Parent Coaching Module 4: Talking Bodies (Part 2)

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Thursday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

Mother and young child reading book at table

The importance of understanding nonverbal communication

“Body language can communicate the thoughts and feelings of others.”

Goal: This module stresses the importance of understanding nonverbal communication (body language) for successful interactions with others. You will learn how to help your child learn to pay attention to your body language and interpret the meaning of nonverbal communications.

Why is this important?

Nonverbal communication is the foundation for other forms of communication, including speech.
Helping your child learn to pay attention to the nonverbal language of others (e.g., facial expressions, gestures, body positions) teaches your child an important skill for successful communication.
Using and understanding body language is a way for your child to engage in communication and interaction with others.

What can you do to help your child learn about nonverbal communication? The following sections will guide you and offer activities you can use to help your child learn to pay more attention to and understand the body language of you and others.

Additional reading and videos will guide your learning, and we have included “Refrigerator Posts” you can download, print, and post on your fridge, playroom, or anywhere else as a handy reminder of ways you can incorporate learning often throughout the day.

Click on the following links to learn more about ways you can help your child increase his understanding of others’ nonverbal communication

Step 1: Exaggerate Your Gestures
Step 2: Add Predictable Steps
Step 3: Provide Needed Help

Module Summary: The goal of this module has been to provide strategies and resources that you can use to increase your child’s understanding of others’ nonverbal communication. By exaggerating your gestures, adding predictable steps in routines and setting up situations to provide needed help, you are teaching your child to pay attention to you and share in fun and meaningful activities. When you practice these strategies your child learns how we communicate and interact with you and others.

You will know you are being successful when your child takes your outstretched hand, follows your point to an object of interest, or asks for your help by handing you a container she needs your help to open. These early nonverbal communications lay the foundation for spoken language.

Refrigerator Posts: Download and print these pages to post as a reminder of ways you can help your child learn to use and to understand others’ nonverbal communications.

Refrigerator Posts [PDF]

Refrigerator Posts [MSWord]

Back to Parent Coaching Module Homepage

The content of these pages are adapted from: An early start for your child with Autism: Using everyday activities to help kids connect, communicate and learn. Rogers, S.J., Dawson, G., Vismara, L.A. (2012). New York: Guilford Press.