Communication is a complex skill and a typical challenge for children with autism. As a parent, understanding language acquisition is vital to helping your child developmentally progress. Once understood, it’s time to apply what you know and begin working with your child to expand their communication skills.
Language develops in layers that build upon one another. The most fundamental layer is non-verbal communication. In the months following infancy children begin to learn their gestures have an effect on the world around them. Imagine your child raising their arms to be picked up and you happily obliging them! By doing this, you have positively reinforced the concept that non-verbal communication (or the use of gestures) is purposeful.
Beyond gestures having a purpose, your child will learn that vocalizing is also purposeful. The simple sounds that often accompany non-verbal gestures are the primers to speaking complete words. If your child makes simple sounds in conjunction with gestures the next step is to expand this skill by increasing the amount of sounds or frequency of their use.
Once your child can verbally communicate it is time to address more specific dynamics of language. You may want to work on sentence structure or length. Perhaps you’d like to focus on language in the form of social communication. Maybe your child is ready to work on abstract language ideas like answering the “W” questions of: who, what, when, and where.
No matter what stage of language acquisition your child is in, you can help them succeed by working on communication daily. Use these ideas to get you started and tailor them to your child.
If your child is currently non-verbal:
*Offer him sound activated toys and lights. This will encourage vocalization and begin to build the idea that making sounds is purposeful (action = consequence)
*Work on simple gestures as a form of communication. Encourage pointing and waving.
*Work on eliciting sounds ‘ba’ and ‘ma’ as these are usually easiest to learn
If your child makes simple sounds to communicate:
*Work with them to extend the length or frequency of the sound before granting their request. So, if your child says, “‘Ba” for ‘ball’, encourage them to say ‘Ba-Ba’
*Have your child use a sound in as many appropriate ways as possible. So, if your child says, “mmm” work on words like ‘milk’, ‘mama’ or ‘more’
If your child verbally communicates:
*Focus on expanding the existing language. If your child says, “I am hungry” prompt them to elaborate with, “I want to eat”
*Work on social communication, such as the many different ways to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’
*Choose one “W” question and make a game out of answering it – “Who ate the last cookie?”
Remember that teaching a child with autism to communicate is an ongoing process. For the best results- be consistent, make it fun, and stay positive!
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