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Supporting Communication Beyond Level 1 : Responding to Subtle Communication

Author-Avatar Emily Dayle Quinn

3/19/2016 2:44 PM

As mentioned in a previous post, noticing and responding to all communication behavior is one of the most important strategies during this stage of communication development. After communication partners learn to recognize subtle communication, they can focus on responding to the communication. The best type of response is related to the purpose of the child’s communication. For example, when you recognize a vocalization as a sign of discomfort, your response might be to reposition the individual.




Responding consistently to the individual communication acts is what will reinforce this behavior over time. While this may seem like “good parenting” or “just good teaching” recognizing communication of individuals with disabilities can be tricky . It may be tempting to skip ahead too quickly to other forms of direct instruction. At this stage it is more important to focus on being a communication partner, listening and responding.

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