Conditions for expressive communication
In order to communicate expressively, children need to have three things:
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the means to communicate
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opportunities to communicate
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reasons to communicate.
Only when all three are present can the child communicate. Practitioners, then, need to ensure that they provide all three. Very often, for children who do not use spoken language, it is the means of communication that receives the most attention. Yet, unless the child also has opportunities and reasons, providing the means is pointless.
This section on Promoting effective communication examines:
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supporting the child to use alternatives to spoken language
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providing the child with opportunities to communicate
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encouraging the child to use expressive communication for a variety of purposes (reasons).
A responsive environment
Although this point is made again later, it is so important, that it is worth making here too: the most essential factor in successfully promoting expressive communication is the provision of a responsive environment. It is vital to respond positively to the child in order to convey the message that communicating is worthwhile - in other words, that it works.
Strategies that promote expressive communication
Select a strategy related to promoting expressive communication.