Desensitization Hierarchy for Teens
Rank real adolescent speaking situations from easiest to hardest and build the ladder from there.
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0/9 sorted
How to run it
Let the student re-sort it. The supplied ranking is a typical one and it will be wrong for somebody: a student who finds presenting easier than ordering has told you something important, and the ladder has to be theirs to be usable. Then work from the top of the easy group upward, one rung at a time, with a real attempt between sessions. Fifteen minutes to build the ladder, then weeks to climb it.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAsk the question or set the task, then give the student time to answer or try it.Log as correct
- Open promptSay 'Tell me more about that' or 'What happened next?'Log as cued
- ChoicesOffer two ways it might have felt or gone, and let the student pick or correct you.Log as cued
- ModelShare your own example first, or do the task yourself before the student does.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use a feelings scale or picture choices, and start with the easiest situation.
Plan one real situation this week to try it in, and talk it through next session.
Matching IEP goal
Given discussion prompts and speaking tasks, Student will describe their thoughts or feelings about a speaking situation and name one helpful strategy in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Nine real speaking situations sorted into easier, medium and harder: talking to the clinician one-on-one and talking to one close friend at the easy end; ordering at a counter, answering a question in a small group, reading aloud in class and introducing yourself in the middle; talking to a manager or coach, presenting to the class and calling a stranger at the hard end. The ranking is a starting point — the student's own order is what the ladder gets built from.
What to listen for
Watch for the gap between rungs. If a student succeeds at ordering and fails at a small group, there is a missing rung and it is worth inventing one — ordering with a friend present, for instance. Notice which factor drives the difficulty for this student: audience size, familiarity, time pressure and authority are the four that usually matter, and knowing which one is theirs shapes everything.
Carrying it home
Families can help by supplying the easy rungs on purpose. A phone call to a known relative is a real rung, and it happens at home rather than in a session.
What's in this activity
- easier
- medium
- harder
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth grade, where students can rank situations meaningfully and attempt them independently.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account needed.
- What if the student's ranking is very different from the supplied one?
- Then use theirs. The supplied order is typical, not correct, and the whole value of a hierarchy is that it reflects the person climbing it.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.