Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present alteration in communication and language, which in some cases represents a consistent linguistic development in the formal aspect but with failures in the social use of language, that is, although he says some words or phrases, he repeats them to himself without addressing a third party.
Other children show little communication and interaction with their environment, they call each other continuously without getting a response and even do not respond to their basic needs and show little or no interest in doing the interaction. Parents are advised to be alert and attentive to behaviors and to know the child well in order to know their requirements and provide strategies in a timely manner.
Application of techniques and strategies in communication and language
In autism, diagnosis in the first years of life is essential, communication should be stimulated in children with ASD through techniques and strategies in these early years, to achieve a favorable prognosis, which helps to develop early language acquisition and the communication.
That is why, according to the Venezuelan Institute for the integral development of the Child IVEDIN (2014) , several therapists, teachers and psychologists who work there state their experience in the acquisition of communication and language of children with the Autism Spectrum (ASD) . Here are 8 ways to stimulate language and communication in children with autism.
- Give intention and meaning to the actions carried out by the child , even if their behavior is considered without a specific purpose, validate their movements and verbalizations, even if they are not real words, thus increasing the intention of communication. Even if the child is with his stereotyped movements, or other actions little understood by the adult, verbalize the actions he performs.
- Use body games and physical contact , look for play activities that invite you to feel body to body, always smile, hug and tickle him always verbalizing the actions, even if you do not receive responses from him.
- The social routine will allow them to communicate . Take turns doing activities, the simple and short instructions will help you understand the action. Create routine habits of getting up at a certain time, cleaning teeth, bathing, having breakfast, among other routines, this will ensure that the social adaptation process is generated at an early age.
- Encourage and reinforce your communication approaches by responding immediately so that they are maintained and increased. Encourage him with claps, kisses and caresses when he communicates verbally, even if they are minimal words. Let’s adapt the language level to your level, always with words and short phrases that you can understand, avoiding verbal overload.
- The use of waiting time is a communicational technique, when the child performs an activity, pause to receive a response, give him an object and wait for him to receive it, then ask him to hand it in again, always expecting communicative responses. Praise their positive results.
- Encourage forced communicative responses in the child. Do activities where the child feels obliged to ask for help from the adult, for example, give a toy that he likes, while you build a large tower next to it, the child will be interested in what he is doing and will immediately seek to get involved in the game, this it will lead him to ask for help from the adult and thus force him to verbalize. Praise their actions.
- Interrupt a daily sequence in which the child is actively participating, so that it cannot continue without responding to the communicative demand of the adult. Thus the habit is created in the child in sequential activities that allow meaningful learning.
Verbal communication in children with Autism Spectrum (ASD) is not always what is expected, parents and caregivers often feel frustrated, but it is important to recognize small variations in language and communication, even in behaviors, as such actions, although Unnoticeable to others are great and significant achievements for parents and family.
Thanks for the article was of great interest, very important to know these strategies to be able to help these little ones with ASD.