This is an extract from Good Autism Practice for Teachers by Karen Watson.
Communication
Autistic children have a broad range of communication abilities including, but not limited to, spoken language (Blume et al, 2021). This was historically referred to as ‘communication difficulties’ under the umbrella term ‘triad of impairment’. However, the phrase communication difficulties doesn’t fully encapsulate the range of ability and need, and the individualised nature of communication. Just because a child doesn’t speak, it doesn’t mean they have nothing to say. Some children you work with will be verbal, some will be pre-verbal, and some will use a communication aid or device. Some children may have some verbal skills but may not be able to access these when dysregulated or anxious
(Wood and Gadow, 2010). An autistic person will not always communicate in a way which is natural or standard to a neurotypical person. This is okay; different doesn’t mean worse or less. It just means that strategies need to be developed and adjusted so that communication is inclusive. These strategies will benefit everyone (Milton et al, 2017). Using a communication support strategy for a whole class, for example, could also help a child with dyslexia, a child with an executive functioning difficulty, or an autistic child.
An important thing to keep in mind is that communication is a two-way process (Frith, 1998). It is not the responsibility of one of the communicative partners to force a certain communication style and dominate the conversation. It is about meeting a child where they are, and using different strategies and responses depending on individual needs. It is important not to shoehorn autistic children into neurotypical norms, and instead reach out to them in a communication style that suits them. Ideally, utilise multiple communication strategies to help facilitate conversations and communication with others, and
between peers who have differing communication styles.
What is expressive and receptive language?
Language can be broadly categorised into two areas: expressive and receptive language
(Porter and Cafiero, 2009).
- Expressive language is how a child expresses themselves to others, while
receptive language is how a child processes what is said to them. Broken down
further, expressive language involves processes like choosing words, planning
sentences, considering the impact of a communication, selecting sounds,
articulating them, speaking fluently, using body language and non-verbal
communication and self-monitoring. - Receptive language involves understanding meaning and syntax, engaging auditory
memory, listening and hearing, and interpreting non-verbal communication (Elks
and McLachlan, 2015).
When communication is examined and broken down, it becomes apparent that there are
lots of separate processes and concepts to grasp for fluent communication to occur.
A child may have a difficulty with one of these processes and it could throw the whole
chain of communication off. For example, a child who struggles with non-verbal cues,
such as body language, may become stuck at this point in the chain. This is part of both
expressive and receptive communication, depending on whether they have difficulty with
processing and delivering their own non-verbal cues, or interpreting them. Immediately,
the chain of communication has links missing. If the child has missed some key information from an instruction, they will now not be able to process it fully and so cannot
proceed to follow that instruction.
Other things to consider are the processes of giving attention to whomever is speaking,
listening and concentrating, filtering out other noise and distractions, hearing, and
engaging both short- and long-term memory. All of that together leads to understanding.
There is a lot of integration required to get to the point of understanding and responding,
with lots of complex stimuli to be processed.
Non-verbal communication
Let’s now move on to think about non-verbal communication.
A huge amount of information comes to the listener via non-verbal communication
(Mehrabian, 1982), who uses it to support understanding. Feelings can often be interpreted
through non-verbal communication, especially if they differ from the verbal content.
Non-verbal communication can sometimes mask difficulties. A child may be highly skilled
at interpreting standard cues, or perhaps you use the same gesture or tone and they
have learned what it means. If you are showing predictable non-verbal cues, a child who
struggles to interpret may simply learn what that particular cue means. This is a simple
level of support, using predictable cues. Perhaps a consistent point to where the child
needs to go, or a wave to support ‘good morning’. Essentially, this is the very beginning
of signing. Signing to support meaning is a strong support strategy, which supports an
inclusive communication environment. It is an addition to speech which can help with
providing understanding or context.
EXAMPLE
You’ve asked a child to stand up and line up by the door. For a child who struggles to
follow a two-step instruction, this could be tricky to complete. Perhaps they have difficulty with their short term memory: perhaps you worded the instruction in a way which was more complex than necessary, ‘Can you all stand up? Yes that’s great; tuck that chair in please; right let’s get into a lovely line by the door.’ The child is left standing behind their chair wondering what on earth to do next, while the rest of the class is lining up. Perhaps they will follow their peers and get into line, perhaps a member of support staff has noticed and gives them a quick point to the door, or perhaps they will stand by their chair and look to you for further instructions. Now, at this point, the most common response from the adult is something like: ‘Come on now, I said line up, let’s go.’ The adult assumes the child wasn’t listening, or is being defiant, when in reality it could be a simple listening or processing difficulty. If you think back to Chapter 3, sensory processing, it could even be an auditory sensitivity. Perhaps there is a distracting sound somewhere or perhaps the child wasn’t tuned into your voice when you spoke.
It can sometimes take a little detective work to fully understand and support a child.
It can sometimes be as simple as making a gesture when asking the children to sit
down. Some people naturally use their hands and gesture when they talk; some don’t.
Perhaps one day you have your hands full and don’t make that gesture. Two pupils
remain standing, looking a little mystified. They are relying on gesture to support
your speech.
Autistic children in particular can find non-verbal communication a real barrier. These children may exaggerate facial expressions or maintain a very neutral expression. They may
struggle with tone and find things like sarcasm tricky to interpret. This is not true for all autistic children; everyone is different, but it is worth being aware that differences may be present as these are some of the ways it can impact a child’s acquisition and understanding of language.
The Critical Blog 