Survival The foremost reason to communicate to others for the human beings in particular is their own survival.

There is hardly any sense in believing that a person can all alone live a life by fulfilling its daily life needs. The fact is that every next moment a person is dependent on others to survive. Hence it is inevitable for all of us to bank on communication. Co-operation There is a very genuine instinct in all the living creatures to cooperate with each other to keep the cycle of life running. Humans need this more cautiously as to keep their hard felt sense of superiority.
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Relationships Feeling of keeping a range of relationship from an individual to family and tribe was strong from early days of human civilization. It would have been extremely difficult to promote a life style without acknowledging the relationships among people living together for sometime. Communication was essential to identify relations among people to accomplish different tasks. Persuasion Communication proved handy in the course of persuasion and influence others to keep the human civilization grow. The task is done even today, though, with different techniques and in a rather complex world of communication. Power Better communication helped people and tribes to command power over others. This phenomenon is more evident in the fields of conflict and to bring the enemy down. To muster support by using better communication skills has always been the hallmark of human interactivity

Autism: How Do You Communicate With a Non-Verbal Child?

By Sylvie Leochko I am a teacher and recently, I assisted to one of these workshops meant to improve the quality of your teaching methods. I also am the mother of two young autistic children. My oldest is a 5 years old boy, which is considered to be non-verbal as he may not have used more than six words in his life. Mama was said for the first time about a year ago when he was 41/2 years old. I cant describe to you how precious this magic moment was. I still enjoy it every time he pronounces it. Sometimes, teachers need to be taught a few things! During this workshop, we were studying the multiple ways that a person learns new information. Some are visual and learn using diagrams, drawings, pictures, etc. Others are using manipulative to understand new concepts. There are eight types of learning styles. One of them is called: verbal. This type of processing is done orally and using written material such as books, essays, etc. One of the statements that was made was that: The more people express themselves orally, the more easily they will be able to express themselves and show their knowledge through their writing skills. It burned me inside. That is when I shared both my feelings and my experience concerning my son with my colleagues. It opened a new door for me when I realized that the question that popped up in peoples mind really was: Autism: How do you communicate with a non-verbal child? That is when I decided to share some information related to my experience as a parent of a nonverbal child who is affected by the Autism Spectrum disorder.

A bit of personal history of my non-verbal son My son is considered non-verbal since his vocabulary contains approximately six words which are mainly used when frustration sets in, especially when his message is not understood by the person he is communication with, at the time. Physically, he is able to speak as he is able to pronounce words but for an unknown reason, he is not communicating with others this way. Doctors have explained that he has 50% chances of becoming verbal one day as in several cases; non-verbal children affected by Autism will start speaking between the ages of 5 to 8 years old. Some children even began speaking as late as 13 years old. When he does speak without being influenced by frustration, his words are said in such a faint tone of voice that they are often difficult to understand or heard, if at all. As a parent, you sometimes think that you have heard him speak but being unsure you tend to believe that you heard things that you want to hear without reflecting reality. Sometimes, it may be the case but you will never know it for sure. Communication with a non-verbal child So, how do we communicate with our son? Well, we are using a variety of techniques. For example, in certain cases we use concrete objects that we either show him or the other way around. If he wants a sandwich, he will bring the container of jam to us. If he wants the remote control, he will take us to the shelf, take our hand and point it towards it. If you ask him to choose between several options, we will observe his reaction towards each one of them. If he gets excited, his body language will display his affirmative response by jumping up and down, some hand flapping accompanied by a huge smile. When the answer is negative, he will become upset, push away the item, turn away from it and sometimes he will even cry. What are other ways that we use for communication purposes? Well, we use a bit of sign language, the PECS, objects and observe a lot of his reactions and the clues that he gives us such as: his body language, his tone of voice, his sounds, the expression on his face as well as the gestures that he makes us do such as putting our hands on his head with pressure to communicate that he has a headache. Another thing that we keep an eye on is his routine and the slightest changes that may be responsible for his sudden distress. Lack of information can lead to harsh and judgmental comments Today, I went to the hair salon. The hairdresser told me that earlier, she cut the hair of an autistic child. She said that she thought he was normal until she was told that he was affected by ASD. Then, she said that as all children with ASD, he was a bit behind mentally. I was so disgusted, hurt and angry that I even considered leaving but being in the process of a haircut, I did not want to leave with half of it completed. I explained to her that it was a misconception that all people with ASD were affected by mental developmental delay. I also explained that during my workshop, I was told that someone who is non-verbal cannot communicate which meant, according to them that they were automatically affected by intellectual difficulties. I explained that not being verbal does not mean that someone cannot communicate efficiently their thoughts and knowledge. Knowledge is present in a non-verbal child As a parent, I often feel hurt and frustrated about the misconceptions that people have about Autism. At school, my son has been evaluated differently but he still surprises the school staff that work with him by his knowledge. Since he is using the computer efficiently, maybe he can use it later in life to communicate with us if he remains non-verbal. Autism is often misunderstood Often, people do not understand the frustration level of a non-verbal person. Well, imagine that you visit a country where you are unable to communicate with people in their own language. Wouldnt

you feel frustrated after a while? Now, imagine how it would feel to live like this every day! If people ask you in the future: How do you communicate with a non-verbal child? You will be able not only to answer their question but also to enlighten them by sharing some insightful information as Autism is often unknown, even by the Educational system. For the non-verbal child, all the rules of floor time still apply: Give 20 - 30 minutes of your undivided attention, several times per day. Build on the child's favorite behaviors. You are going to let your son or daughter select the activity through natural preferences. That includes fiddling with twigs, hand-flapping, staring into space, slamming doors, or whatever the activity may be, no matter how strange. This activity is comforting to your child, and it's the thing that will best motivate her. However, you should have lots of toys or activities handy so that your child may have the option to choose different things. If she drops her book and picks up a doll, you're going to follow that lead. Floor Time Techniques for Non-Verbal Children You will start with parallel participation, that is, doing what your child is doing as you sit facing him. After this is well tolerated, you will use the following options to promote interaction: 1. Make meaningless behaviors purposeful, by creating a "game" from your child's actions. If she is twiddling fingers, play peek-a-boo using your own fingers. Then try to encourage her to play. If your son is banging the wall, get out a pot and spoon and try to imitate or echo his sound. Make a rhythm. Capture his interest, and see if he'll switch to the pot and spoon. You are trying to turn existing solitary behavior into interactions. Interactions are the beginnings of communication. 2. Use playful obstruction to disrupt the natural flow of play. If your daughter is making rows of blocks, put a toy car in the path. Say, "Uh-oh! That car needs to move! Beep Beep!" If your son is spinning a top, throw a scarf over it. "Hey! Where'd the top go? Oh no!" 3. Play "dumb." If your daughter kicks the door to go out, pretend not to understand. If your son reaches for a favorite toy, act confused. This will encourage grunts, pointing, or other elementary forms of communication, which can be built upon. While using these floor play techniques, do the following: Recognize your child's signs of non-verbal communication. Since the vast majority of human communication is non-verbal and expressed through body language and facial expressions, do not overlook these actions in your child. If your child pushes your hand away, he is saying, "Stop it," without words. If she smirks mildly, she is saying, "I think I like that." If he throws papers on the floor and grunts, he is saying, "I'm frustrated." By giggling, she means, "That's funny!" Attaching words to these complex feelings is extremely difficult, or even impossible for some children. So during floor time you should consider any pointed interaction toward you from your child as an attempt to communicate. Use animated facial expressions. Sit facing your child as your interact, and if your child refuses to face you, sit in front of a large mirror so that she can see your face. Put simple words with your facial expressions. "Hurray!" "Where?" "Uh-oh." Remember you are not trying to be a clown or entertain your child. Don't do all the work. Your expressions should be in response to your son or daughter's own facial expressions. Exaggerate your expressions somewhat, but they should match what is going on.

 Encourage eye contact by providing sensory input that is pleasing to your child when eye contact occurs. If your son likes to be tickled, start the tickling during eye contact and stop when he shifts his gaze. If your daughter likes a feather brushed against her cheek, do it when she makes eye contact. Build a gestural vocabulary. Once a child can use 30 communicative gestures, he is ready to move toward speech. But even a child who has some speech already will benefit tremendously from using gestures as a fundamental foundation of communication. For the non-verbal child, using gestures is a bridge leading toward what we hope will be the eventual use of words. In my opinion, unless your child is hearing impaired and needs to learn sign language as a lifelong means of communication, you do not need to learn specific signs to teach to your child. You can simply use natural gestures, like pointing, putting fingers by your mouth to indicate food, palms together against cheek to indicate "sleep," etc. You can build upon any gestures your child is naturally using. Try to keep gestures consistent, but you can build your own gestural vocabulary at home. (Besides, you've got enough on your plate without having to learn a new language.) While using gestures and expressions to communicate, talk to your child. Just because your child is silent doesn't mean you should be. You need to model appropriate language, without getting too complicated. Speak with animation, but use simple two and three word phrases. "Let's play!" "Go outside?" "Here's the ball." "Good job!" "Ben's angry?" "Time to eat!" "Your turn!" etc. Be sure you're well aware of your child's sensitivity profile and use this knowledge to your advantage. If your child is oversensitive to touch, for example, you'll want to avoid handling him too much. If he's undersensitive to sound and craves auditory input, you'll want to use music, rhythm, and instruments in play. Reward effective gestures or speech immediately. If you child does use a gesture, utters a word, or otherwise has a breakthrough, reward him or her by demonstrating your understanding and immediately giving him what he wants. Remember that this will take patience and a lot of determination on your part. You will see progress,

but it may be very slow. Give yourself time off and reward yourself. You are engaged in a good cause, a truly important and noble one. Don't give up if you don't see immediate results.

What is Your Child's Sensitivity Profile?

by Kristyn Crow | More from this Blogger When we have a better understanding of our child's sensory reactivity levels, we can decode some of his or her puzzling behaviors. Many children with disabilities of all types struggle with sensory integration disorder (DSI), and have oversensitivity or undersensitivity to normal stimuli. By getting in tune with how your child manages the sensory input from his environment, you can improve your interactions. This knowledge can give teachers, therapists, and doctors a head start in relating to your son or daughter, and break down barriers to learning. GA_googleFillSlot("fam_special-needs_content_top") GA_googleCreateDomIframe("google_ads_div_fam_specialneeds_content_top_ad_container" ,"fam_special-needs_content_top");By making careful observations while your child goes about her day, you can uncover the biological challenges she is facing. The Sensitivity Scale

Using this sensitivity scale as a guide, examine your child in various settings, and experiment. Circle the number that best represents your child's level of sensitivity. 1=Undersensitive (the child is not bothered by the stimuli, and even craves it). 2=The child is barely affected by the stimuli. 3=The child seems to have a normal response to the stimuli. 4=The child seems negatively affected by the stimuli. 5=Oversensitive - The child is bothered and agitated by the stimuli. Sound: It's very common for special needs children to be over or undersensitive to sound. Experiment with different types of music. Watch your child's reactions to lawn mower sounds, dishwashers, clanging pots, whistles, whispers, etc. Does your child plug his ears and hide? Does he seem totally unaffected? When you speak in a regular tone of voice, does he respond? Rank the response on the sensitivity chart. Touch: Some children hate to be touched, because the sensation is so displeasing. They are extremely sensitive to certain fabrics or sensations against their skin. They might scream at getting wet, or tantrum when standing in grass. These children would rank a four or five on

the sensitivity scale, and are "oversensitive" to touch. A child who is undersensitive might crave being held and cuddled, and might constantly touch and rub things around her, needing MORE sensations, because hers are lacking. She might like long sleeves and the feeling of pressure against her skin. This child would rank a one or two. Visual: Does your son or daughter react to bright light? Does he get agitated in bright sunlight? Does the flickering T.V. screen cause a frustrated reaction? Does he cover his eyes in certain situations? This child would be oversensitive to visual stimuli. A child who flips flingers in front of his eyes, puts toys up by his face, and is stimulated by lights and colors, would be undersensitive on the scale. The undersensitive child would crave more visual input to compensate for what he lacks. Movement: Some children are undersensitive to movement sensations, and so they have the strong desire to run, twirl, flap, spin, jump, and twist to fill the void. These children also enjoy swinging for long periods of time. A child who is oversensitive to movement will be nervous, easily startled, afraid of what movement to do next, etc. He or she might be very reluctant to play outside or cower rather than participate in a game of catch. Smell and Taste: These two senses are often combined because the physiology of the two senses is so similar. Pay attention to how your child reacts when there are strong smells present. Have him smell perfumes or cooking food. Is there a noticeable aversion? If so, your child is oversensitive to smell. If your child is constantly sniffing things, she is undersensitive. Does your child insist on eating the same bland foods every day? Does he refuse to eat anything with spices or an unusual taste? He is likely oversensitive to taste. By watching for your child's sensory clues, you can create a general sensitivity profile for him or her. Now suddenly behaviors that seemed strange start to make sense. With this information, you can gear your child's learning and interactions based on what sensory input she tolerates best. For example,if your daughter is oversensitive to touch and sound, but responds to visual input in a normal way, you can focus on visual techniques for teaching, and use eye contact for building stronger relationship bonds.

Communication
Every person needs some method of communication in order to interact with others and have healthy social relationships. People with cerebral palsy who are nonverbal or whose speech is not understandable enough to communicate effectively can benefit from using some type of communication device. Augmentative communication devices are tools and methods that help individuals communicate more easily and effectively. They can include things as communication boards (a board with pictures representing a students daily needs), symbol systems, programmable switches, electronic communication devices, speech synthesizers, recorded speech devices, communication enhancement software, and voiced word processing. This technology can help a person with cerebral palsy and difficulty speaking feel more independent and take part in activities with others.

Communication Boards Communication boards are an inexpensive and practical mode by which an individual can communicate. This system does not involve any mechanical parts. A picture of an object (a hairbrush, a toy, food, or printed words) can represent what the person is attempting to say. The trouble with manual Communication boards is that there is only so many symbols which can fit on a board. The board must be portable and so cannot be too bulky or difficult to carry. Changing the symbols on the board can also be a tedious process. Computer technology has made the simple communications board much more versatile and usefull. One example is the ability for computer programs to easily store symbols, and then print a custom communications board every day to reflect the person's changing needs. On the other end, there are electronic communication boards which can use a hierarchy to display hundreds of times as many symbols than a conventional board. A person with cerebral palsy could drill down through a hierarchy to express their feelings, needs, or to construct sentences by combining small phrases. To create a message, the person would select a menu with a specific category. The categories on the screen are similar to folders on a computer. When you select a category, subcategories are listed. Categories for a young boy with cerebral palsy might be school, home. The category home might be broken down into eating, having fun, family, friends, etc.... Those subcategories are then broken down even further. In the past, it would have been impractical to carry around a large personal computer and monitor in order to communicate via such electronic boards. Now that technology has allowed for the physical shrinking of computer componants and light weight LCD screens, it is possible for people with cerebral palsy to carry with them small, portable communications boards.