Presume Competence, Billi’s Recovery Update | BilliSpeaks

There’s a phrase Christina Hunger (@Hunger4Words) uses frequently, and that’s to “presume competence”, where you treat every button press as intentional. It’s a technique she uses as a speech language pathologist with the nonverbal children, and boils down to: just because we don’t understand a press doesn’t mean the user didn’t mean it. Frequently I don’t understand Billi’s presses, or, as showcased in this instance, I think I know better. I very easily could have assumed the request for a food puzzle was a mistake, she still had food left in her bowl and she was recovering from surgery. I’m glad I didn’t!
Even if Billi hadn’t shown interest in twirly after her press, it’s still a modeling opportunity. A way to reinforce what button presses mean. So it’s a win-win to presume competence, and is a big part of how we continue to model and reinforce her buttons!
Billi’s still doing well, not out of the woods and still on all her medication but slowly improving. We’ll keep sharing as we can!
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Billi is a female domestic shorthair, she's 14 years old, her favorite word is mad.
Inspiration for learning to “speak” with buttons from Hunger4Words (check her out on IG).
Affiliate link for FluentPet buttons: flnt.pt/billis...
LinkTree for:
✨merchandise
✨website with FAQs and getting started resources
✨other button options
✨food puzzles
✨Instagram
✨TikTok 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
linktr.ee/Bill...
Want to learn more about the research study Billi and many other animals are in? Check it out here:
www.theycantal...
www.billispeak...