Both of my kiddos are nonverbal. My daughter seems to be developing some low functioning echoic language skills, but none the less is mostly nonverbal. Research is now showing us that girls on the spectrum do tend to have higher developing social skills than boys on the spectrum.
I look at this picture and not knowing anything about these two you would never know they are nonverbal or even affected by autism. They look like two very typical kids enjoying ice cream and honestly this is true.
Without ones ability to communicate thoughts, ones needs, and ones desires it creates frustrating moments. We experience melt downs where there is a lack of understanding happening. As my children get older and their desire for more independence grows, my ability to effectively communicate to them is a necessity. So today, I was looking into some information about nonverbal communication to share with you all. As I keep looking more into this to help develop my own training method for those that work closely with my children I will continue to pass on that information to you.
Today I found this on a website about nonverbal thinking. They give us some points to keep in mind.
More to this article can be found at: http://teacch.com/communication-approaches-2/nonverbal-thinking-communication-imitation-and-play-skills-with-some-things-to-remember
Things To Remember
1. The most difficult aspect of learning play, to imitate, and to communicate is learning the concept or "why" of these areas of development. Children with autism do not inherently understand the meaning or importance of any of these skills. This is why it is important to start at a level where your child can experience as much success as possible. If your child is not successful at the activities that you try, or is not able to complete them independently, it may be necessary to try a simpler activity. This should not be considered a set back. Children with autism can be inconsistent in their ability to use their skills. Your child may be able to communicate with single words on his or her best days but may need to use pictures on other days. Or your child may be able to build towers with his or her sibling some of the time but at other times can only be successful when playing alone. Making sure that your child masters skills at each level may mean that progress will be slow, but this approach will ensure that what your child learns is meaningful and useful.
2.There are actually many types of development that could be reviewed in this step by step manner. For example, social development, like nonverbal thinking, imitation, communication, and play skills, emerges in a sequence of developmental steps. At early stages of development, however, many types of skills are related. Improvement in play skills and communication will promote social development. Improvement in nonverbal thinking will help your child understand toys. Remembering to emphasize your child's strengths and interests in all areas is important because the development of his or her stronger areas will promote development in weaker areas.
3. As your child passes through each stage of development and takes on more complicated activities, remember to make each advancing step a small one. Change each activity a little bit at a time. For example, if your child can successfully communicate about food using pictures, you may want your child to start using words and start communicating about other topics. This will probably be too many changes at one time and will lead to frustration. Choose only one thing to teach at a time. For example, introduce a wider variety of pictures for your child to communicate about but wait to teach a new type of communication such as talking.
4. Remember that visual skills are usually a strength for children with autism. It may take some extra work or creativity to teach using visual techniques. Emphasizing this type of learning, however, is likely to increase your child's ability to learn and understand at all levels of development.
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