Communication
"Language is the cornerstone of human behavior"- Mary Lynch Barbera
When we work with our learners, our primary goal is to develop effective and efficient language skills. Language is effective when a learner communicates with family, friends, teachers, and people in the community AND they understand and respond to the communication. Efficient means that the learner’s communication is easy for them; it gets the job done and it gets it done quickly. Saying, “I want a banana” means I’m getting a banana, and I don’t need to wait two hours for that banana.
Language is the basis of everything we do at ABA Spectrum. When a learner engages in challenging or unexpected behavior, we look at data to determine what the behavior is communicating. When a learner needs to develop effective and efficient language, we provide them with the tools they need to develop language.
In graduate school, building language was the focus of everything we learned. I wanted my professor to tell me how to build language. I asked this same question multiple times and every time, he would say one thing, “Exposure, exposure, exposure”. I was frustrated with his response because I didn’t think he was teaching me HOW to build language. I understood the importance of language, I just wanted to know HOW TO TEACH IT. After working with children for 20+ years, I understand. Everyone needs exposure to language to learn to communicate. In ABA, we have other tools and effective strategies for teaching language, exposure is key.
You can expose your child to language by talking to them. When my kids were much younger, I spoke to them CONSTANTLY. I remember being tired of talking at night because of how much I talked. One way to do this is to narrate. Narrate what you are doing, narrate what they are doing, narrate what people around them are doing, or narrate what you see in the environment.
Example: If you are getting dressed and your child is in the room with them, tell them what you are doing. “I’m going to put my pants on right now. Oh my gosh, these pants are a little too tight. I think I need to try a different pair of pants. Let me go in the closet and choose a new pair”.
Example: You are changing your child’s clothes. “It’s time to put your pajamas on. Come here so I can help you put your pajamas on. First, we need to take off your shorts. I’m going to pull them down and you can help me. That’s right, help me pull your shorts down. I wonder if you can kick them off. Let’s see how far you can kick your shorts off. Whew, that was a great kick.”
Example: Your child is watching their dog run around the room. “Ha ha ha, do you see Stanley running around the room? Wow, he really has the zoomies. I’m getting dizzy watching him. Goodness, Stanley is a fast dog. I think Stanley may be feeling happy right now. What do you think”?
If your child is not using language at this time, it is crucial to continue to expose them to language. Keep talking, keep narrating, keep exposing them to language. Just because they may not be ‘talking’ doesn’t mean they aren’t listening to you. It is common for receptive language skills (taking in what you hear) to develop before expressive language skills (communicating with others).
If you want to learn more contact us and we can support you.
