Georgia State University Series:

Communication Development

Day 3, Part 1

July 2001

What is normal Communication Development?

All Babies Gestures Vocal Signals Behavioral English ASL

Note: All of these serve a pragmatic function.

Gestural Communication Pointing to

something Holds up what

he wants

Vocal Signals Crying Babbling Cooing Gurgling

Crying May Indicate: Boredom Feeling alone Hungry Wet Tired

Behavioral Communication Trying to open

cabinet Reach for an

object Avoid unpleasant

situation Attention getting

Communication:

Turn Daily Activities into Language Lessons

Rules for Daily Interaction Specific Objectives Choose vocabulary and grammar that is

developmentally appropriate Focus on a few goals each week BUT also Learn in context Talk, Talk, Talk Sign, Sign, Sign Explain what your doing and why even if it

appears the child does not understand

Work on Specific Objectives Discuss ways with Resource Team Choose developmentally

appropriate objectives Post on the refrigerator Keep notebook

Who How Often Childs attempts to imitate

Objectives (cont) Reinforce Praise Picture Notebook of Family

Saying / Signing / Playing

Learning in Context

Bath Count toes Sing songs: “This little piggy” Drying off and massage with lotion

while labeling body parts Dressing

Meals

Count Cheerios Peek -a- Boo Drop the napkin Cover head with napkin “where’s

---?

Play Baby dolls: feed or dress doll Cars: Vroom Sounds

Trade Books Board Books – large pictures / few

words Name & Describe pictures Repetition

Activity Books Make a book out of small 5 x 7

picture album with pictures of family members, pets, favorite toys etc.

Let child take the book in the stroller, car, bed and talk about the pictures

Making Logical Connections

Do not assume that the child connects one even to another

Examples: Drive – Thru? Greeting Card? What day you do it?Use pictures sequences to show event

relationship

Do not assume that the child can anticipate events

Examples: Going to doctor Losing candy Having a birthday partyHave chat Before, Now and Later

Do not assume that the child understands cause-effect relationship

Examples: Hot burner To do: First, Then

WatchWatch Ways Your Child Tries to Communicate

Point? Babble? Squeal? Communicate to get attention? Get something he or she wants?

Both deaf and hearing babies develop communication skills in similar ways.

Typical Sequence of Language Learning for Hearing Children:

Early prelinguistic stage Late prelinguistic stage Single sign/word Early word combinations Multi-word combinations Expanded grammar Adult-like language development

Early Prelinguistic Stage: 0-6 Months

Infant turns toward a speaker

Attends to an unfamiliar voice

Highly sensitive to touch

Uses different sounds to communicate different needs

Shares sounds with their parents (coos, babbling of vowel-like sounds)

Later Prelinguistic Stage: 6-12 Months

The infant listens when spoken to Turns/looks when name is called Begins to respond to requests and questions Uses sounds, other than crying, for attention Babbling sounds like words (dada, mama) Utterances begin to vary in stress and have

adult-like intonational patterns

Single Sign/Word: 12-18 Months

The infant understands and responds to basic communication

First words appear that are reduplications of consonant-vowels (dada, mama, bye-bye)

Continues the use of jargon (strings of non-sensical utterances with varied stress and adult-like intonational patterns)

Early Word Combinations: 18-24 Months

Points to pictures in books, or body parts, when named

Follows/understands simple commands and questions

Listens/enjoys simple books, rhymes, songs Rapidly developing vocabulary Combines two words into simple

questions/statements (daddy work; more juice)

Multi-word Combinations: 24-36 Months

Infant understands complex sentences Understands contrastive meanings of

words (hot/cold) Learns 2-4 new words every day! Uses attributes to describe nouns (BIG

dog) Jargon disappears Establish topic-comment relations

Expanded Grammar: 3-4 years

Understands complex language forms Sentences and questions are becoming

longer and more complex 90% of sentences are grammatically correct Children will talk about events that

happened away from their home and what may happen in the future

Adult-like Language: Age 5 Has a large vocabulary, as well as grammar Enjoys stories and can answer questions

about them Constructs long and detailed sentences Tells long and involved stories May tell fantastic, tall stories May engage in conversation with strangers

Typical Sequence of Language Development in American Sign Language

Stage 1: Infant begins to use basic handshapes (B, C, O, A,

S, 1, 5) Begins to use single-signs Begins to use simple movements (up, down) Begins to combine signs into two sign utterances Copies actions/signs of others Begins to use headshake with negative sign Begins to use questions (yes/no/what/where)

Stage 2: Tries to use complex handshapes, but tend to

simplify them Starts to modify verbs Begins three-four sign sentences Begins to use classifiers Storytelling: different roles, body shift, facial

expression (not always clear) Substitutes objects that are present to talk about

objects that are NOT present

Stage 3: Uses complex handshapes with accuracy (X, Y, T,

R, 3) Begins to use complex movement (wiggles) Continues refining verb modification Begins to use noun modification for intensity, size,

and quality Begins to use rhetorical questions (turtle run-who

win-turtle) Begins to use topicalization Inconsistent use of points in space when storytelling

Stage 4: Consistent use of complex handshapes,

movements, fingerspelling, and names Begins to show spatial agreement of

objects Begins to use conditionals (e.g. if) Appropriate use of referencing objects that

are not present; storytelling is clear Uses bracketing to indicate “wh” questions

Differences between deaf and hearing infants begin to develop around six months of age.

At six to seven months, hearing babies begin producing rapid consonant-vowel productions, termed “canonical babbling”:

Ba-ba-da-da-ma-ma….

However, the deaf infant’s babbling decreases dramatically.

Some experts have hypothesized that there is a “critical period” in which children must be exposed to a complete language in order to have native-like competence. Lack of a first language results in the child progressing at a “semi-lingual” state.

Therefore, it is imperative that parents or caregivers understand how language develops in their infant in order to assess their progress.

Studies have found that Deaf mothers use more facial expression and more gestures when communicating with their children. This kind of non-verbal feedback encourages children to look at their mothers, which is an important step in supporting visual communication and in developing speechreading skills. This can be achieved through several strategies:

Gaining and Directing Attention

Break the child’s line of sight and gain attention using movements of the hands and body

Touch the child Use pointing to direct attention

while still permitting language input Reinforce eye-contact by smiling,

clapping or signing

Make Language Salient Reduce the frequency of

communication so it is recognized as worthy of attention Meaningful

Relevant

Reduce need for Divided Attention

Use short utterances Position self and objects in child’s

visual field Move hands, face or both into

child’s visual field

Link Language and Meaning

Bracketing: Sign or Phrase at both the beginning and end of an utterance “BIRD TREE SIT(point) BIRD”

Modify Signs: Displace, Repeat, Enlarge and Prolong sign

Describe Event While it Happens

Instead of directing a

child’s gaze to an

object or event and

talking about it while

he or she looks at it, talk

about the object or

event before or after

directing the child to

look at it.

With a child who is using

manual communication,

the location of the

signing can be moved into

the child’s line of sight,

or the child’s body can be

used instead of the

signers.