Materials: None

 Introduction

One of the most interesting aspects of human social interaction is that we tend to communicate more with body language, gestures, and intonation of voice than we do with actual words. For some children, learning the millions of variations in unspoken language is confusing, and for some, impossible. In particular, children with autism, pervasive developmental disorder, or hyperlexia, may not be able to read social cues others give. To help with this problem, consider the following lesson. This lesson can be constructed in many ways and given many times.

 Objective/Purpose:

To promote a child's awareness of nonverbal communication.

  Procedure:

1. Come to group in silence. Do not say anything even if children ask questions. Simply do your best to respond to their needs and to redirect them using gestures, body language, and facial expressions.

2. Children should begin notice fairly soon that you are not talking and using another form of communication. This should capture most of their attention.

3. Ask them if they noticed anything different about you.

4. Describe how you interacted with them briefly in the previous few minutes without talking. You may have nodded to indicate 'yes' and shook your head to indicate 'no.' You may have moved your arms to indicate where they should sit or pointed a finger to indicate a direction.

5. Ask children to share other ways we let people know what we want or how we are feeling by using nonverbal language. Don't forget facial expressions and positioning of the body. For example, hands on hips may indicate impatience or anger. Droopy eyes and head may indicate sadness or tiredness. Some children may be aware of sign language and may be able to use a few signs.

6. Children can be asked to verbally share to the group ways they can think of to communicate without using words.

  Practice & Extended Activities:

Have children work in pairs or small groups to come up with lists of facial expressions or body language positions that we use. This lesson can be broken down into parts, focusing on facial expressions one day and body language or gestures another day. Or, children can be broken into sub-groups working on different areas that they can then come back and share with the entire group.

Children can draw pictures or write in a journal about their experiences. They can make up plays or dramas using only gestures or body language. They can be encouraged to make up their own sign language that they can then share and use in their play.