Speech and language: Social communication

Intensive interaction is a way to develop early interaction and communication skills. It aims to support children to enjoy being with other people. Take a look at our intensive interaction tips leaflet (PDF).

For more information visit the Intensive Interaction Institute website.

These video links talk about and demonstrate intensive interaction:

Intensive interaction at Kingfisher Special School

A six minute video for parents and carers with many short clips of sessions and an explanation of what to do.

What is Intensive Interaction? – SaLT by the Sea

A six minute video that describes intensive interaction.

Intensive interaction session

A four minute video of a session, narrated by Dave Hewett (creator of Intensive Interaction).

The Curiosity Programme is a fun-filled, interactive way of supporting a child’s attention, language and social communication. It encourages the child to interact with the adult, demonstrates that communication with others can be enjoyable and builds the very early building blocks of communication. The concept was developed by Gina Davies. 

• Visit the Gina Davies website for practical help with autism
• Take a look at our leaflet on the curiosity approach (PDF)
• The Curiosity Programme leaflet (PDF) provide information about the stages of the curiosity approach by the St Christopher school

These strategies sound simple, but they are so effective at encouraging communication:

• Follow the leader (PDF) gets you down to your child’s eye level to watch your child play; watch to see what they are interested in and allow them to lead the play as you join in alongside. Say simple comments as you play and your child will be listening and connecting the words to their actions. This way they are much more likely to remain engaged in activities of their own choosing. Demonstrate good listening skills by looking at your child, nodding or answering questions and repeating back what they have said.
• Repeat (PDF) say words over and over again; say the words which directly match what your child is looking at, holding, playing with or doing. For example, if they playing with a ball say “ball” whist they are holding it, then add on some action words “catch ball”, “throw ball”, “kick ball” to match your actions. Children need to hear words in context repeatedly to consolidate their learning. Make sure you use any action words in a variety of contexts e.g. Brush hair, brush teddy, brush the floor.
• Comment (PDF) and watch as your child enjoys playing and then comment alongside, for example, “train, train going fast, over the bridge, train stop!” If your child looks at you or points to indicate something, simply add the words that are relevant e.g. ‘more trains?’ ‘you want the blue train’. Try not to ask questions such as “what are you doing?” “what’s this?” “what colour is this one?” - this interrupts their play and doesn’t teach them anything useful; it’s likely to put them under pressure to answer, which then makes it less likely that they will respond.
• Expand (PDF) if your child says a word, try adding one or two words on to expand their vocabulary. If they say “dog” the adult could add “little dog”, “dog barking” or “dog jumping”. Simplify your language if you feel your child hasn’t understood, use fewer words, point or add in gestures to help.
• Take turns (PDF) to try to give your child equal turns in conversation; pause after saying something and wait (count to 10 if it helps!). Children need longer than adults to process language and to respond, so try to be patient. Learning how to listen, wait and then respond are skills that take time for your child to develop. You can help by playing simple, fun turn-taking games with your child such as rolling a ball to each other, building a tower one brick each in turn or with simple lotto or board games.

Objects can be used to help children to understand what’s about to happen. Objects can represent an activity, an event, a person or a place. They help children to ‘see’ the word. It’s important to pick a specific object which can represent a particular activity e.g. a bunch of keys may represent going in the car, a small plate/bowl may signify a meal time. The objects you choose must always stay the same so that association is created between the object and the activity.

The adult shows the object and says the corresponding word at the same time. The child holds the object and becomes familiar with it while hearing the word. Repetition and consistency are key to building understanding.

Watch objects of reference in action in the video below:

Look at our objects of reference leaflet (PDF).

Communication boards are a type of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). They are single laminated sheets containing picture symbols, that children can point to as a form of communication during their interactions with others.

They benefit children who find it difficult to use spoken words by:

• helping them to understand and process the word the adult has said by providing a visual support and by slowing down the adult’s rate of talking
• enabling them to communicate what they want to say by pointing to the symbols

They can be used alongside other strategies that your child may already be using, for example, objects of reference, symbol supports, Signalong, intensive interaction, to support the development of their communication skills

Take a look at our communication boards leaflet (PDF).

Here are some useful videos:

Introduction to communication boards

Using communication boards

Modelling

Comic strip conversations are a way of visually representing a conversation, created by Carol Gray.

A comic strip conversation helps break down the more abstract parts of a social interaction to make them more concrete and visual and therefore easier to understand. They can help with understanding emotions, intentions, feelings and what people actually say.

These web pages provide further information:

• Social stories and comic strip conversations

These videos also provide useful introductions to comic strip conversations:

Comic strip conversations video

Comic strip conversations – supporting communication through simple drawings (15 minute video)

Social Stories™ were created by Carol Gray in 1991. Social stories can be used to describe situations or events and give information about what to expect and why. They are presented in a clear, concrete way and can give more predictability about a new situation, reducing anxiety. They can be useful in lots of different situations, such as introducing a change to routine or a new place, and are useful to support people to better understand their own and others’ perspectives.

More information can be found on the Autism website and in the following documents:

• Social Story: Salt Way (PDF)
• Social Story: Salt Way (PowerPoint presentation)