What is Total Communication:
Total communication involves using any means of communicating. Children with speech and language difficulties or more complex special needs may need support to initiate and take part in communication and interaction. This means making use of all the ways of communicating which are available to the child.
This may include:
- Speech and spoken language
- Makaton signing
- Photos
- Picture symbols
- Pictures
- Objects
- Voice output communication aids and computer based systems.
Who uses Total Communication?
Children with speech and language difficulties, Parents, Speech and language therapists, Teachers and Teaching Assistants, any one who spends time working with or supporting children with communication difficulties. Adults working with children with communication difficulties sometimes need to interpret the meaning of what the child is communicating.
Children’s communication needs may change over time, for example they may benefit from use of signs and symbols initially, while their spoken communication skills are developing or they may continue to need to use other ways of communicating to support or replace spoken language.
Why use Total Communication?
Children who have difficulties learning to understand and use spoken language to communicate need support to communicate to the best of their ability. Total communication makes use of the skills a child has, such as non-verbal communication; body language, eye gaze, eye contact, gestures, movements and vocalisations. Children may also learn to use Makaton, point to or look at photos, symbols or objects to communicate. This may replace or support speech and spoken language. Sometimes children are provided with a Communication Book or a Communication Passport to enable them to communicate with familiar and less familiar people. A Communication Book provides symbols for a child to choose and make sentences with and a Communication Passport provides information about the child’s needs and how to communicate with them.
Children with more persistent, long term speech and language difficulties may need Communication Books, passports and or a communication aid such as a voice output communication aid or computer based systems to enable them to communicate.