The Definition and Importance of Communication
Communication is the process by which people share their experiences and opinions and relate to each other. One unique aspect of communication is that it could be in any form but the message ultimately reaches the desired destination. In this assignment, the writer will focus on the importance of communication in a specific field. Communication, when effectively done, could result in the resolution of complex problems like conflicts, diseases and illness. In the teaching profession, communication is the most powerful tool that contributes in the development of young minds. The chief objective of this assignment is to shed light on two forms of communication that are interpersonal and written communication. The writer has considered communication with autistic children in schools as the prime subject of this assignment. At first, the author will explain communication and describe its various forms. This will be followed by a discussion on the importance of communication in childcare. Definition and assessment of interpersonal and written communication will be discussed as well. The role of the teacher will be majorly discussed under this heading. The author will then elaborate on the importance of interpersonal and written communication in dealing with students with autism. In addition, a brief explanation on autism will also be included in the assignment.
Many scholars have defined communication in various ways over the years. The general definition of communication is that it is the process where messages flow from one person to another. It involves a sender and a receiver. Several theories of communication were also developed and modified over the years. Shannon and Weaver were the first ones who presented the first model of communication. Their model comprised three main elements – sender, channel and receiver. According to this model, communication takes place when the sender sends a message through a channel that is the medium to the receiver (McQuail and Windahl 2015). Another element introduced by them in their model was the ‘noise’, which they referred to as the interferences or disturbances hindering the process of communication. Later, this model was modified and developed by the contemporary theorists as per the generation. Light and McNaughton (2014) explain that communication cannot be performed without adequate competency. According to the authors, “communicative competence is a dynamic interpersonal construct based on the functionality and adequacy of communication”. This definition refers to the modern requirements of communication. One important aspect from the Shannon and Weaver model of communication that can be analyzed to understand the complexities of communication is ‘noise’. As already discussed, noise is the disturbance or interference in communication that limits the receiver from receiving the complete message. Noise could be of different types like psychological, environmental, physical, technical or semantic noise.
Types of Communication
In the case of autistic students, the most prominent of all noises is the psychological noise. Psychological noise refers to the misinterpretation of a message due to personal disturbances that occupy the mind (Berger 2016). Teachers who are responsible for disseminating knowledge to and taking care of autistic students might not be able to communicate properly if they are facing any personal crisis. Within the classroom, the teacher might communicate poorly with the students thus escalating the problems of both. Habaci et al. (2013) point out that when communication does not flow smoothly between the teacher and the students, it leads to poor quality of teaching and education.
Communication is transactional in nature in the sense that it involves a continuous process of sending and receiving messages and feedbacks. Teaching utilizes this transactional nature of communication in order to make the students understands concepts more clearly. When teachers and students will continuously interact like involving in a healthy debate, it yields positive results. However, with autistic children the teacher might have to alter his or her way of communication. With these children, it is important for the teacher not to be impatient and wait for the student’s response. Children with autism mostly have difficulty paying attention to the instructions and thus their response delays. Capern and Hammond (2014) states that patience and calmness are the two very important characteristics a teacher should have when teaching students with special needs. The teacher must assess the level and type of disability and ability both prior to planning any instructions for the autistic students.
In the teaching field, communication holds key to the success and failure of the students. Teaching profession mainly involves group communication, as there is continuous interaction between the teacher and the students. However, in order to ensure an effective classroom environment and yield positive results, teachers must focus on interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication is defined as the type of communication where two individuals are involved and interact. Hargie (2016) points out the importance of having interpersonal communication skills in dealing with people around the globe. The author defines interpersonal skills “as the skills we employ when interacting with other people”. In case of teachers, it becomes even more important to acquire interpersonal skills to deal with students having varied characteristics.
Dealing with students is both an enriching as well as challenging task for teachers but dealing with students with special needs is daunting. One particular area of focus is the communication with autistic schoolchildren. Interpersonal communication plays a crucial role in this regard. However, in order to be adept in interpersonal communication, teachers must have self-awareness reading the subject. Self-awareness relates to the understanding of own strengths and weaknesses. To put it simply, lack of self-awareness causes the educator to engage in a communication with limited knowledge because of which other loopholes in their teaching arises. Being confident is an important facet of self-awareness. A lack of self-awareness also results in what is known as burnout. Burnout occurs when professionals involved in helping and caring of others are tired of their profession and frustrated because they are not producing good results. This might happen frequently in case of teachers dealing with autistic children because they might not see positive results as early as they desire. As Skovholt and Trotter-Mathison (2014) rightly point out, the need to engage continuously in caring for others “can lead to depletion and burnout”. A time comes when teachers looking after the overall development of the students with ASD feel frustrated thus lose the urge to and enthusiasm they had initially.
Role of Teachers in Promoting Effective Communication
Autism is a disorder where people find it difficult to be adept in social skills and to communicate verbally or non-verbally with others. Nonetheless, people with autism do demonstrate skills that are not common to other individuals. Autistic children are categorized as ‘different’ and are thus sent to separate schools for studies. In a study conducted by Casenhiser, D.M., Shanker and Stieben (2013), it was found that autistic students who had target treatment that is treatment having interpersonal communication approach showed better signs of improvement than those in community treatment group. This further confirms the notion that interpersonal communication is effective while interacting with autistic students. It is important for the teacher to note that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be very unpredictable in nature. Interpersonal communication turns out to be effective when the teacher successfully manages to form a relationship with the student. In this way, the teacher can find it easier to handle the student.
In times of crisis, like when any student is uncontrollable or showing erratic behavior, it is extremely important for the teacher to stay calm and utilize the interpersonal skills. If during those situations, the communication turns out to be poor, it may lead to serious consequences. Children with ASD have limited capabilities to interact either verbally or nonverbally (Tager?Flusberg and Kasari 2013). If the teachers do not realize this properly, they might end up frustrated and yield zero result. Teachers must appreciate the exceptional qualities of these students and try to connect with them within this sphere.
Apart from interpersonal communication, written communication also holds equal importance in teaching students with autism. Written communication may take the form of drawings and paintings and may not be limited texts only. It has been found that written communication when combined with visual communication proves very effective while communicating with autistic children in schools. As stated by Pennington et al. (2014), “written expression is a powerful tool for communicating involving the mastery of a broad set of interrelated skills”. They further state that written communication takes on an added important role in education, as it is the only means by which students are assessed on academic grounds. In case of autistic students however, it is important to understand the type of written communication that would suit them best.
In the modern context, the use of modern technologies like the iPad to present autistic children with the opportunity to write down their ideas is an effective method. Sigafoos et al. (2013) are of the view that providing meaningful activities to children with ASD on the iPad might result in unexpected and positive results. The authors undertook a study on two boys with autism and found that they were quick enough to learn the use of the speech-generator device on the iPad.
Interpersonal Communication in Dealing with Students with Autism
Students with ASD often become disruptive due to the lack of communication or due to poor communication. According to the British Columbia Ministry of Education, teachers must have the capability to include a plan that considers the “problematic behavior” of every child while planning instruction (Gov.bc.ca 2018). The guideline also suggests that teaching strategies like making “environmental adaptations” to reduce any unacceptable behavior of an autistic student should be more successful than those that depend only on textual strategies. Some students with autism have unlikable sensory experiences that might cause them to behave in inappropriate manner like shutting down entirely to shun over-stimulation or display tantrums (Kirby, Dickie and Baranek 2015). Teachers must be aware of these behaviors and their reasons. They might collaborate with the family members to devise a strategy to augment sensory responses when student shows hypo responsiveness and suppress it when the student shows hyper responsiveness..
Although the different regulatory bodies have formed these and other guidelines and frameworks, cases of neglect and negative incidences continue to occur. According to a report published in The Telegraph, a renowned school for autistic children in the UK was reported of hiding disruptive children from the classrooms during the visit of OFSTED inspectors (Telegraph.co.uk 2018). It must be mentioned that OFSTED is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in the UK that acts as a watchdog for children services institution (Gov.uk 2018). According to the report, the highly disruptive students were instructed to remain at home during inspection in order to get a good report from the council.
These incidences reveal that until the teachers achieve proper communicative power, the autistic children will keep facing such neglect. The standard of education in the country cannot be maintained if these students and their educational needs are ignored. Training teachers about the effective communication tools and methods should be a priority to the government.
One of the biggest powers of communication is that it helps people build relationships. Teachers in particular have the power to build strong bond with their students that assists them in understanding the students better. When it comes to students with autism, building relationships are of utmost importance. Lindsay et al. (2014), state that managing autistic students become much easier when they establish a “good rapport with parents and students” and “building a climate of acceptance within the classroom”. This goes a long way in making the ASD diagnosed students feel relaxed and confident enough to share their feelings and ideas within the classroom.
The Challenges of Communication with Students with Autism
To conclude, it can be stated that having a sound knowledge of the types of communication to be used to care for and teach autistic children goes a long way in helping the teacher. The above essay discussed the meaning of communication and its various forms. The first and the most basic model of communication, which is the Shannon and Weaver model has also been discussed. It also explained the importance of interpersonal and written communication in the field of teaching. The main objective of the essay was to discuss the importance f these two types of communication in dealing with ASD diagnosed children. The essay further shed light on the various concepts associated with a profession like carer and teacher. The concepts of self-awareness and burnouts were also discussed.
References:
Berger, A.A., 2016. Interpersonal communication. In Messages (pp. 100-117). Routledge.
Capern, T. and Hammond, L., 2014. Establishing positive relationships with secondary gifted students and students with emotional/behavioural disorders: Giving these diverse learners what they need. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(4), p.3.
Casenhiser, D.M., Shanker, S.G. and Stieben, J., 2013. Learning through interaction in children with autism: Preliminary data from asocial-communication-based intervention. Autism, 17(2), pp.220-241.
Gov.bc.ca 2018. Teaching Students with Autism: A Resource Guide for Schools. [online] Www2.gov.bc.ca. Available at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/inclusive/autism.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2018].
Gov.uk. 2018. Ofsted – GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted [Accessed 10 Apr. 2018].
Habaci, I., Çelik, E.E., Habaci, M., Adigüzelli, F. and Kurt, S., 2013. Effective communication in educational administration. US-China Education Review, 3, pp.690-702.
Hargie, O., 2016. Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Routledge.
Kirby, A.V., Dickie, V.A. and Baranek, G.T., 2015. Sensory experiences of children with autism spectrum disorder: In their own words. Autism, 19(3), pp.316-326.
Light, J. and McNaughton, D., 2014. Communicative competence for individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication: A new definition for a new era of communication?.
Lindsay, S., Proulx, M., Scott, H. and Thomson, N., 2014. Exploring teachers’ strategies for including children with autism spectrum disorder in mainstream classrooms. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(2), pp.101-122.
McQuail, D. and Windahl, S., 2015. Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge.
Pennington, R.C., Collins, B.C., Stenhoff, D.M., Turner, K. and Gunselman, K., 2014. Using simultaneous prompting and computer-assisted instruction to teach narrative writing skills to students with autism. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, pp.396-414.
Sigafoos, J., Lancioni, G.E., O’Reilly, M.F., Achmadi, D., Stevens, M., Roche, L., Kagohara, D.M., van der Meer, L., Sutherland, D., Lang, R. and Marschik, P.B., 2013. Teaching two boys with autism spectrum disorders to request the continuation of toy play using an iPad®-based speech-generating device. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(8), pp.923-930.
Skovholt, T.M. and Trotter-Mathison, M., 2014. The resilient practitioner: Burnout prevention and self-care strategies for counselors, therapists, teachers, and health professionals. Routledge.
Tager?Flusberg, H. and Kasari, C., 2013. Minimally verbal school?aged children with autism spectrum disorder: the neglected end of the spectrum. Autism Research, 6(6), pp.468-478.
Telegraph.co.uk 2018. Disruptive pupils ‘hidden’ by school during Ofsted visit. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/11411290/Disruptive-pupils-hidden-by-school-during-Ofsted-visit.html [Accessed 10 Apr. 2018].
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