Teaching concepts and the order

[Guest guest]

When introducing categories or features or conecpts or for that matter any new

skill, I was just told (by one of the therapists that I have lot of respect for)

that we should first start with sorting. This is how she says we should do it.

Ex: we want to teach categories and start with animals

1. Start with sorting animals and something else(pile of animals and some other

pile and give an animal and ask the child to put it with animals)

2. Receptively teach animal as a category

3. Extressively teach categories.

The way we have been teaching so far is.

1. Receptively teach animal as a category

2. Extressively teach categories.

3. Be able to sort animals and something else

My daughter can't and couldn't pull anything out of her own even after 3.5 years

of ABA, is that because of the order in which she was taught? I am feeling

terrible as to how all our previous therapists and school missed on such a huge

thing....or what?

Any thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated.