Thinking about the langauge we use with children with ASD

As anyone who has a child with ASD or has worked with students with ASD know, communication deficits are significant obstacles that must be addressed in the child's education and treatment programmes. Whether a child is non-verbal or highly verbal, these children share common deficits in their understanding of experience sharing and non-verbal communication. They fail to process all of the salient aspects of communication - language content, prosody, facial expressions, gestures, and context - as a single communication packet. This makes even the the most verbal child with autism a very poor communicator.

There are many issues related to the remediation of communication in autism and it is very easy to become overwhelmed by it, therefore it is beneficial to focus on key areas that can make a profound difference. One of these surrounds our use of language with children with ASD.

I would like you examine how you communicate with child or student with ASD. For most people there is a huge difference in the way we communicate verbally with these children than how we communicate with typical children. It might be a good exercise to video your communication with both and then analyze your style to spot the differences. In most cases there will be significant differences, that we must change.

The research clearly shows that individuals on the autism spectrum have a deficit in their ability to understand and use experience sharing communication, also known as declarative language. This is the type of language we most commonly use in everyday life for commenting, sharing emotion and talking about experiences.

Declarative language, plain and simple is stating out loud what one knows and thinks in the form of a comment.. It may be used to

(a) share an opinion - (That was a great game!)
(b) make a prediction - (It looks like it's going to rain!)
(c) celebrate - (we did very well today!)
(d) observe - (I think John would like a go on your bike!)
(e) reflect on a past experience - (The last time we ate here, you enjoyed the pizza!)
(f) problem solve - (the last time you forgot your pencil, you borrowed one from the teacher!)

It is language that does not require a direct response, but can often lead a communication partner to action.

Frequently, when people talk to children with ASD, they do not use declarative language. Rather, they use imperatives - or language in the form of questions or directions, that expect a correct answer in return. Some examples are: What colour is this?, What is your name?, Look at me!, What kind of animal is this? Did you have a good day? These are all imperatives:

The problem with imperative statements is that they do not teach children with ASD how to become authentic communication partners. They teach them to answer questions in a predetermined way, or communicate in a scripted rather than creative way.

Mindful use of declarative language with children with ASD can make a huge difference in their ability to think, notice, problem solve, appreciate perspective and communicate on a more dynamic level. The results of declarative language may not be as immediate as those with imperative language because it takes time to build and form neural pathways that have not yet been fostered, but the increased richness in overall communication makes its use very much worth the wait.

In order to improves a child's ability to understand and use declarative language, we need to expose them to it on a consistent basis. When we use declarative language, we simply communicate something without expecting a specific response from the child. It is more about intent than the actual words used, with the intent being that the child notices or thinks about something without implying that a certain response is required. A helpful starting point for accomplishing this goal is to reduce the number of rote verbal questions and commands we use, and instead increase the number of comments, statements and observations we make.

Try this at home or at school. You may not get responses straight away and my guess is that many attempts may go unnoticed. Persevere, repeat the process, repeat your statements and above all do not give up. Children with ASD can learn to use declarative language and their world is a lot richer as a result.