How to Make a Scan Artist: Ideas for Teaching Your Learner to Scan

So much of what we target for our learners consists of their scanning through an array of items or pictures to find what they need. Scanning is a fundamental building block of behavior. If you watch closely, you’ll see that you’re scanning all the time. If there ever were a tool skill, the ability to scan would be one.

However, this is another one of those areas where clinicians tend to start with programs that are too difficult for the learner. We might make the assumption that the learner knows how to scan. Even further, we might not understand that scanning is a behavior unto itself and one we should teach sooner than later since it functions as a gateway to so many other behaviors.

Just so we’re clear, what is scanning behavior exactly?

Scanning behavior is that “looking for” behavior you see right before someone picks something out of an array. Scanning behavior is the behavior you engage in when looking for a spatula in a kitchen. It’s the behavior you engage in when trying to find bread at the grocery store. It’s the behavior kiddos engage in when they dig through their toy boxes to find just the right toy.

Without scanning, it’s awfully hard for us to find things. It’s clear why it’s so important for our learners to gain fluency.

So how do we do it? Where do we start? Well, one thing is for certain: we don’t start by sitting our learners down in front of an array of pictures and hope that they start scanning. Our programming has to be a little more elegant than that.

Reaching, crossing, and reorienting. Start by introducing programs that require your learner to extend their arm by reaching forward or across their bodies for a preferred item. If they are sitting at a table, for example, you may put the item just outside their reach so that they have to lean forward a bit to get it. Additionally, if they are sitting on the floor, you might move the preferred item behind them or perpendicular to them so they have to turn to get it. If your learner doesn’t engage in these behaviors even though the item that you are using is normally highly preferred, then you’ll want to start here.

Under, inside, and behind. Next, take highly preferred items and place them around the learners environment so they aren’t immediately visible. For example, you might put a preferred item in a toy box and shut the lid, behind another toy on a toy shelf, or you might cover the item up with a blanket. When introducing this stage, you can allow the learner to watch you hide the preferred item. As the learner becomes more fluent in finding the item, you can hide the item in one of many hidden spots that they are familiar with while they are not looking. This stage requires the learner to engage in a sustained state of attention to gain access to the item—a component skill to scanning behavior.

Distance. As the learner gains fluency in the above areas, begin to increase the distance between the learner and the preferred item. Begin to position the item across the room, in another room, or in less familiar locations. If your learner is receptive to it, hinting and prompting the learner to the location with motions, gestures, and simple words can aid in developing their ability to read body language. And, of course, it strengthens their ability to scan as well.

Cup game. Placing preferred edibles under a solo cup is a great way to teach scanning as well. Given that the learner is highly motivated for the edible, put it under a solo cup that is upside down (so they can’t see the edible). Proceed to move the solo cup across the table multiple times before allowing them access to the cup and the edible under it. Then, once they consistently grab for and grasp the edible, increase the number of identical cups in the array and the number of movements.

Pictures. To bridge the gap from 3D to 2D, you can have the learner scan and find pictures of their favorite items or activities in simple arrays in exchange for access to that item. Even hiding the pictures in the same way you hid their preferred item is a possibility. For example, if your learner is motivated for the tablet, you might hide a picture of a tablet under the table. The learner then finds the picture and gets the tablet in exchange. As the learner gains fluency, you can introduce those pictures in an array of 2 with the other pictures don’t share similar features (Ex: A picture of a tablet and an elephant). Gradually introduce more pictures to the array that share similar features with the desired object. Note: I realize this is quite similar to introducing a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) protocol. That’s by design. Should you have a learner that you’re taking in a PECS direction, this juncture is a great place to start. For other kiddos who will not be using an alternative communication method, you can still use this method as it works that scanning “muscle”.

What methods do you use? What are some of your favorite resources when getting learners started in this area (or any area)? Reply to this email (or comment below)!