YAAAS! Your Talko Book is here! Pop some batteries in and away we go...so let's TALKO 'bout How to Introduce your new Communication Book to your child.

It should be as easy as opening the box and giving it to your child BUT we all know when dealing with a variety of special needs and abilities there may be a few tricks to make the introduction that much easier.

Strewing First?

If I gave this to my (now 7 year old) Autistic son and framed it as a demand or something he must use – he may reject it outright and refuse to use it before it even has a chance. If this is you: I recommend leaving the book out in plain sight - somewhere where you know they'll be regulated and open to exploring new things (this is called Strewing). Let them explore it on their own first.

Modelling starts here!

Start to model things with it. So for instance, if you know around 11 is when they get hungry and they are giving you those signals that it's time to eat - open the book up to the Let's Eat page and press the "I'm hungry" button, pause, then say "Oh I see you are hungry!" then press it again and with ZERO expectations of a reply - get whatever snack, lunch, etc you were going to help with in the first place.

Try to use the first few modeling times as ones you KNOW what they're trying to communicate (ie if you don't 100% know that the music is too loud and you press the "It's too loud" and model that - the meaning may get missed).

Continue this in spurts to the extent that you're not becoming ridiculously obnoxious. Remember: we need to presume competence and set them up for a win! So many non-verbal children know what we're saying but they typically struggle with getting what they're thinking out (Apraxia of Speech).

If they're showing interest (my child ripped it out of my hands he was so excited to explore it) go with it! The more positive experiences you can foster around the book the better.

Some of the more abstract emotions like: being uncomfortable, disappointment, etc - those may take a little more modeling (especially in younger kids) than say: I'm thirsty.

A little patience and modeling and soon your child will be picking up the book and using it on their own to communicate their needs, wants, emotions and more!

Have fun and get communicating – we're just as excited as you are!