Working with non-verbal children

May 1, 2015

The recent Volunteer Professional Development session focused on working with children who are non-verbal and included expert advice from a Speech Therapist.

Gill Greenwood, a Speech Therapist from Glenallen School, facilitated the session where volunteers were given the opportunity to experience non-verbal communication. They shared thoughts and ideas about the challenges but also the rewards of working with children who are non-verbal.

Volunteers also heard indirectly from a child who is non-verbal about their experiences of having to communicate in a mostly verbal world, and they had the opportunity to see some of the various communication tools used by many children we work with. Gill’s message of ‘doing something is always better than nothing’ when working with a child who is non-verbal, was also helpful in encouraging volunteers to feel more confident when working with children.

One volunteer summed up the session by saying, “Thank you so much, it was a really great and useful workshop. I learnt a lot and feel less fearful or unsure when working/meeting a non-verbal child.”