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An App to Teach WH Questions: How BASICS Supports Practice

Last Updated: July 21, 2026

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A parent-friendly guide to practicing who, what, where, when, why, and how questions with BASICS – without turning everyday conversation into a test.

An app to teach WH questions can give children short, structured practice in matching a question word to the kind of answer it asks for. BASICS includes therapist-created WH-question activities within Communication & Speech Therapy, along with personalised goals, three suggested activities a day, parent guidance, and goal-by-goal progress tracking. Use it together, accept answers through speech or another communication method, and repeat the skill in real life. The app can support practice, but it cannot assess a child’s language or replace a speech-language or hearing evaluation.

If your child looks unsure when you ask, “Where is your shoe?” or repeats “What did you do?” instead of answering, they may need help understanding the question, finding the answer, expressing it, or all three. That is a teaching problem to investigate, not evidence that the child is ignoring you or refusing to cooperate.

What Are WH Questions?

WH questions ask for information rather than a yes-or-no answer. The question word tells the listener what type of information to give.

Question word	It asks for	Simple example
What	A thing, action, or idea	What is the dog eating?
Who	A person	Who is at the door?
Where	A place or position	Where is the ball?
When	A time or occasion	When do we brush our teeth?
Why	A reason or cause	Why is she wearing a coat?
How	A method, condition, or manner	How do we open the box?

The answer can be spoken, but it does not have to be. Depending on the question and the child’s communication system, they may answer by pointing, selecting a picture, signing, gesturing, or using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Why Can WH Questions Be Difficult for Children?

Answering even a short question involves several connected skills. A child has to notice the question word, understand the rest of the sentence, work out what information is missing, find a possible answer, and communicate it. Memory, attention, vocabulary, grammar, context, and familiarity with the topic may all affect the response.

This is why one incorrect answer does not tell you exactly what the child finds difficult. For example, a child who cannot answer “Why is the boy wet?” may not understand the word “why,” may not notice the rain in the picture, may not know the word “rain,” or may understand the cause but have difficulty forming an answer.

Understanding a WH Question Is Different From Answering It

Receptive language is the ability to understand language. Expressive language is the ability to communicate ideas. A child may understand where the toy is but not yet have an easy way to tell you. Another child may speak in sentences but still misunderstand what a particular question word is asking.

Avoid the absolute rule that understanding always develops before speaking. One study found that comprehension of the WH-question forms it examined preceded production in its participant groups, but that finding does not mean every area of receptive language always comes before every area of expressive language. Look at the individual child and the specific question.

There is no single WH-question order for every child

Simple questions with visible answers are often a practical place to begin. “What is this?” or “Where is the cup?” can be easier to support than a question about time, an unseen event, or a reason. However, “what, where, who, when, why, how” should not be presented as a universal developmental sequence.

Research on early WH-question development has found that the question forms children hear can help predict the order in which they begin using those forms. Vocabulary, grammar, experience, context, and the demands of the individual question also matter. Start with a question your child can understand with support, then adjust from what you observe.

What Should You Look for in an App to Teach WH Questions?

A useful WH questions app should do more than reward correct taps. It should make practice easier to understand and easier to carry into daily communication.

Before choosing an app, ask whether it:

States which communication skill an activity is targeting
Starts from the child’s current skills rather than age alone
Gives the parent clear instructions or a demonstration
Allows short practice without requiring a streak
Respects speech, gestures, signs, pictures, and AAC as communication
Helps the parent notice the level of support the child needed
Encourages practice away from the screen
Describes its limits without promising a result or a timeline
Makes trial, subscription, cancellation, privacy, and data-deletion information easy to find

“Therapist-created” is a useful expertise signal, but it is not the same as individual speech-language therapy. An app does not know why a child is having difficulty unless a qualified professional has assessed that child.

How Does BASICS Support WH-Question Practice?

BASICS is an early-intervention and home-practice app created by a multidisciplinary child-development team. Its current Google Play listing includes WH questions within Communication & Speech Therapy and within its Speech & Language learning games.

The verified parent workflow includes:

Answering questions about the child’s current skills
Receiving selected developmental goals
Completing three suggested activities a day
Using demonstration videos, step-by-step instructions, parent prompts, and therapist tips
Rating activities and viewing progress by goal

The listing also describes communication activities as AAC-friendly for speaking and non-speaking children. This does not mean the app independently evaluates every non-spoken response. The parent or professional still needs to observe how the child responded and what support was required.

How to Use BASICS to Practise WH Questions

The purpose of the app activity is not to collect correct answers on a screen. It is to help the child understand what the question asks and use that skill with people, books, objects, photos, and events.

1. Choose one question type and one clear goal

“Work on questions” is too broad. Choose something observable, such as:

Answer “what” questions about familiar objects
Answer “who” questions about family members in photos
Find an object after a “where” question
Give one simple reason after a “why” question

If your child has a speech-language therapist, ask which question type and response form fit the current therapy plan. Use BASICS to reinforce that goal rather than introducing several unrelated targets.

2. Make the answer easy to find at first

Start with a real object, familiar person, routine, or clear picture. Ask a question whose answer is present and unambiguous. “Where is the spoon?” while the spoon is on the table is easier to interpret than “Where did we go last Sunday?”

Reduce distractions. If a picture has too many possible answers, choose a simpler scene or point out the relevant part before asking.

3. Ask once, then pause

Ask the question naturally and allow processing time. Do not repeat it rapidly or add several new questions while the child is still working out the first one.

Watch for any purposeful response: looking toward the answer, pointing, reaching, selecting a symbol, signing, or speaking. The response can show you whether the child understood more than they were able to say.

4. Support the answer instead of testing repeatedly

If the child is unsure, change the support rather than asking the same open question again and again.

You can:

Point to the relevant part of the picture
Offer two choices: “Is the ball under the chair or on the bed?”
Begin the answer: “The ball is…”
Model the complete answer: “The ball is under the chair”
Model the answer on the child’s AAC system while speaking

After modelling, continue the interaction. Do not require the child to repeat every model before moving on.

5. Repeat the same skill in a real routine

After the BASICS activity, use the same type of question once or twice during the day.

At snack: “What are you eating?” or “Where is your cup?”
During play: “Who is driving?” or “Where did the car go?”
While dressing: “What goes on your feet?” or “Why do we wear a coat?”
With a family photo: “Who is next to Grandma?”
During a book: “What happened?” or “Why is the character hiding?”

Ask genuine questions as well as practice questions. If you already know every answer and ask one question after another, the interaction can begin to feel like an examination.

6. Record the support the child needed

BASICS includes goal-by-goal progress tracking. Use it to record more than whether the activity was completed.

Notice whether the child:

Answered independently
Answered after a pause
Needed a visual cue or two choices
Copied a model
Used speech, gesture, sign, a picture, or AAC
Used the same skill later in a different setting
Became tired, distressed, or disengaged

An independent answer in one activity is different from an answer given after a model. Neither is a failure, but they tell you different things about the next step.

How Do You Choose the Right Starting Question?

Begin with the question that gives your child the clearest route to an answer. That may be “what,” “where,” or “who,” but the correct starting point is not determined by a universal chart.

Start with visible and familiar information

Use familiar objects, people, and actions. Keep the sentence short and make the answer available through more than one communication method.

For example, place a ball and a car in front of the child and ask, “What rolls?” The child can answer by saying “ball,” pointing, or selecting the relevant symbol. If that is too hard, show the ball rolling first and model the answer.

Add less visible information gradually

Questions about time, reasons, methods, past events, or imagined situations usually require more background knowledge and language. Make the clues clear and teach the answer rather than expecting the child to infer it immediately.

For “why,” begin with an obvious cause: show a picture of a person holding an umbrella in visible rain and ask, “Why does she have an umbrella?” If needed, offer the choice “because it is raining or because it is bedtime?”

Can Children Answer WH Questions Without Speaking?

A WH-question goal should not accidentally become a speech-only test. If the goal is understanding “where,” a correct point toward the hidden toy may demonstrate understanding even if the child cannot yet say “under the table.”

ASHA describes AAC as including a range of communication methods and recommends considering it early when a person needs another way to communicate. Keep the child’s established AAC system available during the activity. Model words on it while you speak, and do not remove it to encourage speech.

The response you accept should match the goal. If the goal is comprehension, pointing or choosing may be enough. If the goal is forming a spoken sentence, the therapist may target a verbal response separately while still respecting the child’s other communication methods.

When Is an App Not Enough for WH-Question Practice?

Difficulty with WH questions can be related to language comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, memory, attention, hearing, social communication, or the demands of the situation. An app cannot determine the cause.

Speak with a paediatrician, audiologist, or speech-language professional if your child:

Has lost words, gestures, or other communication skills
Often does not respond to sounds, their name, or spoken language
Struggles to understand familiar words or follow simple directions
Has very few ways to ask, refuse, comment, or answer
Becomes frequently distressed during communication
Is not gaining new communication skills over time
Has difficulty across daily situations rather than only during one app activity
Causes you ongoing concern, even if you cannot identify one specific sign

ASHA advises families not to wait when they are concerned and notes that hearing should be checked when a child often needs repetition or louder speech. A professional evaluation can examine receptive and expressive language, hearing, speech, AAC needs, and the contexts in which communication is easier or harder.

Is BASICS the Right WH Questions App for Your Child?

BASICS may be useful if you want a structured parent workflow, WH-question practice inside a broader communication plan, demonstration videos, daily activity suggestions, AAC-friendly communication activities, and progress tracking. It may also help you bring clearer observations to your child’s therapist.

It is not enough by itself if you need a diagnosis, an explanation for the child’s difficulty, an individual treatment plan, or professional adjustment of prompts and goals. More games do not automatically mean better learning. The match between the activity, the child, the adult’s support, and real-life practice matters more than the number of completed levels.

Before subscribing, review the current store listing for price, renewal, cancellation, privacy, data collection, and device compatibility. BASICS currently lists a seven-day BASICS Premium trial on Google Play, but store terms can change.

Try BASICS for Guided WH-Question Practice

BASICS gives parents therapist-created activities, selected developmental goals, three daily suggestions, demonstrations, parent prompts, therapist tips, and goal-by-goal progress tracking. Use one activity at a time, practise together, and carry the same question into a real conversation or routine.

If your child already works with a speech-language therapist, align the app goal with the therapy plan. If you have persistent concerns and no professional guidance, arrange an evaluation rather than waiting for an app to provide the answer.

Clinical Review

Prepared for clinical review by Shilpa Deshpande, BSc (ASLP), Speech and Language Therapist.

After she approves the final article, change this line to “Clinically reviewed by Shilpa Deshpande, BSc (ASLP), Speech and Language Therapist.” Clinical review confirms the educational accuracy and safety of the published article. It does not create an individual therapist-client relationship or replace an assessment.