Why on earth does ABA do 2D or 3D matching?

Hello, I am BCBA Minjeong Kwon.

Anyone who is new to ABA has probably heard of 2D matching or 3D matching classes. Do you know why we always do these repetitive and seemingly simple activities and what kind of development is achieved through these activities?

2D matching and 3D matching play an important role in developing children's cognitive development and basic abilities necessary for future studies.

Today, we will talk about ‘matching activities’.

1. Understanding 2D and 3D Matching

1) What is 2D matching?

• 2D matching refers to activities that involve recognizing and matching pictures. For example, matching a picture of a ball with a picture of another ball. This ability is essential for children to understand symbols, letters, and numbers, and is essential for laying the foundation for reading and math .

2) 3D Matching:

• On the other hand, 3D matching refers to recognizing and matching physical objects, such as matching a toy car with another toy car. This skill helps children develop spatial awareness and understand the world in three dimensions . This is essential for building blocks or understanding geometric concepts.

2. The role of matching in visual perception and cognitive development

1) Visual perception development:

• 2D-2D matching is essential for reading and writing as it strengthens children's ability to recognize and distinguish symbols (e.g., dictation, matching names, etc.).
• 2D-3D matching enhances spatial reasoning skills, helping us understand the shape, size, and relationships between objects (for example, when you put a pencil on a chair and try to find the exact same picture, the chair and pencil in the picture do not have to be the exact same size as in real life).

2) Cognitive development:

• Matching tasks help develop cognitive flexibility . Children learn that the same object or concept can be represented and expressed in multiple media, such as drawings, symbols, and photographs.
• Matching activities also develop categorization skills , helping children group similar items based on common attributes (such as color or shape). They improve memory and organize knowledge, making it easier to learn complex concepts.

3) Language development:

• 2D-3D matching skills also have a direct impact on language development. As children’s symbolic understanding grows, they begin to recognize that symbols (pictures or words) can represent objects in the real world. This symbolic understanding becomes an important foundation for learning words and expanding vocabulary (for example, vocabulary can be expanded just by looking at books).

3. Laying the foundation for future learning

1) Preparation for construction and composition activities:

• 2D-3D matching tasks help lay the foundation for more complex building activities, such as Lego. Children can create by looking at the 2D representation of the picture, and they can create various structures on their own with the help of instructions, even without an adult.

2) Understanding Mathematical Concepts:

• It also serves as the basis for understanding spatial relationships and the ability to manipulate objects in three-dimensional space , and is essential for later learning geometric properties such as volume and area.

3) Strengthening reading skills:

• 2D matching is essential for developing reading skills. That's why we do matching name and matching number activities at first. Through the process of matching letters, words, and pictures, children improve their ability to recognize and distinguish symbols, which is an important foundation for reading and writing.

4. Using matching techniques in ABA therapy

In ABA, developing matching skills is often set as an initial goal. Depending on the child's intervention goals, it will usually proceed through the following steps:

<Everbloom Example> When doing 2D-3D matching, you can try a more complex crafting activity using popsicle sticks or Lego blocks.

1) Shaping technique:

• ABA therapists often use shaping techniques to teach matching skills, starting with simple 3D-3D or 2D-2D matching, and gradually evolving the task to match 3D objects to 2D pictures (see image above).

2) Generalization:

• It would be great if you could practice 2D and 3D matching in a variety of environments with a variety of objects. You can use cards, books, stickers, toys, popsicle sticks, blocks, and many other everyday objects that you see every day. Use your matching skills in a variety of situations, such as matching socks or organizing objects!

 

We have seen how 2D and 3D matching can affect a child’s cognitive, visual, and language development. If you want to know more about what stage is right for your child, how you can help your child, and what activities are good for them, we recommend consulting with a professional.