This is Part 3 in a series Communicating With Non-Verbal Child.
Before you continue, please read Communicating With Non-Verbal Child: Part 1 and Communicating With Non-Verbal Child: Part 2.
The best way to get your non-verbal child communicating is by giving them a reason to communicate. It is very tempting to ensure that your child has everything they need and that it is well within reach. However, if your child doesn’t have any difficulty getting what they want, then they don’t have any reason to communicate with you. Thus, you need to create situations that encourage communication.
Here are some suggestions to encourage children of all ages to communicate for a variety of reasons. Remember that not all of these communications need to be verbal. If your child communicates using sounds, gestures, facial expressions, or even pictures, then it counts as a communicative attempt.
Help Your Child Make Requests
Place their favorite things out of reach
If you place your child’s favorite food or toy on a high shelf or countertop that they can see but cannot reach, then they are more likely to ask you for help so that they can get it. You can also place these items in a clear plastic container that is hard to open. Your child will be able to see what they want, but they will have to ask you for help to get it
Use people toys
These toys are hard to operate and encourage interaction because your child needs your help to make them work. Give your child time to look at the toy and step in when you see them becoming frustrated or when they ask for your help.
Wind-up and squeeze toys
Once you have wound up a toy or squeezed it to make it jump it will stop moving. Hand it to your child and wait for them to request that you make it move again
Bubbles
Blow a few bubbles and then pause. Wait for your child to ask you to blow them again
Balloons
Blow up a balloon and let the air out, then put the balloon to your mouth and wait for your child to ask you to blow it up again
Music boxes
Wind up the music box and let the music play, then wait for your child to ask you to do it again once the music has stopped
Jack-in-the-box
Wind up the jack-in-the-box and let him pop out. Wait for your child to ask you to do it again
Mirrors
Mirrors are fantastic for playing peek-a-boo games and copycat games. You can play any game or sing any song in front of the mirror. Wait for your child to ask you to do any of the activities again, and encourage them to play copycat games with you
Offer things bit-by-bit
If you give your child everything they want all at once, then they won’t need to ask you for anything. By giving your non-verbal child things in small amounts, you are providing them with more opportunities to communicate their needs to you. Some toys, like Lego’s, are easy to give out bit-by-bit, as are snacks like raisins and potato chips.
Give all but one
Give your child all but one of the things they need for an activity. Hold it out of their reach, but in their view, and wait for them to ask you for it
Help Your Child Refuse or Tell You “No”
Offer their least favorite things
Offer your child food, drink, or a toy that you know they do not like so that you give them the opportunity to say “no”
Let your child end the activity
Wait until your child gets bored with an activity and then let them tell you, through whatever mode of communication they prefer, that they have had enough
Help Your Child Learn to Greet and Say “Bye”
Use puppets or stuffed animals
Use a puppet to demonstrate greeting and saying “bye” by repeating the action several times as you make the puppet appear and disappear behind your back, encouraging your child to say it with you and then on their own
Use your window
Stand at your window when you are expecting guests and wave at them and say “hi” as they walk up to your door. Encourage your child to do the same and then eventually to do it on their own. You can do this when the guest leaves as well
Encourage Your Child to Interact or Make Comments
Create predictable routines, then present a surprise
Adding a surprise to your daily routines encourages your child to react and to hopefully want to communicate about it
Keep quiet
Look through a book whilst pointing and naming pictures, then turn a page and point to a picture but don’t say anything, let your child name the picture. Let your child help you unpack the groceries and show great interest in the items, naming them as you take them out of the bag. When you come to your child’s favorite food, wait for them to get excited and name it
Offer something different
Play with toys that use multiple pieces, like puzzles, and pass your child each piece. Then give them something completely different (like a marble) and wait for them to react
Make mistakes “accidentally”
Children love it when their parents make mistakes and do something silly. You could put their shoes on their feet the wrong way or try and put their trousers over their heads whilst getting dressed. You can wait for your child to react and then laugh about it
When all is going smoothly, make something go wrong
A good idea is when you are eating dinner or breakfast, you can “accidentally” drop your fork on the floor and wait for your child to react or let you know
Pretend you don’t know where things are
You and your child can search for things together if you act like you don’t know where they are. Exaggerate your distress and wait for your child to react
Pretend that you’re “broken”
Set situations up so that it looks like you are experiencing difficulty doing things. You could pretend that you don’t hear the doorbell ringing which gives your child an opportunity to get your attention and tell you what is going on
Help Your Child Make Choices
Start with easy choices
The easiest choice for your child to make is between two things that they can see. One must be something they really like and the other something that they dislike. Hold the choices up in front of them and at first, offer the favorite choice last. This is because children who are first learning to make choices often choose the last object presented. Once your child is experienced in making choices, you can offer the favorite choice first
Give visual cues
Your child will need visual cues to help them make choices at first. You can hold real objects, point to real objects, or point to pictures of real objects. Present these in the same way that you did for their easy choices and then increase the level of difficulty
Yes/No choices
This is the same method that you used for helping your child make easy choices, however, you now want to encourage them to verbalize. Hold up what they don’t want and encourage them to say “no.” If your child cannot answer, respond to them to show them what they should do and then try again. Do this with the item that they want as well
Speech Blubs was built for non-verbal children.
Our app has plenty of vocabulary activities for your child to choose from, which encourages them to communicate intentionally by selecting what they would like to do and by working through the different situations in each of our “games.” By doing this, your child will learn and understand several familiar words and use them to initiate communication in new situations.
The kids on our app prompt your child when to speak, and because of the fun nature of our “games,” you’re likely to find your child requesting to play and responding to you in no time at all!
The app supports non-verbal children by allowing them to learn initially whilst observing the kids in the app. They can then begin to imitate the kids when they’re ready.
Remember, if you are unsure about why your child may be non-verbal or if they are having difficulty communicating, you can use our free screener by downloading our app. The screener will highlight your child’s strengths and weaknesses and we’ll even give you a personalized report and actionable advice with the results. You can download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
You have an ally in Speech Blubs and our biggest success is seeing your child achieve their greatest potential.
