Nurturing Communication: Approaches to Language Development in Autism
As a speech pathologist who works with autistic children ages 1-5, my role is to collaborate with parents with strategies and techniques that allow your child’s communication to thrive. My goal first and foremost is for a child to express themselves more confidently and effectively.
Today, many therapy approaches with autism use a highly structured, adult-led approach. However, a child-centered approach places a strong emphasis on the individual child's interests, emotions, and unique ways of relating to the world. It includes the following principles:
· Engaging in Play on the Child's Terms and at their level: Child-centered speech therapy involves actively engaging in play by first following the child's lead. By entering the child's world and building on their interests, we can create interactions that are meaningful to facilitate language development. This in turn will build essential communication and back-and-forth interaction skills. This might include gestures, facial expressions, body language, and eventually, verbalizations that evolve from shared, meaningful play experiences.
Play directly supports early language development. Through reciprocal play, children engage in activities that lay the groundwork for the development of receptive and expressive language skills.
Play provides rich opportunities for language exposure. Whether your child is playing with toys, interacting with peers, or engaging in imaginative scenarios, they are constantly exposed to new words and expressions. This exposure contributes to vocabulary building, as children learn to associate words with the objects, actions, and concepts.
Play involves cognitive processes such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making. These cognitive skills are closely intertwined with language development. As children navigate play activities with their play partner, they practice and enhance their ability to express thoughts, ask questions, build on ideas, and communicate their intentions.
· Sensory Processing in Communication: This approach recognizes the importance of sensory processing in communication. Supporting a child’s sensory system in speech therapy involves addressing sensory challenges that may hinder a child's ability to engage in communication effectively. By understanding and accommodating sensory needs, we can create an environment that supports language development.
Sensory processing challenges can influence a child's ability to attend to and focus on communication. For example, a child who is hypersensitive to auditory stimuli may become easily overwhelmed in a noisy environment, affecting their ability to concentrate and respond to spoken language.
Understanding and supporting a child’s sensory processing system is often an essential piece to supporting an autistic child's communication development.
Self-regulation describes a state when the child is calm and connected during activities and interactions. Their physical, emotional, and sensory systems are in balance and they are available and open for communication and for learning. Children who experience sensory overload may find it challenging to regulate their emotions and sensory system, impacting their ability to engage and interact.
Furthermore, because most autistic children have sensory processing differences, it is crucial to support their specific sensory system in speech therapy which will in turn help them maintain a calm, regulated mindset that is needed for learning and language development.
· Building Emotional Connections: Child-centered therapy places a strong emphasis on building emotional connections between the adult and the child.
Autistic children, like all children, thrive in environments where they feel emotionally secure and connected to the adult. When they experience a sense of safety and trust in their relationships, they are more likely to engage and initiate communication. Emotional security provides the foundation needed to develop their language and communication.
By using a child-centered approach that engages in play on the child’s terms, addresses sensory processing challenges, and builds a child’s emotional connection, we can support a child and give them the tools they need to allow communication to thrive.
Laura is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with a private practice in Brooklyn in Greenpoint & Williamsburg.
