# T14 · Help me understand that message

“I am not sure. Do you mean this?”

**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:** Start from an actual ambiguous message in welcomed play, not a deliberate adult mistake. Have one plausible accessible interpretation available through usual communication. No object is needed; any existing suitable item can stay exactly where it is.

## 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

**Play and choice:** Acknowledge uncertainty. Offer one interpretation once; a known yes/no, correction or own alternative can guide your response. If unclear, leave the play unchanged and pause. Do not keep offering different guesses, demand a clearer word/point, or invent a universal meaning for a movement.

**Three routes:** (1) Child continues own safe item play while an adult checks meaning, without changing the arrangement on a guess. (2) Use established sign/AAC/home-language support to check a known meaning; no new signal is taught as a test. (3) No object or checking wanted: say/communicate that you are available, withdraw the guess and leave the meaning unresolved.

**Notice/next/stop:** A corrected meaning differs from adult interpretation; no correction is not agreement. Follow a known correction now. Next time simplify your offer or keep the child's usual support ready. Stop the question on the first unclear/unwanted reply.

© 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.