Importance of Teaching Early Communication Skills

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Importance of Teaching Early Communication Skills

• Back to School Inservice
• 8/7/09
• Terre Graham

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Communication

• What is it?
• Why is it important?
• How do we communicate?
• Presence of language doesnt mean communication
  will follow.
• Absence of language doesnt mean communication
  cant occur.

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• As much as 90 of any messages exchanged between
  two very verbal people can be attributed to
  nonverbal behavior.
• Many nonverbal communicative behaviors are
  universal and recognized.
• We must recognize the power of nonsymbolic
  communicative behaviors and build on them
• Facial expressions, body movements, gestures.

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• We should perceive all students, regardless of
  the severity of the disability, as individuals
  who have something to say but who have extreme
  difficulty making their thoughts heard and
  understood by others.

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Social Aspect

• Who do children with severe disabilities tend to
  communicate with the most?
• Who would be better communicative partners?
• Why?

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Form

• An identifiable form of communication to
  effectively convey a message.
• Need to identify multiple ways for child to
  communicate both receptively and expressively.
• What are some examples of how your students
  communicate?

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Content

• Something to talk about.
• Provide support to help remember how to convey
  something or what to convey.
• Photo albums,
• Objects
• Parts of objects
• Pictures
• Asking questions
• Topics

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Purpose

• Needing to communicate is motivation.
• Having needs met is the reinforcement.
• Develop social closeness and friendship.
• Act on naturally occurring communicative
  opportunities as well as creating them.

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Communication in Daily Life

• Offers control over the environment
• Provides a door to literacy and learning
• A means of emotional catharsis
• Way to make friends
• Communication should be accessible to EVERYONE
  regardless of severity of the disability!!!

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Communication and Control

• Control over physical and social environment.
• Encourages self-determination, self-worth and
  self-esteem.
• Encourage many opportunities for
  choice-makingwe all like to make our own
  choices.

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Learning and Literacy

• Difficult to gauge effectiveness of teaching -
  limiting learning opportunities.
• Literacy makes learning more accessible - visual
  form.
• Labeling of items

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Communication Catharsis

• Need a socially acceptable way to deal with
  anger.
• Limited control over environment.
• Highly controlled by others.
• Learning new skills.
• Effort to learn.

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Friendship Development

• Difficult to maintain interactions.
• Communication is fundamental to participating and
  interacting with others.
• Communicative partners - with and without
  disabilities.
• How can friendships be developed?
• Limited opportunities for interaction.

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Lack of Communication

• Aggression
• React in a physical manner
• May be most effective means of communicating
• Evaluate reason behind aggression - dont just
  punish the behavior

• Passivity
• Learned helplessness can do something but choose
  not to as situation is perceived out of their
  control.
• Be careful not to control the environment.

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Communication Skills in the School

• Greetings and Farewells
• Asking for attention/getting help
• Comments of approval/rejection
• Social closeness

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Nonsymbolic Communication

• Used to make needs known.
• Highly individualized.
• Can be used with symbols or in isolation.
• Eye movements
• Shutting eyes
• Looking away
• Eye contact with person communicating
• Eye gaze from person to desired item/location.

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• Facial Expressions
• Smile
• Frown
• Grimace
• Surprise
• Anger

• Touch
• Touches partner
• Pulls partner
• Manipulates partner
• Displays emotion to partner
• Point/touches item/person
• Points

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• Extremity Movements
• Increased mvmnt.
• Pauses mvmnt.
• Changes in tone
• Change in posture
• Moves away
• Swaying
• Leaning closer
• Fidgets

• Object Movement
• Touching or manipulating objects
• Acting on objects
• Stop activity of objects
• Displaying emotion to objects

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TOBI True Object Based Icon

• T

True Object Based Icons (TOBIs) can be used with
individuals who have difficulty understanding
two-dimensional visual symbols (i.e. photographs,
line drawings). TOBIs can be any line drawing or
picture that are cut out in the actual shape or
outline of the object they represent. The
individual can see the symbol and outline of the
shape, which helps him/her to more readily
understand two dimensional symbols. TOBIs are
usually larger than typical two-dimensional
symbols. Source presentation from Barbara
Bloomfield, MA CCC-SLP, ICON to I Can Visually
Based Strategies
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Facilitating Communication Partner
Responsibilities

• Increase proximity to the student
• Position him or herself at eye level
• Look expectantly to encourage participation
• Accepts the students current communicative modes
• Waits for the student to initiate or respond
• Is less directive
• Ensures that the student has a way to express him
  or herself

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Increasing Proximity

• Gain ones attention
• Nonverbally communicate the intent to interact.
• Beneficial for students with visual impairments.
• Helping those with severe disabilities.
• How can this have the opposite effect?

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Establishing Eye Contact

• Critical way to obtain and maintain
  conversations.
• Eye contact vs. gazing into each others eyes!!
• Evaluate each persons need for eye contact.
• In wheelchair
• Young children
• Visually impaired
• Autistic

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Looking and Acting Expectant

• Facial expression letting other person know they
  are waiting for a response.
• How do you let your students know you are waiting
  for an answer or interaction?

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Accepting and Respecting Current Communication
Mode

• May have to accept nontypical ways of
  communicating - even if it doesnt meet social
  conventions. Examples?
• Important to teach new behaviors but must be as
  effective and as efficient.
• Pay attention to minimal or vague attempts at
  communication.
• Recognize value of nonsymbolic communication.

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Providing Wait Time

• Waiting for a student to respond can be one of
  the most effective strategies to elicit a desired
  response.
• Response required must be one that can be
  accomplished.
• Examples in your classes?

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Being Less Directive

• What does it mean to be directive?
• Do you think you are overly directive as a
  teacher?
• What happens when you are overly directive - what
  influence does that have on the child?

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Ensure Student has a Communication Means

• Appropriate for the situation
• Readily available
• Replacement or back-up ready

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Teaching in Natural Contexts

• Learning to communicate should be motivating for
  the student.
• Student should clearly be able to see the
  benefit.
• Natural contexts and naturally occurring times.
• Occur at home, at school, in the community, etc.

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The Need to Practice

• Consistent and ongoing opportunities to practice
  skills are needed.
• Refrain from giving students materials they need.
  
• Give too little of something so they have to ask
  for more.
• Give the wrong item asked for.
• Give some of the items but not all.
• Others?

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Motivating Student to Communicate

• Student needs to see how powerful communication
  can be in meeting various physical, social, and
  emotional needs - that is motivating in itself.
• How motivating is communication for you? In what
  ways?

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Offering Choices

• Offer choices instead of making decisions for
  them.
• Choices should be easy for student.
• Connection between choice and reward are easier
  for them to make at first.
• Increase the number of choices so that they truly
  do have a choice to make.
• Find out what motivates student in making choices
  - food, activity, etc.
• Individualize choice ability to each student.

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Get Ready Here they come!!