Hello Friend!

I have several clients who are working on greeting peers and adults. Some are working to just say “hi” or “hello.” Some are working on gesturing (waving) paired with a verbalization. Others are working toward independently greeting a peer without being told to do so by a parent or teacher. My goal with this song is to be able to meet a variety of needs within this one target area.

A few ideas for using this song:

Repeat – information gets absorbed by frequent repetition. Luckily, information presented in musical format can be retained even more quickly for some!

Use the “blank” version to customize your song with the child/peers/adults names.

Pause the music right at the end of the lyrics “I say hello and I use their name.” Prompt child as needed to say “Hi Name!” preferably while looking at adult or peer.

After the song has been learned, try using a shortened phrases from the song in a setting that is not typically musical (at home, at the park, in class) to cue a response.

Lyrics

Verse 1:
When mom picks me up in the car after school, I look at her and say, “hello.”
When I play on the playground with lots of my friends I look at them and say, “hello.”
Chorus:
Hello friend, hello! When I see someone I know that’s what I say.
Hello friend, hello! I say hello and I use their name.
Verse 2:
When I get to class my teacher will be waiting. I look at her and say, “hello.”
When I go shopping, my friend might be there, I look at him and say, “hello.”
Repeat Chorus

I’ve been using this song for the past couple weeks with good initial results. Since I only see most of my clients once per week, it will take a little time for them to learn the song. Some are already filling in the lyrics “hello (name).” I am excited to have teachers and parents begin to use the music outside of therapy and see if this will help generalize the skill. Thoughts? Questions or ideas? Let me know in the comments below!

~Mary~