uit and vegetable), and new vocabulary (carve/cut, pumpkin/jack-o-lantern, light/illuminate). Speech tends to flow much more easily from a child whose attention is captivated by a task and whose imagination is engaged. Also learning tends to "stick" when it occurs in a functional manner or with practical application.
Concepts and Processing: Children learned to process the sequence of the tasks; this might be difficult for someone who has not experienced the need to cut off the top first so that they are able to scoop out the insides. They had to listen to and follow directions to understand how to use the tools and what to do with each one. They had to process the idea that the toothed edge of the saw needed to be pointing the direction in which one was cutting. We also threw in some concept processing tasks during the carving time: Which is larger a pumpkin or an orange? Is a pumpkin harder or softer than a banana? ...
Motor and Sensory Processing: It goes without much explanation that this activity involves motor skills: holding, sawing, pushing, and manipulating tools. The feel of the pumpkin addresses sensory processing. Many children with or without Autism had difficulty touching the gooey insides and picking out seeds. But all of them experienced it, if only briefly. Some really conquered their difficulties and plunged into the task.
Emotional: One child in particular is a new client with an Emotionally Disturbed label. He has been standoffish and minimally engaged in the therapy process. Having come into the office reluctantly, his eyes seemed to light up when asked if he wanted to carve a real pumpkin. He was engaged during the entire process, he spoke more readily to the therapist, and he even smiled during the task. I think the next time he comes to speech therapy, he will not be dragging his heels. We made a real connection through the activity.
Additionally, many of the children had some fear of the strange jack-o-lantern faces. This activity took a very innocent and non-threatening pumpkin through the transformation process. Their hands made that process happen. The end result was what they fashioned it to be. Now they have full knowledge and understanding that the scary jack-o-lanterns are all just humble pumpkins decorated or carved by someone's hands. This knowledge can only serve to reduce, if not eliminate, the old fears.
Social: All of the above feeds into the social domain because to be social we need to develop our language skills. Additionally, such a task engages even the least socially developed to child to at least look at you and what you are doing and to pay closer attention thus increasing communicative interest. When two or more children are working at the same time, it fosters a desire to share the experience, to check out the other one's work, and to show off their own creations.
Expression: Now that the children have this experience, they will be willing to talk about it, if not initiate the discussions. They will engage in telling family members about the experience, explaining the process, and describing what it was like. Only reading a story about carving pumpkins would not build that kind of excitement for them. For the older children, they will be asked to write sentences or a short paragraph about the experience. They now will have greater understanding and increased vocabulary for these tasks.