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home | Communication
 

Improving Communication for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with Autism, Asperger Syndrome and related learning needs can experience significant difficulty developing effective communication skills.  Their communication challenges affect both understanding and expression.  The behavior and social skill difficulties these students can have are very often related to their communication challenges. The goal of this department is to present effective strategies for improving communication.

Understanding and Decreasing Repeated Questions in Children with Autism
Understanding and Decreasing Repeated Questions in Children with Autism QUESTION: How can I use visual strategies to decrease the amount of repeated questions from students. ANSWER: This is a common question and a great one. Think of it like this. When a student is repeating a question over and over he is driving us nuts. But he is also expressing important information to us. So ask yourself. . ."What is his purpose? Why is he talking? Is he repeating because he is anxious about something? Is he asking about something that is going to happen? What is he trying to communicate?" . . . keep reading
Using Writing on a Chalkboard as an Effective Visual Strategy for ASD Children- Video
Using Writing on a Chalkboard as an Effective Visual Strategy for ASD Children- Video Six year old boy with ASD uses a chalkboard to write words. He already knows how to spell a lot of words. In this clip the writing of words becomes a social activity with Mom. Mom explores how he is able to copy words to expand his written vocabulary. Writing messages can become an important form of communication since his spoken language is very difficult to understand. Notice the large chalk he uses which works better for him than the skinny chalk. . . . keep reading
Using Food Labels as Visual Aids to Help Children with ASD to Make Food Choices- Video
Using Food Labels as Visual Aids to Help Children with ASD to Make Food Choices- Video Labels from food choices are hung on the cupboard door so the 6 year old boy with ASD can show his mother what he wants. Video shows how food labels can be used as effective visual aids. . . . keep reading
Tips for Working with Students Suffering from Severe Communication Problems
Tips for Working with Students Suffering from Severe Communication Problems QUESTION: I have a new student age 13 who has no meaningful communication. She will repeat verbal information and she uses continuous unintelligible speech for self-stimulation. Help! I have never had a student this severe. ANSWER: I would need a lot more information to provide a complete answer, but I have a suspicion about this girl. Here is the question I would ask. What is her social connection like? How does she relate to people? I suspect she doesn't engage well with you or other people. . . . keep reading
Create those Opportunities
Simone Griffin
Create those Opportunities Children with autism communicate at many different levels; some talk, some use sign language, some use pictures to communicate messages and some reach and point for the things they want. But no matter how your child communicates, there are many things you can do in your everyday interactions to help create and make . . . keep reading
Helping Parents Understand the Need for Visual Strategies in Children with ASD
Helping Parents Understand the Need for Visual Strategies in Children with ASD QUESTION: How do we help parents understand that students with limited verbal skills still need visual strategies to prompt and extend their abilities? Parents are always concerned, saying that if they use visual strategies, the students won't use the limited speech that they do have. ANSWER: This is a common concern. . .that the use of visual strategies will prevent students from talking. It is so important to look at communication in a broader way. We want students to develop the ability to express themselves. But another significantly important part of communication is understanding. . . . keep reading
When Something is Bothering Me - Visual Aid for Individuals with Social and Cognitive Challenges
Visual aid outlining how an individual with social and cognitive challenges should react when concerned about a negative event. . . . keep reading
Using Photos to Communicate with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Using Photos to Communicate with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders Learning effective conversation skills ranks as one of the greatest challenges for students with autism spectrum disorders (and lots of other students with communication or behavior difficulties). Conversation is complex. It requires exactly the abilities that are difficult for these students. Success with conversations requires many skills such as: Engaging another person Deciding what to talk about Using appropriate language to share thoughts or information . . . keep reading
Using Visual Strategies to Help Children Understand Life Events
Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Using Visual Strategies to Help Children Understand Life Events Life is full of events and circumstances that are difficult for children to understand. How do you explain? And explaining doesn't mean that they comprehend. And what happens when children don't understand? Emotional outbursts? Difficult behaviors? Problems can occur for good events as well as bad ones. Writing down information can provide a way to help understanding. Here is an example of how it can work. . . . keep reading
Social Challenges for Individuals with Autism
Paula Kluth
Social Challenges for Individuals with Autism For many with autism, engaging in a social interaction is like playing a game without knowing the rules. Some individuals report that the social demands of making small talk or walking into a party can create stress, anxiety, and panic; they may feel as if everyone else knows the secrets necessary for success and they do not. Liane Holliday Willey (1999), a woman with Asperger's Syndrome, illustrates how stressful it can be when one does not understand certain social requirements: "The most simple-sounding duties blew me away. For example, what exactly did it mean to plan a child's class party? With no precise guidelines or definition of terms in tow, I had no answer but plenty of questions. . . . keep reading
Using a Schedule as a Visual Aid for Both Verbal and Nonverbal Children
Using a Schedule as a Visual Aid for Both Verbal and Nonverbal Children QUESTION: What do you suggest for those students who are verbal and don't really need a visual schedule but want to use it regardless. ANSWER: WOW! This question highlights some points that are often misunderstood about our students and visual strategies. First, remember some of the primary reasons we use visual strategies are to help students understand better, to help them organize their thinking, to help them remember what to do. So it does not matter if they can speak. Visual strategies help both students who are verbal and those who are non verbal. . . . keep reading
Using a Photo Schedule as a Visual Aid for a Child with ASD- Video
Using a Photo Schedule as a Visual Aid for a Child with ASD- Video Six year old boy with ASD assembling a home schedule on a day that changed because he did not go to school on a day that would normally be a school day. Photo schedules are effective visual aids to communicate daily plans and changes. . . . keep reading
Using a Journal to Help Children with ASD Handle Life Changes
Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Using a Journal to Help Children with ASD Handle Life Changes Dear Linda: We've had situations with Bryan that have consumed us. Grampa died (someone that was very close to Bryan). Plus there have been some other major changes in his life. He has had many incidents at school. There have been altercations in the classroom. He is talking about violent things. I can tell he is depressed. He does not know how to handle himself when he is in stressful situations and his reactions are negative and have violent gestures. . . . keep reading
Make the Most of 5 Minutes
Simone Griffin
Make the Most of 5 Minutes You don't always need to purchase expensive toys or spend lengthy periods of time with your child to practice communication skills. By being alittle creative you can grab things which you commonly have around the house and turn it into a quick communication game! For example youcan quickly . . . keep reading
Honoring and Including Students with Communication Differences
Paula Kluth
Honoring and Including Students with Communication Differences "I have a new student coming to my sixth-grade classroom and I am stumped. Ben does not speak very much but he sometimes uses an electronic device to make choices and greet people. He also knows some sign language. I am not sure how to include him in the class or how to build a relationship with him. HELP! " This note came to me in the form of an e-mail. It was sent by a fourth-grade teacher who has never had a student . . . keep reading
Using Gestures as Effective Methods of Communication
Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Using Gestures as Effective Methods of Communication Gestures are great communication tools Our hands and faces and body movements are great visual tools. We can use them to communicate lots of messages effectively. But some people use them more naturally than others. Can you think of someone you know who is very expressive with gestures? Well, here is something to think about. . . . . . keep reading
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