Yes/No questions – 80 flashcards (ABLLS-R Aligned G23)

Yes/No questions are crucial to the development of language and communication skills. Giving your child plenty of opportunities to work on Yes/No questions should then be a priority in his learning program.

This activity offers a free pdf file with 80 flashcards of Yes/No questions to teach your child to answer simple everyday questions.

Why learn Yes/No questions?

Yes/No questions are a common concern for parents, educators, and speech therapists. This is because once the child can answer yes and no questions, you will be able to get more information and communicate easily with him.

Children that are not equipped with enough speech to communicate their basic needs and wants suffer from deep frustration and this makes them and their families and environment miserable. Teaching your child, yes and no question is an important milestone in the life of children with autism, speech delay, or special needs in general. It helps drastically improve the quality of life of these children and the level of their speech and communication skills.

This is why speech therapists and ABA therapists and other professionals work long hours to teach children to answer yes and no questions.

The 80 flashcards included in the activity offer many opportunities for your child to learn to answer yes and no questions. These flashcards were designed with incremental difficulty to make learning yes and no questions easy and reduce frustration during the learning process.

What are some examples of Yes/No questions?

There are numerous types of yes and no questions that can be taught to children with disabilities and speech delays. These are the main ones:

1. Labeling Yes/No questions: Is this a …?

Labeling yes/no questions are the easiest to teach children that have some basic vocabulary. In this type of yes and no question, the child is provided a picture and asked to identify if the object on the image is what is written on the flashcards.

Here are some examples:

Is this a dog?
Is the object on the picture a doll?
Is this bread?
Is this cheese?
Is this a tree?
Is this a truck?
Is this a dress?

2. Adjective Yes/No questions: Is this…?

Adjective Yes/No questions ask the child if the object on the image has a specific characteristic like:

Is the apple red?
Is this tree big?
Is this crayon short?
Is hot chocolate a cold drink?
Is this toy soft?
Is your bed square?
Is the tiger slow?
Are cherries and watermelons sweet?

3. Features Yes/No questions: Does this have…?

Flashcards with feature yes and no questions ask the child to identify if the object on the image has a specific feature, like for example

Does this animal have a nose?
Does a bus have a shield?
Does this insect have wings?
Does pineapple have a door?
Does this food have wholes?
Does this shirt have a zipper?
Does this decor have a light?
Does this vegetable have leaves?
Does this coat have fur?
Does this bird have a feather?
Does this cup have a handle?
Does this bicycle have buttons?
Does this suitcase have breaks?

4. Category Yes/No questions: Is this a …?

In this type of yes and no question, the child is asked if the object on the flashcard belongs to a specific category.

To give you an idea of the type of questions to ask:

Is this furniture?
Is the oven an item of clothing?
Is the washing machine a plant?
Is the rose an animal?
Is Jupiter a planet?
Is the owl a bird?
Is the orange tree a tool?
Is this a bag?
Is this helicopter a toy?
Is this a building?
Is the stapler an office supply?

5. Functions Yes/No questions: Is this used to… or Do you use this to…?

Function yes and no questions ask the child if the object on the flashcard has a specific function. These questions can be formulated in two ways

Is this used to/for questions like for example:

Is the mop used to clean the house?
Is the crib used to sleep?
Is this used to fly in the air?
Is this pen used to dig holes in the garden?
Is the cup used to glue things?
Is the knife used to cut?
Are sunglasses used to protect your head from the sun?
Is the towel used to dry yourself after a shower?
Are sneakers used to run fast?
Is the printer used to sit?
Is soap used to eat food?

“Do you use this to/for” questions, like for example:

Do you use the phone to call others?
Do you use a swimsuit to cut your nails?
Do you use a toothbrush to brush your teeth?
Do you use the key to open doors?
Do you use your hands to play?
Do you use the fork to build houses?
Do you use the needle to catch fish?
Do you use this microphone to sing?
Do you use this pan to cook?

6. Ability Yes/No questions: Can this… or does this…?

In this type of yes and no question, the child is asked if the object or the person on the flashcard has the ability to perform a task.

You can, for instance, ask the child:

Can you eat with your eyelashes?
Can pandas walk on one foot?
Can your tongue reach your eyes?
Can you cook fish on a stove?
Can you clean your hair with a broom?
Can you stretch a wall?
Can you grow hair on a window?
Can you ride a car without a steering wheel?
Can you walk to school with your eyes closed?
Can the sidewalk catch a cold?
Can you make juice with a mixer?
Can you slide on the trampoline?

Or you can ask:

Does the vacuum cleaner make things hot?
Do you chew juice?
Do birds wear sandals?
Do flowers wear hats?
Do lizards climb walls?
Do clowns help you learn?
Do little chicks get fed by their mother?
Does a lemon have more juice than a peach?
Do bathrooms need to be cleaned?
Do snails move fast?
Do cats play with toys?
Does milk go bad if it isn’t refrigerated?
Do we go to the doctor when we are sick?

How to teach Yes/No questions?

To teach children how to answer yes and no questions, start with preparing the flashcards by printing and laminating them.

For durable materials, use a laminating machine to laminate the pdf file.

For easy storage and organisation, you can use these envoloppes:

Then, while sitting next to or in front of the child, ask the question on the top of the flashcard while showing the image to the child. The child should answer by

yes or no if he is verbal
move his head if he is non-verbal.

Then, correct and encourage the student if the answer is wrong, or reinforce him when the answer is correct.

You can use the tracking sheet below in the download section to record the student’s answers and data and follow his progress on this specific learning goal.

Keep in mind that at the beginning of the learning process, you can use the Errorless teaching ABA strategy. In this specific strategy, the child is provided with a prompt or cue immediately following the instruction on the flashcard to ensure that the child always responds correctly.