96 Functions’ questions for speech therapy and ABA

Why learn about functions in speech therapy and ABA?

Learning about the functions of objects in preschool, special education, speech therapy, and ABA is a great way to develop language and communication for many reasons :

learning the functions boosts communication skills, and helps children learn how to carry a discussion by asking and answering questions,
it also grows the child’s vocabulary and helps him learn new words,
it teaches children to build connections between objects, people, and the environment.

How to teach the functions of objects in speech therapy and ABA?

In this resource, students learn to answer questions such as “what do we do with an object?” through 96 flashcards. These flashcards were designed in a way to increase the level of difficulty progressively, as ABA therapy preconizes, in order to build on the child’s learning in every step. With this in mind, the flashcards are divided into 2 groups:

48 flashcards are suitable for beginners and provide three response options to help the child answer the question. For example, when we ask the child to answer the question “What do you do with a shovel?”, we provide three options “eat, dig, or jump”. This makes the learning process easier and helps the child learn faster and builds his confidence up.

the other 48 flashcards don’t provide any guidance for the answer, the child is expected to answer without prompts. Example: “What do you do with soap?”

In answering the two types of flashcards, the child is expected to name the function that an object is used for.

Examples of function questions for Speech Therapy and ABA

This task card set includes 96 questions about 96 different objects with two levels of difficulty. You can find here the list of functions of objects’ questions included in this activity.

Examples of functions of objects with response options

What do you do with a salad? eat, wear, glue
What do you do with fish? sing, eat, erase
What do you do with french fries? wash, print, eat
What do you do with pasta? eat, whistle, see
What do you do with chocolate? read, eat, wear
What do you do with pizza? dink listen eat
What do you do with tea? drink read wear
What do you do with coke? glue drink see
What do you do with apple juice? sit drive drink
What do you do with orange juice? drink, listen, call
What do you do with water? swing, drink, jump
What do you do with coffee? clean, sleep, drink
What do you do with sandals? wear, sing, eat
What do you do with pajamas? erase, wear, lock
What do you do with a beach umbrella? print, freeze, protect
What do you do with jeans? wear, read, watch
What do you do with a cap? jump, cover the head, cook
What do you do with a lamp? slide, listen, light up
What do you do with a hairdryer? dry, print, read
What do you do with shampoo? sing, wash, erase
What do you do with a lock? wear, lock, listen
What do you do with earphones? listen, eat, freeze
What do you do with a washing machine? wash, cook, jump
What do you do with headphones? swing, slide, listen
What do you do with a pen? write, glue, sing
What do you do with an art palette? lock, paint, walk
What do you do with crayons? wash, sing, write
What do you do with art brushes? paint, whistle, run
What do you do with a highlighter? cry, write, buy
What do you do with a pencil? jump, eat, write
What do you do with Building blocks? play, sing, lock
What do you do with a doll? erase, play, glue
What do you do with a kitchen playset? whistle, print, play
What do you do with a doctor’s playset? play, wash, freeze
What do you do with a ball? eat, play, heat
What do you do with toy cars? dink, cook, play
What do you do with a jump rope? jump, glue, plant
What do you do with a trampoline? sing, jump, cook
What do you do with a slide? wear, freeze, slide
What do you do with a fork? slide, kiss, eat
What do you do with a swing? shower, swing, fly
What do you do with a swing? clean, glue, swing
What do you do with a showerhead? shower, lock, sleep
What do you do with a ladder? brush, climb, cook
What do you do with a shovel? call, see, dig
What do you do with a heater? heat, drive, run
What do you do with a bike? dig, ride, open
What do you do with a car? build, clean, drive

Examples of functions of objects’ questions

What do you do with flippers?
What do you do with a watch?
What do you do with bananas?
What do you do with a cup?
What do you do with a buoy?
What do you do with a clock?
What do you do with a pan?
What do you do with a ladle?
What do you do with a pot?
What do you do with a gas stove?
What do you do with books?
What do you do with a knife?
What do you do with a bed?
What do you do with your eyes?
What do you do with a bunk bed?
What do you do with a candle?
What do you do with a pillow?
What do you do with a face mask?
What do you do with a sponge?
What do you do with a detergent?
What do you do with gloves?
What do you do with a dustpan and brush?
What do you do with shoes?
What do you do with a vacuum?
What do you do with a TV?
What do you do with a tablet?
What do you do with a video game console?
What do you do with a chair?
What do you do with a bench?
What do you do with a pet?
What do you do with a toilet?
What do you do with a sofa?
What do you do with a sink?
What do you do with toilet paper?
What do you do with a bandage?
What do you do with an AC?
What do you do with glue?
What do you do with a microphone?
What do you do with a whistle?
What do you do with a Mobile phone?
What do you do with a thermometer?
What do you do with an eraser?
What do you do with keys?
What do you do with glasses?
What do you do with soap?
What do you do with Newspapers?
What do you do with a printer?
What do you do with a freezer?

Who can use objects’ functions questions task cards?

These flashcards are designed with real images and no disturbance in order to help the child learn best. They can be used for:

speech therapy as a language game to teach functions,
as an individual or a group activity for preschool and kindergarten,
for special education, ABA learning, or in ABLLS-R assessment

How to use flashcards to teach function questions to your child?

In order to teach your child to answer function questions, you can follow these steps:

Print and laminate the activity file (at the bottom of this page), then cut the different task cards,
Ask the question on the task card and let the child answer by naming the function. There are two types of task cards included in the activity :
- cards with three response options (see the file below)
- cards without response options, only the question (see the file below)