Creating declarative statements:

Creating declarative statements: Declarative language sounds easy to use. You just have to make comments instead of directing the child. While it seems like it should be easy, it is hard! Years of practice of telling the child what to do needs to be undone. You have to think of what to say and say it at a level that the child will understand. When you first start, it is like tripping over your own words. You aren’t even aware of when you are commanding the child. You find it impossible to figure out what to say. So, here is a basic rule: If your sentence starts with a question word (and you know the answer), it is not a declarative statement. If the sentence starts with a verb/ an action word, e.g. throw, give, cut, it is a command and not a declarative statement. Below are some statements translated from commands or questions to declarative statements:

• Get your shoes: “Your feet are going to be cold!” or “You don’t have shoes on!”
• Throw that in the trash: “That is disgusting!” or “You don’t want to use that napkin again.” or “That is yuchhy!” or “The trash is over there.”
• Put your coat on: “It is cold outside.” or “You are going to be cold.” or “Your coat is on the chair.”
• What color is this: “This color is so pretty” or “I love red!” or “I have a red hat!:
• Brush your teeth: “You’re not done getting ready for bed.” or “Your teeth are dirty.” or “The dentist says to brush your teeth before you go to sleep.” or “I always brush my teeth before bed time.” or “Your toothbrush is dry,” or “I can get the toothpaste for you.”

Remember that after you offer the statement, you need to give the child time to respond. The wait time could be as much as 30 seconds, before you offer more input. In addition, you can layer your declarative statements, that is, if the child does not respond, then offer another statement. Generally, move from more abstract declaratives to more concrete declaratives. For example, if a table is covered with books, you can say: “What a mess!” (then wait and see if the child responds by moving the books), “We can’t put your papers down on this table!” (then wait and see if the child responds), “ The books are in your way.” (then wait and see if the child removes the books). “There is room on the other table for all of these books.” (then wait and see if the child responds). “The books can go on that table” + visual referencing (then wait and see if the child responds). “I need the books on that table.” (then wait and see if the child responds). “I can move these books.” (then wait and see if the child responds) “I will move these books and you can move these books.” (as you hand the books to the child). While the language progressively gets more concrete, even at the last statement, the adult is not directing the child. The child still has to figure out what he needs to do. For the most part, declarative language that is geared to problem solving describes the situation and then affords the child the opportunity to solve the problem. For example, while looking into an empty bag, you could say: “the bag of cookies is empty.” and then wait for the child to go get more cookies, which he most definitely will do!.