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What do we know about communication?

Everyone communicates, but not everyone can speak
Someone may not speak well enough to meet their needs, but they still communicate
If we know exactly how someone communicates, they can be understood

What does this person use to communicate?

Speech?
Communication device?
Pictures?
Signs or gestures?
Body language or facial expressions?
Sounds or movements?
Other ways?

Communication Inventory (Example)

Communication Method Y/N Level When used Example

Speech	Y	One word at a time	Naming Marvel characters	“Thor”
Communication Device	N	n/a	n/a	n/a
Pictures	Y	Points	Movie choices	Point to picture of “Spiderman”
Signs or Gestures	Y	Single signs	Wants to eat	Sign for “eat”, “cookie”, “pizza”
Body language or facial expression	Y	Waves, Smiles, Frowns	Greeting, Expressing emotions	Waves and smiles when happy
Sounds or movements	Y	Hums; Pulls someone’s arm	When a favorite item is out of reach	Starts humming and pulls others to the location of an item
Other	N	n/a	n/a	n/a

Most people use a combination of different ways to communicate

We all use multiple ways to communicate, such as speech, body language, email, gestures, facial expressions.
Waving to someone across a noisy room may be more effective than talking
“Successful communication strikes a balance of being: effective, most efficient, and socially appropriate” (Tabi Jones Wohleber)

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Deepen Your Understanding

The Communication Matrix lists nine categories of communicative behavior (C. Rowland, Communication Matrix)
• Body movements
• Sounds
• Facial Expressions
• Visual
• Simple Gestures
• Conventional Gestures & Vocalizations
• Concrete Symbols
• Abstract Symbols
• Language

Body Language

Do you need to “read” their body language and facial expressions? They may not be using words, but they are communicating. Some people use their bodies to intentionally communicate how they are feeling. We can take our best guess at what they need. It is helpful to recognize if certain behaviors occur in specific contexts. That will help us to understand their meaning.

Signs

Does the person use some signs? If they are signing, they are using words. These signs “represent” meaning, just like spoken words do. It doesn’t matter if the signs are perfect. The person is still using words to communicate with intent. Those who know the person best will know what the signs mean.

Pictures

Does the person point to photos in a magazine? Or in the supermarket flyer? They are using symbols, too. They understand that those pictures represent the activities or objects.   What is the person using now? Is it adequate to meet all of their communication needs? Can they communicate with people out in the community? If the answer is no, we can look at matching them with an AAC system. This will help expand their communication. It will also help them communicate with a greater range of people.

Speech

The quickest and most effective way to communicate is with speech. But the ability to speak clearly relies on a number of underlying issues that the person may not be able to control.