The Verbal Behavior approach is based on B.F. Skinner’s (American psychologist and behaviorist) book "Verbal Behavior" from 1957. Verbal behavior was defined by Skinner as a behavior that is reinforced by the mediation of another person’s behavior. Verbal behavior involves a social interaction between a speaker and a listener.
For example: The child asks the mother, "Can I have some juice?" and as consequence the mother gives the child a glass of juice. The verbal response "Can I have some juice?" can produce the reinforcer of a glass of juice mediated through the behavior of the mother.
The Verbal Behavior approach places special emphasis on the child's motivation and focuses on teaching communicational skills. With this approach, the child does not simply learn to repeat certain words or even whole sentences like a parrot, but to say "water" when it wants to drink water or even "I want to swing" if that’s his/her desire.