Declarative Communication
Communication, real, true, reciprocal communication. This is the goal for our children. It is what guides our cognition. It is what helps us to connect to our world. It is what builds our relationships and forms our ability to self regulate. This kind of communication is what can be very difficult for people who have autism. It can be so difficult that even the partners communicating with the child begin to change their own communication in well-meaning attempts to make it easier. We start asking questions, prompting the child and giving commands. While it is natural to want to make things easier for the child with autism, we have to be mindful of the line between doing that and taking away opportunities for the child to develop abilities that are difficult.
Dr Steven Gutstein, the founder of the RDI Program helps parents to delineate different functions of communication. More importantly, he points out that by simply changing the ways we communicate to the child with autism, we can provide many importants for thoughtful, reciprocal communication to develop. In the most simplistic form, communication functions can be broken into static (imperative) and dynamic (declarative) forms. By using more dynamic forms of communication with our children, we can
Declarative communication is language that offers opportunity to share experience. When a person is using declarative communication, the goal is to share ideas, perspectives, thoughts, and predictions with another person. The non-verbal communication that goes along with declarative communication is information rich and carries much meaning. The person who uses declarative communication is inviting the other person’s insights, and adding them to what they already know. It is cumulative in nature. Responses to declarative communication are not rote, and cannot be scripted by the person who initiates. Declarative communication can also be “self-directed”. When a person is using self-directed declarative communication, they are using declaratives to help regulate their own thoughts and actions. When we plan for the future, reflect on the past, think through a difficult problem, or anticipate the future, we use self-directed declaratives.
Imperative communication, in contrast, is a means-to-an-end. Imperative communication has responses that are right and wrong. Responses to imperative communication can be scripted, and already are predicted. Non-verbal communication is not important with imperative communication. Emotional information and sharing are not important with imperative communication. Imperative communication is instrumental in nature. Imperative communication includes commands, questions with “scriptable” answers, prompts, and requests.
A good ratio of declarative/imperative communication is 80/20. The following are some examples of different types of declarative communication:
Type |
Examples |
---|---|
Comments |
|
Declarations |
|
Predictions |
|
Reflections |
|
Invitations |
|
Attempts at Regulation |
|
Self Regulation |
|
Shared Narrative |
|
Self Narrative |
|
Enthusiasm |
|
Support |
|
Announcements |
|
Perspective Sharing |
|
Declarative Questions |
|