Picture Exchange Communication System Objectives Confuses Me! at They Might Be Curly Giants!

All parents of the kids from Ajab’s class were given a sample of the objectives of the picture exchange communication system taken from the trainer’s manual, I guess, to read over the school holidays. Some of the objectives are pretty straight forward and easy to understand. For example:

Objective:
Upon seeing and wanting a particular item and with a picture of that item in reach, X will pick up the picture, reach to the person holding the item, and release the picture into that person’s hand.

Criterion:
Independently complete request sequence on 10 of 10 opportunities when trainer is within 1 foot for 5 different reinforcers across 3 trainers and 3 activities.

Current level:
Reaches for desired item.

But turn the page and the level of confusion goes up immensely when I try to understand what the manual is trying to tell us.

Objective:
Given access to communication book and randomly asked “What do you see?, “What is it?” and “What do you want?” and provided with opportunities to spontaneously request, X will answer question appropriately using “I see”, “It is”, or “I want” Sentence Starter or will spontaneously request desired item using “I want” Sentence Starter.

Criterion:
9 of 10 opportunities completed independently when questions and opportunities to request are randomized and across a variety of materials that are desired and about which either question can be asked.

Current level:
Answers questions individually and can request spontaneously.

I had to read that a couple of times before I understood what the objective actually was. Wouldn’t want to trade places with the trainer at all! Haha!