chat is intended for both the examiner to clean up/prepare for the next section as well as engage the participant in a conversation about his/her interests and everyday activities for a set amount of time. This is done so the participant is able to express their own interests and not be limited by the materials and protocol within ELSA. This activity also has conversational prompts if the participant has trouble with starting and maintaining a conversation. Materials:  Toys from previous activities Set Up and Instructions: 1. Take out the ELSA kit bag and prompt the participant to help you clean up. a. In the meantime, try to engage the participant in a back-and-forth conversation. Suggested lines:  What did you do today? Did you go to school?  What do you like to do at school? How was art/math/gym class?  I liked….(Shared activities with the participant)..with you. How about you?  What do you like about (game name)/(sports type)/(TV or movie name)?  What’s your favorite food?  Are you older than your brothers?  Do you play with your siblings?  What music or songs do you like?

ELSA Play Time – Part 2 Carnival and Crafts

Materials:  Coloring sheets/Construction paper  Crayons  Feathers  Glue  Googly Eyes  Markers  Stickers  Beanbag toss

VII. Crafts Description: Crafts is an opportunity for the participants to express themselves in an open creative environment where they can work with malleable materials and also talk about their creation with the examiner. This activity elicits opportunities to request various craft materials and preferences that the participant might have. Additionally, express any interests that the participant might have through their drawing. By having a large variety of crafts such as crayons, markers, feathers, and stickers, there is more opportunity to request the various materials that the participant might prefer. Materials:  Coloring sheets/construction paper  Crayons

6  Feathers  Glue  Googly eyes  Markers Set Up and Instructions: 1. Take out all of the crafts materials and place them on the table/floor. o Use caution when deciding which of the materials are appropriate to use with your participants especially if they mouth objects. 2. Ask the participant to make choices regarding what they want to do (coloring, making a collage, etc.), what materials they would like to use (crayons, markers), what colors. Suggested lines:  This is a (pause 3 seconds)…marker/crayon/feather!  Tell me about your picture!  What are you drawing?  What color would you like now?  I have some paper. Do you want to color or draw?  Look I have a picture. Do you know what this is?  What do you think I should draw?

VIII. Bean Bag Toss Description: Bean Bag Toss is a gross motor activity which elicits opportunity to request the options such as color preference and distance as well as label the various illustrative animal and number designs on the material in the activity. The activity is designed to elicit turn- taking and choosing one’s preferences. Materials:  Bean bag toss game Set Up and Instructions: 1. Take out the bean bag toss board and the bean bags. 2. Take turns with the participant to throw the bean bags. 3. Talk about what animals you are aiming at and what bean bag colors you prefer.  You could also keep score if the participant is interested. Suggested lines:  Where can we set up the game?  Do you know what this is?  How do we play the game?  Do you need something? Tell me what you need  What color do you want?  The beanbag landed on the (pause 3 seconds)…giraffe/zebra/tiger/lion/monkey!  What do we do now?  Who goes next? ELSA Narrative

IX. ELSA Movies

7 Description: The final activity, ELSA Movies, is an opportunity for both the examiner and participant to watch an engaging video and elicit language about what was watched through conversational prompts like “What did you like about the movie?” and “What happened there?” This is intended to replace classic narration activities typically used in elicitation procedures, such as telling stories through pictures, reading a book together, etc. The videos were chosen based on how fast-paced and engaging they were as well as how familiar they might be to mainstream media and specifically within the demographic of children with ASD. The videos range from 3-7 minutes, which is long enough to have a plot and characters to talk about, while also being short enough to maintain the attention of the participants if they are not fully engaged within the movie. Materials:  Tablet with the Pixar short movies downloaded on it  Choice Board with Pixar Short Movie Choices Set Up and Instructions: 1. Present the choice board to the participant and have him/her choose a short movie to watch. 2. Watch the short movie in its entirety together. 3. Make note of what happens in the short movie for the questions later.  Make sure to look through the questions beforehand so you can ask accordingly.  During the movie you can pause it and ask questions, or finish the movie and then ask the questions. Suggested Lines:  Which movie do you want to watch?  What’s that? Who’s that?  What’s happening here?  What happened here?  Tell me about the movie!  Was there anything else you saw?  Who was in the movie?  Was there anyone else in the movie?  What happened to them? What did they do?  What else did they do?  Did you like it? What was the best part?  Did you like anything else?

8 Pixar Short Summary

1. For the Birds a. This is a short film about a flock of small birds on a telephone wire. They make fun of a big bird, but the big bird thinks they are laughing with him rather than at him. He joins them on the telephone wire. After some humorous antics, the wire flings the small birds into the air while letting the big bird land on the ground safely. b. Suggested Scenes for Pausing i. 01:36- The big bird joins the small flock. ii. 02:52- The small birds after the final accident.

2. Jack-Jack Attack a. This is a short film about the movie the “Incredibles.” The babysitter, Kari, is taking care of the super hero family’s baby named Jack-Jack. She is very confident about her ability to take care of the baby. As she is taking care of Jack-Jack, he starts using super powers such as teleportation, moving through walls, turning into fire, and laser-eye beams. She has never faced a situation this challenging before. b. Suggested Scenes for Pausing i. 00:48- The babysitting session starts. ii. 02:31- The baby turns into fire.

3. Presto a. This is a short film about a magician and his rabbit as they perform a show. The rabbit wants to eat the carrot first, but the magician does not let him. The rabbit proceeds to disobey the magician and even hurt him, because the rabbit wants to eat the carrot before being pulled from the magic hat. This leads to a disastrous show. An accident occurs, and the rabbit saves the magician’s life and ultimately the show.

b. Suggested Scenes for Pausing i. 01:12- The rabbit wants the carrot, but the magician does not let him. ii. 04:25- The rabbit saves the day!

4. Dug’s Special mission a. This is a short film about the movie “Up” and the dogs from said movie. Dug the dog is put on a mission to not bother the other dogs. But, he keeps unintentionally causing trouble which leads to the other dogs getting hurt or put in dangerous situations. After this happens multiple times, Dug gets yelled at and decides to go off on his own to find something else to do. b. Scenes i. 00:55- Dug stops the other dogs for the first time. ii. 03:27- Dug gets yelled at for bothering the other dogs so much.

5. Partly Cloudy a. This is a short film about living clouds that create human and animal babies, and their stork companions bringing babies to various families. Among the magic clouds, there is a gray cloud that creates dangerous animals like alligators and porcupines. Therefore, the gray cloud’s stork always comes back from deliveries looking injured. This leads to

9 the injured stork leaving and the gray cloud getting sad. He is jealous of the other clouds that can build cute babies like puppies, kittens and human babies. However, the injured stork comes back after he gets football equipment to better handle the dangerous animals. b. Scenes i. 02:05- The gray cloud creates a baby alligator for the stork to deliver. 04:29- The gray cloud gets upset and creates lightning and rain.

6. Small Fry a. This is a short film about “Toy Story”. A Small Buzz Lightyear takes the place of a Big Buzz Lightyear at a fast food store. Big Buzz meets other toys that have also been left behind by their owners. The Small Buzz attempts to hang out with Big Buzz’s friends. Big Buzz escapes and brings Small Buzz to meet and hang out with the other left behind toys. b. Scenes i. 00:55- Big Buzz and Rex are in the ball pit. ii. 01:27- Little Buzz tries to hang out with Big Buzz’s Friends.