Safeguarding Nonverbal Children: Essential Communication Tools
What if a child has something to tell you and they don’t have the use of words? This may be because they are very young, or it may be that they have a speech and language delay, autism or some other communication difficulty. Have you considered how such a child in your setting may be able to disclose what is happening to them if they need to? No matter whether a child has limited language, or they are nonverbal, we need to ensure that all children have access to an appropriate way of disclosing anything they need to.
The Safeguarding Network tells us that children with special educational needs are more likely to be abused or neglected than other children. This can be due to the fact that they need a high level of care, because they have difficulty voicing what is happening to them, and because they don’t understand that what is happening to them is abusive – although this latter point is likely to be true for all early years children. It’s because of this that we need to take extra care in making sure that all children, including those with SEND, have a way of communicating.
Supporting Children With Communication Difficulties
Signs of a safeguarding concern present themselves in a variety of forms. A very young child is less likely to tell you what is going on, and you are more likely to notice other signs such as physical signs of abuse or neglect, or a change in their behaviour. However, if a child does want to tell you something we need to make sure that communication isn’t a barrier for them. We need to find another way for them to communicate – we need to give them a voice.
A simple way of allowing a child to tell you something is wrong, on a somewhat basic level, is to encourage them to tell you how they are feeling. You can support this by representing different feelings through the use of a Feelings Chart or Feelings Keyring. These methods won’t tell you about a safeguarding concern in detail, however they might provide the initial tool for a child to highlight what they are going through. For example, a child might repeatedly communicate to you that they are frightened, in pain, tired or hungry by pointing to the relevant picture or by handing a picture to you.
Another initial method of communication for a young child could be signing, such as Makaton signing or Signalong. If you have a child in your setting that is able to sign, then having staff on hand who can understand and also sign themselves can make the difference in being able to find out what a child has to say. Again, just being able to communicate how they are feeling, through sign, could be enough to highlight an intial safeguarding concern.
Many children express what is going on in their lives through play, and this includes nonverbal children. Where a child is less inclined to chat away and use spoken words to tell you everything they want to say, they may be communicating to you through play. Observing them closely may give you clues and start to build a picture of what they are experiencing.
Effective Safeguarding Practices: Ensuring Every Child Can Communicate
If you are looking for a more direct method of communication – one that might allow a child to communicate to you in a little more detail, I would recommend using pictures. If a child has access to pictures that allow them to communicate how they are feeling and what has happened, you can go a long way towards finding out what they want to tell you. You could use visual symbols for this, such as having a Communication Board on the wall, or having visual symbols in a book for a child to access should they wish to. You may also work with a child that has an AAC device, which is a tablet computer that allows them to access the visual symbols that they need.
If you are not sure what communication method is best for a child it is worth turning to their speech and language therapist, if they have one, to ask for advice – they will be able to tell you the most effective communication method for that child.
There are many, many reasons to support communication for all children in your setting. Safeguarding, however, has to be the most important reason. Every child is different and is likely to need support with their communication in a different way. Taking the time to find the way that is right for each child with a communication difficulty means that you give them the opportunity to share with you by giving them a voice.
