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Free printables: position words

Teaching prepositions to your autistic child, one toy car and one box at a time

Teaching prepositions to an autistic child usually starts with one small question at the table: can your child show you the cup under the table when you ask for it? Words like in, on and under are short, and they sound alike in a busy sentence. Many children learn the nouns first and simply skip the little word in the middle. The four free packs on this page cover six position words: in, on, under, behind, in front of and beside. Three of them ask your child to point to the right picture. The fourth moves to real objects, where your child puts the toy car in the box. Each pack has a script for you, six practice rounds, six informal check rounds and a practice log.

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Teaching prepositions with autism: understanding comes first

There are three different skills hiding inside the word "under". Your child can point to a picture of a ball under the table. Your child can put a real ball under the table when you ask. And your child can say "under". These packs work on the first two. Speech is never required. A point or a tap counts.

Keep them apart in your head and in your notes. A child who taps the right picture every time may still freeze when you hand over the real ball, and that is normal. It means the next step is the real-object pack, not that the picture practice failed.

Start with in, on and under

Most children meet these three first, and they are the easiest to show with things you already own. Put a toy car and a box on the table before you open the pack. Put the car in the box, on the box, under the table. Let your child watch. Then open the Understand Position Words: In, On and Under pack.

The script is short. You say "Find the spoon under the table" or "Find the cup in the box" once, then wait. The objects are a car, cup, ball, spoon and book. The landmarks are a table, a box, a wagon and a chair. Your child points to the matching picture.

Begin with only two pictures, for example the cup in the box next to the cup under the table. When your child picks correctly a few times without help, add one more picture. Do not put the whole page in front of them on day one. Cover the other rounds with a sheet of paper.

  • Say the direction once. Repeat it only during teaching, never during the check.
  • Keep your eyes and finger still. Children are very good at reading where you look.
  • Shuffle the picture positions between turns so the answer is not always on the left.
  • If both pictures show the same object, your child has to listen to the position word. That is the point.

Behind, in front of and beside

These three are harder because they depend on where you are standing. "In front of the table" means between the table and you. Show it with a toy on your real table before the pictures: walk around, and let your child see that behind is the side they cannot reach.

The Understand Position Words: Behind, In Front and Beside pack uses one landmark, a table, so your child only has to listen for the position. One honest note: the practice rounds lean on behind and beside, and "in front of" shows up mostly in the check rounds. Teach "in front of" with the real toy first, so the check is not the first time your child hears it.

When your child knows all six words separately, the Understand Spatial Words pack mixes them. One box, and a ball, a duck or a block placed in, on, under, behind, in front of or beside it. "Tap the duck behind the box." This is where you find out which pairs still get mixed up. In and on, or behind and in front of, are the usual ones.

Move from the picture to the real box

The Follow Directions with Position Words pack uses real household objects: a toy car, ball, cup, book, spoon or sock, with a box and a stable table. You say "Put the car in the box." Your child picks up the car and puts it there. Pointing at a picture does not count here. Neither does copying you.

Keep the table and the box easy to tell apart and within reach. Say the full direction once. Do not point toward the box or slide it closer. If your child needs help, show the placement once, then on the next turn wait a little longer before helping. Write helped turns down separately.

After that, take it off the table. "Put your shoes under the chair." "Put the cup beside the plate." A position word your child only follows at the practice table is still a table skill.

Keep sessions short and record the first response

Try three to five minutes. Start with one easy success, do three to six turns, then finish with something your child enjoys. If your child wants to stop, stop and write that down instead of forcing a score. A few short tries spread across the day do more than one long sitting.

The log uses three marks. I is independent and correct. H is correct with help. X is incorrect or no response. During the check rounds, write down the first response only, with no hints between attempts. The check is an informal snapshot with familiar pictures. It is not an assessment, and it does not tell you your child uses the word in daily life.

If your child's BCBA or therapist already has prepositions in the program, bring the log to your next session. It shows them which words are solid and which pairs still get swapped, and they can tell you what comes next.

In the download

4 printable packs, each with instructions, practice rounds, a check and a log.

  • Understand Position Words: In, On and Under

    Your child points to the picture that shows a car, cup, ball, spoon or book in, on or under a table, box, wagon or chair.

  • Understand Position Words: Behind, In Front and Beside

    Your child points to the picture with the object behind, in front of or beside a table.

  • Understand Spatial Words

    All six position words mixed, with one box and a ball, duck or block, so your child shows which ones are still confused.

  • Follow Directions with Position Words

    Your child puts a real object in, on, under or beside a box or table when you ask, and only the placement counts.

Fill in the short form at the top and the PDFs are yours.

For BCBAs, RBTs and therapists

For BCBAs, RBTs and speech therapists

These packs target receptive prepositions in the Listener Responding program. The six relations (in, on, under, behind, in front of, beside) line up with VB-MAPP Listener Responding Level 3, milestone 12-M, which asks for instructions involving 6 different prepositions (and 4 pronouns, which sit in separate packs). In the ABLLS-R they fall under area C, Receptive Language. The three picture packs are a selection discrimination; the Follow Directions pack is the placement response the milestone describes.

Each pack teaches from a two-choice array, adds one choice at a time, and keeps prompted (H) and independent (I) responses apart, with a separate first-response check on familiar material. Treat those check data as informal probes, not a milestone score. Tacting prepositions is not covered here, and SuperChild does not measure speech.

Questions parents ask

At what age do children understand in, on and under?
There is no single age that fits every autistic child. In and on are usually understood first, then under, with behind, in front of and beside later. A more useful question is whether your child already follows simple one-step directions with familiar objects. If so, in, on and under are a reasonable place to start.
How do I teach prepositions to a child who does not talk?
Everything in these packs works without speech. Your child points to a picture or puts an object in place. A point, a tap or a placement is a full answer.
My child keeps mixing up in and on. What should I do?
Go back to two pictures: the same object in the box and on the box. Use an open box so "in" is easy to see. Show it with the real box first, then the picture. Only add other positions back when your child picks correctly without help across a few short sessions.
Should I teach picture pointing or real objects first?
Either can come first, and some children find real objects easier. The packs are built as picture selection first, then the real-object pack. Whatever order you use, your child has not finished until they can follow the direction with real things in more than one room.
How long should a session be?
Three to five minutes is plenty. One easy success, three to six turns, then something your child likes.

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