How to communicate with Neurodivergent children?

September 25, 2023
Krishna Kanabar

How to communicate with Neurodivergent children

You don't have to be noisy to be effective" is a powerful quote that has been a highlight that one comes across on several occasions in varying contexts of people from different walks of life.

Language is a communication system that primarily focuses on tapping into one's auditory sense. Whereas communication is a way of exchanging messages or information between two people by tapping into multiple sensory inputs. The fundamental difference between the two provides a clear understanding of how the interaction between two people doesn't necessarily have to be under the mainstream spoken language that we know today. Given those ancestors from old civilizations communicated in picture forms such as stamps and shapes, the idea of the variety we humans hold beyond imagination, yet somehow the roots seem to lose touch with today's reality.

Having said that, it becomes crucial to learn how a child on the spectrum may need to communicate effectively with the world around them. Integration of communication between an autistic and an allistic can be a challenging adventure.

Incorporating ways that work best for the child is a process of trial and error and providing options such as :

- AAC stands for Alternative and Augmentative Communication, which is a fancy of referring to something that helps someone communicate using a means other than spoken words.

 - Visual schedules use images, text, objects, photographs, icons, or a combination of tangible supports to convey the order of forthcoming tasks or events