Communication Development in Children with Autism
The ability to communicate is one of the most important human skills, and it’s also one that most of us take for granted. Because we’re able to communicate, we can connect with others and forge relationships. We can make our wants known, share our ideas and let other people know how we feel.
Communication begins long before we learn to talk. In the first few months of life, babies show their interest in communicating by listening intently to the sound of the human voice, looking at people's faces when they talk, and then engaging in back-and-forth babbling games with their parents. These exchanges of sounds and smiles between an infant and his caregiver are the baby's first conversations, even though he has never uttered a word. Around the first year of life, infants use their first words and then, once they have many single words, they use little two-word sentences.
For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, communication development happens differently and more slowly. Because of the sensory challenges associated with the disorder, children with autism might seem more interested in environmental sounds, like the whirring of a fan or vaccuum, than in the sound of people talking. They seem distracted or even seem not to hear what people say. First words are often delayed and, when some children do start talking, their first words are unusual (like numbers) or they echo others.
Fortunately, research has continually shown that with early speech therapy intervention, there is much that can be done to improve the communication skills of children on the autism spectrum. The important people in the life of a child with autism have the power to make all kinds of learning, including communication, much easier for that child. And it is The Hanen Centre’s mission to show them how.
A Hanen Focus: Fostering Communication Skills in Children with Autism
The Hanen Centre is committed to helping parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists promote the best possible communication skills in young children.
To meet the specific needs of children on the autism spectrum, Hanen developed a specialized approach based on the following three principles:
- The pivotal role of parents and caregivers – Recognizing the family as the most important element in a child’s life means that parents can and should play a primary role in their child’s speech therapy intervention.
- The importance of starting early – Children who receive autism speech therapy intervention early in their lives will have the best results.
- The power of the “everyday” – Children learn to communicate not by being “taught”, but by participating in everyday conversations and activities with their parents and other important adults who know how to build communication during these activities.
Drawing on the most current research in early language intervention for children on the autism spectrum, Hanen has designed a practical autism treatment approach that enables parents to take charge of their child’s early learning to help him become the best communicator that he can be.
More Than Words® – Hanen’s Program For Parents of Children With Autism
More Than Words® is a Hanen Program® designed specifically for parents of children on the autism spectrum to show them how they can use their child’s unique strengths and preferences to build communication skills during everyday routines and activities. As a result, children receive effective autism treatment throughout each day, and not just while attending speech therapy sessions.
More Than Words includes:
- a “how-to” parent guidebook and companion DVD
- a More Than Words group program for parents, led by Hanen Certified speech-language pathologists
- a More Than Words training workshop for Hanen Certified speech-language pathologists
From Research to Real Life: How More Than Words® Came To Be
Like all Hanen Programs®, More Than Words began with extensive research. Studies showed that when parents interact with their children in specific ways that motivate, encourage and support their child’s communication – such as building on the ways children are already communicating and following the child's lead – they can make a significant difference to their child’s overall social and communication development.
So Hanen’s autism experts set to work doing what they do best – they simplified the research on what helps children with autism communicate by “translating” it into practical communication strategies that parents can easily use with their children during everyday routines and activities. Research showed, for example, that children with autism learn and communicate best when they know what to expect. So More Than Words gives parents concrete advice for adding this kind of structure to everyday activities.
The More Than Words Program, guidebook and companion DVD show parents how to turn any routine – whether it be bath time, bedtime, walking to school or making a sandwich – into an opportunity to connect with their child and to help him develop improved social and communication skills.
To ensure that More Than Words became widely available, The Hanen Centre developed a professional development workshop for speech-language pathologists so that they could implement the More Than Words approach in their work settings around the world.
How More Than Words® Helps both Parents and Professionals
With Hanen’s integrated approach to fostering the communication development of children with autism, both parents and professionals benefit. Professionals obtain the tools to support and guide parents, while parents learn how to make the most of their child’s unique interests, sensory preferences and daily routines to build the child’s communication skills naturally throughout the day. In this way, parents and therapists work together to greatly increase the child’s opportunities to learn and to use new skills in a variety of contexts.
Click on the links below to find out more about how More Than Words can help.