“I moved this. I don't know what moved that.”
Stop first: Stop the added offer immediately for a known no/stop, discomfort, withdrawal of interest or uncertainty. Keep ordinary care and usual supports available; no repeated signal, clearer reply or restart is owed.
Setup and free swap: Use an actual already observed ordinary event only. For example, the adult moved their familiar item and separately another nearby play item shifted with no observed contact. Do not stage an unexplained motion, vibration, surprise or investigation. No-object version may name your own speaking and an unrelated familiar sound whose source was not identified, only if sound is welcome.
Common agreement for every route
Use an awake, comfortable, wanted moment in the child's usual supported setting with a familiar caring adult. Keep the child's body and usual communication/supports as they are. Do not manufacture distress, withhold a comfort item or necessary help, reposition the child, guide their body, demand eye contact, lure reaching/tracking, test hearing, or ask for touch/speech/imitating to make the offer work.
An optional object is one existing large, intact, familiar, non-powered play item already judged appropriate for this individual child and setting under its actual instructions, age labelling, condition and current recall information. “Large” alone is no safety clearance. No object is required. No small loose pieces, detachable parts, food, water, tools, tight lids, bags, cords, magnets, batteries, foam, glass, raised ramps, lights, covering faces or surprise reveals are introduced. No child handling of paper; any print stays adult-held away from mouth/reach. Adults maintain normal supervision and unobstructed access. These offers certify no material or setup.
Use known home words, established signs/AAC and family-informed supports. A competent familiar speaker may use their own language; this pack supplies no translation, invented gesture dictionary, cultural story or First Nations language claim. The adult can speak, sign/communicate through established supports, act silently if accessible, or stay quietly available. Quiet does not remove usual communication access.
Stop rule: respond to a known no/stop, discomfort, withdrawal of interest or uncertainty by stopping the added offer and returning to ordinary familiar care/play. Never keep testing until a clearer answer appears. No new touch, sound or movement is used to obtain evidence. A restart needs current willingness. Necessary routine transitions remain adult responsibilities, with a familiar explanation; child participation is not required for tidying or ending care.
If this contribution is wanted
Offer and child control: One plain factual comment is enough. Follow the existing safe interest without fetching objects or asking the child to solve the cause. The child may ignore your comment. Avoid a guess presented as fact; “I didn't see” is useful adult modelling.
Three usable routes: (1) Name only the adult-caused movement that actually occurred; omit the second sentence when there is no second event. (2) Quietly describe an actual known cause through usual communication without asking for a view/touch. (3) No new object/comment wanted: continue familiar company; no causal comparison is claimed.
Notice and next: Known operator and unknown cause remain different. Shared interest does not prove understanding of either. If uncertainty matters to ordinary safety, the adult manages it through normal care, outside this play invitation. Another time use an event whose cause you genuinely saw, without recreating the unknown event. Stop your comment for discomfort, uncertainty or a known no.
© NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026 · SubjectNest, Tiny actions, meaningful answers · v0.1.0. Original computer-assisted teaching/text/layout CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . No family trial or agency approval claimed.