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Introduction
Everyone
Communicates
Behavior
as communication
Augmentative
and Alternative Communications
Supporting
communication
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We
all communicate everyday with those around us. We may use a spoken language
to interact with others. We may use other forms to communicate. You
might raise your hand in class to communicate to the teacher that you
have something to say. We might wave at someone across the road to say
hello. We also communicate to others how we are feeling in a variety
of ways. We smile when we are happy and may frown when upset. We laugh
and cry. We don’t even have to say a word and others around us can sometimes
guess how we are feeling.
Students with disabilities also communicate in a variety of ways. Their
communication can be symbolic or non-symbolic. In symbolic communication,
specific forms represent something else. For example, the word “ball”
represents something that is round and that children might play with.
The word can be spoken, signed or represented by a picture. Some students
with disabilities are able to communicate through symbolic communication.
They may have a limited vocabulary of spoken words, may use sign language,
may use picture communication cards, or a combination of these forms.
Other students with disabilities may use nonsymbolic
communication. They do not use or understand symbols. They rely on
their bodies or the environment around them to communicate. Some forms
of nonsymbolic communication include body
movements or changes in muscle tone, vocalizations, facial expressions,
orientation (looking toward or away from someone or something), touching,
manipulating, or moving another person, manipulating objects or using
them to interact with others, and aggressive or self-injurious behavior.
Students may exhibit one or more of these types of communication.
For students who use nonsymbolic communication,
it is important to always be aware of their behavior and what it could
possibly mean. A student might take your hand and pull you to the door,
possibly indicating that he wants to go out. Another student might
turn their head when offered a drink, possibly indicating that they
do not want a drink or do not like what is being offered. A student
may be crying, possibly indicating that they are in pain, fearful, or
disliking what is happening around or to them.
Steven Hawking is a very interesting
person. He has accomplished much in his life, and due to a disease,
has lost his ability to communicate with others verbally.
Many people think that Steven Hawking is one of the “smartest”
people in the world because he showed everyone what he could do before
he lost the ability to speak. He did not stop being “smart” because
he had to start using a device to communicate. What
about people who never develop the ability to speak, could they be “smart?”
Much of what our society defines as being smart really is about the
ability to use spoken or written language effectively. Does that mean
that the nonverbal communication of babies or people
like Steven Hawking who cannot speak is less important? If we
know that everyone communicates, what does that mean for you as a peer
tutor in your day to day work with students who may not talk clearly
or speak at a
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