Being able to communicate with your child is crucial for any parent. From being able to understand when they’re hungry, to them being able to tell you if they’re happy or upset. However, there are some children who are non-speaking – but this doesn’t mean that they can’t communicate or don’t want to communicate.
What does ‘non-speaking’ mean?
The term “non-speaking” is used in relation to people who aren’t speaking yet – keyword being yet. Let’s explore what it means to be non-verbal, how it impacts children, and what you can do to help your child.
While a child who is non-verbal may vocalise different sounds in response to speech or situations, they don’t use any full words to express their thoughts and feelings. Here is a list of some of the ways non-verbal children may communicate with you:
- Gestures such as; clapping, waving, and pointing.
- Touch, e.g., they may touch your face to show affection, or hold your hand to show trust.
- Guiding/moving you in the direction of an object they want you to pay attention to.
- Sign Language or Makaton
- Sounds relative to their emotions. So, they may grumble when upset, or giggle when they’re happy.
Why isn’t my child speaking?
There are a variety of conditions that could impact your child’s use of verbal speech. Some of the most common ones include:
Autism
Each autistic child is different and has their own profile of strengths and needs, but a common occurrence in all autistic children is a difficulty in social interaction.
This can result in a child having trouble conversing with people, as well as understanding how they/other people feel – leading to them not vocalising their thoughts and feelings.
If you suspect that your child might be autistic, our autism pre-screening service could provide you clarity on whether you should undergo a full assessment.
Selective Mutism
Maybe you’ve heard from your child’s teachers and classmates that they are quite vocal in school, whereas at home, they don’t speak. Or maybe vice versa, your child could be speaking at home, but their teacher says that they don’t speak in school. It could be likely that your child is presenting with Selective Mutism.
Development Learning Disorder
DLD is a diagnosis that involves the child experiencing difficulties learning, understanding, and using expressive language.
Children with DLD often have difficulties finding the right words to say when structuring their sentences, as well as understanding instructions given to them and retaining information – causing some children with it to become non-speaking.
How can I communicate with my non-speaking child?
As mentioned earlier, just because your child isn’t speaking right now, doesn’t mean that they can’t communicate with you – nor does it mean that they aren’t capable of speech in the future. By understanding how you can communicate with them non-verbally, you are providing them with a foundation to vocalise their thoughts and feelings in the future.
Here are 5 actions to take that will help encourage communication with your child:
Joining in with non-verbal cues
If you think about it, we rely on nonverbal communication everyday. We smile when we are happy. We wave when saying goodbye. These are very important and valuable methods of communication that we can use to pave the way for children to verbally communicate.
By modelling yourself using expressive gestures when speaking, you will be increasing the chances of your child understanding you. For example, pointing at an object that the child owns and saying, “Teddy!”, proceeding to point at them and asking “Is it your teddy?”, and then nodding your head while saying “Yes! It is your teddy!”
Play ‘Copycat’ with them
Imitating the child by making similar noises to them and performing similar actions to them will let them know that you want to engage with them and that you respect them. If you’re watching a show together and they let out a happy giggle, you let one out too. If they roll a toy car on the carpet, you roll a toy car on the carpet too.
Leaving gaps for your child to fill
It’s important to give your child loads of chances and opportunities to communicate through speech, sound, or body language. When you ask a question, or are prompted by your child to get something for them, pause for a brief moment while looking at them to give them an opportunity to communicate with them.
Keep an eye and an ear out for any kind of sound or body movement, and then deliver the appropriate response quickly. A quick response will help solidify that your child feels the power of communication.
Use assistive and visual support
Having visual support to aid you in communicating with your non-speaking child can help foster its development. A strong example of visual support is a ‘Communication Board’. This aid allows you to have a visual representation of words for you to say out loud, point towards, and model the item.
Follow their lead
It’s worth remembering that making sure your child is comfortable can yield great results – and there is no better way of doing that than letting them be the leader in play and communication.
If they want to repeat the same sound, play the same games, watch the same shows, or do the same gesture repetitively, let them! See what motivates them to be comfortable, and join in.
We also recommend playing with what the child wants to play with. For example, if they love trains and hate bubbles. They love trains and hate bubbles, they are more likely to engage with trains.
Remember, if the repetitive behaviour bores you or annoys you, please understand the reasoning behind the actions as opposed to getting your child to stop.
How can Chatterbug help you and your child?
Chatterbug offers a variety of ways to support non-speaking children on their journey to discovering their unique voices. If you would like to know how our wonderful staff can help, get in touch here!
Additionally, discover more strategies to support your child by exploring our course: Parent’s Guide: Supporting My Child with SLCN” delivered by our expert Speech and Language Therapists.
Finally, we are holding a FREE Q&A session for parents who are uncertain about the best steps to take regarding their child’s speech. Secure your spot here.
Phone: 0113 240 8510 Email: [email protected]
