Communicating with a student who is nonverbal or who has limited verbal skills can be difficult. Misunderstandings and frustrations are common and can lead to crisis incidents. You can learn how to reduce aggression and agitation when communicating with nonverbal students.
Although a student may not be able to speak, that doesn't mean he can't communicate. A nonverbal student may have several communication methods, including gestures, facial expressions, vocalizations, or other movements. She may also use sign language, communication boards, books, or electronic communication devices.
Voice Service Bridge
Recent news stories demonstrate how technology is also helping to bridge communication between nonverbal and verbal communicators. A recent Los Angeles Times article details how five-year-old Victor Pauca's father and some of his students at Wake Forest University have created an application for the iPhone and iPad called VerbalVictor, designed to help parents and caregivers more easily communicate with nonverbal students. Victor has a genetic disorder that has delayed his speech skills.
The application allows parents and caregivers to take a photo of something and record a phrase to accompany the photo. The student can touch the photos and phrases to communicate want he wants to do.
Though these types of technologies are helpful, they are still new and aren't accessible to everyone, but there are readily available methods that anyone can use to bridge communication gaps.
Communication Strategies
One thing we can do is use the same methods the student uses to communicate with us. We can talk to the student. Just remember that sometimes a person's receptive language skills may be better or different than his expressive skills-meaning that much more may be understood than the student can express.
The vocal parts of our speech may also communicate a message, even if not perceived by the student who is nonverbal. Make sure the tone of your voice is calm, respectful, and sincere. The volume of your voice should take into account the context of the situation, distance, and whether the student you are speaking with has hearing loss. Your paces should be relaxed and unhurried.
Frustration with communication challenges, along with feelings of sadness or loneliness, could result in the development of various behavior patterns, attention-seeking efforts, agitation, and aggression toward self or others.
Crises can often be averted if we utilize the following strategies.
Include those who are nonverbal in conversations. No one likes to be ignored. Students who are nonverbal want to be communicated with and to be meaningfully engaged with the world around them. Take the lead and help students as active or passive participants in conversations and activities. Don't speak about students who are nonverbal in the third person, as if they are not present. Think about how this would make you feel.
If you don't understand, say so. Pretending to understand when you do not may cause a student to become agitated or lead to misunderstandings in the future. If you are unsure of what was communicated, restate as much as you understand and encourage the student to express the rest of the message again. Be patient as a listener and do not patronize.
Do not assume that the lack of a response means noncompliance. Hesitation is not the same thing as noncompliance. If a student who is nonverbal does not follow a directive immediately, it doesn't mean the request is being challenged or ignored. There are other possibilities to consider and explore:
The student may have misunderstood the meaning of your message and may need clarification.
The student might need more time to process the information before responding.
Too much information might have been given at one time.
Adapt the way you set limits. Many students who are nonverbal tend to be experiential or visual learners as well as concrete thinkers. Consider showing options visually in addition to stating them verbally. When a student makes a positive choice, immediately follow up with a positive staff response. When too much time passes between a behavior and its consequence, the experiential learning aspect of limit setting can be lost.
Watch for subtle changes and interpret what you see. The signs that a student who is nonverbal could be headed for a crisis may not always be obvious. Look for subtle changes as you observe a student and her surroundings. Explore possible meanings for and purposes behind even minor behaviors. Keeping open lines of communication with that student and getting to know her as a unique individual allows us to be person-centered in all our efforts.
Communicating with students who are nonverbal has many challenges, but it can also have rewards. When we make an extra effort to be understood-and to understand-we reduce anxiety, frustration, and the likelihood of acting-out behavior. Even more importantly, we are meeting basic and universal human needs-to communicate and to belong.
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Dec 13, 2011 04:07:52
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