By Mackenzie Shiba M.S. CCC-SLP
What does presuming competence mean? Assuming that everyone can think, learn, and understand.
While you send your kiddos back to school in the next couple of weeks, make sure you keep in mind that not everyone will presume competence. You may need to advocate for this. You may even find that you need to check in with yourself:
Are you challenging your child enough?
Are you communicating with them in a way that assumes they understand?
Are you talking about them in front of them? (E.g., discussing progress, behaviors, etc.)
While this applies to all children and people, I am advocating mostly for presuming competence for children and people experiencing communication challenges, especially those who are minimally or non-speaking.
How can we assume that a person doesn’t understand or can’t learn something if they aren’t able to communicate effectively? We aren’t able to. This is why we need to assume that they can learn and understand.
What does that look like?
Speaking to them as you would speak to a person with typical communication skills.
Not talking about them right in front of them like they can’t understand what you’re saying.
Giving them access to different ways to demonstrate their knowledge (E.g., AAC, visual supports)
Letting them try new activities that may be difficult (E.g., climbing, science experiments, legos, puzzles)
Checking your own limiting beliefs.
If we predetermine that a child can’t do something, they never will! Providing access and opportunities is essential.
I would like to share a story about one of my clients who I have been seeing now for 2 years. This client was very minimally speaking when we first began working together. She did not have an AAC device, but was using an adapted picture exchange communication system. Her mom shared that they were told she wouldn’t be able to do AAC because she only used an open hand movement to tap at her iPad screen. She shared that she wasn’t able to discriminate between the picture icons she had been using for so long. She had goals on her IEP year after year to work on discrimination but she was not meeting them.
I suggested AAC and with a little hesitation, mom agreed to try again. We started with Touchchat HD with Wordpower and linked video clips of her favorite movies onto movie buttons on her vocabulary set. That was our in! She was so motivated to use her device and after time she WAS discriminating! She also began to use her device to request her favorite foods, drinks, and activities. She is now using her device to comment on her environment and upcoming activities.
We gave her access to a way to communicate, modeled consistently, made sure to make it interesting for her, and now she has a way to share her thoughts. The best part? Her oral speech has also taken off! I am so proud of her and her family for giving her access and helping her utilize multiple modalities of communication.
Interested in learning more about presuming competence or AAC, let’s chat!
Call or text: (209) 683-3427
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