"My child doesn't speak — how will they communicate with me?" This question is frequently asked by parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who have not yet developed verbal speech. There is a widespread misconception in society that communication consists solely of words and speaking. Yet communication begins long before the first word is uttered, during the pre-verbal communication period.
So, how does a non-verbal child with autism express their wants, refusals, and emotions without words? How can technology-based and visually supported alternative communication for autism methods be used at home when verbal communication is limited?
The Foundation of Communication: Gestures and Facial Expressions in Autism
The fact that your child does not speak does not mean they are not communicating with you — or that they cannot. Support and training programs developed for individuals with autism spectrum disorder place great emphasis on the assessment and support of pre-verbal period skills. Before words emerge, children convey their needs through the following gestures:
Rejection Gestures: When a child pushes away an object or food they dislike or do not want, this act is considered a rejection gesture.
Requesting Gestures: Opening and closing the hand toward a desired or preferred object, reaching toward it, or pointing at it with a finger are all recognized as requesting gestures.
Joint Attention Initiation Gestures: When a child looks at an object in their hand without any prompting from an adult, then looks at the adult to request an action related to that object, this is an example of joint attention initiation.
These gestures are the most important building blocks of the verbal skills that will develop in the future. The fact that your child uses communicative behaviors — even at a limited level, such as gestures alone — purposefully is of tremendous value.
Technology as a Substitute for Words: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Tools
If an individual has limited verbal communication or has not yet reached the goals of developing verbal communication, the use of alternative communication tools is recommended to meet their communication needs and support communication development.
Alternative communication methods give the child a brand-new "voice" to express themselves. The following are used to support these skills:
Real object symbols.
Assistive technologies incorporating tactile symbols.
High-tech communication devices such as tablets that support multiple levels of responding and commenting.
Using these alternative communication tools, your child can not only express their needs but also reject, request, and respond to an object, action, or piece of information directed at them.
Communication Support via E-Rehabilitation and Tele-Therapy
The correct use of alternative communication tools in children with autism — for example, learning to tap the image of "I want water" on a tablet application — requires expert guidance.
e-rehabilitasyon.com The live online sessions offered on our platform are ideally suited for the use of technology-supported alternative communication tools. During our tele-therapy sessions, our specialist educator integrates directly — via screen — into the tablet applications that you and your child will be using. The use of various visual cards and communication symbols on screen is taught step by step, turning your child's natural interest in technology (tablets and screens) into an advantage.
With the right guidance, you can break through the wall of silence between you and your pre-verbal child.
Help Your Child Find Their Voice!
Meet our specialists to discover the communication pathways available to your child who has not yet developed verbal speech, and to transform your home tablet or computer into an alternative communication tool.
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