ABSTRACT
Pupils who have special educational needs may not always read nonverbal communication as effectively or as accurately as other pupils. Their teachers need to be more conscious of the manner in which they communicate with them. Perhaps one of the most poignant examples of this comes from a quote by the author Oliver Sacks who described the experiences of an autistic girl as follows: ‘something was going on between other kids, something swift, subtle, constantly changing – an exchange of meanings … a swiftness of understanding … she wondered if they were all telepathic’ (Sacks, 1993, 116). This quote indicates the turmoil and indeed bewilderment which autistic children must experience as they endeavour to communicate in a world where nonverbal communication is so important. Autistic children are not as adept as their peers in reading nonverbal communication, most especially when such communication concerns the face and voice intonation (Rutherford et al., 2002). For example, they show severe gaze avoidance and tend to communicate with adults if they are sure that there will be little eye contact. This tendency to avoid eye contact also arose in Puttallaz and Gottman's studies of depressed children (1981). They noted that there was a distinct tendency for depressed children to avoid gaze and to avoid eye contact. Obviously this affected their abilities to communicate nonverbally. Your X-Factor and Students with Special Educational Needs
Do you have a child in your class with special educational needs? Next time you interact with the child, take special note of their eye contact and gaze. Also, monitor their body language … Is it directed towards you or away from you?
