The Mod/Severe Population: Matt and Molly, Not Just For the Littles!

        Last year when I was taking stock of all the things I inherited from the previous SLP, I noticed a wide assortment of Matt and Molly kits, which you can find at LinguiSystem's website here. Matt and Molly kits consist of sequences of 4 pictures that use stick figures to explain daily activities, interactions, and themes (e.g. seasons, animals, etc.) that come with pre-scripted sentences to say about each picture. They are simple, colorful, and targeted towards working with students with Autism. They are structured to include an introductory scene, 2 "bad choices," and 1 "good choice."

        My previous experience with these sets of pictures had been in grad school where I used them with young children. I wondered to myself, "Why are these here at the high school?" Every single one was still in the shrink wrap, so I knew the previous SLP hadn't even attempted to use them. Maybe they were sent to the wrong school? Maybe she ordered the wrong item? There were certainly other very juvenile items in my room; I was tempted to toss them in the pile of items I didn't want. But they weren't that juvenile - Matt and Molly are drawn so vaguely that they easily could be viewed as pre-teens and the situations they find themselves in are not only applicable to small children!

        I had an idea. Many of the students in my Mod/Severe classes fit the cognitive profile of the target audience for Matt and Molly - why not develop use of the Matt and Molly stories for my exceptional learners?

Matt and Molly Are Secretly Teenagers

       I quickly learned that not every Matt and Molly sequence is appropriate for the adolescent Mod/Severe classroom. I removed the sequence that involved hand-holding when crossing the street (because we teach other strategies for street safety). I removed the sequence that taught how to hug relatives (because I believe all of our kids should be allowed bodily autonomy and not be forced to hug a relative if they don't want to). I removed a few other stories that were just plain silly and too immature for teenagers.

       But what did I find was appropriate? I discovered a sequence on using a tissue and not your sleeve - an issue that plagued the classrooms for weeks this winter. I tweaked several sequences about how to ride the bus. There are sequences for standing in line, touching dogs, interacting with guests, and greeting someone at the door. I realized that, even though they are made for young children, my students still needed to work on these life skills! In fact, Matt and Molly are sometimes so willfully defiant that I really think the creators modeled them after teenagers!

What Does a Matt and Molly Lesson Look Like?

         Every session with my Mod/Severe classes begins with a reminder of the rules, which you can find in my TPT Store here. Nowadays, my students are very familiar with Matt and Molly and will call them by their names. But on the first day, I introduced them as "new friends" and described them as teenagers who sometimes make bad choices. I told my students that Matt and Molly needed their help to figure out good choices.

         I laminated cards with a green "yes" and a red "no" on opposing sides. I instructed my students that after Matt and Molly make a choice, they will be asked to hold up their cards and vote on whether Matt and Molly are making the right choice. This is the main way my non-verbal, poorly engaged students are involved in the lesson. My verbal students also use the cards to vote, but in addition they are asked WH- questions about better choices. A few of the highest students can give explanations of why the poor choice is wrong.

        After introducing Matt and Molly, I reveal the introductory picture. In one classroom, there is a document camera I can use to project the image onto the SMARTBoard. In other classes, I assemble the students together in a group and show them the actual picture.

        When "telling the story," I never use the pre-scripted sentences that come with the sets because they are not language-rich and written for an audience of small children. Rather, I construct my own version that typically includes more details, target vocabulary, and appropriate conversational slang. I identify other characters in the picture (e.g. mom, dad, grandpa) by their name or I may ask students to make a guess who is in the picture.

       For example, in the example below, I asked my students to look at the character's height, dress, and haircut. Does this look like Mom? Why can't this character be Dad? (Lessons in my Mod/Severe classes are, unfortunately, not the best place to combat gender stereotypes based on appearance!). Typically my students require quite a bit of prompting, but understanding why this character can't be Dad targets important critical thinking skills.

In this sequence, we see Molly attempt 2 poor choices - grabbing the music and pulling hair - before coming up with the correct solution of getting her own headphones and music.

      For each picture, I ask the students some WH- questions. For example, the above pictures might elicit questions like "What does Molly see?" "Who has the headphones?" "Where is Molly's hand?" The Matt and Molly drawings also explicitly target emotions - I might ask "How is she feeling?" and point to Molly's friend's mouth as a cue to elicit the response that she is angry or happy.

      Continuing on in the progression, I typically reveal the second picture to be a bad choice although you can present the pictures in any order. The students generally find the poor solutions to be hilarious and will burst into laughter when they see Matt and Molly engaging is poor behaviors. For example, when Matt blows snot into his sleeve, they giggle and point at how silly Matt is. They, of course, need prompting to make the connection that that they too blow snot into their sleeves on a daily basis!

      After explaining the choice Matt or Molly has made, I ask more WH- questions and attempt to elicit explanations of why the choice was not a good one. At the end, we conduct a class vote and tally the number of "yes" and "no" on the class white board. Sometimes, the teachers then use these numbers in their math lessons to construct simple graphs and pie charts to demonstrate the concept of "most," "more," "less," "few," etc. (e.g. "Most people in the class thought Matt made a good choice!").

         At the end, you can also ask students to sequence the story themselves. Sometimes I ask students to stand in the front of the class and hold individual pictures in order to sequence them as a class. I have also contemplated scanning the pictures and shrinking them down to the size of a 3 x 5 card for each individual student to sequence at their desk, but I have not done this yet. Something to work on this year! It's also fun to ask the students to role play the situations - proper nose blowing and line forming work well for this activity!

         During a typical 30 minute session with 6 - 8 students, I use 2 or 3 Matt and Molly sequences. However, it would be possible to fill an entire session with 1 sequence if you conducted multiple different activities involving the same sequence.

Modifications
 - For my students with limited verbal abilities, I created conversation sheets with key icons that relate to the story. You can find an example here at my TPT store - it correlates to the "Hungry Turkey" Matt and Molly sequence found in the "Fall" set (see the picture above).
 - My students with AAC use their devices to comment and answer WH- questions. This year, my goal is to provide the para-educators with a vocabulary list ahead of time so they can program relevant vocabulary into students' AAC devices.
 - My students with intelligibility concerns use their strategies (explained here) when answering questions and practice target words related to the story (e.g. choice, stop!, rain, etc.)

       If you don't have access to "official" Matt and Molly materials, I would highly encourage you to make your own! The key takeaway here is that the students seem to really respond to simple drawings with relevant stories told in an interactive way. They love participating by voting and correcting me when I "accidentally" praise Matt for a bad choice! It doesn't have to be fancy, just make it fun!

As always, it doesn't have to be fancy, just keep it fun and functional!

• Jillian, the No-Frills SLP