ESDM Online
Welcome to ESDM Online, a resource for parents and providers eager to discover ways to help children connect, communicate, and learn. Here, you will find examples, tips, activities, the latest research findings, videos, and much more to support your goals as a parent or provider. Join the community and become part of this mission to create positive learning experiences for children.
- Giving children opportunities to practice their skills through play and everyday activities.
- Creating a welcoming, accessible and nonjudgemental space to hear about and share ideas.
- Helping children feel calm, safe and supported.
Connect, Communicate, and Learn
Find out how to use tips from the ESDM for early social-communication skills important to life-long learning, behavior, and health with your child or with families whom you support in an early childhood learning environment.
This Quick Tip explores explores how emotional dysregulation—frequent meltdowns, difficulty calming, or intense reactions—shows up in autistic preschoolers and what families can do to support regulation. Drawing on a study of over 400 children, what factors contribute to big feelings, and how can caregivers respond in ways that build resilience? The video unpacks these findings and offers flexible, responsive strategies rooted in developmental models like the ESDM, helping children feel safe, understood, and ready to learn.
👉 Read the research article
👉Watch the Quick Tip video
Read monthly research about intervention outcomes for children with or at risk of autism; coaching supports for their families; and/or family-centered, culturally inclusive coaching tools to help early childhood professionals support families. Each monthly article is publicly available for free access.
This month's Latest News explores what helps children make early progress in intervention. Rather than relying solely on standardized test scores, the researchers looked closely at specific behaviors—like how children play and share attention with others—to understand which skills are most predictive of early gains.
What They Found
Children who initiate joint attention, engage in higher-level play, and show diverse play behaviors are more likely to respond quickly to intervention. In contrast, requesting skills, often present at the start of intervention, did not predict early progress. This suggests that communicative intent expressed through joint attention and flexible play may be more meaningful indicators of readiness for learning than requesting alone.
1. Model Joint Attention Before Expecting It
Children often need to see what joint attention looks like before they can do it. Instead of prompting them to “look” or “watch,” narrate your own attention shifts in playful, engaging ways:
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Use gestures, facial expressions, and sound effects to draw attention to something interesting.
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Pause and wait after highlighting something, giving the child time to notice and respond.
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Celebrate even subtle signs of shared attention (e.g., a glance, a smile, a pause in movement) to reinforce the value of noticing together.
Why it matters: Responding to joint attention is a foundational skill that precedes initiating it. Modeling it clearly and repeatedly helps children build understanding without pressure.
2. Join Their Play First—Then Layer in New Ideas
Start by observing and joining the child’s current play interests, whether it’s lining up toys, spinning objects, or exploring textures. Once you’re part of their play world:
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Introduce small, adjacent variations (e.g., drive the lined-up cars, add sound effects, or build a ramp).
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Use repetition and gentle exaggeration to make new ideas noticeable and inviting.
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Let the child lead again after each new idea, reinforcing their agency and comfort.
Why it matters: Flexible play grows from a foundation of safety and shared enjoyment. Building from the child’s interests helps them feel seen and makes new ideas feel less like a disruption and more like an invitation.
3. Pair Shared Attention with Positive Payoffs
Children need to understand and like what they’re seeing before they’ll want to do it themselves. Make sure that when they watch you do something, it leads to something they care about:
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Use favorite toys, sounds, or actions as the “payoff” after a moment of shared attention.
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Repeat the sequence several times so the child can anticipate and enjoy the outcome.
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If they start to imitate or engage, respond warmly and reinforce their effort with another positive outcome.
Why it matters: Motivation builds through understanding and enjoyment. When watching leads to something good, children are more likely to stay engaged and eventually initiate.
Whether using structured behavioral approaches like Discrete Trial Training (DTT) or naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) such as the ESDM, children who already show signs of social engagement and flexible play may benefit more rapidly.
While stronger cognitive, language, and social communication abilities are associated with faster response, standardized assessments alone may not capture short-term growth.
Instead, tracking observable, specific behavioral changes and not just test scores—especially in responding to joint attention and initiating requests—provides more actionable, real-time guidance for clinicians and families
Support families in recognizing and nurturing these early signs of communicative intent, even before formal language emerges.
Why It Matters
By focusing on what children do—how they connect, play, and initiate—we can make timely, data-informed adjustments that enhance outcomes and honor each child’s unique developmental path.
Click the article (above) to read more about the practical, observable indicators that can guide clinicians and caregivers in taking a more nuanced and actionable approach to intervention planning for minimally verbal children.
Dish towels aren’t just for drying dishes anymore! This Play of the Month turns the everyday dish towel into a canvas for movement, imagination, and connection. From giggling through peek‑a‑boo and tug‑of‑war, to laying out roads for toy cars, wrapping stuffed animals in cozy “blankets,” or transforming towels into superhero capes—these open‑ended activities invite children to explore, construct, and pretend, one fold at a time. No special supplies needed—just a few towels and a little creativity.
See below for activity ideas and learning goals linked to the ESDM Curriculum Checklist items to help you discover the play level that best suits your child or the children and families you support in early learning environments.
Pay attention to what children like (or seem curious about) and follow their lead as long as you are a part of the action, too. Remember, the most important thing is for children to have fun doing this with you! Fun means engagement and that excites children's brains and bodies for meaningful learning to happen.
Simple Play (Sensorimotor & Exploratory)
These activities focus on cause-and-effect, sensory exploration, and basic motor skills—like banging, mouthing, or dropping—just to see what happens.
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Peek-a-boo: Hide behind the towel and pop out, or cover a toy and reveal it.
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Pull & Tug: Let toddlers pull towels out of a basket or box, strengthening grasp and arm coordination.
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Shake & Wave: Wave towels in the air to watch them flutter, or scrunch and release to feel textures.
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Drop & Cover: Drop towels from above and watch them float down, or cover objects to discover what’s underneath.
Combination Play (Functional & Constructive)
These activities involve using materials together with intention—building, matching, or organizing.
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Sorting Station: Sort towels by color, size, or texture.
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Obstacle Course: Lay towels out as “stepping stones” to walk across or hop between.
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Vehicles: Lay towels out in straight lines or curves to form roads or tracks for cars and trains, folding or overlapping them to make intersections, parking lots, or garages, rolling them into cylinders for tunnels or draping them over blocks to build bridges, and arranging them in loops or zigzags to design race courses where they can compare speeds, take turns, and follow simple rules
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—all of which combine movement, sequencing, and constructive play in everyday routines.
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Wrap & Carry
Wrap toys or blocks in towels and “deliver” them to another spot—introduces purposeful transport and sequencing. -
Bundle & Balance
Roll towels into bundles and stack them, or balance them on trays, heads, or arms for playful challenge.
Symbolic Play (Pretend & Representational)
These activities support imagination, role play, and storytelling.
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Costumes & Capes: Towels become superhero capes, skirts, or hats.
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Props for Pretend Cooking: Towels as oven mitts, napkins, or tablecloths in a pretend kitchen.
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Animal Care: Care for stuffed animals or dolls by tucking them in as blankets, drying them off after pretend baths, wrapping them as bandages during a “vet visit,” setting them as placemats for feeding time, or turning them into carriers and sleeping bags for travel and adventure.
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Adventure Play: Towels as magic carpets, picnic blankets, or sails for a pretend boat.
