Non-Verbal Communication With an Autistic Child: The Value of Interacting Beyond Words With Autistic Children

Non-verbal communication plays an important role in fostering interactions with autistic children. How does it enhance the quality of these interactions?

Caregivers often lament about their difficulties in communicating and interacting with their autistic children who have limited speech. From their perspective, their children’s inability to understand speech and express themselves verbally essentially undermines the quality of their interactions.

However, in their focus on eliciting speech from their children, these caregivers often fail to notice their children’s creative efforts at non-verbal communication, which should be acknowledged and further explored. Non-verbal communication also opens a window for caregivers to understand their autistic children and connect with them.

Therefore, while it is important for caregivers to cultivate speech in autistic children, they should not ignore non-verbal communication that can supplement and enhance their interactions. The following section illuminates the value of non-verbal communication.

Supplements Verbal Communication.

An effective way for caregivers to interact with their autistic children is to accompany their speech with related dramatic gestures and exaggerated expressions. In The Child with Special Needs [Perseus Books, 1998], Dr. Stanley Greenspan emphasizes the use of “expressive, animated gestures” to capture the interest of autistic children and enhance their responsiveness.

Furthermore, because autistic children are highly visual, these non-verbal elements that supplement speech also serve as an aid for autistic children to better understand verbal communication. With repetition over time, these autistic children will utilize their association of related gestures and/or facial expressions to the corresponding speech to help them to retain and recall verbal language.

Serves as an Efficient Means of Communication

Non-verbal communication can be an efficient means of communication for caregivers and their autistic children. This is particularly important in public areas that are not conducive for verbal communication, or in instances that require swift response. A simple hand gesture can be a non-taxing way for autistic children to exchange information with their caregivers effectively.

Offers Insights to Facilitate Interactions

Caregivers who attend to the nonverbal communication of their autistic children are better able to “read”or interpret their state of mind. In this way, caregivers can be responsive to their autistic children’s display of interest in certain items, or identify signs of distress, which helps them to determine how best to pursue their interaction with the autistic children.

For example, an observant mother who notices her son turning his head to gaze at certain objects will talk to her son about them. Or when she sees that he is rocking his body and whining, she will recognize that he is distressed and modify her interaction to calm him down.

Fosters Expression of Love and Affection

Caregivers mistakenly believe that autistic children are lacking in emotion because they are unable to verbalize their feelings. Some of these autistic children compensate by using nonverbal ways to express intimate feelings. They may give the caregivers a meaningful gaze, envelop them in a bear hug, or rub their faces playfully against those of their caregivers.

However atypical they may be, these forms of non-verbal communication constitute invaluable attempts by the autistic children to reach out to their caregivers. Caregivers who are not aware of these unique non-verbal expressions miss out on genuinely connecting with their autistic children, without feeling hampered by language barriers. This type of interaction resonates with emotional richness that cannot be replicated in verbal communication.

Caregivers can enhance their ability to interact with autistic children by using non-verbal communication to supplement speech and as an efficient communication substitute. Moreover, caregivers' awareness and understanding of non-verbal cues of autistic children can guide them in their interactions. Most importantly, non-verbal ways of expressing love and affection enable caregivers and autistic children to connect at a deep level that extends beyond words.