Pathways Treatment Center, Inc. Helping Children and Families Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders

Declarative vs. Imperative Communications

Increasing declarative communication is a critical goal of RDI. Imperatives are statements made when a definite response is in mind. Declaratives are statements meant to simply share observations, feelings, and emotions.

Typical communication contains 80% declarative communication, and 20% imperative communication. Studies with people who have autism show that less than 1% of communication used is imperative.

Using declarative communication can make a dramatic difference. Declarative communication removes the pressure off of the child to perform and provide the right answer. Declaratives are invitations to interact, while questions are typically cues to provide a right answer. Declarative communication is more than just a way of talking. It is a way of interacting/being with another person. It is taking a side by side position with another person, where you look out at the world together.

Declarative communication uses language forms that involve relative thinking processes -- they imply that between two speakers there can be different views of reality. Examples of declarative language include invitations ("Let's play with cars"), declamations ("I'm tired of playing with cars!"), self-narratives ("I'm walking over to the table to pick up some cars.), indirect prompts ("Now is a good time to decide which car you want to play with"), celebrations (We did it!), etc.

It is common belief that ASD children suffer from processing disorders. It seems to me that the common practice, however, is to use the 'inverted funnel' approach. They can process less, so we, in error, pour in more. Further, we become entrenched in testing/probing for signs of knowledge I ask and they give the correct answer, then they 'know.' If indeed their pathways are more restricted it would seem that we would be very judicious in communicative approaches. Ironically, whether we are parents, specialists, teachers... we simply use imperatives FAR more frequently with fragile children than we do with typically-developing children.

We are bothered by the lack of communicative initiation of spectrum children and go to great lengths to hear them speak. However, setting them up in roles of Responder for the vast majority of the time will likely only encourage their isolation, their lack of self and their lack of initiative.

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