Difficulties in learning language is a common problem in children with Asperger Syndrome (AS). On the occasion of the ephemeris of the International Asperger Syndrome Day we dedicate a special blog post with tips and games that help us to stimulate language in cases with AS.
What language difficulties do children with Asperger Syndrome have?
Patterns of interest in children with AS are also different in communication and in how they use language to express themselves. For example, they may extend themselves by repeating only one topic, talk for a long time or have long moments of silence and absence, where they do not react to what is demanded from their environment.
In terms of expression, while some children with AS speak normally, some cases may adopt strange tones or rhythms. For example, in some cases the child may speak very slowly or very fast.
Finally, we can also find cases of children with AS who have not developed language, i.e. non-verbal cases. In all of them, the difficulty of language or its absence causes frustration in the child and also in his or her family. This is a cause/consequence effect: in many cases, their environment is not able to understand what they want to say, which in turn leads to the child's own frustration.
How to stimulate the language of the child with AS?
In these cases we must help the child to understand what we express with language and communication and that what we express verbally is not always what we mean literally. Here are some tips to guide the communication skills of children with AS towards more fluid communication with their environment.
- Address the child in a clear manner: It is important to adopt a clear and clear tone of voice, so that the child can understand our sentences. It also helps to adopt a normal rhythm, neither too slow nor too fast.
- Respect silences: We often tend to dismiss silences in conversation as awkward moments. In our children with AS these moments of silence may mean that he is looking for an exact answer to our question, as he is unaware that not all questions need a concrete answer.
- Show him/her how to apply resource phrases during silences: Give them resources to use during these silences to reduce the awkwardness of the conversation. For example, phrases such as "I don't know" or "I'm thinking".
Games to work on language in Asperger's Syndrome
As we always say in the VICON Method the main quality we need for language to be stimulated in the child is to make it fun, to play with it and to take that path in the most playful way possible. It is important to set aside rigidity and strictness and turn the process into something fun and exciting; this will lead to better results.
- Pass the ball: This is a fun game that we can easily adopt at home and in the family. We can stand in a circle, set a theme (e.g. "kitchen stuff") and pass the ball to each other. Each time we get the ball, we have to say a word related to the theme. We can also play singing VICON Method songs to work on the concepts we are working on at that moment.
- Sing the Method songs: take advantage of more playful moments, such as weekends, to organise a karaoke at home and sing all the VICON Method songs. It is ideal for internalising concepts and having fun with the family.
- Read stories aloud: reading aloud helps to work on learned concepts and to model the rhythm of the child's language.
- Practice Self Modelling: videotaping the child as he/she uses the VICON Method and watching him/herself will help to enhance the child's cognitive language development.