Why do we overlook the importance of visual cues?
Very often we regard visual cues as tools for children who are non-verbal as a communication mean. Many parents may at times feel that it is under the capability range of their children to be using visual cues since they are verbal. Other parents worry using visual cues might slow down or regress their children's language and communication level since they might be over relying on or too comfortable with visuals rather than speech - "my child may choose to use visual cues instead of speaking".
Yet in my years of working with children, visual cues have often increased desire to communicate via speech or speech has generally improved with expression through the use of visual cues. More often than not, visual cues teach language by encouraging reading and acquisition of knowledge. For example, flash cards are a form of visual cues. We have no qualms about teaching new vocabulary using flash cards or no worries about flash cards encouraging our children to stop talking, do we?
Why are visual cues important?
We take visual cues for granted. Everywhere we go everyday, there are visual cues. Visual cues are there to tell us which bus and train to take to work. Visual cues are there on the road to guide you to drive to your destination safely and on time. Visual cues are in the menu from which you order your food. Visual cues appear at the bottom of the screen of the foreign movie you are watching. How would you feel if all these visual cues are taken away from you? How would you react and what would you do?
Of course that being said, we do not have to enforce using visual cues in everything that we do. It is all about selecting what are needed for specific purposes most of the time. A child who knows how to verbally request for an item does not have to be expected to use a sentence strip to ask for what he wants. But we can make use of sentence strip to teach the child to use longer sentences for requesting, then gradually fade its use away once the skill has become automatic. Just like driving a car, when you first drive to your new home, you might need signs to show you where you are going. But as you become familiar with the route, over time you do not need to rely on the signs anymore. However, the signs will still be there if you ever need it. Thus very often as well, visual cues are used as a form of reminder to what's already known or understood to facilitate communication or expression of ideas and thoughts.
For children who may be easily overloaded on the auditory level, communicating with them using visual cues may help ease the frustration of sensory overload. Perhaps your child has difficulty understanding you because there are too much sound going on for him at the same time you are talking. Having what you are saying to him presented to him visually as well may help improve understanding.
Visual cues teaches literacy skill. Children learn to show interest in reading after they understand that print has meaning to it and that print are explained by the pictures accompanying it.
If the child can read, visual cues such as sentence making strips facilitates learning of language semantics. Even if the child is very weak in literacy, visual cues such as these can advance his reading capacity.
Visual cues are the next best thing after modeling. When it is not possible to model something, visual cues are useful in teaching languages, concept and skills. Visual cues are like instruction manuals to the new equipment you just bought.
Visual cues are also useful as form of activity schedules and reward systems. While it is convenient to negotiate verbally with a child, he may find it difficult to follow up with the rules and consequences which may be too abstract or easily forgotten due to other distractions. Visual cues can function as reminders to what are to be achieved and what will be earned. For more on schedules and reward system, visit my earlier post.
Types of visual cues.
Visual cues come in different forms - pictures, words, a combination of both pictures and words and also in the form of objects. We will be looking more into the different forms of visual cues in an upcoming post.
Till then, if you have any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to email me at davensim@triumphantkids.com. Also, please do visit my website www.triumphantkids.com for services I provide in Singapore.
With Deepest Regards,
Daven
Very often we regard visual cues as tools for children who are non-verbal as a communication mean. Many parents may at times feel that it is under the capability range of their children to be using visual cues since they are verbal. Other parents worry using visual cues might slow down or regress their children's language and communication level since they might be over relying on or too comfortable with visuals rather than speech - "my child may choose to use visual cues instead of speaking".
Yet in my years of working with children, visual cues have often increased desire to communicate via speech or speech has generally improved with expression through the use of visual cues. More often than not, visual cues teach language by encouraging reading and acquisition of knowledge. For example, flash cards are a form of visual cues. We have no qualms about teaching new vocabulary using flash cards or no worries about flash cards encouraging our children to stop talking, do we?
Why are visual cues important?
We take visual cues for granted. Everywhere we go everyday, there are visual cues. Visual cues are there to tell us which bus and train to take to work. Visual cues are there on the road to guide you to drive to your destination safely and on time. Visual cues are in the menu from which you order your food. Visual cues appear at the bottom of the screen of the foreign movie you are watching. How would you feel if all these visual cues are taken away from you? How would you react and what would you do?
Of course that being said, we do not have to enforce using visual cues in everything that we do. It is all about selecting what are needed for specific purposes most of the time. A child who knows how to verbally request for an item does not have to be expected to use a sentence strip to ask for what he wants. But we can make use of sentence strip to teach the child to use longer sentences for requesting, then gradually fade its use away once the skill has become automatic. Just like driving a car, when you first drive to your new home, you might need signs to show you where you are going. But as you become familiar with the route, over time you do not need to rely on the signs anymore. However, the signs will still be there if you ever need it. Thus very often as well, visual cues are used as a form of reminder to what's already known or understood to facilitate communication or expression of ideas and thoughts.
For children who may be easily overloaded on the auditory level, communicating with them using visual cues may help ease the frustration of sensory overload. Perhaps your child has difficulty understanding you because there are too much sound going on for him at the same time you are talking. Having what you are saying to him presented to him visually as well may help improve understanding.
Visual cues teaches literacy skill. Children learn to show interest in reading after they understand that print has meaning to it and that print are explained by the pictures accompanying it.
If the child can read, visual cues such as sentence making strips facilitates learning of language semantics. Even if the child is very weak in literacy, visual cues such as these can advance his reading capacity.
Visual cues are the next best thing after modeling. When it is not possible to model something, visual cues are useful in teaching languages, concept and skills. Visual cues are like instruction manuals to the new equipment you just bought.
Visual cues are also useful as form of activity schedules and reward systems. While it is convenient to negotiate verbally with a child, he may find it difficult to follow up with the rules and consequences which may be too abstract or easily forgotten due to other distractions. Visual cues can function as reminders to what are to be achieved and what will be earned. For more on schedules and reward system, visit my earlier post.
Types of visual cues.
Visual cues come in different forms - pictures, words, a combination of both pictures and words and also in the form of objects. We will be looking more into the different forms of visual cues in an upcoming post.
Till then, if you have any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to email me at davensim@triumphantkids.com. Also, please do visit my website www.triumphantkids.com for services I provide in Singapore.
With Deepest Regards,
Daven
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