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Gestures are hand/body movements or facial expressions which are used to intentionally communicate with or without speech. Research indicates that children typically gesture before they speak. Gesture may be used as a tool for infants and toddlers with communication impairments or delays. Taught as a form of communication, it may foster interactions between children with communication impairments and their communication partners (Rowe & Goldin-Meadow, 2009). It has been found that while listening children benefit more from gestures than adults (Hostetter, 2011). Gestures as an evidence-based practice intervention have been taught as part of Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT) a naturalistic imitation intervention (Ingersoll, et. al., 2007). Through the use of RIT, children have demonstrated improvement in gestural imitation, which is linked to an increase in verbal imitation and spontaneous language (Cardon et. al., 2011).
Guidelines for teaching gestures:
Set up the environment- make sure you are visible to the child when modeling the gesture. Try sitting across from the child.
Model every gesture you are trying to teach the child. (e.g., model by pointing to label objects and events, giving objects to a toddler while labeling them, or holding up an object to show it to the child). Other examples of gestures include actions such as waving, shaking, nodding your head, showing and giving objects to other people, and pointing.
Pair the gesture with the word.
Create opportunities by waiting for a response.
Respond, when the child uses the gesture be sure to respond.
Educate parents on how to teach their child gestures at home.
This handout can be shared with parents to help them implement gestures at home.
This video demonstrates some techniques to guide parents on teaching their children gestures.
Goal example: Given communication opportunities (e.g., play time, meal time) the student will respond to gestures (pointing, waving, etc) with a gesture or verbal response, given modeling and verbal prompting as needed, with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 opportunities measured by observation record.
Copy of Copy of Data Collection Sheet with Cues.docxThis may be used as a data collection tool.
This may be used as a guide for prompting.
https://howtoaba.com/the-prompt-hierarchy/
References:
Cardon, T. A., & Wilcox, M. J. (2011). Promoting imitation in young children with autism: A comparison of reciprocal imitation training and video modeling. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(5), 654-666.
Hostetter, A. B. (2011). When do gestures communicate? A meta-analysis. Psychol. Bull. 137, 297–315. doi: 10.1037/a0022128
Ingersoll, B., Lewis, E. & Kroman, E. Teaching the Imitation and Spontaneous Use of Descriptive Gestures in Young Children with Autism Using a Naturalistic Behavioral Intervention. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1446–1456 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0221-z
SpeechyMusings. (n.d.). Login: Teachers pay teachers. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Speech-and- Language-Therapy-Data-Collection- Sheet-Freebie-2125576
Rowe, M. L., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2009). Early gesture slectively predicts later language learning. Developmental Science, 12(1), 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00764.x
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