At birth, infants begin learning how to communicate.
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Students with significant disabilities communicate when they are happy, sad, or uncomfortable. Adults have the responsibility to attach meaning to a child’s... vocalization, movement, or facial expression.
When a young child reaches up towards the adult, we attach meaning by lifting the child up, saying “up you go”. We can do the same with different types of movements from children with disabilities. Communication can be powerful so teach the power of communication.
Behavior is communicative. Many times the child’s inappropriate behavior was unsuccessful communicative attempts. When completing a communication sample, behavior should be analyzed using the content/form/use model. Once the missing component is identified, it can be taught and may well lead to successful communication and appropriate behavior. The goal is to determine what the student does to communicate and what is missing when the communication is unsuccessful.