Read about three ways you can communicate with your Autistic child. These ideas will help you connect with your child, whether nonverbal or high functioning.
One of the autistic characteristics or symptoms is problems with communication.
Autism is a spectrum, so the extent of this problem may vary.
On one side of the spectrum, you may have a completely nonverbal child who won’t produce any words or understand them.
On the other side of the spectrum, you may have a high-functioning individual with elaborate speech and vocabulary.
Still, they may struggle with understanding and taking turns in a conversation, for example.
Problems with communication
Some children with Autism show delays in their use of speech, and some may not talk at all.
They may have fewer opportunities to develop and practise their language because autistic individuals may also be less interested in other people.
Instead, they might obsess about and focus on their unique interests, which is typical for autistic children.
They might also not know how to communicate in appropriate ways.
They may struggle with reciprocity in a conversation and focus too much on the topic of their interest.
Or they may have problems stopping themselves and saying something inappropriate.
Self-control or inhibition is one of the executive functions. I wrote about them in this post.
Children with Autism may have poor inhibition control skills or lack theory of mind. Theory of mind is an awareness that other people might think or feel differently from us.
Difficult Behaviour
Problems with communication may often lead to problematic behaviour.
If a child can’t communicate their needs, they may become frustrated and express them through crying or tantrums.
Despite their challenges in communication or lack of speech, there are ways to communicate with children (and adults) with Autism successfully.
Below I will discuss some of them.
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Visual ways to communicate with your Autistic child
Use PECS to communicate with your Autistic child
We communicate not only with words, but we use gestures and other nonverbal skills to aid us.
Without them, autistic children may get frustrated trying to express their feelings or what they think or need.
This frustration may lead to inappropriate behaviour and acting out.
What is PECS?
PECS means Picture Exchange Communication System and is a unique alternative/augmentative communication system.
It was developed in 1985 in the USA, and its creators are Andy Bondy and Lori Frost.
PECS was first used with autistic pre-schoolers in Delaware, USA. Since then, it has been used worldwide successfully.
People (not only children) who use it may have different communication needs, learning difficulties or cognitive impairments.
I have found it very useful when working with children. It helps not only those who are non-verbal but also the children who do speak.
It helps them to process information and understand it better and gives them a visual reference.
The PECS system has been created based on a book titled “Verbal Behaviour” by a behavioural psychologist, B.F. Skinner.
PECS has six phases and starts with exchanging single pictures for the items.
You would exchange a picture with a ball on it for a ball, and so on.
The children learn what the words mean and, in later phases, how to use them in the sentence and modify them.
Although the aim of PECS is communication, some of the users also develop speech.
Working with PECS
I found it very simple to use.
It is communicating using pictures.
A bank of PECS-branded images might be expensive sometimes, but you can make your own by hand or digitally.
Let me give you an example from working in a school.
When it was time for Maths, I would show a child with Autism a card with a picture with some numbers and the word “Maths”, telling them it was time for Maths.
That worked much better than just saying it to the child.
Then, if the child wanted to communicate something to me or ask for something, they would show me a picture card.
For example, they would show me a picture with the toilet sign when they needed to go to the toilet.
PECS helps with tantrums
Studies show that using PECS can help with outbursts and tantrums.
These may happen because the child is frustrated and is understood, and might be, for example, thirsty but can’t say it or show it.
With a picture card, they can show their carers or teachers that they need a drink and avoid having to cry and be upset.
PECS’s cards are great for Now and Next boards.
Use Now and Next Boards to communicate with your Autistic child
What are the Now and Next Boards?
Now and Next Boards are also called First and Then boards.
It is straightforward. It can be a plain rectangle divided in the middle.
The half on the left is the Now, and the one on the right is the Next.
Using pictures or PECS cards, we can communicate to the child what they need to do first and what follows.
What can they help with?
The Now and Next Boards really help children with Autism as they often are very fixated on routine and don’t like changes.
With the Now and Next board, they know what to expect next.
These boards may reduce anxiety.
Autistic people rely on predictability.
Not knowing what comes next causes them stress and fear.
Now and Next boards can :
- help with following directions
- reduce confusion for autistic children
- help with the transition between activities
- help engage in new experiences
- aid independence and support self-organisation
- help break up activities and tasks
- help those who struggle with understanding time
What else can you do with them?
You can extend the boards’ purpose and build upon them to create timetables or timelines for children.
Some might find it helpful to have their whole day organised and presented visually in a sequence.
It can help with transitions and ease the anxiety of the uncertain.
Use Social Stories to communicate with your Autistic child
People with Autism might not always understand and pick up on social cues.
They might struggle with understanding body language, eye contact, gestures and facial expression and anything that is not literal, explicit and direct.
To help Autistic children to fit in socially, you can use social stories.
What are Social Stories?
Social stories are also known as social scripts, social narratives or story-based interventions.
They were created by Carol Gray, a former teacher, in 1991 when she developed them when working with Autistic students.
They are descriptions and explanations of a particular situation, activity or event.
They describe what is involved in the activity, who might be there, what will be done/ shown, and what behaviours are expected.
You might support them with pictures.
For example, you may use a social story to explain the first day at school to the child.
You will tell them where they will go, who they will see, what they will do, and so on.
What can Social Stories help with?
Parents, carers and teachers can use social stories to develop children’s social skills.
You may use them to teach about sharing, making friends, talking to a shopkeeper, going to a wedding and many more.
They can help teach self-care skills like using the toilet, brushing your teeth, and dressing appropriately for the weather.
Sequencing
You may also want to use them to help with sequencing.
Sequencing is about what comes next in a series of activities.
If you want to brush your teeth, for example, you first need to get your toothbrush, put the toothpaste on it and then brush your teeth.
For a person with Autism, the instruction “brush your teeth” might not be obvious.
To break it down into steps, you may use a social story.
Social Stories for Autism
Social stories are literal and concrete and explicitly explain to people with Autism the social expectations and what they should do in a particular situation.
They are great because they are flexible, and you can adapt them to a person, their needs, and a specific purpose.
The sentences used in social stories are usually in the first person.
For example: “I will go to the shop. I will hold mummy’s hand. There will be many different people I don’t know there”.
You should adapt the language used in social stories to the age and development of the child.
The downside is that social stories might not be helpful for non-verbal children and those with poor comprehension skills.
Use Makaton to communicate with your Autistic child
What is Makaton?
Makaton is a version of sign language and uses hand gestures.
The name Makaton comes from combining the names of the team members teaching it first.
They were Margaret Walker, Katherine Johnston and Tony Cornforth. Margaret is the Speech Therapist who designed the programme.
It is used not only by people with Autism but also by those with learning difficulties, cognitive impairments and other conditions.
Schools sometimes use it with young pre-verbal children and even those who use English as a second language.
Makaton uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.
It can help with the skills needed to develop communication: paying attention, listening, comprehending, memory and recalling.
In Makaton, you use signs together with speech.
Additionally, you use the words in English grammatical order. Symbols can be used in addition or instead of signs.
The gestures used in Makaton are based on British Sign language – the language of the Deaf community.
The difference is that Makaton uses speech together with gestures, and words are in grammatical order.
Some people develop speech over time and no longer need to use signs and symbols.
Using Makaton
When using Makaton, you usually sign the keyword when saying the sentence or phrase simultaneously.
I used to, for example, say to a child: “Would you like to go to the toilet?” and use the “toilet” gesture.
It is good to use short and simple sentences, body language, and facial expressions when using Makaton.
Eye contact is important too.
Makaton can alleviate frustration and let children with Autism be understood and express themselves.
Makaton has eight stages and around 450 words of core vocabulary.
The first stage covers vocabulary used to ensure basic needs, like eating or drinking.
The following stages become more elaborate and may address more complex or abstract topics.
Visuals (PECS and Now and Next Boards), Social Stories and Makaton are three of many ways and ideas to communicate with an Autistic child.
And what do you use to communicate with your Autistic Child?
Let me know in the comments!
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