Walsall Speech & Language Therapy Department
TEACHING OBJECTS OF REFERENCE (OOR) – OVERVIEW
Decide type and number of OORs to be used.
Introduce one or more new OORs. First OORs should be:
• Motivating to student
• Relevant, with opportunities to reinforce
• An everyday object that is consistently used to provide
specific information
• The object referred to should not be used in the activity
The team introduce the most appropriate form of OOR:
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Indices are objects typically used in the activity, e.g. spoon to
represent meal, paintbrush for art
Icons are related by physical resemblance, e.g. chain for toilet
Symbols have an arbitrary relationship with the denoted item,
e.g. grey rubber mat for hydrotherapy
Student allows/tolerates the OOR to be presented. Match the OOR
to the student’s preferred sensory mode, e.g. vision, smell, touch
OBJECTS OF REFERENCE are objects to which special
meanings are assigned. They may represent activities,
places or people and are used to help understanding, to
aid memory and to communicate.
• Objects should reflect the student’s age of
development
• Objects should be able to be manipulated, visually
and tactually discriminable and should place low
cognitive demands
• Student is developing object permanence and
showing early signs of intentional behaviour.
Student attends to the OOR within the meaningful context with full
physical assistance
Student attends to the OOR with a physical prompt, e.g. gentle tap
on shoulder, hand over hand guidance
Student attends to the OOR with a verbal or signed prompt
Student is able to make a meaningful choice using OOR
Some students may not be able to or be expected to indicate or use OORs due to difficulties experiences with motor/co-ordination skills.
Appropriate use of eye-gaze may indicate a positive response to introduction of OOR. Some students may need teaching to be broken down
into smaller steps. Students who have become proficient at learning new OORs may not need all steps. During the process the student may
move from non-symbolic to symbolic levels of communication and from pre-intentional to intentional communication.
For further information refer to Walsall SLT Dept: Pre-Verbal Communication Assessment/Curriculum (PVCA)
Reference: Jones, Pring & Grove (2001) Developing Communication in Adults with PMLD using Objects of Reference. International Journal of Communication
Disorders. Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 173-184