Intensive Interaction is the name that has been given to a technique used to help children develop their interaction skills with others. It is also a technique that nearly every new parent uses when interacting with their baby, which makes it one of the easiest techniques to learn and use. It is also, in spite of its simplicity, one of the most powerful and effective tools you can have up your sleeve. One of the reasons why it works so well is that the child leads, doing the things they likes to do. The atmosphere is relaxed. There is no pressure. Results are natural not forced. Skills such as eye contact, social smiles and joint attention are not 'worked on' in 'therapy sessions'; they develop naturally, often when you are least expecting, so that the child experiences REAL feelings, REAL emotions, REAL joy. Initially the technique may involve the adult imitating a sound or an action then pausing to look for a response. This then leads to a 'conversation', where the child has a turn and the adult answers. Turns are not necessarily speech. Sometimes they are a tap on the table, a flick of a light switch or a vocalisation. I LOVE this technique and never tire of its use. To see the technique in action, we recommend a visit to www.intensiveinteraction.co.uk or look up some clips on youtube. We use the technique with children of all abilities, not just those with a severe learning difficulty. Send us an email if you have any questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment