Learning to Communicate

Jaya Hinton

CAP Diamond Project

Junior Year: 6/5/17

According to Autism Speaks, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a range of conditions

characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal

communication. Although it is no longer an official symptom of autism, a delay in language

development is often what prompts parents to get their child tested for autism. Before testing, parents are

likely to either over or underestimate how much their child actually understands unless the child is given

the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS), the

Preschool Language Scale, or the Clinical Evaluations of Language Fundamentals (CELF) tests, all of

which help to determine a childs receptive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary is made up of words that

people are able to understand and respond to even if they are unable to produce them, while expressive

vocabulary refers to the words that people are able to produce either verbally or nonverbally.

It is important to recognize that autistic language is delayed, not deviant, and that these delays are

commonplace in autistic people. However, these children are able to acquire language both verbally and

nonverbally using American Sign Language. According to the study Sign Language and Autism, Data

on over 100 children indicate that nearly all autistic children learn receptive and expressive signs, and

many learn to combine signs....Speech skills are acquired by fewer children and may be developed

through simultaneous speech and sign training. Sign Language helps nonverbal children with autism

reach the language benchmarks expected of children between the ages of birth to six years old, which are

as follows:

Between the ages of six to 12 months the child is able to use one or more words and respond to

instruction...Between the ages of 18 to 24 months the child should be able to use at least two

prepositions and name a number of objects in his surroundings, and approximately of what the

child says should be intelligible...Between the ages of three to four years the child should be able

to recognize contrast in objects, use at least four prepositions, and have established the

consonants p, b, m, w, and n. Between the ages of four to five years the child should be able to

join sentences, use possessives and double negatives, tell simple jokes, understand more words

that he or she is able to use, and express ideas and feelings. Between the ages of five to six years

the childs speech should be completely intelligible and the the consonants f, v, l, and sounds of

sh, zh, and th should be mastered.

These benchmarks are all attainable for nonverbal children, either at a different rate or through a

nonverbal form of communication such as Sign Language. According to Carr et al.

There is a resemblance also in the content of the early vocabularies: autistic children's early

vocabularies, like normal children's, consist predominantly of concrete nouns and action verbs.

One difference is that although autistic children's vocabularies typically continue to grow with

increased training and exposure, they do not grow nearly as quickly as those of young normal

children learning to speak or those of deaf children acquiring Sign Language.

Unlike with non-autistic children, there is no typical rate of language development for a nonverbal child

with autism. Additionally, signing and speaking simultaneously helps nonverbal children increase both

their nonverbal and verbal vocabularies, as they act in a redundant manner to help the child remember

specific words.

Another benefit of using Sign Language in addition to speech is that autistic individuals tend to

express difficulties with understanding and judging pitch, tone, and other input modes that allow full

comprehension of a verbal conversation; this is called multisensory integration disorder. Sign Language

allows the individual to focus on hand movement and body language and eliminates the need for

consistently maintaining eye contact as the eyes are following the signs. This helps to eliminate social

anxiety in the child and allows them to interact more effectively with their community, because Sign

Language is a visual-motor communication system, it may bypass many of the difficulties that autistic

children have with auditory-vocal processing. The motor, kinesthetic, and visual systems in autistic

children appear to be relatively more intact than their auditory-vocal systems (O'Connor, 1971).

The teaching of Sign Language to individuals with autism is extremely easy and very beneficial,

especially when it is started at a young age. Exposure to fluent signers in a classroom and in a social

environment, as well as to signing at home by the parents allows for an optimal learning environment that

acts as a catalyst for the development of language in these children. When the use of Sign Language is

coupled with verbal communication, children are more likely to develop verbal communication skills.

The childs word sign vocabulary helps him or her to remember words in his or her verbal vocabulary and
vice versa. Additionally, the visual and kinetic nature of Sign Language allows parents and teachers to

shape the childs hand in order to form correct signs, which makes them easier to comprehend and

remember.

Another effective way to increase communication ability and comfortability in nonverbal children

is through the use of technology. Technology is able to capture and maintain the attention of autistic

children through the use of graphics and apps called visual scene displays. For example, the app

SceneSpeak creates visual speech to text displays and contains interactive stories that help to enhance

the receptive vocabulary of children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Another app called

Speech with Milo helps children to develop storytelling skills, which ultimately translates into the

ability to maintain a conversation with another person. Moreover, many of these students already possess

naturally advanced technological skills that can be fostered through science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM) and project-based learning which grow these students confidence both in the

classroom and out. This confidence helps them engage more comfortably and effectively with family and

friends. In Australia, Aspect Hunter School, a pre-K to grade six school exclusively for children on the

autism spectrum, has implemented a learning system using Sphero robots. These robots have been said

to help reduce fear of the social classroom environment, as well as encourage the students to step out of

their comfort zone.

Overall, nonverbal children with autism have the ability to communicate successfully with those

around them. Through American Sign Language they are able to communicate effectively through body

language and facial expressions as well as word signs, and overcome the communication barriers caused

by ASD. Technology helps in this process as STEM skills help improve social skills, verbal skills are

increased through various apps, and digital tools help to promote the individuals confidence. Though a

lengthy process, the integration of Sign Language into the education of a nonverbal child with autism is

an extremely beneficial endeavor that eases the strain of communication on the child in the future.
 Works Cited

Autism Speaks. "What Is Autism?" Autism Speaks, www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism. Accessed 6

June 2017.

Baum, Sarah H. "How Does Sensory Processing Affect Communication in Kids with Autism?" Autism

Speaks,www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2016/06/21/how-does-sensory-processing-affect-communi

cation-kids-autism. Accessed 29 May 2017.

Cortez, Meghan Bogardus. "3 Ways Technology Can Help Students with Autism." EdTech Magazine,

30 Aug. 2016,
 edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/08/3-ways-technology-can-help-students-autism.

Accessed 6 June 2017.

Morson, Emily. "Does Language Develop Differently in Autism?" Mosaic of Minds, 19 Sept. 2015,

mosaicofminds.blogspot.com/2015/09/does-language-develop-differently-in.html. Accessed 24

May 2017.

Tincani, Matt. "Comparing the Picture Exchange Communication System and Sign Language Training

for Children with Autism." Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, vol. 19, no.

3, Fall 2014, pp. 152-63, doi:10.1177/10883576040190030301. Accessed 29 May 2017.