Communicating Partners
Dr. James D. MacDonald's Website
Helping Parents Help Children. Programs for Parents, Therapists & Educators
You may be tired of hearing about TURNTAKING but Cathy's message today reminded me that even when a 7 year old child is talking well, we need to revisit turntaking. Why? Because in the excitement of hearing your child talk, it is easy to assume that she is "a taker". We can think that once talking starts it will just flow. Well, I know too many children whose language doesn't to just flow,unless he is still interacting in turntaking ways nonverbally as well.
A recent comment I read might be of interest here:
Q. Until I learned how easy turn taking was, I thought I had to sit down and teach Louis to talk like I taught him other skills for school. Now he babbles and grumbles and make funny motions back and for the while eating, dressing, cleaning up; it is part of our life now and Louis is not only communicating more on his own , he is also starting to communicate more like me.
My response was; Once you discover that communication can happen with any behaviors, you will see you will get much more from your son than before. It comes as natural as breathing and make both you and your child successful with each other. In fact, why not think of turntaking as "social breathing"; You breathe in your child's turn and you then breathe out your turn. This may seem strange but think of you and your child as one interactive life and then you can see how interactive life depends on each of you 'breathing ' back and forth with each other.