English and communication difficulties at P levels 6-8

There is much more interaction between pupils and this will be challenging to a child who has communication difficulties.

 You can:

• Plan ahead so that the child is prepared for the vocabulary they need to use to communicate with others.
• Ensure that any communication device is pre-programmed (if necessary), placed correctly within reach of the child, and is working properly.
• Try to vary the context to broaden understanding; if a child can greet someone they know within school, can they greet someone they don’t know, such as a visitor? Or can they greet people in the community?
• At P level 8 try acting out well-known stories such as the Three Bears – where speech becomes more memorable through repetition.
• Use well-known songs such as Old Macdonald and encourage the child to join in with the words, particularly if they are repetitive.
• Try games such as ‘I went shopping with my old string bag and in it I put…’ using pictures or symbols for the shopping. Each child revisits the whole shopping list so it is reinforced.
• Play ‘beat that’, a game for pupils to communicate in a quiet environment. The game leader gets everyone beating the same rhythm on a resonance board or table, then the leader stops and waits for a pupil to initiate the next rhythm. Games using a resonance board and allowing quiet space for students to make their contributions. Get them to initiate new rhythms themselves while others copy.