Communication Continuum
“I realize that communication is complex,” commented a teacher of early elementary students with autism. “Just look at all the skills involved in answering a question or asking for a green crayon. I need some sort of basic framework to help me sort through the complexities of communication so I can maximize their expressive language in the classroom.”
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Your observation about the complexity of communication is right on target. One strategy that has worked for me over the years is to consider communication on a continuum. When considering expressive language, for example, individuals with autism can range from being totally unresponsive to being able to converse freely and clearly. But there are many options between those two extremes. It is simply not accurate to have just two slots – verbal and non-verbal. There are, of course, many shades in between.
1. On one end of the expressive language continuum, individuals are unresponsive and appear to make no attempt to express their needs or opinions.
2. Moving along the continuum, some individuals may use facial expressions to communicate emotions and needs.
3. Other individuals try to communicate by crying, screaming, hitting, grabbing, smiling, or laughing.
4. Further down the continuum, some people with autism may use pointing and other gestures to communicate their needs, choices, and opinions.
5. Sign language and assistive communication devices are at the next level of sophistication in expressive language skills.
6. Moving further on the continuum of communication, some individuals with autism speak words, but they are only able to echo words they hear or they speak words that do not have apparent meaning.
7. Some people with autism can speak individual, meaningful words.
8. Yet other individuals may be able to speak relevant phrases and sentences.
9. Some individuals can carry on a spontaneous conversation, but they are not able to recall the answer to a simple question.
10. Others who are good conversationalists have difficulty with the impersonal, give and take structure of a telephone conversation.
11. At the far end of the continuum are individuals who can carry on a typical conversation and clearly communicate their wants, needs, and opinions in spoken language.
These examples are, of course, a generalized overview of the spectrum of expressive language. But the advantage of viewing communication as a spectrum skill is that we can determine the basic skill level of each person with autism. That allows us to develop strategies to help that individual sharpen some specific communication skills so they can move slightly to the right in the spectrum of communication.
Note to FAQautism.com listeners and readers: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. You can click on a button to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solutions. Check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. www.FAQautism.com
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