328 chapter 36
THE 6 MINUTE BISCUIT TRICK
FOR DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED CHILDREN
by Christine Miles of Peshawar, Pakistan, and Birmingham, United Kingdom
The ‘trick’ gets parents to open their eyes to what their child actually can do and
learn to do. I see many parents with developmentally delayed children between
15 and 30 months. They have realized that the child is not functioning at a level
appropriate for his age. But often they cannot describe what the child actually can
do, and do not seem to realize that children gain new skills by learning. Parents
complain that “He doesn’t speak. He can’t do this, he can’t do that,” as though there
is something wrong with the machinery or someone has failed to push the correct
button.
I ask them whether the child can eat a biscuit (cookie). “No, he only has milk and
mush. He can’t feed himself.” I get a biscuit and put it into the child’s hand. I guide
the hand up to the mouth. Sometimes the child will bite on the biscuit; sometimes
it needs to be tapped gently against his
teeth and wetted with his lips and tongue
until a piece breaks off and is eaten. I
move the child’s hand away from the
mouth, then repeat the process. Usually by
the time half the biscuit has gone, the child
has learned how to do it, and finishes the
biscuit happily without help. The parents
usually say “Oooh!”
In 6 minutes the parents have watched
their child learn an important skill, by our
using a simple directed action and a strong
reward (tasty food). Whether their child
is temporarily delayed in development
or will be permanently slow, the parents
gain some vital information about the
child’s ability to learn. Whether or not they
remember anything else that I say to them,
they go away with a whole new experience to think about. Almost always they have
consulted several doctors before coming here, without gaining any useful advice.
Of course, it is not guaranteed to work. But it does work surprisingly often. The
6 minute biscuit trick is a powerful stimulant to parents to actually observe their
child and to help the child learn.
Disabled village Children