Hand Signs & Brighter Futures: Unlocking Effective Communication in Children

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Can nonverbal communication unlock the door to effective language development for children? Discover how simple strategies like sign language, pictures, and token boards can transform frustration into meaningful communication. In this episode, we share personal stories that highlight the dramatic impact of introducing language early and consistently. We also debunk the common myths around sign language hindering verbal development and emphasize the importance of involving the entire family in these practices. Join us as we explore how gestures and visual aids can be seamlessly incorporated into daily routines to help children express their wants, needs, and feelings more effectively.

Equip your child with the tools they need to build a robust vocabulary and communication skills. We discuss why correcting third-person speech and ensuring consistent practice at home are vital. Learn about various communication methods, including sign language and visual aids, specifically designed to support nonverbal children. Additionally, we touch on alternative treatments like laser therapy for speech development and stress the importance of thorough research before considering such options. Personal updates add a lighter touch to our discussion, including training a new dog and sharing our warm wishes for a wonderful 4th of July. Tune in to find out how consistent and inclusive language practices can make all the difference in your child's communication journey.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi everyone, I hope you're having a good weekend.
I'm doing okay.
So today what we're going totalk about is the nonverbal, or
what I call low verbal.
And what I mean by low verbalis if your child is only
parroting or scripting.
Parroting would be copying whatyou just said.

(00:21):
Like if I say, are you ready,they'll repeat.
Are you ready'll repeat, areyou ready?
They won't say yes, I am ready,and we'll talk about that too a
little bit.
And then the scripting is ifthey watch a certain show, a tv
show that they like, like blueyor whatever they like to watch,
and then they script what wasbeing said, you hear the next

(00:44):
next day or later that day,everything that they've been
saying.
They'll script what they heardon the TV.
So, anyway, we're going to talkabout language.
The first thing I want to sayis language, language, language,
and I don't care how you get itinto them.
It's very important.

(01:05):
Earlier the better, but it'salso never too late, okay.
So don't feel.
You know.
Well, my child is three, fouror even older and he still is
nonverbal.
Like I said, it's never toolate to get that language into
them, and sometimes people willcome.
I had this experience and I'llshare a little bit about it with

(01:27):
you.
That, um, I had a student.
He was nonverbal, but he wasalso deaf, so and the parent
said to me that he has a severebehavior problems.
Well, he really didn't havesevere behavior problems.
He had a language problem.
Because here he is, he was sixyears old, never been to school

(01:51):
and no language.
So as soon as I got thelanguage into him, which was
American Sign Language or signlanguage, his behavior changed
and he was smart.
He was a very smart kid andthey thought he was not a smart
kid, but he was.
He was very smart.
So language is very importantbecause you know, think about it

(02:14):
.
If you cannot communicate yourwants, your needs, your feelings
, you know you're going to befrustrated and you're going to
strike out.
And you know, especially achild that doesn't have the
vocabulary to begin with cannotexpress his wants and needs and
you know they're going to havesome behavior problems.

(02:35):
So sometimes the behaviorproblems are a language problem.
So what you need to do, firstof all, all the family needs to
be involved.
So whatever you choose to do,is everybody needs to be on the
same page.
So if you choose sign language,then everybody needs to learn
it.
And don't buy into where somepeople say, well, if you teach

(02:58):
them sign language, they'renever going to talk.
That is not true.
If they are able to communicateand then they start to talk,
they will drop the sign language.
It's just in our nature to dothat, so don't feel that they
can't the sign language.
It's just in our nature to dothat, so don't feel that they
can't learn a language.
A lot of times, especially whenI was working with the deaf,

(03:19):
doctors would say don't teachthem or they'll never talk.
Well, no, no, no, they willtalk if that's their goal.
And sign language.
You need the language firstforemost, and when I worked with
the deaf kids, parents neededto know day one.
Start using it.
Now, if you choose anothermethod, you can also do pictures

(03:43):
and token boards where theypoint with what they need.
There's that kind of situationtoo.
So those are some ideas to help.
But whatever you choose to do,you need to start it as soon as
possible and be consistent withit.
Sign language is a naturalsystem.

(04:04):
It also has a grammar with it.
I suggest using their wants andneeds and, even if you're not
doing the sign language, use thepictures and have them use
pictures and things like that.
You can also like set up athing, a schedule with pictures
in your home.
We do a lot of that.
Teachers will do that inschools and stuff like that.

(04:25):
Okay, this is next, do this.
Then you get that kind of athing.
But also there's like a pictureboard that they can point, and
I think there's even one thatcan be put on their iPad and it
will make a sound like I want todrink, or things like that, to
kind of help them so they canleast tell their wants and needs
and how they're feeling, ifthey're feeling sick or sad or

(04:48):
not feeling good.
You know, it's got to be veryhard for anyone not to be able
to communicate their wants andneeds.
Also, with our children, ourfirst verbal or language is
really our visual.
If they're not talking, thenthey're maybe pointing,

(05:08):
gesturing, those kind of things,and that's okay.
You want to include that intothat.
There's nothing wrong withgestures but you also want to
form some type of a fulllanguage with them.
It's a very critical factorthat we have.
Our kids have a basic languageand I know as parents we want
them to be able to talk and wewant the best for them.

(05:32):
Now, I'm not sure I'm not adoctor or anything like this and
I don't know a lot about it,but I have heard I have a parent
that her son didn't talk, hewas nonverbal, and she got laser
treatments and I guess they'relike on the back of their head
somewhere, and I think Imentioned this once before.
Now you'd have to do thisresearch and figure it out

(05:55):
because I don't know a lot aboutit.
But then he became verbal andhe started with parroting and
that's okay, you know.
If they're nonverbal and theystart to just parrot you, that's
okay.
So then, but if you're at thatpoint where they're been
parroting a lot or scripting alot, then you need to start
doing some other activities tohelp them get away from the

(06:18):
scripting.
Like, let's say, the example Iused earlier, where if I say are
you ready?
And he says, are you ready,instead you say you know,
correct it and just say yes, Iam ready, and then have them say
that Another thing is usepictures, like get pictures of
objects, apples, whatever, andsay is this an apple?

(06:40):
And what you want them to beable to start saying is yes,
that's an apple.
And then that way they'relearning to communicate better
efficiently.
Learning to communicate betterefficiently.
So just do those kind of typeof those things, use like little
flashcards and do them everyday.
Or another thing you can do islike let's say they like rhymes

(07:04):
and you say I'm going to use theone that this child is Baa baa
black, and then he's got to saysheep, okay.
Or Humpty, dumpty, sat on a,and then you want them to say
wall.
So those forms of communicationwill help them to be able to
make full sentences and be ableto communicate with other people

(07:28):
and get away from just theparroting that they're talking
on their own and you just haveto form that habit, that
behavior with them.
So if they're saying like Isaid, if they're just parroting
everything you say, they don't,they just need the training.
So do those kind of things tohelp them.
Like I said, flashcards what isthis?

(07:51):
That is an apple is another wayto do it too.
So you kind of have to figureout where they're at and just
give them that extra practice beable to respond to something,
and they will.
It'll take time, it's not goingto happen overnight, but it
will work and I've seen greatprogress with this.

(08:14):
Where I got this from, was abehavior specialist that I work
with.
Her name's Carrie, and she hastaught me some things that I,
you know, we can never, nevertoo late to learn.
We can always learn how to, howto improve, and she, she's been
very beneficial to me.

(08:34):
So, anyway, those are.
Let me.
Let me just check here.
I want to make sure I coveredeverything on this.
Yeah, it's what it is.
Is you working with your childto have correct form of
vocabulary?
Working with your child to havecorrect form of vocabulary?
So another thing is tosometimes kids will I don't want
to forget this will usethemselves in the first person,

(08:57):
like they'll say Andrew ready,andrew ready, instead of say yes
, I am ready.
So those are some things thatwe can work on.
If they say Andrew's ready, sayjust repeat, say yes, I am
ready, okay, those kind ofthings.
I think that's about it.
But anyway, I wanted to justtalk to you about because a lot

(09:21):
of our kids are nonverbal and sowe need to kind of work on that
.
But, like I said, the mostimportant, important, important,
important thing is any kind oflanguage and you have to decide
which one that you will choosethat works for you and your
family, because it has to be afamily thing.
It can't be just one person.
They have to at least be ableto communicate within their home

(09:42):
with all the people that are intheir home, so everybody has to
be able to be on board for that.
So, if it's with pictures or ifit's sign language or any of
those things, and also check outthe laser treatments I'm not
sure about them, you know, butthis lady did this for her child
and he's now talking.

(10:03):
So that's what worked, and Idid read a little bit about it.
But do the research on itbecause I don't know a lot about
it.
So, anyway, I hope you guys arehaving a blast.
Last weekend and I will talk toyou soon, and sorry that I
haven't been putting out enoughpodcasts, but summer is just
slamming me, with everybodywanting me to work with their

(10:27):
kids and I have a problem sayingno, and I got a new dog that
I'm trying to train.
So, anyway, I hope you guyshave a blessed weekend and the
4th of July is coming up hereand so a lot to celebrate, and
God bless you all.
Bye.