Page 31 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

Communication About the author Karla Pretorius Research Psychologist Co-founder: AIMS Global (aimsglobal.info) Parent course creator: im-possible-parenting.teachable.com to communicate their needs functionally and secondly less likely to engage in challenging behaviours, such as shouting or becoming aggressive due to the frustration they feel. Effective ways to increase communication Gestures We all communicate via gestures – we might nod our head if we agree to a sneaky snack midday or we might wink to our child if we catch them playing nicely with their sibling. We should encourage our children to also communicate via gestures as these are easily understood by any person regardless of their background and culture and also easily learned. When you go on a holiday to a country where your first language might not be understood, people will all understand a friendly wave. It is a universally accepted form of communication and an excellent backup plan should your child be in need of help from you or the lovely Portuguese neighbour. Here are some important gestures, which you can pair with movements your child can do and will understand: • Hand up for “stop” (when they are tired and they need a quick break) • Thumbs up for “good” (when you ask your child from a distance if he or she is doing okay in a possibly novel social setting) • Hand flip towards the mouth (this can serve a need for a drink of water) • Covering ears (when there are loud sounds and it is a good idea to exit this environment, if possible). “Respect their way of communicating” There are many other gestures I can include, but it becomes quite child-specific as well as developmentally and age-specific. It is important to look at what your child requires most frequently and look at their fine motor abilities and then pair a gesture with an item or action and practice this with them. Show your child that you will respect their way of communicating in these situations as you understand that they might feel a bit overwhelmed and verbal communication might not be possible at that moment. When a child feels comfortable communicating in more than one mode they will more than likely increase their verbal requests too. Throughout the years I have worked with children, I have seen an increase in communication when a child is calm, they feel respected to communicate in whichever mode they choose, and when there is less of a focus on verbal communication. It happens automatically, they start gesturing more, and then this may be paired with an increase in verbal responses. Speaking about pairing Pairing is a technique that is often only used for younger children that might still be pre-verbal. I feel there is not enough importance placed on this technique for our more verbal and also our older children. This strategy includes a parent, therapist, or friend pairing a sound, word, or phrase with a motivating activity. For example, if your child enjoys jumping or bouncing on a trampoline, you can pair the sounds “j,j,j” or “b,b,b” respectively. Keep the sounds to approximations you have heard your child say before and as appropriate to the word you are working towards as possible. If your child SEN113 31 ■ Hand gesture. senmagazine.co.uk