How to teach turn-taking using ABA

Strategies for Developing Turn-Taking Skills in Children with Autism

September 4, 2025

Understanding the Importance of Turn-Taking in Social Development

Turn-taking is a fundamental social skill that fosters effective communication, cooperation, and relationship-building in children. For children with autism, learning this skill can be challenging due to difficulties with social cues, impulse control, and receptive language. Applying evidence-based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) techniques offers effective methods to teach and reinforce turn-taking through structured activities, visual supports, modeling, and positive reinforcement. This article explores comprehensive strategies for educators, therapists, and parents to support children with autism in developing turn-taking skills.

Utilizing Visual Supports and Social Narratives to Clarify Expectations

Enhance Understanding with Visual Supports and Stories

How do visual prompts aid in teaching turn-taking?

Visual prompts play a crucial role in helping children understand social expectations around turn-taking. Items like turn cards, or visual cues displaying messages such as "My Turn" or "Your Turn," provide clear and consistent signals about when it is a child's turn to participate. These supports are particularly effective for children with autism, speech delays, or social difficulties, as they reduce confusion and help children learn what to do next.

Using visual prompts during play or conversation fosters better understanding of the sequence of social interactions. For example, passing a turn card back and forth in a game or activity provides a tactile and visual cue that it's someone else's turn. This concrete method encourages children to recognize and follow social rules voluntarily.

In addition to physical cards, gestures like pointing or sign language, combined with visual supports, strengthen the clarity of expectations. Positive reinforcement, such as praise or rewards like stickers, encourages children to imitate these cues and build independence.

Overall, visual prompts serve as accessible and effective tools, bridging the gap between social norms and children's comprehension. They develop confidence in turn-taking and communication, ultimately supporting their social reciprocity and cooperative behaviors.

Implementing Effective Turn-Taking Activities and Games

Engage with Simple and Structured Turn-Taking Games

What are some simple turn-taking games for children with autism?

Children with autism often benefit from straightforward, structured activities that teach the concept of taking turns. Popular games include rolling a ball back and forth, passing a favorite toy, or engaging in simple board and card games such as Zingo or Tator Toss. These activities provide clear, predictable routines that help children understand the flow of interaction.

Using visual prompts like 'My Turn' and 'Your Turn' cards or simple gestures can make the turn-taking process clearer. Visual cues serve as reminders and reduce confusion by explicitly indicating who should act next.

In addition to physical activities, short social narratives or videos demonstrating proper turn-taking behaviors can model social skills effectively. For example, visual stories showing children sharing and waiting their turn prepare children for real-world interactions.

Reinforcing positive behaviors is essential. Praising efforts with encouraging words, providing stickers, or other small rewards helps motivate children to participate patiently. Incorporating core vocabulary such as 'stop,' 'go,' 'my turn,' and 'your turn' during play supports language growth and helps children recognize and use relevant words.

These strategies create a supportive environment for building fundamental social communication skills in children with autism.

What are some effective turn-taking activities for children with autism?

A variety of activities can help children practice turn-taking while enjoying engaging, developmentally appropriate routines. Structured games like Jenga, Lego building, and turn-based video games are excellent options because they involve clear rules and predictable patterns.

Movement-based activities, such as catch, relay races, or swinging on a swing, promote physical coordination along with social skills. These activities also naturally require children to take turns, offering practical opportunities for patience and sharing.

Visual supports are vital for understanding the flow of turn-taking. Visual cues like 'My Turn' cards, timers indicating how long each turn lasts, or social stories explaining the importance of patience help set expectations and manage frustration.

Activities like 'show and tell', group storytelling, or sharing communication devices foster reciprocal interaction and language development. These enhance the child's ability to listen, respond, and share in social settings.

Adapting these activities to suit the child's developmental stage and personal interests maximizes engagement and learning. When combined with visual prompts, prompts, and reinforcement strategies, children can significantly improve their social interaction skills.

How do visual cues and tools facilitate turn-taking?

Visual cues play a crucial role in supporting children with autism to understand and participate in turn-taking. Visual aids such as 'My Turn / Your Turn' cards clearly indicate whose turn it is, reducing confusion and helping the child anticipate upcoming turns.

Timers and countdown clocks are effective tools for establishing expected wait times, which help children develop patience. These visual timers also provide a concrete sense of time, making the abstract concept of waiting more understandable.

Social stories and visual schedules outline expectations and routines related to turn-taking, paving the way for smoother interactions. These aids can be personalized to suit individual needs and incorporated into daily activities.

Using visual supports consistently across settings promotes better understanding and generalization of turn-taking skills. They empower children to participate more independently and confidently in social exchanges.

How can activities be tailored to a child's developmental level and interests?

Adjusting activities to match the child's developmental level ensures that they are both accessible and challenging enough to promote growth. For younger children or those new to turn-taking, start with simple physical activities like passing a ball or sharing a toy.

As children develop, introduce more complex games that involve strategic thinking, such as board games with multiple turns or collaborative stories. Incorporate their interests, such as favorite characters, toys, or themes, to increase motivation.

For children with advanced skills, activities can include longer turn sequences, more social cues, and polite prompts, encouraging more naturalistic interactions.

Using preferred items and incorporating Play-based interventions makes learning enjoyable. Visual supports, reinforcement, and gradual increases in waiting time can be adjusted based on individual progress.

Customizing activities ensures each child feels successful, leading to better engagement and lasting skill development. Collaborating with families and educators can further tailor activities to fit varied environments and routines.

Strategies for Teaching Turn-Taking in Social Contexts

Effective Strategies for Teaching Social Turn-Taking

What are effective strategies for teaching turn-taking in social interactions?

Teaching children to take turns involves several practical strategies rooted in scientific research and behavioral principles. A key approach is modeling appropriate behaviors by demonstrating how to share and wait patiently. For example, therapists or parents can show children how to say "Your turn" or "It’s my turn," which supports communication development.

Explicitly teaching rules and expectations helps children understand social norms. Using visual prompts like turn-taking cards, timers, and visual schedules makes these rules clear and tangible. These visual aids can signal whose turn it is and how long they should wait, reducing confusion and anxiety.

Structured turn-taking activities and games—such as board games like 'Candy Land,' building block towers, storytelling activities, or using talking sticks—offer children opportunities to practice these skills in engaging ways. Reinforcing successful participation through praise, stickers, or tokens encourages ongoing effort and confidence.

Consistent practice across different settings, along with gradual increases in waiting times, helps children develop patience and social understanding. When tailored to each child's developmental level and specific needs, these strategies foster the generalization of turn-taking skills from therapy sessions to everyday life.

How can parents and professionals teach turn-taking effectively?

Effective teaching of turn-taking by parents and professionals involves a combination of modeling, visual supports, and structured activities. During daily routines like snack time or play, adults can model sharing behaviors and encourage children to imitate those actions.

Using visual tools such as timers, "waiting hands," or cue cards helps children grasp how long they need to wait for their turn. For instance, a visual timer can show a child when their turn is ending, making the waiting process concrete and manageable.

Structured, fun activities are essential. Games like stacking blocks, turn-based story creation, or cooperative hand activities serve as engaging practice opportunities. These activities should have clear rules, supported by visual cues, to promote understanding.

Establishing consistent rules within families or classrooms—such as taking turns by raising hands or passing objects—creates a predictable environment that supports learning.

Reinforcement of positive behaviors is vital. Praising children when they wait patiently or use polite phrases encourages repetition. It is important to be patient and responsive, recognizing that acquiring turn-taking skills often requires repeated practice and gentle guidance.

By gradually increasing the complexity of activities and using visual and behavioral supports, parents and professionals can help children develop these essential social skills, including patience, sharing, and cooperation.

Monitoring Progress and Promoting Generalization of Skills

Track Progress and Foster Skill Generalization

How is progress monitored when teaching turn-taking?

In behavioral and educational settings, progress in teaching turn-taking is systematically tracked through data collection methods. Teachers and therapists often use checklists, charts, and digital logs to record each child's responses, behaviors, and reactions during activities. This data helps identify which strategies are effective and where adjustments are needed.

Consistent recording of how many successful turn exchanges a child makes, how long they wait, and their response to prompts provides measurable insights. By analyzing this information regularly, professionals can evaluate whether a child is progressing towards mastery of turn-taking skills.

Why are individualized goals important?

Every child's development, preferences, and challenges are unique. Therefore, setting personalized, realistic goals based on each child's needs helps ensure targeted progress. For example, some children may need to work on increasing their wait time, while others might focus on recognizing social cues or verbalizing

Fostering Lasting Social Skills through Consistency and Practice

Teaching turn-taking to children with autism through ABA requires a comprehensive, structured approach that combines visual supports, modeling, structured activities, and positive reinforcement. Incorporating engaging games, visual cues, and systematic practice across various settings helps reinforce skills and promotes generalization. By partnering with families and educators, using data to tailor interventions, and ensuring patience and consistency, professionals and caregivers can significantly enhance children’s social communication, leading to more meaningful interactions and improved participation in both peer and community activities. The journey toward proficient turn-taking is ongoing, but with deliberate effort and evidence-based strategies, it is an achievable goal that fosters independence and social inclusion.