Tools of Total Communication and Communication Disorders

A Total Communication school

All language is communication, but not all communication involves language

Chat, chat, chat . Only 5 7 % of communication is verbal! 93% is non verbal. 55 % is body language and 38 % tone of voice. Professor Mehrabian

What are the tools of Total communication?

Communication tools we all use: speech intonation, verbalisation, body language, facial expression, spatial awareness photographs, written words, vocalisation,

Additional strategies within school: Now and Next boards and Visual timetables Intensive interaction objects of reference, photographs, drawings, symbols, signing Makaton and Body signing written words, vocalisation, Modified speech verbalisation, Low tech communication systems e.g eye pointing, PECs access to high tech communication systems. Colourful Semantics

What Are Communication Disorders? Communication disorders include disorders of Speech and language. Communication; includes both speech and language. Includes vocal and non verbal information Speech; the coordination of oral-neuromuscular movement to produce sounds. Language; a socially shared code or system can be spoken, written, or signed.

Speech Speech With atypical learners the most effective use of speech may not how we talk in day to day life. At Herons Dale we use modified speech patterns for some of our learners. A focus is placed on: -simplified language- key words and concepts - speech supported signing - using literal speech Language is tailored to meet the needs of each individual child, and may change across contexts. For example, language for giving instructions may be simpler than that used in play You child s teacher will be more than happy to share with you further information on this, specific to your child

Simplify these statements Simplify these statements 1. Ok, let s get your coat and bag. It s nearly home time and you need to get on your bus to go home! 2. Do you want to come and do your table work now? 3. We re going to line up soon and then go for lunch. I wonder what s for lunch today! I hope it s fish and chips. 4. We re going to have a surprise. It s really exciting. It could be anything. What do you think our surprise will be?

We are a fully signing school. The more you learn and the more you use it the better you become. Signing NEVER hinders speech We always speak as we sign The parts of the brain that control movement and speech are next to each other. By using both together you build neural pathways Signing supports receptive and expressive language Signing provides a bridge for children where English is an additional language (EAL)

Time to learn some signs! Hello good morning goodbye yes no Please let us know if you would like to learn any specific Makaton signs. finish toilet sorry food drink

Body / tactile signing Where a pupil is visually impaired tactile signs may be used. At Herons Dale school our tactile signing is based on the Cannon-Barrie method

Intensive interaction How does it work? Intensive Interaction is highly practical. The only equipment needed is a sensitive person to be the interaction partner. The approach works by progressively developing enjoyable and relaxed interaction sequences between the interaction partner and the person doing the learning

What do you do? Interact Be relaxed, non directive and responsive Allow your child to lead and direct Repeat frequently and enjoy! Be active and playful or quiet and peaceful; whichever fits the moment Develop a calm, accepting atmosphere Focus on their realm of interest Do not make demands Create a feeling of taking turns Communicate you value and enjoy being with them

Remember You can not initiate intensive interaction by following a child from behind

What are the potential outcomes? Greater use of eye contact Increased toleration of, or engagement in, physical contact activities Additional episodes of sustained joint attention Increased use of potentially communicative vocalisations An increased regard for facial signalling Greater initiation of social interaction More information can be found in: www.intensiveinteraction.co.uk

Now and Next Boards and Visual Now and Next Boards and Visual timetables timetables Now and next boards are visual supports that can give a structure to children s time. They show the immediate activity and what will follow Visual timetables show a longer sequence, which could be the morning, the whole day, or even a weekly timetable They can greatly reduce confusion and resulting anxiety and support intolerance of uncertainty. Some children find it difficult to transition between activities and experiences. Now and next boards provide visual support to aid understanding Can be a supportive way to introduce less preferred activities. Can support in developing independence skills

Eye gaze communication The method by which an individual uses their eyes to communication through low or high tech means Yes / no armbands Eye gaze boards Eye gaze computer Eye gaze books

PECS PECS- - Picture Exchange Communication Picture Exchange Communication System System PECS consists of six phases and It begins by teaching an individual to give a single picture of a motivator to a communicative partner who immediately honours the exchange as a request. The primary goal of PECS is to teach functional communication. Research has shown that some learners using PECS also develop speech. Others may transition to a speech generating device (SGD). PECS purists would not support a Total Communication approach alongside PECS but at Herons Dale we do. This means that pupils are exposed to multiple ways of communicating and when they communicate in a functional way that is not PECs, it is responded to. The effectiveness of PECS as an evidence-based practice is substantial. It can be a transformative communication system but it is not for everyone. PECS is put in place following input from SaLT.

Aided Language Boards Aided Language Boards Aided language boards allow visual language (pictures/symbols) to be displayed alongside verbal language (speech). Aided language boards can be used as a communication method for non-verbal children as well as a language extension tool to support children to extend their verbal language. When introducing Aided Language Boards, you should focus on modelling their use Choose activities which you know interest the child, to support their engagement talk aloud when trying to find words on the board e.g., I want the red ball ah here it is red red ball

Colourful Semantics Colourful Semantics Colourful Semantics is an approach used to help children develop their grammar. It supports children to structure sentences in the correct order or make sentences longer. It also helps with their understanding of the meaning of words (semantics). As well as helping children to join sentences together in the correct order, Colourful Semantics also helps children to: Grow and widen their vocabulary Make longer sentences Answer/respond to questions Develop use of nouns, verbs, prepositions and adjectives Improve story telling skills Colourful Semantics works well as it is a very visual approach, with each type of word in the sentence is colour coded. This helps the child understand that each part of the sentence is important and has its own role.

Colourful Semantics Colourful Semantics The colour code is: Who? orange What doing? (verb/action word) yellow What? green Where? blue To whom?- pink When?- brown

Finding Resources https://schools.local-offer.org/blog/2020/11/17/what-are-now-and-next-boards/ www.intensiveinteraction.co.uk https://singinghands.co.uk/about/what-is-makaton/ https://www.structural-learning.com/post/colourful-semantics-a-teachers-guide