Module 7: Communication
Summary
Communication is an infinitely complex skill. Children bring a variety of sensory, physical, visual, cognitive, and hearing abilities to the table when they start learning to communicate. Children with complex needs will need support and extra time to develop communication skills.
In general, today’s classrooms are geared toward students who use spoken language effectively, have a large vocabulary, and are successful in social communication. These skills also support literacy learning. For students with complex needs, modifying and adapting lessons and activities will enable their participation in general classroom activities.
Educators need to know the communication styles and individual learning differences of all their students in order to achieve successful inclusion.
Key Terms
- Analytic Language Processor
- A bottom-up process of learning language where children learn single words and build them up over time into sentences.
- Communication
- A process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviours.
- Complex Communication Needs
- A broad term that describes people with severe speech, language, and communication impairments.
- Development
- The changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood.
- Gestalt Language Processor
- A top-down process of learning language where children start with whole memorized phrases which hold emotional meaning, and gradually break these down into single words.
- Inclusion
- An active process of inviting, involving, and informing with intention that provides students with opportunities for belonging and contribution.
- School-aged
- The age range of children normally attending school, from kindergarten to grade 12.
References and Resources
Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1992). The organization and reorganization of human speech perception. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 15(1), 377-402.