Communication. What works for autistic children?

Have you ever travelled to a foreign country where the language and culture differed greatly from your own? For me, there is one place that really stands out – and that is the Czech Republic. Over the years, I’ve had many adventures there but I recall my first trip vividly. Let me tell you the story …

Back in 2007, my husband and I bought a cottage in the beautiful north eastern region of the country, known as the Czech Eden. It really is a little otherworldly with towering sandstone structures and fairy-tale forests. Did I mention that I agreed to the purchase without ever actually visiting the place? I digress … our hopes were to renovate the cottage and let it for holiday rentals.

Well, the cottage was in a state of disrepair when we arrived, so we booked into a local hotel. Lucky for us, there was an indoor pool which gave the children time to play and burn off excess energy. On returning to our room, I couldn’t find a hairdryer and as it was winter, I was less than keen to take the children outside with wet hair. My husband, seeing our plight, went down to Reception in search of a hairdryer. 

Now you may think that was a simple enough task. But you would be wrong! At the time, there was almost no English spoken in the region. I’m happy to report that this is changing but back then … you were at the mercy of whatever strategy you could pluck out of the ether. Choosing food in a restaurant, for example, was a case of pointing at something on the menu and hoping for the best. I recall some strange looking purple balls at one memorable meal. Czech is similar to Slovak and Polish ….. lots of consonants and no resemblance to English at all!

Well, my husband asked the Receptionist for a hairdryer and she stared back at him completely bemused. His Czech at the time, consisted of “hello”, “goodbye” and “Do you understand English?” That last one, was of course, a really bad case of wishful thinking as no-one ever responded with a “yes”! What to do next? The obvious solution was for him to mime our needs. The brave man then made a show of drying his hair, complete with hairdryer noises ….. just as an entire busload of German tourists arrived in reception.

Thankfully for those of us with wet hair, it worked a treat, and all ended well – except perhaps for a mildly wounded ego. But what if he hadn’t been able to do that? Writing it down wasn’t an option. I suppose he could have gone the Pictionary route but our hair might just have dried naturally by the time his masterpiece was finished.

Anyway, how does all this relate to autistic children? The reality is, that signing is not necessarily a good solution. Signs, like spoken words, are very abstract and disappear quickly. They also assume that you understand how communication works. Signs work very well for deaf children or those with specific language problems (and husbands looking for a hairdryer). And that’s because the issue is with spoken language and not with understanding the communication process.

Pictures, on the other hand, work well with autistic children because they look like the thing they are representing - a picture of an apple looks a lot like a real apple. They are therefore more meaningful for children. They also stay physically present and they can be used to teach the communication process. By providing pictures, you can tell your child what will be happening in their day and you can also give them a way to communicate.

Using a timetable / schedule to let your child know what will be happening eases some of the anxiety they may feel during the course of the day. Have you noticed that your child becomes upset or resistant when going to certain places? It’s possible that they are uncomfortable because it’s unfamiliar or they weren’t expecting this outcome. Imagine how you would feel if someone suddenly whisked you from where you are now to another place without any warning. Even if it was somewhere fun, you would probably feel uneasy with the not knowing bit.

Autistic children generally have a strong need for certainty and predictability. So being unexpectedly moved to a different place is likely to be stressful. Routines help because your child can predict what is coming up. For most young children, however, routines change depending on the day of the week. And this is where timetables can be so helpful. A bit like your own diary, they enable your child to see what is coming up next on any given day. And this gives them time to mentally prepare which helps to reduce anxiety.

You can also help your child improve their communication by giving them pictures which they can use to ask for things they want or need. If your child has not yet developed spoken words, pictures provide a ready way for them to communicate. Young children can be taught to ask for things by handing a picture over to you. They do of course, need to be taught this as it probably won’t be obvious to them. So, for example, you can put a picture of a snack on display and encourage your child to give this picture to you as a way of asking for the snack. To reinforce the process, make sure that you have the snacks available and that you give them to your child as soon as they ask.

You can use your own pictures or photographs for this process. If you prefer, Parenting Autism has just released a set of 48 colourful timetable pictures to save you the trouble and time. They are reasonably priced at £5.99 and you can obtain your digital copy here. 

To you and your adventures!

Linda Philips

Parenting Autism

https://www.parentingautismcoach.com

Parenting Autism supports parents of young autistic children with coaching and training. Interested in knowing how we can help? Contact [email protected]