According to the British Institute of
Learning Disabilities (BILD):
'Intensive Interaction is a practical approach to
interacting with people .... who do not find it easy
communicating or being social ... It helps them develop their communication abilities.'
I really like this approach, which was developed by Dave Hewett and Melanie Nind, in the 1980s. I enjoy using it with those trickier-to-engage individuals.
We use
Intensive Interaction to help us develop more successful and meaningful
communication when working alongside people with severe or profound and
multiple learning disabilities and/or autism, whatever their age.
Hewett and Hind talk about how learning to become better communicators
ourselves, we can support the children we care for, or work with, to develop
their own confidence and competence as communicators. This is enabled by the
child's
learning of the Fundamentals of Communication:
•
Learning how
to be with another person
•
Learning Joint focus' and how to have activities with another
person
•
Learning to attend
and concentrate
•
Use and understanding of non-verbal communication: body
language and gesture
•
Use and understanding of eye contacts
•
Use and understanding of facial
expressions
•
Turn taking: taking turns
in exchanges of behaviour
•
Use and understanding of vocalisations
•
Sharing
personal space and ...
•
Use and understanding of touch.
Intensive Interaction is about creating
mutual pleasure:
•
During Intensive
Interaction we (parents, carers and support staff) adjust our behaviours so that we become more interesting
and socially engaging for the child.
•
Intensive
Interaction flows naturally
in time, with rhythms and pauses.
•
During Intensive
Interaction we respond to a child's behaviours as if they are intentional communications (even if they aren't!).
•
During Intensive Interaction we use 'contingent responding ' i.e. we follow a child's lead and share control of an interaction
with them.
•
we generally use
Intensive Interaction when we want to promote sustained and sociable communication
with children (or adults) with a learning need and/or autism, whatever their age or level of disability
or development.
•
Intensive
Interaction is also good for parents, carers and support staff - it provides a practical way of developing good
communication practices, and it can also help develop better relationships between
us and the children we care for or work with.
How
do we do Intensive Interaction?:
·
Sharing Personal Space: this is the process of being physically
close to someone, but in a way, that doesn't make them feel uncomfortable or
awkward e.g. by sitting, standing, or even lying
close to someone.
•
Eye Contact: this is an important means of communication
for giving and receiving social acknowledgement. We can give and receive eye
contact in a number of ways e.g. looking
at and away from each other; playing hide-and-appear games; exchanging eye contact in a mirror; etc.
•
Exchanging Facial Expressions: this is done by using facial expressions to
socially engage with someone e.g. using
clear and sustained smiles; pulling playful faces at each other; using
dramatised winks; raising our eye brows; etc.
•
Physical Contact: using sensitive and non-directive physical
contact can help build mutual trust, and this can be achieved by: sensitively rubbing someone's arm; gently
patting their back; holding hands; rhythmically squeezing hands; clapping hands
or hand-over-hand games; walking arm-in-arm; tickling; touching
foreheads; rubbing noses;
etc.
•
Vocal Echoing: echoing a child's sounds or vocalisations (even
if they are not actually words or phrases) can develop into conversation-like
sequences e.g. echoing back a child's vocal sounds, echoing back a child's breathing
sounds, or their coughs and sneezes; echoing a sound made by a child's activity
or a sound
made by a child's body; etc.
•
Behavioural Mirroring: mirroring some aspects of a child's physical
movements or behaviour can develop into turn-taking sequences that are, or can
become, communicative e.g. mirroring
aspects of a child's movements or activity; mirroring a child's facial
expressions; etc.
•
Joint-Focus Activity: a joint-focus
activity is when parents, carers or support staff, and the child they are supporting, focus their attention on the same
activity or object e.g. jointly looking at things in
the environment (i.e. following a child's visual focus); giving a running commentary on a child's actions; looking at pictures or photographs together;
actively listening to music together; etc. I think my most (embarrasing but) significant moment was lying on the floor in Matalan in Burton, staring at the heating pipes above with a lovely lad called John, while people stepped over us muttering! I was able to share in his interest, add language and gain John's respect in one easy move.
•
Joint Action: this is just doing things together, not to, not for, but with!
e.g. physically exploring objects together; physically playing together
with a ball or a balloon, or water and sponges; making sounds together on the same musical instrument; etc. I especially like to make gloop to share with a child to explore how it rolls but then drips through fingers. The surprise is easy to share.
•
Burst-Pause Sequences: a burst-pause
sequence is when an action is preceded by a pause, leaving a gap to develop
anticipation and expectancy, and so making
things more fun e.g. playing ‘peek-a-boo ' from under a parachute or from behind a cushion; playing 'catch’ together with a '1-2-3 go' countdown to each turn; etc. I like using rhymes for this with younger children. I use the they like best
•
Turn Taking: this is when two
people engage together in an activity with both people taking separate roles or
turns, thus sequencing their actions
e.g.
taking turns to make noises both vocally or physically; taking turns to make movements; passing facial signals back and
forth; physically passing things back and forth
e.g. balls, or rubber rings or beanbags; deliberately taking turns to
bang a drum; etc. I really enjoyed stamping in a puddle the other day with a child who took turns, this was the first time I had known him to take turns
See more in The Intensive Interaction Handbook Book by Dave Hewett, Graham Firth, Mark Barber, and Tandy Harrison, available from Amazon
