 |
| PHOTO: commons.wikimedia.org |
Communication is what relationships are built upon.
Communication is a personal and unique thing. There are so many subtleties that occur during a social exchange, and I am all for anything that facilitates the process.
It has been a long-held, common belief that if you teach a child sign and spoken language at the same time it inhibits the acquisition of spoken language and confuses them. I have always disagreed, but I just didn't have the right letters after my name for anyone to take me seriously.
There is has been recent research that reveals how sign language can actually ENHANCE a child’s acquisition of spoken language. (See links below post.)
Back in the 90's when I began working in the autism field with ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis), on of the first things that we were taught, was that sign language discouraged spoken language. Before iPads there was the Dynavox, and in my particular job, these were forbidden as were PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). We were to wait until the child asked for the desired item, ignoring them if they did not "use their words". Once the child actually spoke, we were told to be (freakishly) enthusiastic, get down on the child's level and exclaim, "GOOD JOB!" or "NICE TALKING!" (High 5's or tickling were also recommended if we wanted to really "encourage" the child to speak more.)
Eye contact was, and still is emphasized. If a child spoke but did not give eye contact, some therapists would turn the child's head, physically with hands and make them look, OR move their own heads-sometimes in ridiculous positions - to meet eyes; OR hold a toy at eye level until the child looked and then snatch it away so now there was eye contact by default. (This, we were told encourages "spontaneous engagement" and just to clarify, it was NOT a speech therapist who taught me this. Now, the idea of using these methods at all just makes me cringe. )
I was what you would call an unconventional "non-compliant" therapist who accepted approximation and the child's own hand signals as valid communication. I simply refused to turn my back on a child in order to "make" him talk-or employ any of the other methods that just seemed to unnaturally attempt to evoke spontaneous engagement. How ironic that we were supposedly prompting out behaviors that would alienate them from peers, and yet our own behaviors as we were taught to use for teaching, would have made others in the adult world, had we behaved that way, definitely back away and question our sanity. (As an aside, if you are a therapist and do any of what is in the above paragraph, PLEASE stop, and just read this article on eye contact .)
I am not a speech pathologist by trade, and I have been out of the field for a while, but does anyone else find these methods ridiculous and cruel? How on earth any science could promote this, is beyond me, I don't care HOW much "evidence" has been collected (and manipulated).
What has happened to just communicating with simplicity, common sense and humanity? (Says the one who has written a longer-than-usual post!)
I'm sure that ABA has a place somewhere in the many different therapy approaches available- but what parents and educators do NOT know, is that at the root of ABA 'therapy' is behaviorism which is less about communicating, learning and thriving and more about compliance. Behaviorism essentially holds that the behaviors of the "human organism" (the term for "humans" used by B.F.Skinner ,) is driven by outside forces. Skill, ability, free will, mood, illness and internal motivation does not enter into it at all. Nor does the ability to communicate, the sensory system, muscle tone, coordination, trust, connection to the therapist, diet or stress factors.
Behaviorists further hypothesize that if a child is not doing what is asked, or replying with the correct answer, it is N/C (non-compliance) and that these N/C "human organisms" can be and should be controlled. Let me ask you: who would be easier to "control" than a non-verbal autistic, sensory challenged or deaf child? Why is it OK for us to control & manipulate kids, when we would reprimand them for trying to manipulate us? Where do you think they learned how to manipulate? And how does this impact communication?
It should scare us that nonverbal (and verbal) children are conditioned to give the "right" answer-not the truthful one, and to do whatever the nearest adult tells them to.
I left the ABA industry years ago after questioning the way we were communicating with the kids. I never got answers, and subsequently had the "ABA" communication methods used on me, (for real-ignored me when I called for a schedule!) Not only it did not succeed in controlling me, but made me more convinced that the only thing this particular company was doing was keeping the kids compliant and dependent on us.
The experience instead, showed me firsthand how important (and taken for granted) two-way communication is, and since then, I have put communication at the center of every interaction, program, manual, workshop and book that I have written. Simply put, I want the information I pass on to be easily understood by everyone so it can be adapted & used effectively by each individual.
Science tells us how a "typical" brain as well as a "non-typical" brain works & how stress affects the way we act. We know that our human stress response is in place to protect us, and in order to do that when activated, it has to temporarily interrupt our physiology & brain processing, especially our ability to communicate.
Let me give you an example: You are at dinner and you begin to choke. You cannot speak to tell someone you need help. The people around you have no idea you are choking because you can't tell them. Your stress response is on "high" and your actions become desperate & erratic, and people still don't understand. They think you are messing around or have incredibly bad table manners.
But, now what if someone had taught you a universal hand signal that one could use when choking, so that others nearby would understand what was going on and how to help? Well now you have changed the entire scenario. And yes-we have one of those-as well as the Heimlich Maneuver, to help choking victims. Both of these simple tools-one for communication and the other for action, have helped prevent many tragedies for those who have learned and used them.
Overly dramatic? Maybe. But now think about & relate this in terms of how we communicate with children:
when we turn away from and 'tune out' a child who is trying to communicate with us;
when we ignore a child who is trying to ask us for help;
when we don't provide the proper, useful tools for effective communication-both the sender AND the receiver;
when we assume the child is just being "bad";
When we abandon common sense and encourage compliance (giving the "correct" answer) over true communication, we inhibit an opportunity for any functional communication and learning to happen.
We cause trauma & trigger a stress response exactly like the one in the above scenario when we purposely do not listen to our kids, especially when they need us. The human brain cannot tell if a threat is real, imagined, perceived, big or little, it responds in the EXACT same way to all stress. A brain/body in survival mode cannot communicate, learn or think logically. It can only survive, and to do this it retreats into primal reflexes and responses that are grossly misunderstood by the "calm/logical" un-stressed brains nearby.
In addition, it takes up to several hours before the adrenalin level drops enough so the child can explain what was happening. Adrenalin stays in the body and can be re-activated for up to 24 hours after a stressful situation.
This is why it is so important to acquire communication tools yourself, as well as teach your children, students, peers and siblings a variety of methods of communication, including sign language, PECS, iTalk, and others. These simple tools expand a child's capacity for receptive and expressive speech and enhances the communication process which is critical for not only safety, but also for relationships, academic and social learning.
Communication is what relationships are built upon. These simple tools open doors and help limit the stress response as well as the often misunderstood behaviors that accompany it.
Read the study here:
Deaf Children Benefit From Learning Sign Language Study Says
Related Links:
Deaf Awareness: Talk Normally
School Cafeterias and Choking Prevention
A Word About Eye Contact
Sign Language Use: The Evidence Supports It
Improving Communication Skills in Children with Special Needs
Signing Families Sign Language Instruction
10 Non-Verbal Communication Tips
7 Assistive Communication Apps
Autistic Communication Differences
American Sign Language University (Online-LOTS of visuals!)
23 Ways to Communicate with a Non-Verbal Child
Listen with your Heart: Active Listening in the Classroom
Slightly off the topic but still relevant:
An excellent and enlightening book on the topic of external motivators is:
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes , by Alfie Kohn. A MUST read for every parent & educator!
Contact: bodylogique@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your Feedback is welcome!