"You can never understand one language
until you understand at least two."
~Geoffrey Williams
There are so many ways of communicating non-verbally, but one of the most well-known ones is sign language. Some parents are hesitant to introduce a way for their child to communicate without words, worrying that it may slow speech progress even further.
Sign language does NOT hamper speech development. See here. What it does allow for is easier communication with someone who doesn't speak. Signing with babies is becoming more and more popular as well. Check out this video:
Teaching sign language to a completely non-verbal* autistic isn't that much different in principle than baby sign language. But how do you do that, anyway?
Well, you simply tie the word or action to the sign. Sign the word every time you say it. Some autistics will only need a few repetitions to learn it, while others may take longer. When they do sign it, reinforce as much as you can, by saying and signing it: "You want food?" (Signing food.) "Let's get you some food." Naturally you want to praise the heck out of them in an age-appropriate way while also listening to the message they're getting across.
Of course, don't overwhelm yourself or your "student" right away. Start small, and with what's important. The essential needs to convey are things like food, drink, bathroom (or diaper change), tired, pain, and so on - but that will vary according to situations and age. You can always get more specific and introduce more signs later.
If the autistic person already has a few invented signs (clapping to mean again, etc), you don't need to teach them the "proper" sign. No need to fix what isn't broken.
Similarly, modify signs your student may have a hard time with, particularly if they're younger. In the video above, for example, they use a bouncing letter O to mean Cheerios. Someone fluent in ASL would use the manual alphabet to spell "Cheerios," which would be unnecessarily difficult for a baby whose motor skills aren't fully developed. You also don't need to worry about the grammar of sign language.
Finally, don't be afraid to make up signs as necessary. You'll run into words that don't have signs, such as the names of people in the autistic person's life. Keep it simple: if his sister's name is Melissa, he can refer to her with the letter M held by his chin, for example; then his brother Kyle can be referred to with the letter K held in the same place. Use signs to differentiate between occupational therapy and speech therapy. It's all about what's best for the situation you're in.
* If the autistic person can speak but has a speech delay or something else that makes it hard to communicate, you can still do this! Just skip over the signs for any words they already have.
Sign language does NOT hamper speech development. See here. What it does allow for is easier communication with someone who doesn't speak. Signing with babies is becoming more and more popular as well. Check out this video:
Teaching sign language to a completely non-verbal* autistic isn't that much different in principle than baby sign language. But how do you do that, anyway?
Well, you simply tie the word or action to the sign. Sign the word every time you say it. Some autistics will only need a few repetitions to learn it, while others may take longer. When they do sign it, reinforce as much as you can, by saying and signing it: "You want food?" (Signing food.) "Let's get you some food." Naturally you want to praise the heck out of them in an age-appropriate way while also listening to the message they're getting across.
Of course, don't overwhelm yourself or your "student" right away. Start small, and with what's important. The essential needs to convey are things like food, drink, bathroom (or diaper change), tired, pain, and so on - but that will vary according to situations and age. You can always get more specific and introduce more signs later.
If the autistic person already has a few invented signs (clapping to mean again, etc), you don't need to teach them the "proper" sign. No need to fix what isn't broken.
Similarly, modify signs your student may have a hard time with, particularly if they're younger. In the video above, for example, they use a bouncing letter O to mean Cheerios. Someone fluent in ASL would use the manual alphabet to spell "Cheerios," which would be unnecessarily difficult for a baby whose motor skills aren't fully developed. You also don't need to worry about the grammar of sign language.
Finally, don't be afraid to make up signs as necessary. You'll run into words that don't have signs, such as the names of people in the autistic person's life. Keep it simple: if his sister's name is Melissa, he can refer to her with the letter M held by his chin, for example; then his brother Kyle can be referred to with the letter K held in the same place. Use signs to differentiate between occupational therapy and speech therapy. It's all about what's best for the situation you're in.
* If the autistic person can speak but has a speech delay or something else that makes it hard to communicate, you can still do this! Just skip over the signs for any words they already have.
