AREAS OF INTERACTION Even if two children receive the same scores on a traditional, standardized test, their interactions with the world around them will be different. The way in which each child interacts is influenced by many internal and external variables. Examples of internal variables might be a diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome, autism, or heart problems, or the fact that a child has a difficult or easy temperament. External factors may include a restrictive environment, abuse/neglect, the use of several different languages around the child on a regular basis, presence of siblings, or the availability of lots of good quality play time. When children are able to produce efficient adaptive responses appropriate to their developmental age, feel comfortable and safe, and are supported in their areas of strength, they are then free to interact with and learn about their world. In a sense, within the area of Givens, the infant is propelled forward in development by biological factors: the drive to integrate processes, to move forward in the developmental sequence, and to stand upright against gravity. Human infants are also born with a propensity toward the development of communication. In essence, children come ready to interact. The four components of Interaction (mental, physical, social, and communication) represent ongoing malleable windows into a child's current status. It is only through these windows that the child is able to show, and the assessor is able to measure, capacity. MENTAL INTERACTION Mental Interaction is the acquisition, verification and use of information, with frequent perception checks based on exchanges with people and the physical environment. An infant s ability to acquire information or perceptions is present at birth, starting with early perceptions ("This is mother" or "I change position if I do this thing" [extension/contraction] or "This thing moves [mobile] when this other thing [hand/arm] moves, and I have something to do with it"). Early mental abilities are primarily about
comfort/safety. When comfort/safety needs are met, the infant expands rapidly into other areas of mental interaction supported by physical and social interaction. While the expression of mental interactions is most readily seen within the other areas of interaction--physical, social and communication, mental interaction is the presence guiding the other interactions. The baby enjoying a game of peek-a-boo is combining mental, physical and social interaction. It is, however, the early mental abilities that perceive the basic elements of the game and respond with a waiting face, smiles, disengagement and then back to the waiting stage. As a child explores physical objects in the environment, information is registered that triggers future mental interaction. A child may like (and register) the cold surface of a toy and then reach for it the next time he sees it, anticipating that the pleasure will repeat itself. As the child matures and gains more information and mental schemes, the variety and type of mental interaction grow. The child begins to actively explore a toy, based on the mental schemes available to her, and stretches these schemes to problem-solving. For example, a new toy looks similar to an old toy that opens. The child may reason, "Maybe this toy opens. I will pull, bang and twist to see if I can get it to open. With further maturity, the child begins to form hypotheses about the world around him and then to test them. "If I stand on this chair, maybe I can reach the Cheerios; or "My Cheerios come in a red box; maybe there are Cheerios in this red box. There are many excellent theories on the development of mental abilities in young children, several of which are contained in the references. PHYSICAL INTERACTION Physical Interaction is the ability to organize information about sensorimotor experiences in order to learn from and interact with the environment. The child needs to acquire the ability to grade, time and sequence motor movements. These efforts are supported by information from mental interaction and social reinforcement/motivation. The child develops sensorimotor strategies that are used to regulate, monitor and direct motor activity.
All of the sensory systems contribute to the quality of a child s physical interactions. However, the tactile, vestibular, visual and proprioceptive systems are critical. When problematic issues with a child s physical interactions are identified, such as being clumsy, fearful, maintaining inappropriate personal space, inability to perform a task without looking, or maladaptive positioning in space, the sensory systems need to be examined in order to determine where supports and interventions might be needed. Perhaps one of the most critical considerations for professionals and families related to physical interaction is the effect of reduced or impaired physical interaction on a child s Quality of Life, Membership and Personal Sense of Competence. It is obvious that reduced or disordered physical interaction signals a need for heightened and increased opportunities (such as handing the child toys and assisting in play sequences); but it is equally important to understand and, if possible, mediate the effects of reduced physical interaction on the child s overall life. SOCIAL INTERACTION Social Interaction looks at the way a child initiates and responds to interactions with people in his/her environment. Recent research points to an increased understanding of the importance social interaction plays in overall development. Studies of children living in orphanages with minimal social interaction have shown disorders in all areas of development. Studies have further indicated that the earlier and longer the time spent in the orphanage, the greater the effect (Marcovitch, et al., 1995). While children have differing abilities (e.g., temperament, learning styles, purposive system) to deal with trauma, in general, the majority of children show some degree of delay/disorder following such dramatic events as institutionalization; and many emerge with moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities. Since the human infant cannot survive on its own and must specifically learn many skills from others (e.g., language), the central nervous system most likely perceives social interaction as a requirement for survival. The infant comes equipped to form a social bond at birth. An infant's eyes focus at just the right distance to gaze at their mother s face while nursing. Infants cuddle, coo and sigh. Soon they actively seek their
mother's gaze and place a soft hand on her chest. Infants quiet to its mother's voice and touch. All are essential qualities for capturing her attention and interaction. Many areas of social interaction produce the information needed by the brain (mental interaction) for forming key understandings about the world and preparing for the magic of communication. The basis of social interaction is joint attention--attending together. From this potentially rich context, games are played, new information is shared, and skills are developed (e.g., reading body language). It is during social interaction that children first begin to grasp the concept of turn taking. Initially, this may be a motor concept (e.g., "I become physically still; something good happens; I laugh; I get physically still again so the good thing happens again"). Early on, children become sophisticated turn-takers and usually suggest this as the basis for a game (e.g., "I put the block in the box and now you put the block in the box, all explained through gestures). Many of these early social interactions and concepts form the basis for first words and phrases: Mine; More; My Turn; You Do; Go; Go Car; Look. It is essential to look at a number of elements within social interaction. These elements include how the child initiates interaction, how the child indicates his or her desire to terminate an interaction, how the child express his/her feelings and, if age appropriate, how the child responds to others' expressions of feelings. It is equally important to assess how the child manages his or her own feelings, what the dimensions of this child s temperament are (e.g., adaptability, activity level, reactivity, duration of extremes), and how the environment supports this child s temperament (e.g., shortening the wait time for a child with a "difficult" temperament). Careful attention to the type and quality of social interaction will provide useful information about a child s cognitive understandings, preferences, temperament, and emotional well-being. COMMUNICATION In the area of communication we are looking at how the child receives and sends messages, including the ability to express needs, wants and information to others. Communication is an essential skill in our information-oriented society. The ability to communicate directly affects an individual's
Quality of Life, Membership, and Personal Sense of Competence. Communication is essential to learning, sharing, playing with others, obtaining more education, and, eventually, employment. Early on, we are looking at a child s ability to use body language and vocalizations to communicate needs and to sustain or end social interactions. As the child develops, we begin to look at the purpose and intention of communication, as well as the forms of communication used. This provides valuable information relative to what a child understands about the world and what he/she is able or motivated to communicate about. In order for a child to be motivated to continue to develop language skills, his/her communication, or attempts at communication, needs to result in positive responses (e.g., gets picked up; toy is reached; food is provided). At the end of this section is information about specific reasons for talking and suggestions for planning supports. Along with walking, communication is probably one of the most frequently expressed concerns of parents whose children are showing developmental delay and/or disabilities. There are many reasons why children have difficulty talking (e.g., oral/motor problems, cognitive delay, trauma, developmental immaturity), and the issues need to be carefully examined. However, it is important to support effective communication for each child at his/her developmental level whether he/she is verbally communicating or not. Communication, in its various non-verbal forms, is still essential to Quality of Life, Membership and a Personal Sense of Competence. Without communication skills, there will be a qualitative drop in social and mental interaction as well.
Promoting Specific Reasons for Talking 1 Using language for finding out about things Curiosity is expected of young children. Hide something in a box or bag, and then encourage them to guess what is inside. Ask, "Is it round?" "Can it swim?" Offer the opportunity to teach how asking questions leads to answers. If "why?" and "how?" questions are not being used by some children, games and experiments with different toys can initiate them. Using language for getting involved As young children often play beside each other, sand, water, and block play encourage "getting involved." As they learn to express intentions, tell others what to do (directing), and report what has happened, they learn new language quickly. Combining verbal children and those who speak less well provides a natural language learning opportunity. Using language for getting help Wanting something that is put away or too high to reach provides the need to ask for it. Zippers that stick and shoes that come untied create the need to ask for help. This becomes the opportunity for the adult to act as if gestures, helpless looks, and even tears do not communicate. However, any attempt to say something should be rewarded. (Of course, for the child who usually does not even use nonverbal attempts at communication, any effort should be rewarded.) Modeling "Tie my shoe" and accepting the child's "Tie oo" at first encourages greater effort. Gradually, the teacher who is absolutely certain that the child is able to say it better may appear to be puzzled until the child makes a better attempt. 1 From Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs (pp. 226-227), by Cook, Tessier, & Armbruster (1987). Adapted by permission of Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Using language to get attention or approval Some children poke and pull at adults as well as children. Children need something to take the place of habit that needs to be changed. The words "Look" or "Watch me" can be used in many situations. Each time they attempt to get attention in other ways, avoid responding immediately. Turning away, ask, "Do you want me to look? (pause) "Tell me (pause) look. Then, refuse to watch unless they say something. Using language to tell something If there are interested listeners, most children want to tell them something. Asking parents to write a note about interesting events at home is helpful. Then, teachers can initiate the discussion. Sometimes a picture or a favorite toy from home serves this purpose. Formal show-and-tell is not usually effective with young children, but informally telling the teacher or a friend is popular. Using language to defend themselves Stop that" needs to be learned early. "Move, please" is better than shoving. Teaching children how to defend themselves verbally instead of with a push or shove results in more pleasant homes and classrooms. They will need examples, models and teachers' insistence that saying something is better than just shoving. Using language to learn new things Children who know how to express themselves in one way are quicker to learn other ways to talk about things. By providing a wide range of new experiences throughout the year, new ideas and new words are learned. The vocabulary of taking care of the science corner is not the same as the vocabulary for music time. For children with very limited speech and language, initially focus on things they need to know and say in the classroom and at home, and then expand the horizon.
Using any utterance to begin communication For some children with severe disabilities any attempt to make a sound will need to be rewarded with instant encouragement. If it appears that the child wants something and is attempting to ask for it, give it to the child immediately. If you know what word was attempted, model (say) it to confirm that you understood. First efforts should never be the occasion for an attempt to improve the child's production. That comes much later. But letting the child know that he or she has in fact communicated is rewarding in itself.