Naturalistic Teaching / Incidental Teaching

Natural or Incidental Teaching is based on the understanding that skills being taught should be relevant to the client's daily life. Using a natural environment in therapy can help increase the transfer of skills to everyday situations and helps generalization. In Incidental Teaching, the therapist utilizes naturally occurring opportunities in order to help the child learn language. Activities are chosen by the child, and the therapist follows the child's lead or interest. These teaching strategies are developed to facilitate generalization and maximize reinforcement. Once a child's interest are identified, the therapist uses these to reinforce appropriate social behaviors and encourage communication and language.

As defined by Autism Intervention Research Network